Apollo Crews came painfully close to defeating Big E on the latest episode of WWE Friday Night SmackDown. With a win, he would have been crowned as the new WWE Intercontinental Champion. But the match ended with a double pinfall, and Big E won the bout when Crews goaded him into restarting the match. On WWE Talking Smack, Paul Heyman delivered a personal message to Crews. He pointed to the young star’s kind, respectful nature as his ultimate downfall. Heyman also claimed that Crews has every right to call himself the WWE Intercontinental Champion right now.
“You’re sitting here with regrets because you screwed up,” said Heyman. “And the person that you screwed the hardest was yourself. And here’s why. You went into the ring tonight as a challenger. And you pinned the champion’s shoulders. Now admittedly, it was a double pin. No questions asked. Correct? But you did pin the champion.
“Did you leave with the title? No. What happened? ‘Oh we have to restart the match.’ Why? The match was over. You pinned the champion. Either that makes you a co-champion or that puts you in a position to train for another week, month, year, however long it takes, for being the next person to step in the ring against Big E for the undisputed Intercontinental Championship because once you pin the champion, the title, the claim to the championship is disputed. Hence the name disputed, undisputed. What did you do? You let your emotions get the best of you in the ring. You let all your dreams slip through your fingers because you’re a sportsman, you’re a gentleman, you’re in there with a friend who you respect and you admire.”
.@WWEApollo wants to know what he did wrong in his #ICTitle match with @WWEBigE? @HeymanHustle was prepared to give him the cold, hard truth on #TalkingSmack. @KaylaBraxtonWWE pic.twitter.com/sQrQNQUD8N
— WWE Network (@WWENetwork) January 9, 2021
Heyman then cranked up the heat by insulting Crews’ manhood.
“Why don’t you let this man come to over to your house, kick down your front door, take the food off of your plate, [expletive] because that’s what you’re letting him do,” said Heyman. “Let me ask you a question. Would Big E let you come over to his house and [expletive]? But that’s how he views you.
“Only one of you is gonna walk out of the ring as the Intercontinental Champion. Someone has to be a winner and someone has to be a loser, and tonight, whether you like it or not, your children know in their hearts, ‘My father was the loser in a match.'”
Heyman also emphasized that Crews can consider himself to be the WWE Intercontinental Champion.
“In my mind, you’re every bit as much the champion as Big E is,” said Heyman. “You have every right to claim to be the Intercontinental Champion because you pinned his shoulders to the mat. And you let that go because you’re a nice guy.”
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