Apollo Crews didn’t want to use Nigerian accent in WWE, was ‘talked into it’ by Vince McMahon

In January 2021, with WWE running out of their “ThunderDome” set-up a year into the pandemic, Apollo Crews turned heel for the first time in his time with the company. It was a feud with then Intercontinental champion Big E, and started promisingly enough, with Crews showing a new attitude and referring to his Nigerian ancestry. Apollo briefly used a Nigerian accent while quoting his grandfather on his first night as his villainous character (which also featured an unannounced Trick Williams as a member of his “elite Nigerian guard”). But when Crews next appeared the following Friday on SmackDown, he delivered his entire promo that way. It led to jokes, concern about returning to wrestling roots in ethnic and racial stereotypes, and charges of racism. It also didn’t do Crews any favors in the long-run. He briefly held the IC title, but that was really the gimmick’s only program. Crews (and his sidekick/head of his , Commander Azeez) were drafted to Raw in late 2021, and then Apollo