For the last two years, Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford have reigned together as the charismatically high-energy team known as The Street Profits. While the Profits have done a superb job of entertaining the NXT Universe, their dreams of NXT Tag Team Championship success have yet to come to fruition. Recently, Dawkins & Ford have vocalized their displeasure with having never received an opportunity at the coveted championship gold. This week, WWE.com caught up with the duo to talk about NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Experience, their growing bond and why now is the time to ascend to the next level.
WWE.COM: So guys, let’s get to the heart of the matter: Why do you feel you deserve an opportunity at the NXT Tag Team Championship?
ANGELO DAWKINS: It's time for Montez and myself to have a title opportunity because we have been battle-tested. We went through a slump and then we found a way to bounce back with a huge win to get us back on track.
MONTEZ FORD: It’s simple, we’ve never had one chance and it’s time. We — Angelo Dawkins & Montez Ford, The Street Profits — have never had an NXT Title opportunity. Never. We haven’t received one on NXT TV, TakeOver, never. After nearly two years of doing this, not one chance? We’ve seen so many people get multiple chances at the Tag Team Championship while we have not gotten any.
WWE.COM: You’re set to take on the NXT Tag Team Champions The Viking Experience next week on NXT television. What are your thoughts on the Experience making the jump to Monday Night Raw during this week’s Superstar Shakeup?
FORD: It’s all about who’s NXT/next … See what I did there? Who’s next to carry this NXT brand? That’s why everyone is so hungry in NXT, because everybody wants to be next. He want next. She want next. They want next. Everybody want next. But truth is, we got next. And nobody is more poised to be next than The Street Profits.
WWE.COM: How have you both developed and grown as a tag team in the last two years?
DAWKINS: For us to grow, we had to step outside of our comfort zone, which meant step outside the WWE Performance Center, NXT and step into the independent scene. We took our talents to EVOLVE and we started from scratch. Teams like The Undisputed ERA and The Viking Experience all had experience on the indies and managed to turn that experience into success pretty quickly in NXT. We realized we were lacking that experience. We went to EVOLVE, started to make our mark and won their Tag Team Titles. We proudly defended those titles against their best teams and in doing so, we learned different styles that allowed us to expand our arsenal. Through that process of having to grind, we became even more in-tune to who we really are and that was when we knew we were taking that big step towards success.
FORD: Our track record speaks for itself. Angelo Dawkins and I never had one match on the independent scene. We are both homegrown WWE NXT talents, we went to EVOLVE, were granted a tag team title opportunity and succeeded on the first attempt. No indies, first match together in the independent scene and we became Tag Team Champions. With that note, just know, if given the chance, it would be the same result in NXT.
WWE.COM: What makes your bond so strong?
FORD: Honesty. Dawkins is honest with me and I’m honest with him. We go at it all the time, but what two brothers don’t? People get confused because they will see us going at it and think it’s hate or bickering, but that’s our brotherhood. I can be bluntly honest with him and go at it, but the moment that someone else tries to intervene and says something negative about him or me, we stop them. Why? ’Cause they don’t know us that well to be saying something about one of us. We know each other well enough, but not just anybody can be coming at him/us like that. That’s brotherhood. [Both smile] And of course, we’re both trying to be paid. Mama need a house, baby need some shoes and my spouse? Come on, man...
WWE.COM: What can we expect to see from that brotherhood when you both face The Viking Experience next week on NXT?
DAWKINS: The NXT Universe can expect The Street Profits to be in full attack mode and to show we aren't scared of The Viking Experience. We are gonna punch them in the mouth right off the jump, and they better not overlook us or they’re gonna find out the smoke is real.