Angelo Dawkins refuses to be disrespected.
The WWE star and multi-time tag champion spoke on this topic during a recent interview on the Masked Man Show with The Ringer, where he addresses the criticisms that he has received from the WWE Universe. The Street Profit passionately explains that he’s always wanted to let his longtime tag partner Montez Ford shine and that people’s judgments of his role in the group only lights a fire underneath him.
I got my brother’s back through and through. Low key, it’s not what they said about him, it’s what they said about me. Some of the things people say about me, I’m like, ‘Wait, I was just chilling in the background.’ I have no problem stepping off to the side and letting my boy shine. The talk about me was starting to get a little disrespectful and I was like, ‘Oh, these dudes really think….’ Montez even said it to me before, ‘This is fraudy.’ ‘We’re about to go show out then. They have a different Dawkins on their hands.’
Dawkins admits to never really wanting the spotlight as he’s found his comfort in being a tag team wrestler. However, he feels the negative chatter is forcing him to become a little bit more animated.
Now, everybody is seeing that I’m doing things that I shouldn’t be able to do with my size. They would have been better off shutting up about me, and maybe we wouldn’t be getting this Dawkins. Now, I’m a different guy. I’m a little more woken up. Montez is like, ‘Bro, I know you have my back, but sometimes you have to show these boys to stop talking disrespectful on your name.’ Tez and B [Bianca Belair] have done a great job of staying on me because I’m laid back and shy away from the spotlight because I never really felt like that was my strong suit. I like tag teams. I never consider myself in that realm, but the talk about me was starting to piss me off to the point where I was like, ‘Alright, bet. I didn’t even do anything, I was just supporting my brother, now everyone wants to call me this freaking scrub like I have no business being here.’ Hold up.
He ends his rant by saying he’s going to begin to show off and make sure everyone starts putting some respect on his name.
Now, we have to start putting respect on my name a little bit. They get on me about it, they call me too passive. Now, I’m about to come for what’s mine. That’s more of the respect side. If there is a singles opportunity where there is a championship on the line and I have to go out there and show off, I’m going to show off. Now, everyone knows I’m basically a hybrid. I can fly with the best and run through the biggest.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dawkins gives his thoughts on the new WWE title designs and whether he thinks the WWE tag team titles will be the next set of belts to get a new look. You can read about that here.
(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)