Apollo is Apollo Crews once again. In February, WWE removed the last name Crews from his gimmicked name (his real name is Sesugh Uhaa). There was speculation that his name change may have been in response to Nikolas Cruz, the Florida school shooter who killed 17 people earlier this year.

Crews’ last name has been added to his profile on WWE.com. It is also once again his listed name on Wikipedia. Last night on Raw, Apollo was also wearing a T-shirt which featured the last name “Crews” written on it.

Apollo’s name has not been changed back on Twitter or Instagram, however.

Titus Worldwide on Raw

Last night on Monday Night Raw, Apollo and the other members of Titus Worldwide were taken out by Dolph Ziggler and the returning Drew McIntyre. Ziggler arrived on Raw from Smackdown as part of the Superstar Shakeup. McIntyre returned from injury for the first time since Takeover: War Games.

Crews still has never won championship gold in his WWE career. He was signed to the company in 2014 and debuted on the main roster in 2016, a quick ascension to the main roster by today’s standards.

Despite advancing to the main roster quickly, Apollo has struggled to win titles. Recently, his tag-team along with Titus O’Neil was in the mix for the Raw tag-team Championships. A week ago on Raw, they lost to Bray Wyatt and “Woken” Matt Hardy, taking them out of title contention for the Greatest Royal Rumble. Wyatt and Hardy defeated the Revival last night to punch their ticket to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where they will take on the Bar for the titles. The Bar lost the titles at WrestleMania 34 to Braun Strowman and Nicholas. The new champions, however, were forced to vacate the titles due to Nicholas’ schedule in the 4th grade.

Last month Sportskeeda’s Daniel Wood reported that WWE decided to change Apollo Crews’ name to simply, Apollo, to avoid any sort of collusion with Valentine’s Day Parkland high school shooter Nikolus Cruz. Cruz opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and killed 17 people, injuring several others as well. Despite the two names having different spellings, Vince McMahon made the call to avoid any association whatsoever.

The report was questioned by many after WWE denied sending out any sort of email saying that the shooting was the reason WWE changed Apollo’s name to the media, which Sportskeeda claimed to have. Wrestling Observer Newsletter now reports, however, that the people who did see the internal company emails can confirm the name change was due to the Parkland shooting.

WWE didn’t want the story to get out which is why they originally said they didn’t leak the news to any media source, however, they never flat out denied the story.

WWE Superstar Apollo recently did an interview with The Mirror to promote WWE’s Elimination Chamber pay-per-view (PPV) this weekend. Below are some of the highlights:

How have you found working with Titus O’Neil and being a part of Titus Worldwide?

“I’m enjoying everything we’re doing with Titus Worldwide. We’ve got the addition of Dane Brooke and to me I think it’s a great dynamic. Titus is an amazing guy, inside and outside of the ring. He’s helped me a lot, not just in WWE, but in my real life. He’s taught me to be myself and show people more personality and more character.

“He is such an amazing human being, being around him on camera helps me, allows me to be myself and whether or not we continue with this, hopefully I can continue to be more comfortable and more relaxed like that on camera and take the personality that I’ve shown in Titus Worldwide and carry it on to another tag team that I’m in, or as a singles competitor. I think we’ve proved we are worthy competitors, we are great competitors and given a chance, we can make things happen.

“Titus helped me to understand that WWE is not only all about wrestling. He helped me to understand that I need to learn to be an entertainer as well. When you are having fun, people can feel that and they can have fun themselves, so he is helping me to be more relaxed on camera and open up my personality and not be afraid to go out there and make a fool of myself and just have fun. I think when I first got to WWE, I took myself a little too seriously.

“I was like ‘I just want to be a great wrestler’, but I think there is a lot more to that when it comes to WWE and he has helped me to understand that, which has worked out a lot better for me. People have recognised that I do have personality and I do have character and charisma, so I thank him for that every day.”

The group is becoming more prominent on Raw and we have seen you emerge as challengers to Cesaro and Sheamus for the Raw Tag Team Championships. Do you think tag team wrestling is a way you can show a different side to yourself?

“Yes it is. Me and Titus have two different styles, but when you put us together, it’s very interesting. Titus and myself, we can go out there and be funny or whatever the case may be, but when it’s time to get to business, we get serious, we put that face on and go out there and throw people around and have that killer instinct. It’s great for us to be able to showcase that and it’s only just the beginning. Keep on the lookout because we’re coming.”

What do you think you need to do to become a champion in WWE?

“You know I’m hoping it will happen sooner rather than later, but for the moment I’m just focused on my work. I just keeping grinding and stay focused, stay humble and any opportunity I get, I take full advantage of it. I try to be the best I can and if there’s something that needs to get done, if they need me to do something specific, I try and make sure I do that to the best of my ability.

“Staying injury free is another thing I try and do, especially with the talent that’s out there right now, if you get injured, someone else will come in and take your spot. So I train as hard as I can, make sure i stay healthy especially with my eating and dieting and the rest will take care of itself. I just focus on the things I can control and hope the rest will fall into place.”

You can read Apollo’s full interview with The Mirror by clicking this link here.

On Monday afternoon it was revealed that WWE had dropped ‘Crews’ from Apollo’s ring name. There has been some speculation going around online that WWE made this move to avoid any sort of association to last week’s Florida high school mass murderer Nikolas Cruz. Cruz opened fire on his former high school and killed 17 people, including both students and faculty. Sportskeeda is reporting that WWE emailed them and confirmed that this was the reason for the change:

Apparently this is the reason why Apollo Crews is now "Apollo".

(Article by @JustDanWood)
https://t.co/2hnXjYofvS pic.twitter.com/fEeMCjWmie

— Daily DDT (@FanSidedDDT) February 19, 2018

Pro Wrestling Sheet’s Ryan Satin pumped the breaks on that rumor, however, as he reports WWE PR is denying ever sending an email of that sort:

https://twitter.com/ryansatin/status/965703624650235904?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.iwnerd.com%2Fpotential-rumor-killer-reason-apollo-crews-name-changed%2F

We’ll keep you updated as we learn more…..

Apollo Crews’ name has now officially been changed to just Apollo. WWE changed the Superstar’s bio page yesterday to remove all mention to his previous last name.

His Twitter tagline has been changed to remove mention of the Crews last name, as well.

Actor, Terry Crews, commented on the move.

I like and respect Apollo and wish him well— but The @WWE stole my name in the first place. https://t.co/PLqsPBhs0o

— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) February 19, 2018

Sasha Banks liked the Tweet.

pic.twitter.com/OxdbseuTz8

— sesai (@_sesai) February 19, 2018

Negotiations broke down https://t.co/YTAj5RXXP5

— Terry Crews (@terrycrews) February 19, 2018

Other Wrestlers Who Have Lost Names in Recent Years

Here is an incomplete list of wrestlers who have lost either their first or last name recently:

1. Cesaro – Antonio Cesaro
2. Elias – Elias Samson
3. Sheamus – Sheamus O’Shaunessy
4. Big E – Big E Langston
5. Rusev – Alexander Rusev
6. Harper and Rowen – Luke Harper and Erick Rowan
7. Neville – Adrian Neville

WWE Superstar Apollo Crews recently did an interview with Planeta Wrestling to talk about several professional wrestling topics. The highlights can be found below:

Last week we spoke with Tyler Breeze and he was explaining how difficult it was transitioning from NXT to the main roster. How difficult was it for you?

“It is a lot different because never in my life have I been on the road that much. I worked [independents] before I got to WWE. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday we are in [NXT in] Orlando training and Thursday we are traveling on the road, but we are not traveling too far outside of Orlando so two hours maximum outside of Orlando. When you get to WWE, literally every week you are getting on a plane from state to state and city to city; literally four different cities and states.

“I believe it is different, especially when you are used to a certain structure with my training, eating, it took me a while to figure out a schedule. Packing my meals, bringing my food on the road, training every moment I get. It is almost like you have to plan accordingly otherwise you lose sleep, training time, you lose time to eat so you really have to stay focused and really plan out your day and stay organized.”

Being focused in this new adventure with Titus Worldwide, I would like to know what is Titus O’Neil giving you as a performer point of view and if you would like to have any new additions to the group?

“Titus helped me to understand that WWE is not only all about wrestling. He helped me to understand that I need to help learn to become an entertainer as well. When you are out there having fun people can feel that and they can have fun themselves, so he is helping me be more relaxed on camera and open up my personality and not be afraid to go out there and have fun. I think when I first got to WWE I took myself a little too seriously. I just want to be a great wrestler, but I think there is a lot more to that when it comes to WWE and he has helped me to understand that, which has worked out a lot better for me. People have recognized that I have a lot more of a personality and I do have character and charisma so I thank him for that everyday.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuLNci1A5rs&feature=youtu.be

– Immediately after Monday Night’s RAW goes off air the WWE Network will be airing a new episode of  Corey Graves’ “Straight To The Source” featuring an interview with WWE Cruiserweight Champion Enzo Amore.

– Nia Jax doesn’t seem too thrilled about having to team up with Apollo Crews for the Mixed Match Challenge. WWE posted the following video of Jax, Crews, Titus O’Neil, and Dana Brook backstage being interviewed by Renee Young after the news broke:

The UK has been at the forefront of the wrestling scene throughout 2017, some of the hottest names in the United Kingdom have been signed to the WWE both on the main roster and the dedicated UK division.

It’s interesting to note that some talents have also been making their way from the main roster to perform at special one off events on the UK independent scene, Kassius Ohno and Noam Dar both performed for Insane Championship Wrestling earlier this year and now another RAW main roster star is set to make his way to Preston City Wrestling (PCW).

Apollo Crews was once a mainstay on the UK independents as Uhaa Nation, he has now been confirmed for a place in PCW’s Road to Glory event on February 10th. The company sent out a tweet thanking the WWE, Triple H and William Regal specifically for making the deal happen.

https://twitter.com/PCW_UK/status/942140006747066370

Roman Reigns fires shot at Cena ahead of their match tonight at No Mercy

Roman Reigns and John Cena have spent the past few weeks on RAW cutting promos on each other. Cena poked fun at Reigns for failing a drug test and Reigns blasted Cena for turning Hollywood and becoming a part-timer. Earlier today, Reigns sent out the following tweet and mocked Cena:

I don't come up with catchy slogans.
My life isn't a corny catchphrase.
I was born to reign.

Tonight, you'll see why. #WWENoMercy

— Roman Reigns (@WWERomanReigns) September 24, 2017

Elias delivers message to Apollo Crews

Elias will face Apollo Crews tonight during the No Mercy Kickoff Show. Elias posted the following video and warned Crews that he will not find peace in Titus Worldwide. Elias suggested that he should walk with him instead because he is the future of WWE.

WWE Superstars wish Stephanie McMahon Happy Birthday

Vince McMahon and several other Superstars took to Twitter today to wish Stephanie McMahon a Happy Birthday. Stephanie McMahon turns 41-years-old today.

Happy birthday to the incomparable @StephMcMahon. I’m a lucky dad. pic.twitter.com/rHVjdB1aPR

— Vince McMahon (@VinceMcMahon) September 24, 2017

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to the QUEEN ?! A one of a kind human! My girlfriend ? thank you for all you do @StephMcMahon! Have the best day! ? pic.twitter.com/EbVt1y6MmO

— Lina Fanene (@LinaFanene) September 24, 2017

Happy birthday @StephMcMahon! Thanks for being such a great role model for us ALL. ??? pic.twitter.com/COllDjNcnU

— Nattie (@NatbyNature) September 24, 2017

@StephMcMahon
Happy birthday!!!???
I really appreciate your kindness. pic.twitter.com/e0INPUorRq

— Kairi Sane (@KAIRI_official) September 24, 2017

https://twitter.com/catherinekelley/status/912012203150241792

The #QueenOfQueens celebrates her Birthday today! Wishing you a #HappyBirthday @StephMcMahon! #HappyBirthdayStephanie pic.twitter.com/UEFPfacNyM

— WWE India (@WWEIndia) September 24, 2017

WWE announced via a press release yesterday that Elias will be facing Titus Worldwide’s Apollo Crews at the pre-show of the upcoming No Mercy PPV this Sunday.

This is a surprising match to be added to the PPV as these two Raw stars have not even shared screen in recent times, let alone them being involved in a feud.

Though now it’d be interesting to see if this match turns out to be start of a new rivalry between these two former NXT Stars. The statement released by WWE can be seen below:

“The Walking with Elias World Tour will continue at WWE No Mercy Kickoff when Elias goes one-on-one against Titus Worldwide’s Apollo Crews.

In addition to displaying impressive ring ability, Elias has been quite busy bringing his unique brand of concert to the WWE Universe, and Raw’s resident guitarist will likely have some choice words for the STAPLES Center crowd.

There is no doubt that O’Neil will come to Los Angeles looking to attract the Hollywood elite, but can Crews, the powerhouse of Titus Worldwide, silence the sinister songsmith?

Find out at WWE No Mercy Kickoff, streaming live on WWE Network tomorrow, beginning at 7 ET/4 PT! It can also be seen on a free stream on WWE.com, the WWE App, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest.”

On Monday just hours before the opening bell of RAW in Uniondale, NY, WWE announced the first trade of their “Superstar Shake-up” between the RAW and SmackDown rosters.

Former SmackDown star is the first wrestler to be “shaken up,” and tonight will be his first night as a member of the RAW roster.

EXCLUSIVE: @MikeRomeWWE is standing by with the first OFFICIAL @WWE Superstar to be "shaken up" to Monday Night #RAW…@ApolloCrews! pic.twitter.com/1LDEqa6nuk

— WWE (@WWE) April 10, 2017

Join us tonight for live WWE RAW and Superstar Shake-up coverage and discussion on SEScoops.

– Apollo Crews defeated Curt Hawkins in the dark match before last night’s WWE SmackDown in Chicago.

– Who is La Luchadora? There’s lots of speculation but no word yet on who the masked woman that cost Becky Lynch the Women’s Championship last night on SmackDown was. Speculation is that it could be Mickie James or Tamina Snuka, or even Deonna Purrazzo filling in. Below is a photo of the character from last night:

Who is your pick for La Luchadora? I think it's Tamina. – Bud pic.twitter.com/L80z0mfvFJ

— Fight Gamers ?? (@FightGamers) December 28, 2016

– Zack Ryder had staples removed from his knee on Tuesday after having surgery a few weeks back. Check out this sick photo he tweeted:

Thanks Mom for taking these staples out of my knee. I was going to post the video but it was too gross. #ReturnOfTheZack #SDLive pic.twitter.com/qW9yt9EKdz

— Matt Cardona (@TheMattCardona) December 28, 2016

– Primo turns 34 years old today while Otis Dozovic turns 25 and Oney Lorcan turns 31.

– Tonight’s NXT will see a new #1 contender crowned as Bobby Roode, Tye Dillinger, Andrade Almas and Roderick Strong compete in a Fatal 4 Way Elimination Match. Other matches taped for tonight include Billie Kay vs Daria, The Authors of Pain vs. two local wrestlers and The Revival vs. NXT Tag Team Champions DIY with the titles on the line.

– As seen on SmackDown last night, The Miz retained the WWE Intercontinental Championship over Apollo Crews after an assist from Maryse. In the backstage video below, Crews receives a “Miz Participation Award” and tells Dasha Fuentes that this is just motivating him to get back at The Miz.

– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Dean Ambrose (31), WWE Hall of Famer Sunny (44), Mr. Hughes (52) and the late “Ravishing” Rick Rude (58th).

– Prior to last night’s SmackDown Live, Apollo Crews defeated Aiden English in a dark match.

– Baron Corbin will be Jonathan Coachman’s guest tonight ESPN SportsCenter’s weekly Off The Top Rope segment.

– The following matches will air on tonight’s episode of NXT on the WWE Network:

• NXT Champion Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke Nakamura from Japan
• DIY returns to Full Sail as NXT Tag Team Champions
• Sanity vs. No Way Jose and Rich Swann
• Ember Moon vs. Kimber Lee
• Heavy Machinery vs. Enhancement talents

– Jack Swagger defeated local wrestler Danny Duggan in the dark match prior to Tuesday night’s SmackDown Live from Green Bay. For Main Event, WWE taped Curt Hawkins vs. Apollo Crews and American Alpha vs. The Vaudevillains.

– WWE power couple Stephanie McMahon and Triple H are celebrating their 13th anniversary today. The RAW Commissioner wished The Game a Happy Anniversary with this tweet:

#HappyAnniversary to the man of my dreams @TripleH! 13 years & 3 children later, you still make me blush every time you walk in the room ?? pic.twitter.com/Z17MrD8SkB

— Stephanie McMahon (@StephMcMahon) October 25, 2016

– As noted, Monday’s RAW from Los Angeles drew 2.797 million viewers, up from last week’s record-low of 2.478 million. The final rating for this week’s RAW was a 1.92, up from last week’s 1.75.

– Tonight’s NXT episode will see the Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic kick off with The Authors of Pain vs. The Bollywood Boyz and The Revival vs. Andrade “Cien” Almas and Cedric Alexander.

Other matches taped for tonight include Dan Matha’s debut, Rich Swann vs. Patrick Clark and Danielle Kamella vs. Peyton Royce.

– Apollo Crews is shown preparing for matches in this new Tapout ad:

"I want them thinking he went out there and left everything in the ring. He came out and brought 150% and killed it!" @ApolloCrews @TapouT pic.twitter.com/SNyrnV8wOb

— WWE (@WWE) October 3, 2016

Apollo Crews and Baron Corbin were drafted to Smackdown but they are mostly seen on Main Event. Crews and Corbin looked like they were going to be massive stars right away. Corbin was placed in a Six-Pack Challenge to determine the #1 Contender to the WWE Championship. Apollo Crews won a Battle Royal and was also added to the Six-Pack Challenge. Dolph Ziggler wound up winning the match and oddly enough his WWE career might be ending in a couple of weeks at No Mercy.

Apollo Crews has spent the last two months losing. He was easily defeated by The Miz at Summerslam. Shortly after that, he was awarded another oppurtunity at the Intercontinental Championship but once again The Miz came out on top. If Apollo Crews is featured on Smackdown nowadays, it is in a four minute match that results in him losing. His best match on the main roster so far may have happened on the Backlash Kickoff Show against Baron Corbin. Crews also lost that contest but at the very least he looked like he belonged in the ring with Corbin.

Baron Corbin has dominated everyone he has faced but it really hasn’t done much for him. When he is not featured on Smackdown, does anybody notice? He had a feud with Kalisto recently in which Corbin would attack Kalisto backstage. That feud went absolutely nowhere and nothing has come from it. Corbin has defeated Crews a couple of times now and it has gotten to the point where the audience doesn’t seem invested in either performer. It is hard to blame them, the WWE hasn’t given these guys anything to work with.

The current card for No Mercy is as follows:

• WWE Championship Match: AJ Styles (c) vs John Cena vs Dean Ambrose
• Intercontinental Championship/Career Match: The Miz (c) vs Dolph Ziggler
• Smackdown Tag Team Championship Match: Heath Slater & Rhyno (c) vs The Usos
• Smackdown Women’s Championship Match: Becky Lynch (c) vs Alexa Bliss
• Bray Wyatt vs Randy Orton

There is one Smackdown left before the PPV and surely there will be a couple more matches added to this show. Hopefully, it is not just Corbin versus Crews again with nothing at stake. I’m not suggesting that Corbin and Crews should be vying for the WWE Championship right now. The WWE has had a heck of a time building new stars recently and sometimes it appears like they aren’t even trying to. JBL has made it a point to practically scream into the headset every single time Corbin is on Smackdown that he is a future World Champion. One would think that the WWE might want to start building up these guys because right now the WWE Universe simply doesn’t care about them. Leaving them both off the No Mercy card or sticking them against each other in another meaningless Kickoff Show match won’t help them much either.

• Matt & Jeff Hardy Discuss Returning To WWE

– Today’s wrestling birthdays include Apollo Crews (29), Neville (30), The Usos (31) and  Paul Ellering (63).

– Despite the SummerSlam loss to Kevin Owens and Chris Jericho, Big Cass and Enzo Amore are focusing on the WWE Tag Team Championships. Cass spoke with The Times-Ledger of Queens this weekend and commented on going for gold:

“It’s our No. 1 goal and it’s where we’re focused. You need guys that are competitive, you need guys that hate losing, you need guys that always want to win. That’s the team I want to be on.”

– It was expected that Bray Wyatt would appear at SummerSlam after weeks of feuding with Dolph Ziggler and WWE Champion Dean Ambrose but he did not. Wyatt did take to Twitter after the PPV and tweet the following:

https://twitter.com/WWEBrayWyatt/status/767567741175955457

– Tonight’s WWE Cruiserweight Classic episode will see the start of the second round. Matches scheduled for the show include:

• Gran Metalik vs. Tajiri
• Kota Ibushi vs. Cedric Alexander

– Ryback is being billed as “The Big Guy” on the independent scene. As announced on Tuesday, he’ll be wrestling for WrestlePro in October for their shows in Cresskill, NY (10/14) and Brooklyn (10/15). He’s also been announced for the November WrestleCade event in Winston-Salem, NC.

– John Cena, AJ Styles and Apollo Crews missed last night’s SmackDown as they’re in New Zealand for the WWE Down Under tour. WWE hyped their respective SummerSlam matches with these video packages:

Apollo Crews defeated Baron Corbin and Kalisto on tonight’s WWE SmackDown to become the new #1 contender to WWE IC Champion The Miz. The match will take place at SummerSlam.

Here’s the updated SummerSlam card:

WWE Universal Championship Match: Finn Balor vs. Seth Rollins

WWE Championship Match: Dean Ambrose vs. Dolph Ziggler

WWE Women’s Championship Match: Sasha Banks vs. Charlotte

WWE IC Championship Match: The Miz vs. Apollo Crews

Randy Orton vs. Brock Lesnar

– Dusty Rhodes will be inducted by Magnum TA into the Hall of Heroes 2016 Class during the NWA Legends Fanfest weekend in Charlotte, NC on 8/5. Cody Rhodes tweeted that his mom and sister will be there for the induction.

– Paul Heyman tweeted these details on an exclusive Brock Lesnar WWE 2K17 contest with WWE Games and Game Stop. Fans can visit their local Game Stop store to take a photo with the 2K17 Lesnar standee, then tweet that out with the proper hashtags. The winner receives two WrestleMania 33 tickets, airfare & hotel, $500 spending money and more. Full details are at this link from Heyman:

#EXCLUSIVE CONTEST! You can win a trip to @WWE @WrestleMania 33!https://t.co/Cnc3s29GaO #WWE2K17 #RAW @GameStop pic.twitter.com/CcnOfslHVy

— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) July 12, 2016

– Apollo Crews and Sami Zayn fill out their WWE Cruiserweight Classic brackets in these new videos. Crews has his friend Akira Tozawa going all the way while Sami believes Kota Ibushi has the upperhand.

– Indy wrestlers J Spade, Bu Ko Dao and Perry Hawx from WildKat Sports were used as extras on last night’s RAW in the Sheamus – Apollo Crews segment.

– Sheamus revealed on Twitter that he’s headed to Australia for WWE promotional work and will not be working tonight’s TV tapings.

– Chris Jericho is featured in this RAW Fallout clip from New Orleans, talking about how he will win Money in the Bank and become a 7-time World Champion:

– Apollo Crews talks about his WWE Money in the Bank match against Sheamus in this RAW Fallout clip. Crews says he will bring his “A Game” to Las Vegas and show that he’s in WWE to stay and to win titles.

– Rey Mysterio and son were in attendance for last night’s NBA Finals game 5 with the Cavaliers taking on the Warriors:

New WWE star Apollo Crews recently spoke with the State Journal-Register to promote Friday’s live event in Springfield, IL. Crews, who was in NXT for almost a year, revealed that he only learned about being called up to the main roster just days before his April 4th RAW debut.

“I didn’t find out (it was happening) until the Friday before that,” Crews said of making the jump from NXT to the WWE main roster. That Friday was April 1st.

“It was April Fools’ (Day). I thought it was a joke. But when it really hit me and I realized what was going on I just started breaking down crying tears of happiness. It was cool for me because I don’t remember the last time I shed a tear of any kind of emotion. So it was cool just to see my dreams come true. … It’s the most satisfying feeling ever.”

Crews credited being into gymnastics as a kid for his in-ring style, and says the Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker were who inspired him to become a wrestler. As far his career goals go, Crews hopes to win championships and develop his character.

“I definitely see myself holding multiple titles in my career,” Crews predicted. “As far as short-term goals, I think just being on TV on a weekly basis is amazing. Eventually, hopefully, I can show people more of my character and let them know who I really am as a person.”

You can read his entire interview here.

It looks like Shinsuke Nakamura will just be known as Nakamura to the WWE/NXT universe. The King Of Strong Style is listed by his last name only in the Wrestlemania 32 program being sold at the WWE Superstore and considering Chad Gable, Jason Jordan and Apollo Crews are on the same page with their full names — it seems like the name drop will happen.

It’s interesting to note that Nakamura is listed with NXT talent in the program, leading many to think he will spend more time than most believed on NXT programming. There is not much known about Nakamura’s direction with NXT/WWE, but this could be a good indication. Or it simply could just be they have him in the NXT section because he is debuting with NXT.

Nakamura is set to debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas in a match against Sami Zayn . It has been one of the most talked about and highly anticipated matches on both NXT and WWE’s weekend events. The event is live on the WWE Network, Friday April 1.

To promote tonight’s NXT live event in Asbury Park, New Jersey, Apollo Crews spoke to Bill Bodkin of NJ Advanced Media for an article that went up yesterday. You should read the whole article, which also includes some thoughts on how he developed his style among other quotes, but here are some of the highlights:

On the rise of NXT:

I look back at the Attitude Era, which was historical for me, but I look at NXT and I see I’m a part of history. I can look back and tell my kids, and my grandkids that I was a part of NXT when it was growing.

Swearing during his NXT Takeover entrance:

People still make fun of me about it. I had rehearsed my entrance backstage, but I remember coming out and the first thing I did was cuss.

How stacked is the NXT roster?

The roster from top to bottom is talented. We want to challenge and outdo each other in a friendly and competitive way [every show]. [The audience] is going to have so much fun, and they’re going to want more. The environment is going to be through the roof.