The Creed Brothers Address ‘Crazy’ Life as Traveling WWE Superstars
Q&A
Ever since the Creed Brothers came from NXT last year to WWE Raw, they’ve put the tag team division on notice. The explosive duo Julius and Brutus Creed made an impressive transition from collegiate amateur wrestling. Over the last few years, the former members of Diamond Mine dominated NXT division, winning the tag team titles, the Men’s Dusty Rhodes Tag Team Classic, and being named “Tag Team of the Year” through the brand’s year-end awards.
It was no surprise when they got the call up to Monday nights along with their equally impressive partner Ivy Nile. Together they’ve taken on new challenges and already found themselves in high-profile championship matches. We caught up with emerging talents Julius and Brutus as they opened up about adjusting to life as a traveling WWE superstar.
Julius Creed
WWE
What have the last few months been like?
Julius Creed: Hectic. It has been a crazy way of life for the last couple of months, but I always say I’d rather be busy than bored. You can’t complain about a full plate when your goal is to eat. It has been a whirlwind recently, but man, it has been fun.
There was a point where you were called up to Raw but still worked NXT. Did that ease your transition to the main roster?
Julus: I don’t think we worry about that. We kind of went into the deep end a little bit a few weeks ago with the gauntlet right out fo the gate on live TV. We were thrown into it on NXT and on Raw. The way things are you just have to worry about just putting the left foot after the right foot and keep going. You want to keep progressing and keep getting better.
There are times in WWE history when tag team wrestling isn’t the focus. It seems now there is a little bit more attention. How does it feel to be a part of this new era?
Funny how things tend to trickle up and down between WWE and NXT and vice versa. When we first started as tag guys on TV, Brutus debuted five months into his career. That doesn’t happen all the time. We went on TV and said, “Man, tag teams aren’t getting showcased as much as we think they should.” Whether that was true or not, it’s up for interpretation. We wanted to be so undeniably good as a unit they don’t have a choice and had to use us. Over time as we got better, opportunity arose. The same thing happens when you think of the New Day and the Usos, everyone paving the way. These teams deliver every time they go out, so it creates a great opportunity and that’s why you see more tag teams showcased. We’re going to take advantage of it by going all out.
What is the best piece of advice you’ve been given so far?
That’s a hard one. Fit Finlay told me once that they are going to hand you a coloring book and some crayons. If you color that picture real pretty, you’re going to be very successful at this. He said if you take a Sharpie and draw that picture nobody else can draw, that’s when you get remembered. That’s what I’m here to do. I’m not here to just do a good job. I want to be remembered. I want to do things nobody has ever done before and leave an impression. The other thing I was told is to be patient. It’s a sprint, not a marathon. Shawn Michaels told me that, but you get done with the marathon a lot faster if you sprint it. I’m going to try to sprint the marathon.
How has it been having Brutus and Ivy Nile by your side through this experience?
Exhausting. I’m worn out by both of them. They give me gray hair, and I don’t have too much hair. Seriously, it’s rewarding. The greatest moments in life are when you can share them with someone you love, and the people you’ve had to go through hard times with. There have been ups and downs. Ivy and I are pretty mellow. Brutus is all over the place. He creates some chaos. It’s an interesting dynamic. I sent him a text last Monday night after we had a debriefing in the car about what we had to improve on. It was a tough love conversation. We need to raise our game and lick our wounds after a tough talk. At the same time, we say we love each other. There is nobody else I would want to do this with. One is blood family and the other has become family.
What’s road life been like for you?
It has been hard. At the same time, I for one traveled a lot for amateur wrestling. I’ve been overseas, had to cut weight and everything. I’ve been through having to maintain a diet in different time zones. For me, I’m mellow and do it. My brother and Ivy I don’t think have traveled a whole lot. That’s an adjustment. Ivy is a super disciplined person, so she keeps us on the straight and narrow in terms of food and getting our workouts in. We may have gotten in at 4 a.m., Ivy will be like, “Let’s go. It’s 10 a.m., and there is a gym to get our workout in.” It’s good. We balance each other out.
How has it been making the transition to being this public figure?
I’m renovating my house right now. I was at Home Depot shopping and picking up materials. I almost bumped into someone. They kept following me around. I thought they had a conflict or issue with me because maybe my cart bumped into theirs once. I finally almost had enough and was going to say, “Dude, we good?” I’m glad I didn’t get to that point because he peaks around the corner and asks, “ Hey, are you Julius Creed?” I say, “Yes, I am.” That disarmed me at the time. I thought the dude was going to fight me at Home Depot. Turns out it was someone who knew me from TV.
Anything you like to watch on tour?
I stay on nonfiction, especially movies based on real-life events. I feel like if I can watch something with entertainment value and learn in the process, it’s not wasted time. If a show has enough pop-culture references, it can help you better interact with people. I go back and watch WWE documentaries and study the greats who did this before.
Brutus Creed
WWE
How have you been processing being a WWE superstar?
Brutus Creed: It’s surreal. I’ve grown up watching all this, so to be part of it is crazy. It’s all sentimental to me, so now that I can do it myself, I’m beyond excited.
Your team has been compared to the likes of the Steiner Brothers. How do you take that in?
It means a lot because they are a Hall of Fame tag team. I think that a lot of people like to relate us to certain tag teams, but in the grand scheme of things we do things that people haven’t seen before. When you see stuff for the first time, you may want to relate it to other things. I take the compliment. Rick is the dog-faced gremlin, and I have the animal crawl with my gorilla stuff. I love it.
When you started on Raw, you were thrown right into the fire. Any added nerves?
I get nervous any time I go out there. I used to puke before every matches in college. So I’m just used to nerves at this point. And if I can turn them into something good, which I know how to do now, I should be fine. My brother and I are nervous when we go out there. We may be leaning into a trashcan. I’m patting him on the back. Then when our music hits, we know it’s time to go out there and do our best.
Who has been the most helpful in getting acquainted in the locker room?
I feel Cody Rhodes is a good leader, but everyone has been very helpful. Xavier Woods and Kofi Kingston, we bond over video games. Alpha Academy, we relate with amateur wrestling. We relate to different things. It has been great getting to know these people.
What was the biggest challenge going from amateur to pro wrestling?
It’s character development and learning to get comfortable in front of audiences as characters. You ask yourself, “Who I truly am?” In amateur wrestling you get tired, you don’t want to show your opponent you’re tired. Same if you’re hurt. Here you want to show emotion, and who you really are. Now I’m opening up and being who I want to be. It’s a large transition, but how I want to be.
WWE Raw, Mondays, 8/7c, USA Network
WWE NXT, Wednesdays, 8/7c, USA Network
WWE SmackDown, Fridays, 8/7c, Fox
