The episode of Raw after WrestleMania is known for a few things. In addition to the wild crowds and the increased likelihood of things like title changes happening, it’s a night where NXT talent debuts on WWE Raw.
That was the case on this week’s episode of Raw, as Apollo Crews competed in a match on Raw for the first time in his career. Crews took on fellow former NXTer Tyler Breeze in a match that he mostly dominated – Breeze got in a little offense, but it wasn’t anything wild.
The match ended with Crews doing his gorilla press to a standing moonsault before hitting Breeze with a spin-out powerbomb. Sure, we always get a little sad when Breeze loses a match because he is great, but it’s really cool to see that Crews got his Raw debut with such an easy win.
As for whether or not this leads to Crews getting a full-time call-up remains to be seen. He’s not really doing all that much in NXT right now – he competed against Elias Samson at TakeOver: Dallas in a match that didn’t air on Friday night – and it’s not crazy to think that Raw crowds would eat up some of the improbable stuff he’s able to do in the ring.
No matter what, seeing Crews compete on Raw was super fun. The announcers, namely JBL, did an awesome job getting him over, too. Even if this wasn’t a formal call-up, here’s to hoping we see him on the main roster sometime soon.
