Apollo Crews vs. Sheamus: Winner and Reaction from WWE Money in the Bank 2016
In his first pay-per-view match since getting called up to the main roster, Apollo Crews defeated Sheamus Sunday night at Money in the Bank.
Crews survived the White Noise move from Sheamus and got the roll-up for the win. WWE captured the aftermath of the biggest win of Crews' career:
WWE shared video of some of the top moments of the match:
WWE SmackDown announcer Mauro Ranallo and Kevin Berge of Questionable Critics provided their initial takes on what transpired:
After weeks of putting on solid matches without much storyline direction, the Celtic Warrior brutally attacked Crews, leading to his first official feud since making the leap from NXT.
As the veteran, Sheamus attempted to impose his will and push around the younger, less experienced Crews. That led to Big Show giving the leader of the Apollo Nation some advice and motivation prior to going up against a former multitime world champion.
While the Celtic Conqueror seemingly intimidated Crews at first, he eventually stood up for himself and embarrassed Sheamus in front of some WWE veterans on SmackDown, as seen in this tweet from WWE Universe:
That angered Sheamus and prompted him to vow to get revenge against his up-and-coming rival:
On the go-home episode of Raw prior to Money in the Bank, Sheamus attempted to take his frustrations out on Zack Ryder following a victory in a tune-up match.
Crews' new level of aggression was present once again, though, as he ran down to make the save and got the upper hand on Sheamus in one of their final interactions before their first official bout against each other.
While there was excitement and energy surrounding Crews' call-up after WrestleMania due to his electric in-ring style, there was also a certain level of skepticism.
Although Crews put on some awesome performances during his time in NXT, he never developed a layered character, and his work on the mic left plenty to be desired.
Those factors could have led to him getting lost in the shuffle on the main roster, and while that is precisely what happened initially, he has shown signs of life and progression as of late. And his match against Sheamus may have been the first step toward relevancy on the main roster.
The impending brand split could be huge for Crews since it will conceivably lead to more opportunities for him to get involved with angles and matches of significance.
Despite the fact that Sheamus has tumbled down the card since losing the WWE World Heavyweight Championship last year, he has plenty of name recognition and an impressive resume, which means Crews' victory gives him far more credibility than he has had at any point since joining WWE.
The onus is now on the writers to maintain his momentum and continue placing him in intriguing storylines, and if that happens, then Crews has the skill set and "it" factor needed to be a major player in WWE.
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