Apollo Crews was released from WWE after nearly 12 years with the company, his name amongst the slew of departures, following WrestleMania 42. Surprising to many, he popped up under his former ring name, Uhaa Nation, shortly after, at TNA Slammiversary 2026, where he took on Mustafa Ali and Rich Swann for the TNA International Championship in a failing effort.It was surprising, as Crews was still in his 90-day release period following his WWE departure. He explained how he was able to compete in the Slammiversary match on "Insight with Chris Van Vliet.""TNA got in contact with WWE," he explained. "Moose may have been the first one to call me and told me that TNA was looking to bring me in for Slammiversary. My first thought was, 'Man, I'm still in my 90 days. No way that's going to happen.' So, I kind of brush it off."He said that Ali called him to present the idea, but asked if he would be okay losing the match. Crews explained that it was about a month after the release, when he wasn't even sure he wanted to wrestle."My response to him was, 'You know. I spent my whole career losing at WWE. The first thing outside of WWE that I don't want to do is lose,'" he said. "He respected my answer. He's like, 'I completely respect that. I would have said the same thing.'"Crews said that TNA came up with the triple-threat idea, where he didn't need to take the pin for Ali to retain the title. He said it was nice to have the spotlight on him again, but wrestling still isn't the main focus of his life post-WWE.If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Insight with Chris Van Vliet" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
