Kendal Grey credits Julius Creed with opening door to WWE: ‘I thought he was joking’
Kendal Grey discussed how she got into wrestling during a recent interview with The Takedown on SI.com.
Grey will challenge Jacy Jayne for the NXT Women’s Championship at New Year’s Evil next week. The 24-year-old first signed an NIL deal with WWE in January 2023 while wrestling at Life University, where she won three straight NAIA national titles.
Prior to her collegiate career, she wrestled on the boys’ team at her high school, something her father encouraged her to do.
“I was always outside with my brother playing tackle football, two-hand touch, [and] manhunt with all his friends,” Grey said. “I always wanted to be like [my brother]. I always was the dirty little girl outside playing scooters, catching bugs. So, I felt like it was very natural for me to be around the guys. And so on the wrestling team, with the guys, I felt like one of the bros.”
Also during the interview, she mentioned that it was Julius Creed who encouraged her to consider WWE. The two were friends through wrestling, with Creed a two-time All-American at Duke University. Grey says that Creed contacted her after her second NAIA national title and mentioned WWE as a potential career path.
“We stayed in contact through wrestling… And I remember after my second national title, he reached out one day saying congrats. Then he was like, ‘After you’re done, WWE next?’ And I thought he was joking.”
Grey says that Creed put her in contact with WWE. She signed an NIL deal with the company in January 2023, something she says may not have happened without Creed since WWE typically looks for athletes at NCAA schools rather than NAIA schools.
Grey continued:
“I do give credit to him because what I’ve noticed, not so much now, but with NIL sponsorships, they usually look for NCAA athletes and women’s wrestling wasn’t NCAA. And women’s wrestling, most people don’t even know it is a thing. So, I don’t even know if I would’ve had this opportunity if it wasn’t for him.”
“I just never knew that I could possibly be a WWE Superstar, but now that I am, I don’t wanna do anything else. This is a dream come true.”
Grey also discusses a potential main roster call-up, learning to cut promos, and more during the interview. The full interview is available at SI.com here.
Ian Carey is a writer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada, whose work has been featured in NOW Magazine, The Huffington Post, and more. A lifelong wrestling aficionado born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, he has covered the industry for a decade and a half. He joined the f4wonline.com team in 2019.