BREAKING NEWS: Solomon Crowe Released from WWE
NXT Star Solomon Crowe Requests WWE Release
In a bit of sad news, NXT Superstar Solomon Crowe (Sam Johnston, fka Sami Callihan) has been granted his release from WWE. The now-former NXT star requested his release yesterday, and was granted it. Since debuting on NXT TV at the start of the year, Crowe has been featured very lightly in NXT, often losing to various bigger names in the company, eventually falling completely off the radar.
The former star of CZW, PWG and Dragon Gate USA, was signed to a developmental contract in 2013, and appeared on NXT Live Events and dark matches for over a year, debuting a hacker gimmick. After a whole year of internet hype and a big lack of televised appearances, the start of 2015 marked the beginning of his somewhat disappointing TV career.
Debuting after a series of vignettes, Crowe would make his TV debut on the February 18th episode of NXT, attacking CJ Parker. After receiving criticism based on his looks, moveset, changed entrance theme, and confusing gimmick (a hacker crossed with a Troll doll), Crowe was barely featured on TV after having a handful of matches against Bull Dempsey and Kevin Owens.
EN: This is a sad state of affairs. Crowe was among the many names from the indies that were lauded online, hired by the WWE, and used in a very poor way. Crowe made his debut at the time when NXT was at its biggest, with names like Sami Zayn, Adrian Neville, Kevin Owens, Hideo Itami and Finn Balor also on the program at the time, meaning he was pushed down the priority list in favour of other lauded independent stars.
Since his debut, his character was also a bad case of NXT creative not knowing how to write for him. He was a hacker in name only, failing to look the part or lend any credence to the gimmick in any other capacity. His look was not suitable for who he was, looking like Ryback went on a vacation to Jersey Shore and got a bad haircut on his way back. See the picture above for a reference as to how he was used on Live Events and dark matches for what could have been.
If anything, this is a good thing for Crowe; his stock in the indies has undoubtedly gone up, and will have zero trouble garnering independent bookings. It’s a shame, but let’s look to the positives.
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