The Creed Brothers put in the champion work and now they've got the gold to show it.
On June 4 at NXT In Your House, The Creed Brothers defeated Pretty Deadly to capture the NXT Tag Team Titles for the first time in their careers. More than that was on the line, though, as their places in Diamond Mine were in jeopardy as Roderick Strong threatened to kick them out of the group if they lost.
Julius and Brutus, who joined Diamond Mine in September 2021 and won the Dusty Cup in February 2022, spoke with McKenzie Mitchell after the show and reflected on their championship victory.
Julius Creed: "It feels good. In March 2020 he called me because he was at the NCAA Tournament and they canceled the NCAA Tournament on him because of COVID. What I told him as I was getting prepared for the Olympic Trials was, 'If the biggest things you can take away from the work that you put in are materialistic accolades that will sit in a trophy case and gather dust, then you're a failure as a person. That training went to waste. What's more important is the characteristics and attributes that develop through that hard work; doing things the right way, waking up at the right time, putting in the work, being diligent, living the right kind of lifestyle.' Long before we were ever NXT Tag Team Champions, we put the Champion work in and we've lived the Champion lifestyle. That's probably what we're most proud about coming out of this. Diamond Mine has hit a rough patch lately, but all families do. Families fight. We had a lot of fights growing up sharing bunk beds and sharing bedrooms. On our first trip to Florida, actually, he dropped my Rock action figure out the window of the van and we ended up fist-fighting in the backseat on that ride, and that was the first time we ever went to Florida. Now we're here in Florida, it's a lifelong dream come true, Diamond Mine's got some gold, and not only has The Diamond Mine Era continued but The Creed Era begins now."
Brutus Creed: "I'd like to say, growing up it was always a dream and a goal. We'd be playing with action figures down in the basement when we should have been cleaning the basement. All we could remember is how we wanted to be this one day. I remember calling him before the tryout and I said, 'Julius, I had a feeling that God touched me when I was playing with those action figures and he knew that we were going to be something when we came here.' I knew before the tryout that we were going to be something. I knew before we even got signed that we were going to be something. Now here we are, later on, and we have the gold. I can't even think about it right now, it hasn't hit me all the way that we hold the NXT Tag Team Championships right now. I just want to say thank you to everyone; family, friends, and God, especially. Without that, it wouldn't be possible."
EXCLUSIVE: The NEW #WWENXT Tag Team Champions @BrutusCreedwwe and @JuliusCreedWWE have ascended higher in the tag team division through all the sacrifice, as they welcome this emotional victory with arms wide open.#NXTIYH pic.twitter.com/5fL3l3MBg2
— WWE (@WWE) June 5, 2022
If you missed NXT In Your House, you can catch up by checking out Fightful's live coverage and post-show review.
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