WWE SmackDown: 5 Biggest news stories - Carmella fires Reginald, Steel Cage showdown (March 5, 2021)

#4 Apollo Crews was accompanied by two Nigerian elite guards on WWE SmackDown

Wealth. Power. Dominance. #SmackDown @WWEApollo pic.twitter.com/iWEuqdzxq6

— WWE (@WWE) March 6, 2021

Apollo Crews' Nigerian side emerged faster on WWE television than all those years it took for him to break out as a great promo personality.

Not only did he carry a spear with him, but Crews was also accompanied by two Nigerian elite guards this week. The two guards were portrayed by NXT Superstars named Denzel Dejournette and Matrick Belton.

He cut a promo about the "real" Apollo Crews in a Nigerian accent from start-to-finish. Crews talked about how his friends used to mock his ancestry for years. Now that Crews has fully embraced his heritage, he is no longer trying to fit in and make amends in WWE. He demanded another match against Big E for the WWE Intercontinental Championship.

"I no longer beg... I DEMAND."@WWEApollo wants a rematch with @WWEBigE for the #ICTitle next week on #SmackDown. pic.twitter.com/8kdhzluU4U

— WWE (@WWE) March 6, 2021

Nobody could have seen this drastic change coming at the beginning of 2021. Apollo Crews has never seemed more confident than now in playing a character on WWE television.

A lot of people forget that the Intercontinental Championship allows the titleholder to represent his entire continent. WWE doesn't highlight this aspect of the title too often nowadays. But if Crews becomes the next Intercontinental Champion, he will most likely embrace the roots of what the belt meant in the first place.

Regardless of who emerges as the winner between Big E and Apollo Crews, this feud has become one of the most important storylines in the current landscape of WWE.