Apollo Crews Makes Light Of Past Persona On WWE NXT

The inaugural edition of "The Grayson Waller Effect" is now in the history books and it's one to remember.

On Tuesday's edition of "NXT 2.0", Waller welcomed Apollo Crews as a guest on his talk show segment. Waller, determined to figure out the truth as to why Crews returned to the brand in the first place, asked Crews how it felt to be a clout chaser. Crews said that he was born in "NXT" and he needed to find himself again before saying that Waller was jealous of him.

An irritated Waller asked if Crews used to have an accent and recalled Crews being a "Nigerian warrior." He asked what happened to that. 

"Is this the accent you're talking about, huh?" Crews responded as he playfully readopted the accent he once used on WWE's main roster.

Crews said Waller was acting as if he should be ashamed of his heritage when he could not be more proud to be Nigerian. He reminded Waller that he went on to WrestleMania 37 to become an Intercontinental Champion.

Things between the two men escalated as Waller continuously interrupted Crews. He said that he will run Crews out of "NXT" before Crews fired back by calling Waller a low-rent version of The Miz. Crews then clocked Waller with a right hand and called it the "Apollo Crews Effect."

Crews first introduced his Nigerian royalty character on the February 26, 2021 episode of "SmackDown" as part of a heel persona during his feud with Big E over the Intercontinental Title. He came out in new gear and stated that the colors represented his heritage. He stated that he was embracing his royal roots. Crews and Big E met in a title match at WrestleMania 37, where Crews walked out as the new champion.

Crews and Waller are now slated to have a match with one another on next week's "NXT".