Last week, WWE sent out a press release announcing the signing of 11 new rookies to NXT. Two of them, former US Marine Kenneth Crawford and pro bodybuilder Thomas Kindon, spoke to Scott Fishman of the Miami Herald about what this opportunity means to them.
Kenneth Crawford, a four-year veteran of the US Marine Corps and an accomplished high school athlete, talked about the day he got the call from WWE:
“I was in San Diego, California. I was working at my contracting job for the Navy. I was driving home, and I got the call from [WWE’s] Canyon [Ceman] saying that I made it. I literally had to pull over to the side of the road, before I caused anymore traffic that already is in San Diego. The first person I told was my mom [Dara]. I told my mother simply because it was something I grew up on, that I was embedded in. This is stuff I got in trouble with as a kid. Everything. She’s seen the struggles that we went through. From the hardships — without a father figure to the passing of my sister [Kenesha] in 2000; she was also big on wrestling — to my own family that I have. Everything was full circle at that point.”
Thomas Kingdon, a professional bodybuilder and high school football player, talked about The Rock being an influence and wanting to wrestle John Cena one day.
“I have been given this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and my main dream now is to become the next superstar. I look at people like The Rock, who would be in the ring, and he would be electrifying, and then outside of the ring, people would flock to him, want to be around him. Then you have someone like John Cena, who also started in bodybuilding, and he became much more than just a physique. He is charismatic. He’s a whole persona. I give so much respect to him for becoming much more than just someone who competed.”
