Before his wrestling matches even begin, Apollo Crews' chiseled, 240-pound body is a clear giveaway that he has tremendous physical power. What you might not expect is his ability to leap and flip his way across a World Wrestling Entertainment ring like an Olympic gymnast.

Crews, one of WWE's newest performers, is scheduled to bring his multi-faceted attack to Springfield Friday night when "WWE Live" comes to the Prairie Capital Convention Center.

Crews's unique style has helped him ascend quickly. After spending the early part of his wrestling career elsewhere, he arrived at WWE's training center in Orlando in April 2015. Four months later, he had his first televised match for NXT, a division for performers in WWE's developmental system. And less than two months ago, Crews was called up to WWE, where he now appears regularly on its nationally televised shows, "Raw" and "Smackdown."

The SJ-R caught up with Crews (real name Susugh Uhaa, 28) on a recent day off near his home in the Orlando area.

Q: How satisfying/surprising was your callup to WWE on April 4, after a relatively short stint in NXT?

A: I didn't find out (it was happening) until the Friday before that. ... It was April Fools' (Day). I thought it was a joke. But when it really hit me and I realized what was going on I just started breaking down crying tears of happiness. It was cool for me because I don't remember the last time I shed a tear of any kind of emotion. So it was cool just to see my dreams come true. ... It's the most satisfying feeling ever.

Q: Explain your style. You don't see too many wrestlers with your build with the ability to fly around the ring like you do.

A: I took gymnastics as a young kid. Not too long, but I was able to ... go to diving boards and big trampolines and do all kinds of crazy stuff on them with my brother. It kind of just stayed with me over the years. ... I didn't want to copy someone's style; I kind of wanted to make my own. ... I wanted to bring my athletic gymnastics background into it. I've always been an athlete my whole life (participating in soccer, track, amateur wrestling and football), so I just wanted to bring all of that into wrestling.

Q: What's your history as a professional wrestling fan, and what flipped the switch in you to try making a career out of it?

A: I was really young, and my dad was watching it with me. ... I remember it was the Ultimate Warrior and Undertaker in the ring. For me, these guys seemed larger than life, and they just kind of reached out to me in my house. And ever since that day, I've been addicted to it. It wasn't something I decided at that time to do (as a living), but I think around 10th grade ... I was like, 'I think I can actually make this work. I can actually try this.'

Q: How do you maintain your physique, especially amid the hectic travel schedule of a WWE star?

A: You have to be really careful about what you put in your body, especially being on TV every week. I want to maintain that certain image. So a lot of cooking (at home), even if I have to pack in plastic bags and take it on the plane ... so I can maintain that clean eating. If I do stop at a gas station I try to grab something like a protein bar, nothing too crazy. Every now and then I do love to cheat myself. I'm a human being. So it's always nice to eat like a fat kid every now and then.

Q: You're early in your WWE career. What are your goals at this point?

A: I'd love to hold (championship) gold here. I definitely see myself holding multiple titles in my career. As far as short-term goals, I think just being on TV on a weekly basis is amazing. Eventually, hopefully, I can show people more of my character and let them know who I really am as a person. At the end of the day, I just want to make history here. It's tough to say that because there's so much history that has been made, but if I can be a part of that, that's an honor in itself.

Q: Friday's show in Springfield won't have all of the fancy production elements fans see on WWE's TV shows. What do you like about performing in smaller, less-elaborate settings like the PCCC?

A: It's an intimate setting. It seems easier to reach out to those people because they're not sitting so far away. ... Somehow it's louder, and it's one of those things you feel the people through you. ... We did a lot of those at NXT. You have so much fun at those little venues. It seems like the people are a part of you being out there, and they leave feeling like they were a part of it."

— Contact Jason Piscia: 788-1401, jason.piscia@sj-r.com, twitter.com/jasonpiscia.

***

WWE Live

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday

Where: Prairie Capital Convention Center, Ninth and Adams streets

Tickets: $107/$77/$57/$37/$27/$17

On the card (subject to change): Roman Reigns (World Heavyweight Champion), AJ Styles, Sheamus, Kevin Owens, Sami Zayn, D-Von Dudley, Bubba Ray Dudley, Enzo Amore, Colin Cassady, Karl Anderson, Luke Gallows, Apollo Crews, Charlotte (Women's Champion), Natalya. Visit wwe.com/events for late updates to the lineup.