WWE NXT star Cezar Bonini recently spoke with WWE.com and below are some interview highlights:

On winning the Future Star of NXT Award in 2017:

CEZAR BONONI: Winning the award felt really good. I still have a lot of goals, but one was to be recognized with an award like that. I did not expect it to happen so fast, but it was great. I’ve got to say this: When I saw that I was one of the nominees, I knew that I could count on Brazilian fans. I knew already that I was going to win, because this is not just an award for me, it’s an award for my whole country. The fans in Brazil want so badly to be represented in WWE, just like I dreamt to be represented in WWE when I was a kid.

On how difficult it was getting recognized by WWE:

BONONI: Yeah, it was really hard. We still struggle with that a lot in Brazil. The Brazilians … they don’t all understand wrestling. I was playing football for the Brazilian national team at the time, and then I got a call from the teacher at the wrestling school. He told me WWE was looking for Brazilians and that I had the size, experience and athleticism they were looking for.

[WWE] invited me back to be part of a show that William Regal was to attend. Just to see Regal over there was a great experience. Then, he invited me for a tryout, andI went. I couldn’t believe I was in the WWE Performance Center! After that, I got the email saying I was approved. What a good feeling and an honor it was.

On representing Brazil in WWE and the pressure to succeed:

BONONI: One thing that I learned is the higher [up]you [move], the more pressure there is to keep improving. That’s true when it comes to representing a whole country, and a big country at that, in Brazil. I was just like the fans in Brazil that have always wanted to be represented in WWE. Being able to represent them gives me a proud feeling, but it’s also easy because I understand exactly what they want. I know how they feel. Any time things get hard and I don’t know exactly what to do, I remind myself of the little kids in Brazil who feel the same way I felt when I was a teenager. That helps me keep on track.