Apollo Crews, Zamariah 'ZZ' Loupe and Latest WWE NXT Developmental News

A Hall of Famer sees some big things ahead for recent WWE NXT signee Apollo Crews, and WWE apparently see something in Zamariah "ZZ" Loupe.

Crews received some high praise from a former world champ, which is not at all surprising. It doesn't take but a few seconds of seeing him in action to be convinced of his potential.

Meanwhile, ZZ received an official developmental offer in one the most surprising bits of news to emerge from the WWE Performance Center this year.

Other NXT stories include the developmental brand's trip to London and a second-generation wrestler in training. In addition, a few notes on Bayley round out the week's news cycle.

'Tough Enough' Contestant Officially Signs with WWE

Zamariah Loupe, better known as ZZ, is officially a WWE prospect. Word emerged last week that he was training at the WWE Performance Center. It's now clear that he will be doing plenty of that moving forward.

PWInsider's Mike Johnson reported, "WWE sources have confirmed that ZZ has been signed to a WWE deal."

After seeing him struggle so much during WWE Tough Enough, it's odd that WWE still wanted to invest in him. While he did make it to the finals of the reality show competition, his peers were more athletic, better built and improved more during their time working with the trainers.

Mada and Patrick looked to be better prospects, but ZZ will soon have his chance to make WWE look smart for having faith in him.

NXT TakeOver: Respect Update

Before NXT TakeOver: Respect even arrives, before any of the bouts on the card have been determined, the live show set for London on Dec. 16 will be in front of a packed house. Triple H tweeted that the show is sold out.

Chalk that up as another of the recent successes on NXT's resume. Months after selling out the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NXT has now done the same abroad. 

The SSE Arena, Wembley seats about 12,000. Other promotions would kill to fill a venue of that size, much less with its developmental brand.

That speaks to NXT's growth from niche hit to full-fledged phenomenon.  

Hall of Famer's Daughter Training with Lance Storm

WWE will surely be keeping its eyes on a powerhouse with an impressive lineage. Rachael Ellering, daughter of Hall of Fame manager Paul Ellering, is working her way into the wrestling business.

The Wrestling Observer Newsletter (h/t Wrestling Inc) reported that Ellering is currently training at Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. 

Ellering is a powerlifter with eye-catching strength. Her father is most famous for managing The Road Warriors but also had a brief in-ring career as well, working for the AWA and other promotions.

Should Rachael make it to NXT, she would join Emma, Tyler Breeze and Sylvester Lefort as former Storm students who have made it to WWE developmental. 

Mick Foley Praises NXT Star

Mick Foley is among those who are excited about what's ahead for Apollo Crews.

The WWE Hall of Famer posted on his Facebook page that he recently caught up on his NXT, noting that Crews kept inspiring him to say, "Did I just see that?"

Foley wrote, "While the road to stardom to ‪#WWE‬ can be paved with roadblocks—both physical and psychological—I wouldn't be surprised at all to see this man playing a major role on WWE Raw‪ #‎SmackDown‬ and PPV for years to come."

Crews has looked mighty good in his short time with NXT. He's an electric athlete and seems to have a solid amount of charisma to tap into.

It is quite easy to see the vision that Foley has for him becoming a reality.

Other News, Notes

Ahead of her 30-minute match with Sasha Banks next month, Bayley is working with Lita.

The NXT women's champ posted a photo on Twitter of the two of them. Bayley wrote in the caption, "What better way to prep for Oct. 7 than by learning from Hall of Famer and former Women's Champ Amy Dumas [Lita's given name]?"

Seeking Lita's counsel is a smart move. Lita is on the short list of women to make it to WWE's Hall of Fame. 

Fans got a peek at what Dusty Rhodes thought of Bayley before she made it to where she is today.

Former creative assistant at NXT Rob Naylor tweeted a shot of a performance review that Rhodes gave to Bayley in 2013. It reads, "Hard little worker. Very good in the ring and trying to find her way outside the ring."

Bayley has certainly done the latter. She's embraced and maximized her gimmick, riding it to a strong connection with fans. The American Dream would be proud of her growth.

In an interview with the Boston Herald, head trainer Matt Bloom compared himself to a Super Bowl-winning NFL coach.

Bloom said, "[New England Patriots head coach] Bill Belichick is incredible, and I try to mimic his style. We come in, put in the hard work, we're no-nonsense and we get things done. I pride myself on that." One has to imagine, though, that Bloom is more jovial than the famously deadpan coach.