Uhaa Nation (@apollowwe) is a professional wrestler best known for his time in WWE as Apollo Crews. He sits down with Chris Van Vliet in Orlando, FL to discuss being released from WWE after 11 years with the company, what’s next for him, winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania 37, the origins of his Nigerian royalty character, why he lost his last name and simply went by “Apollo” for 4 months, winning the United States Championship, being called underrated in his career, appearing at TNA Slammiversary under the name Uhaa Nation, being a proud father, and much more!

How did you feel when you got the call from WWE?

“I didn’t really feel anything. And when I say I didn’t feel anything, it wasn’t like, ‘I don’t care.’ I think I just didn’t give it enough time to process. Not that it was unexpected, but I think the fact that I did expect it kind of helped soften the blow. And it wasn’t that I didn’t care, but I wasn’t overly emotional about it.

I was at basketball practice with my son, so I was like, ‘Okay, I have to still be a dad.’ Once this practice is over, I can’t just sulk in my misery until we get home. He knows nothing about what’s going on with the job. And even if I explain it to him, he just couldn’t understand it.”

What does your wrestling career look like moving forward?

“I’m 39 now, but I still feel like I have a lot to give in wrestling. The thing is, I just don’t feel like I’m in a hurry to give that at this moment. I don’t feel this burning desire like I have to do it right now. And the opportunity may never come to do it, but I think I’ve gotten to the point where I’m okay with that too.”

We recently saw you in TNA at Slammiversary. Was that just a one-off thing?

“Yeah. The story behind that, it’s pretty interesting. TNA had reached out to WWE ’cause I was still within that 90-day release period of non-compete, where I technically couldn’t wrestle for anybody else. TNA got in contact with WWE and I think Moose may have been the first one to call me and told me that TNA was looking to bring me in for Slammiversary. And my first thought was like, ‘Man, I’m in my 90 days. No way that’s gonna happen.’ So I kind of brushed it off.”

At what point in WWE did you realize you were on this losing streak?

“Man, it’s hard to say exactly when. I always try to see the light at the end of the tunnel where it’s like, ‘Okay, whatever I’m going through now, there’s gotta be something for this.’ And there may not be, but I try to keep that mentality. I tried to keep it through my whole career because it was just ups and downs, ups and downs.

But to say a specific moment when I realized it’s just gonna be this, it’s hard to say. There was a point in time where you can kind of get a sense of it when you talk to some people, like, ‘Hey, is there anything planned?’

Or you talk to the writers, and there’s not really any direct answer. ‘It’s not you. We just gotta figure this out.’ But in the meantime, you see other things going on where they just make it happen.”

Where was the point in your WWE career where you felt like things were firing on all cylinders?

“Man, I’m not gonna lie, it was when I did the Nigerian character. And I say Nigerian, so my family is Nigerian. I’m not Nigerian by birth, but by blood I am Nigerian.

I was born in California, but my mom and dad are Nigerian, born and raised, and my dad came over to the United States in 1983, I believe. So, first-generation American.”

Do you feel like the door’s still open in WWE?

“I think that option would be there for sure. But it’s not something I’m sitting here just waiting and dying to happen.”

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