Scott Fishman of The Miami Herald recently interviewed Kenneth Crawford and Thomas Kingdon, two of the 11 new NXT recruits announced by WWE this week. The following are some highlights.

You can check out the Crawford interview at this link. http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/article18388082.html

You can check out the Kingdon interview at this link. http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/fighting/article18387827.html

Crawford on getting 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.”

Kingdon on Looking up to John Cena and The Rock:

“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.”