Karrion Kross had strived to become a WWE star from the moment he stepped foot in a wrestling ring. So it was a heart-breaking experience for him when he finally got the opportunity but it didn’t turn out the way he expected. Thankfully for Kross, things have changed very quickly. According to the former NXT champion, finally getting the chance to showcase his talent in WWE is pretty incredible.
Both Kross and Scarlett recently appeared on Corey Graves’ After The Bell podcast. Among other things they talked about their WWE release and return. When asked how he felt upon his comeback, Karrion Kross said that it’s hard to put in words:
“It’s really hard to find the words man. To want something so bad and then to have to accept that that’s not a reality anymore. Then to get a call one day out of the blue, and to be offered everything you were striving for. It’s pretty incredible.”
– Karrion Kross
Karrion Kross had a successful NXT career after signing with the company in February 2020. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t translate into a successful main roster run. Vince McMahon did not see potential in his NXT gimmick. Both him and Scarlett were released in November 2021 after a lackluster run on Raw.
Things have changed since then. He is one of the first people Triple H has brought back after taking over creative. Kross has not only gotten his old gimmick back but he has been presented as a monster since day 1.
Killer Kross (Karrion Kross) might be returning to the WWE soon.
According to Fightful Select, Kross has been someone discussed as a name that WWE is interested in bringing back. Many people believe that he will return, including one source who indicated they believed it was already in the company’s plans.
Kross had been rumored to make an appearance for ROH this past April at Supercard of Honor before the company was sold to AEW President Tony Khan. He was also contacted for an AEW booking that he passed on against Wardlow on an episode of Dynamite, which led to WH. Morrissey appeared and lost to the popular AEW star.
Triple H had booked Kross to be a top star in NXT as he won the NXT Title twice and got over with the fans for his presentation alongside Scarlett. Many fans thought he would be a top star on the main roster.
Kross was brought up to WWE Raw last year without any major creative plans for him, and without his wife. After being repackaged, he was released. Kross has worked Major League Wrestling and NJPW dates since his 2021 WWE release.
During a recent discussion with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston, Killer Kross talked about his feelings and emotions around competing on the pay-per-view centered around Ric Flair’s Last Match.
Ric Flair’s Last Match PPV
Killer Kross will compete against Harry Smith, the British Bulldog’s son, on the Ric Flair’s Last Match card. Ric Flair’s Last Match takes place on Sunday, July 31th at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN. This is just one of the live wrestling shows scheduled for Starrcast V during WWE SummerSlam weekend. However, it is set to headline the whole convention.
As of right now, the card is as follows:
Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs Jacob Faty
Rachael Ellering vs Deonna Purrazzo vs Jordynne Grace
Clark Connors vs Ren Narita
Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) vs Harry Smith
The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Rey Fenix vs Taurus vs Laredo Kid vs Bandido
The Von Erich (Marshall & Ross) vs The Briscoes
Kross Is Grateful
Killer Kross spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston prior to competing on the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Kross spoke about what it’s like to be a part of such a legendary event.
He said:
“It’s pretty crazy man. You know when you’re a kid, you grow up watching these people on TV and to you they’re like the TV people. There’s all these people that you can run into when you’re a little kid at the park or toy store or school or something like that. You never see people in the TV, and then suddenly you grow up and you’re on their last show. You’re not really sure if you’re in the TV or if they’re out of the TV.
So, it’s a really cool, surreal, type of thing. It’s very hard to put into words, but I am very flattered and grateful to be a part of this event. I’m looking forward to putting my best work forward as always.”
Is It Really Ric Flair’s Last Match?
Kross was then asked to speculate if he really believes that this will be Ric Flair’s last match or not.
“Yeah, I mean it’s hard to believe and I don’t know he’s going to have to figure out what that is [an off day], unless he’s known this whole time and he’s working us. I hope he does, I hope he does some sort of podcast or some sort of television series or something because I think that he would still be incredibly entertaining especially as a television figure or something like a reality show. If that’s too invasive for the guy or too labourus or too much work or just not his cup of tea I think him doing a podcast would be awesome just to hear perhaps some of the stories that he’s never told.
There’s no way he could have told all the stories of going up and down the roads with all these guys. So, I would be personally interested in listening to something like that or watching something like that. Something episodic would be cool, something of that nature,” the former two-time NXT Champion said.
If you would like to know how and when to watch this pay-per-view, or any of the other Starrcast V events, you can click here.
In an interview with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston, former WWE star Killer Kross, who wrestled as Karrion Kross for the promotion, opened up about an infamous segment between himself and Adam Cole that took place in June 2021.
The segment was set up to have Adam Cole, who is now in AEW, run down and tear apart Killer Kross in a worked shoot-style promo. Cole would later repeat statements similar on other WWE programming. At the time, Kross was the undefeated NXT Champion, but he didn’t even address Cole’s comments.
According to Kross, the whole segment was scripted by WWE and was intended to help get Cole where he needed to be for their upcoming matchup.
Kross On The Infamous Promo
Killer Kross spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston before competing on the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Kross spoke about how the segment came together and his reaction to all of the blowback.
The former two-time NXT Champion said (Edited for clarity):
“No. In his [Adam Cole’s} defense, because I’ve been asked this a lot, that was scripted. He was told to say that. It wasn’t him having a meltdown to be a d*ck. It wasn’t like that at all. He was told to say that.
This has become a very popular discussion amongst fans and stuff like that because our job is to make that stuff, it’s the intention. We’re told by producers and writers, ‘We want this to feel as real as possible so this is the direction we can go in.’ But, very much like you said, and a lot of people have said to me afterward, it seemed really counterproductive to have a fourth wall promo where only one guy was breaking the fourth wall. It’s like, it’s just one of those weird, weird days.
Some matches are constructed for one guy to get over, and that’s just the way it is. Then, sometimes, some promos are constructed for one guy to get over. At the time, I was told that they felt like he needed that, and I was not one to really fight anybody on that. I’ve always been very easy to deal with and get along with.
They put me on a course to just absolutely ruin everybody. So, the way I saw it at the time was like, ‘He’s gonna be doing the job for me at the end of the month on the pay-per-view. Everyone else has exchanged equity, their own equity, in putting me over for a year and a half. I think I can handle the promo where this is going to be happening.’
Functionally, as an investment, the construction of that promo did not make any sense at all. I thought it was weird that they wanted to go in that direction because– I’ve even said this previously before, it’s their money to get people to believe and invest in this type of thing. This is the time and energy they’re putting into character presentation and they kind of shot in the head, which I thought was just so unusual. It was very weird.
NXT Didn’t Want Kross To Rebuttal
Like, even Adam [Cole] was asking like, he’s like, ‘Are you okay with me saying all this to you?’ Yeah, of course, dude. He’s always been very cool. It was odd, and then there was like follow-up stuff the weeks after too. They kept writing the character into this place where they didn’t want me to rebuttal.
And I, prior to that promo and interview, I’d always have some flexibility to kind of like, ‘Here’s the endgame of the promo, you can say whatever you want. Whatever you think your character would say on the way there to get us from point A to B.’ They didn’t want that. And then after that, I kept getting chopped off in promos later on. They were just kind of, in a manner, putting me under in the promos, which I thought was weird. But also, in all fairness man, it’s not advantageous of the talent that’s going under to have me run them over for four weeks in promos and then for them to get killed clean on the match.
But, to your point, I think that there’s so many– in a universe full of fiction, an unlimited amount of possibilities, there are many different ways to make talents look strong and get over. I’ve always thought, me personally, it’s why I haven’t really practiced it, tearing a talent down and not letting them get anything back, and hoping they’re gonna keep their momentum and their equity in the eyes of the audience when they go over in the match is not the best way to do things. But again, I’m just a wrestler.”
Kross On The Online Reaction To The Promo
Kross went on to speak about the reaction online and how it’s influenced his career.
He said, “Yeah, it is unfortunate. It’s a weird twilight zone type of thing. I wanted to, until that angle was totally dead and gone, I wanted to protect the legitimacy of that [promo] even though it was kind of working against me. Like I even told Adam, when I see him at media events, ‘Don’t f*cking talk to anybody. Sorry. Like, don’t tell anybody.’ I’m not gonna tell anybody either. My friends are asking me about it. Only the people that I trust, I’ll let them know that it’s a work because the conflict and the heat is what’s going to create the interest in seeing the match.
It got very toxic, very negative, and very weird. That’s social media for you. Some people want to drum things up and make them. They want to put them in another context then they actually really are in. So, you just do the best you can with what you have.”
Ric Flair’s Last Match
Killer Kross will be competing against Harry Smith on the Ric Flair’s Last Match card. Ric Flair’s Last Match takes place on Sunday, July 31th at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN. This is just one of the live wrestling shows scheduled for Starrcast V during WWE SummerSlam weekend. However, it is set to headline the whole convention.
As of right now, the card is as follows:
Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs Jacob Faty
Rachael Ellering vs Deonna Purrazzo vs Jordynne Grace
Clark Connors vs Ren Narita
Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) vs Harry Smith
The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Rey Fenix vs Taurus vs Laredo Kid vs Bandido
The Von Erich (Marshall & Ross) vs The Briscoes
If you use the quotes above, please credit the original course with a h/t and link back to SEScoops for the transcription.
During a recent discussion with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston, Killer Kross talked about his experience being in the NXT locker room during the period where NXT and AEW went head to head.
Kross, NXT & Wednesday Night Wars
(Credit: WWE)
Killer Kross, as Karrion Kross, made his NXT debut in April of 2020 with Scarlett Bordeaux by his side. Later that year, at NXT TakeOver: XXX in August, he defeated Keith Lee to win the NXT Championship for the first time. The following day, WWE announced that Kross had suffered a separated shoulder during the match, and on the next episode of NXT, he vacated the title.
Kross would return in December 2020 by attacking Damian Priest. In April, Kross would defeat Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to win the NXT Championship for the second time. Kross only took one loss in NXT, and that was when he lost the NXT Championship to Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver 36 before moving up to Raw.
WWE’s NXT and AEW’s Dynamite went head to head in the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ from October 2, 2019, to April 7, 2021. They were both live on air at the same time, on different stations, competing for Nielsen ratings each week. Most weeks, AEW would win the battle for rankings. On April 13, 2021, NXT moved to Tuesday nights, ending the Wednesday Night Wars. During this time, Kross had 14 matches under the NXT banner.
Competition Between NXT & AEW Wrestlers
Killer Kross spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston prior to competing on the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Kross spoke about how the locker room viewed the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ and his perception of the discourse.
When Kross was asked if there were any feelings of being in competition with AEW between NXT Superstars, he initially responded:
“If there was little pockets of people that really thought that or felt that way, I wasn’t really engaging with them.”
When Steve Fall asked if that feeling of competition truly existed, Kross had more to say.
The former two-time NXT Champion said, “Probably. I don’t think anyone would’ve come to me with that though. The reason being is I’m pretty even keel. My focus is always on producing the best of the time that’s given to me for the show. So, to give an example, I was just most interested in being as entertaining as possible with the time that was given in the show, in the vignettes, and stuff like that. I would get with teams of people and I would just focus on that.
I do know that there are some people who focus way too much on what other people are being paid, and their quartelys, and what the demographics are, and stuff like that. At the end of the day, I hate to say it, it’s true though, as a wrestler, you can only be accountable for so much. So, if you’re going to concern yourself with details that are completely out of your control, you’re not going to enjoy this anymore. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen people drive themselves insane.
Kross: You’re Stressing Yourself Out Like You’re The Chairman of the Company
It’s like, ‘You don’t write your own stuff. You do what you’re told, you only had so many options for music; you only had so many options for your entrance. You don’t control who’s going over in your matches.’ The way people are reacting to the overall arch of this has very little to do with you and you’re stressing yourself out like you’re the chairman of the company. It’s like, if you just focus your energy on the things that you can control versus the things that you can’t, I think your work will come off better. That energy will be more enthusiastic, it’ll be better there.
I just see people dragging themselves over things that– they’re burning their own energy off in the wrong direction that’s not gonna provide a healthy return. That’s just always been something that’s been clear to me even before I got into wrestling. Just being careful what direction you’re putting your energy to. You always wanna make sure if you put your energy into something you get a healthy return. That doesn’t necessarily mean monetarily. Just means, do you feel good doing this? Are you gonna feel good about it afterward? If not, why are you doing it? If you can’t answer that question, don’t do it.”
Ric Flair’s Last Match
Killer Kross will be competing against Harry Smith, the son of the British Bulldog, on the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Ric Flair’s Last Match takes place on Sunday, July 31th at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN. This is just one of the live wrestling shows scheduled for Starrcast V during WWE SummerSlam weekend, but it is set to headline the whole convention.
As of right now, the card is as follows:
Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs Jacob Faty
Rachael Ellering vs Deonna Purrazzo vs Jordynne Grace
Clark Connors vs Ren Narita
Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) vs Harry Smith
The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Rey Fenix vs Taurus vs Laredo Kid vs Bandido
The Von Erich (Marshall & Ross) vs The Briscoes
If you use the quotes above, please credit the original course with a h/t and link back to SEScoops for the transcription.
Killer Kross has confirmed the reports about having talks with AEW owner Tony Khan earlier this year about a potential debut. The former NXT champion recently had an interview with Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast. He first claimed that he is open to working with anybody as long as he is genuinely interested.
Kross also confirmed the rumors of having discussed potential opportunities with Khan. He said he liked the AEW owner and mentioned how many people would have jumped on the opportunity:
“I like the guy. There’s a lot of people who upon getting that phone call would’ve just taken his money, and maybe they’re in a position where they absolutely have to.”
Though Killer Kross did not go into details of his talks with Tony Khan, claiming that “some conversations are meant to be private.” The former WWE star explained that the ideas he heard weren’t the best fit for him. He said that he is going to be honest when he feels that an idea is not suited for him.
While Kross did not reveal any details about their talks, reports that came out last month suggested that AEW did not want to bring in Scarlett Bordeaux with him. The heavyweight star felt that without his wife, his AEW debut would have been no different than how he was treated on WWE’s main roster.
Fightful is reporting that AEW initially wanted that spot to be for Killer Kross.
The report notes that the two sides couldn’t come to an agreement. It’s been said that Kross expressed concern over the creative direction.
His main issue was the feeling that debuting in the promotion without his wife, Scarlett Bordeaux, would’ve been no different than how he was treated on WWE’s main roster.
The report also mentions that the two sides are still open to doing business down the line.
Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux have gone on from having WWE contracts to working indie dates in less than a year. This change, however, has not affected their finances as you’d expect.
Bordeaux recently had an interview with WrestlingInc. Among other things, she discussed their finances and said that they are making the same amount of money as they were making on the main roster:
“Financially, I will just say it — we are making the same as a WWE main roster salary.”
– Scarlett Bordeaux
Scarlett Bordeaux continued by mentioning how they are much busier now than they were before. It’s because they have multiple ventures and have to make all their business decisions by themselves as well:
“We are actually busier now than we were before, 100 percent. We are answering more emails, dealing with contracts, dealing with contracts with television shows, movies.
With his Twitch, with my OnlyFans, we are nonstop busy and hustling. But we have 100 percent creative freedom and no rules whatsoever to what we are doing.”
Both Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux joined WWE in February 2020. They went on to have a successful NXT career with Kross winning the title twice during his stay.
Though the pair were broken up when they were called up to the main roster. After being in the creative limbo for months, both the stars were released in November last year.
Killer Kross has reflected on not making an appearance at ROH Supercard of Honor.
When ROH underwent a “reconceptualization” period, many were skeptical of the future of the promotion. The company announced it would be releasing all of its talent but was aiming for a return in the spring.
The wrestling world was turned upside down when AEW President Tony Khan announced he was purchasing ROH. This caught many off guard including someone who was trying to get Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux on the Supercard of Honor show.
Killer Kross On What Went Wrong
Killer Kross was expecting to be featured on the Supercard of Honor show before Tony Khan made the deal. This gave some the impression that Khan blocked Kross and Scarlett from appearing.
As it turns out, Kross may have simply been the victim of many moving parts. He told Wrestling Inc that the person who was trying to get him on the show lost his job due to the acquisition.
“I was like, ‘I don’t know how we’re going to keep this quiet,’ we were really pumped about this, it’s going to be awesome. She might be able to revisit some stuff from Ring Of Honor that she previously did,” he said. “We can do something new, so, all of these ideas are coming to light.
“Then it was announced on TV that Tony Khan had bought Ring Of Honor. So, I hit my correspondent back, and I was like, ‘what the f*ck is going on here?’
“He’s like, ‘I have no idea,’ and then a little bit of time went on, and then we began to find out through my other friends in the company, who didn’t even know. Because we were fading them too, not like we thought they’d maliciously stooge it off, we just didn’t want it to leak. We are very old school, we don’t tell anybody what is going on.
“So, what happened was everybody lost their jobs, or they were out of jobs. They didn’t have work anymore at Ring Of Honor.”
Kross said at that point, it wouldn’t have been right to keep asking the person about his appearance.
“At that point, on a humane level, there was no way I could continue talking to this person. I felt bad for that person on the phone. Like, here is this person that was offering us work, and then they’re not there anymore.
“My heart was broken for them, I was like, I don’t think this is something, just on a human level, that we should continue pursuing. I guess, that’s just basically what happened, it was kind of like sad actually. I felt bad, I didn’t pursue it beyond that.”
During the Supercard of Honor media scrum, Tony Khan dismissed the notion that he didn’t want Kross and Scarlett on the show. He insisted that the two weren’t booked when he took over ROH and that he actually likes them.
Former WWE Superstars Killer Kross (Kevin Kesar) and Scarlett Bordeaux (Elizabeth Chihaia) are now married.
The couple recently took a helicopter ride to a glacier in Alaska for their “very private” ceremony. Kross posted a video online recapping their magical event.
He provided the following note:
“Hello Everyone, Elizabeth and I have recently eloped- we’re married!
We flew to Alaska, hopped on a helicopter and flew to a glacier for a very private ceremony (then wrestled the next day, naturally).
We initially weren’t going to share this footage but after further discussing it; we’d actually like to do so and say thank you so much for all the support we get from you all.
Whether you’re a fan, friend or family- you have all participated in brining joy into our lives.
Sincerely, Kevin & Elizabeth“
The couple wrestled for WrestlePro Alaska in Anchorage on April 9th, so it seems the wedding took place April 8th. They announced their engagement back in September.
SEScoops extends our congratulations to Killer Kross and Scarlett!
Killer Kross is slated to make his New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut in less than a month as the promotion released a new vignette to hype his arrival.
The former WWE star will be working for the company on April 1st at Lonestar Shootout in Dallas, Texas. Kross issued a match challenge in the video and brought up Minoru Suzuki’s name so that could be a future match made.
While with WWE, he was pushed as a top star in NXT and became a two-time NXT Champion. Alongside real-life fiance and on-screen partner Scarlett Bordeaux, they immediately got over with their entrance.
However, while on the main roster, he treaded water due to booking. The company repackaged him a few different times including wearing a helmet during his entrance. WWE had been planning to repackage him again before he was let go last November.
Kross has competed for Warrior Wrestling, MLW, WrestlePro and Future Stars of Wrestling since becoming a free agent. Here’s the current lineup for Lonestar Shootout:
Ren Narita vs. Rocky Romero
David Finlay, Juice Robinson, Daniel Garcia & Kevin Knight vs. Máscara Dorada, Yuya Uemura, Karl Fredericks & Clark Connors
Brace yourselves MLW fans, a “major player” was teased and it was Killer Kross.
MLW was streaming its Fusion show for free on YouTube.
Just before Fusion got started, Court Bauer revealed a big talent would be taking the leap to MLW.
“Tonight on MLW Fusion a major player enters MLW. 8pm et streaming worldwide.”
During the show, a vignette was shown and it appeared to indeed be Killer Kross. MLW hadn’t stated that Kross was indeed the “major player” until later in the show.
MLW confirmed that Killer Kross will be making his return on Feb. 26. He’ll be in action inside the Grady Cole Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Speculation had run rampant on social media. Many believed that Killer Kross was the one stepping back into the world of MLW. Kross was released by WWE along with his fiancé Scarlett Bordeaux late last year.
The Triple H era of NXT has come to an end. However, the work he did with various talents during his time cannot be forgotten. One such talent who got the chance to work with the game is Killer Kross.
The now-former WWE star recently had an interview with CBS sport. Among other things, he detailed what it was like working with the former world champion and what kind of leader he is.
Kross claimed that Triple H is a natural leader. According to him, he is not someone who has to raise his voice or get angry to get people to listen to him:
“He was a person where I would come into work and he would be completely focused with each and every person he was working with. I never saw him play favorites. He never told you wanted to hear, he always told you what you needed to hear.”
Killer Kross then explained that both Triple H and Shawn Michaels are individuals who inspire people to be a better version of themselves at work. So much so that people wanted to perform better out of respect for them:
“I could tell you for sure as much as people wanted to perform in this business for the fans, they also wanted to perform out of respect for Hunter and Shawn [Michaels] because of how much time they would put into them and helping them improve
Kross later mentioned how people usually say that you should never meet your heroes. Though Triple H was someone who didn’t disappoint him. He actually exceeded expectations for the person you think he would be by seeing him on TV.
Killer Kross is now a free agent. He was one of nearly 20 people released by WWE on November 4th, 2022. His 90-day non-compete clause has expired, paving the way for whatever comes next.
To commemorate his freedom, Kross released a new vignette titled, Midnight. In the video, he makes a clear distinction between Killer Kross and Karrion Kross, the character he portrayed in WWE and NXT.
“When they called, they said, ‘We are releasing you.’ And how ironic, because they said that to the man who put me away. And at the same time they were releasing him, it was actually they who released me, which is exactly what I needed the entire time. And now, I have such sights to show you. Stay tuned. Tick-tock.”
Karrion Kross in WWE
Killer Kross joined WWE in February 2020. Over the next two years, he would wreak havoc on NXT, WWE’s developmental brand. He was booked as a maniacal killer and captured the NXT Championship on two separate occasions.
It seemed like Karrion Kross was destined for big things when he was called up to the main roster, but that was not the case. He made his WWE Raw debut on July 19th, 2021. Despite holding the NXT Championship at the time, he was pinned by Jeff Hardy in less than two minutes.
Kross officially joined the Raw brand a month later. His character received a complete overhaul, including a gladiator helmet and suspenders. His fiancée, Scarlett Bordeaux, was no longer part of his act. Kross didn’t do much on the Raw brand from there. He and Scarlett were both released a few months later.
In addition to Karrion Kross, other former WWE Superstars who are now free agents include Keith Lee, Nia Jax, Ember Moon, Scarlett Bordeaux and Eva Marie.
Killer Kross, formerly known as Karrion Kriss, is plotting his return to pro wrestling. He will become a free agent this week, when his WWE non-compete clause expires.
The former NXT Champion star took to Instagram to reflect on the last two years of his career. Kross says wrestling fans have motivated him over the past few years, but they might be disturbed by what comes next.
I will not return in peace
– Killer Kross
“Much on my mind as of late as I come to a close on this final period,” Kross said. “In short; man, this was an incredible chapter of my life. Nothing but gratitude for every second. Thank you to everyone who came for the ride, and thank you for letting me take you on one as well. 2020 to now has been a challenging period in human history. I hope I was able to cast some relief for people during these times. You all brought me to life everyday and motivated me to find the best version of myself for YOU. As for the future…what you see next may disturb you, as I will not return in peace.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/CZa8D9luAtz/
After making a name for himself by working for various promotions such as Impact Wrestling, Lucha Libre AAA, and Lucha Underground, Killer Kross joined WWE in late 2020.
As Karrion Kross, he rose up the ranks quickly in NXT. He won the NXT Championship twice. He was called up to the main roster last year only to be later released.
It’s been reported that AAA is interested in bringing in Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux.
A lot of people have criticized how Vince McMahon and company handled Killer Kross on the main roster. Though the former WWE star himself does not have anything bad to say about the boss. The former NXT champion recently appeared on Busted Open Radio where he discussed a number of things.
When asked if he had a relationship with McMahon, he claimed that the chairman always made himself available:
“Not necessarily, but he always made himself available to me, I would be able to knock on his door and go in and talk to him about anything.” said Killer Kross, “But the information that he had given me about what he wanted from me was usually at Gorilla, at the end of the matches.”
The former NXT star explained that the information he needed for his character was given to him by writers. According to him, Mr McMahon told him he was very happy with everything Kross was doing:
“He told me he was very happy with everything that I was doing.” revealed Killer Kross, “And in terms of bringing a character to life, aside from the outfit, I mean, I wasn’t really given much direction,”
The former Impact star later mentioned how he felt his presentation was amputated because his theme song was still sung by Scarlett but she wasn’t at his side. According to him, what went wrong with his character was that the presentation of it didn’t provide a lot of explanation of what was going on.
Former WWE NXT Champion Killer Kross/Karrion Kross recently discussed his plans post-WWE, with him wanting to round out his character and in-ring performance even more.
Speaking on the Wrassle Rap podcast, the former NXT and RAW Superstar revealed “I learned so much in my entire experience with that company, with NXT and the main roster.
“I feel like a more complete version of myself actually going through that entire experience. There were different challenges on the main roster than there were in NXT” Kross continued.
Killer Kross on Post-WWE
“One of them, and this might not translate to a lot of people but this is like, just having your times changed when you’re out there” Kross noted.
“And that happened pretty frequently. Having the confidence to go out there and perform live while the entire world is watching, and change things on the fly when somebody else’s life is completely in your hands. There’s just a lot going on” Kross revealed of his time on the main roster.
It is not yet confirmed where Kross will be appearing next, however, the chances of a return to IMPACT Wrestling is certainly not out of the question.
AEW is another potential option for the former NXT Superstar, but it is not known if All Elite and Tony Khan are interested in bringing him into the company.
Killer Kross didn’t exactly think he’d be a quick washout on the WWE main roster after being treated like gold in NXT.
Kross had been booked as an undefeated monster in NXT. He beat the likes of Keith Lee and Finn Balor on the brand and many felt he was destined for stardom on the main roster given his size.
Things didn’t pan out as WWE stripped away the things that made Kross special on NXT. Kross never walked out on Monday Night Raw with his wife, Scarlett Bordeaux, and his entrance was watered down.
With WWE taking things that made Kross special and giving him 90s-esque gladiator attire, the character took a big hit. Eventually, Kross and his wife were released.
Killer Kross Had Seen Better Days
During an appearance on Busted Open Radio, Killer Kross admitted that he felt WWE understood his worth far better when he was on NXT.
“It’s important to understand that the business of the night is not always exactly about you.
“That’s just the way it is and I thought that I was given basically a piece of business that night [main roster debut] that may have not exactly been about me without getting any more details than the fact that I was going under, and I was okay with that.
“People forget too, they gave me a death run where I killed everybody clean in NXT for over a year. I hadn’t even lost yet. So, to put somebody over for me personally, it’s not a big deal.
“Even on my debut, I was like, ‘You know what? This company’s been wonderful to me. Whatever they want I’ll do it, it’s no problem.’ That’s the place I was coming from.”
In hindsight, it’s easy to see why Kross was given his walking papers. WWE has gutted HHH’s version of NXT in favor of going back to the developmental route.
We’ve seen the likes of William Regal and Samoa Joe get released by WWE. Regal’s release, in particular, was eye-opening given how crucial he was to the NXT brand.
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After being bound to a WWE contract for almost 2 years, Killer Kross is on his way to becoming a free agent once again. Once his 90 days non-compete clause expires, he will be able to do whatever he wants. It appears that the former NXT star is not only interested in returning to wrestling but he will be dabbling his feet into other forms of entertainment as well.
The former NXT champion was asked what’s next for him during his recent interview on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. Replying to it, Kross claimed that being bound to a pre-determined script for so long has made him hungry to create new things:
“I realized that I like to create. I’ve been somewhat aware of this but I like to create things. I like to create music. I like to paint. I love professional wrestling. I love to create stories for people. I love to create stuff like short films.” said Killer Kross, “That’s something I like to do. So, anything within that field is probably gonna be of interest to me.
And how do I say this? Being bound to a script or the ideas of others and then being released from that, has really made me very hungry to create even more.” Kross continued, “So I’m feeling very motivated, very inspired, and very creative to express that. So wherever those opportunities may arise, whether it’s with music or television or movies, definitely going back to wrestling. I’m gonna be there. I’ll be very engaged.”
Killer Kross also talked about his lackluster main roster debut. He explained that the way he was brought up was a big red flag for him and he knew that it was only a matter of time before his release. You can check out his comments here.
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Killer Kross had the most unusual main roster debut for a former NXT champion. Not only did WWE not promote his arrival in advance but he also lost his first match after his official callup. According to the now-former WWE star, this was a big red flag for him and he knew that he was going to be released by the company sooner or later.
The former NXT star recently appeared on Insight with Chris Van Vliet. When asked if he had any idea that he was going to be released, Kross explained that his debut itself was a red flag for him. He knew that it was a sign of bad things to come:
“Yeah, I thought for sure I was getting released. Because I knew that the segments weren’t getting over. It was very obvious to me. A smart enough fan watching, being able to read between the lines, could see what was happening.” said Killer Kross, “I just knew it was gonna be a matter of time.
One of the big things for me and it might not be a big thing in general for other people to see, [was the] snap reaction of being debuted on the main show, without any sort of vignette or any sort of notice.” Kross continued, “It was just sort of out of nowhere. There was no next week he’s gonna be here or nothing. So I thought that was weird. It was intuitively a red flag. I thought that was unusual. And I thought that was a sign of bad things to come.”
In 2020, Killer Kross had the option to sign with either WWE or AEW. During the talk, he also revealed why he preferred to join the Vince McMahon-owned company than the one run by Tony Khan. You can check out his comments on the matter here.
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Killer Kross has given his reason for picking WWE over AEW.
Towards the end of 2019 going into 2020, Kross became the hottest free agent in pro wrestling. Reports surfaced claiming that WWE, AEW, and NJPW were all interested in signing Kross.
WWE ended up winning the sweepstakes and Kross put pen to paper in early 2020. Given his size and talent, many felt Kross was a shoo-in for a top spot on WWE’s main roster. Before 2021 could come to a close, Kross was out of a job.
Why Killer Kross Choose WWE Over AEW
(via WWE)
Chris Van Vliet got a chance to speak with Killer Kross, who had a simple explanation as to why he signed with WWE instead of AEW. It boils down to the childhood dream.
“Well, I feel like there’s a lot of people out there who are gonna relate to this and there’s a lot of people who are not gonna relate to this. But I wanna be honest with you.
“I was honest with you last time. I knew since I was a little kid when I was watching this on TV that I could be there and I could do this and perform at the highest level. I knew that since I was a little kid and little kids think they know everything.
“So, it’s hard for your parents and your family and your friends to really get behind statements and these ideas that you have as a child because they wanna steer you in the right direction. They don’t wanna burst your bubble but as time went on, nobody in my family was ever doing anything like this.
“… It just seemed like such a foreign idea to get involved with that but to me, it wasn’t. I’m telling you, man I felt something here as a kid that told me that I could do it. It was the first thing I ever watched was WWF/WWE and part of me always wanted to be there.”
Kross was released back in November and he’s currently waiting for his 90-day non-compete clause to wrap up. Kross is expected to be a free agent on Feb. 2, so he’ll be free to sign with any promotion that wants to scoop him up.
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Jon Moxley is one of the people who lives and breathes wrestling. His wrestling gimmick is just an extension of his real-life self. This point is only proved further by the story of his marriage. Mox’s wife Renee Paquette welcomed the duo of Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux on the most recent episode of her Oral Sessions podcast.
Scarlett first told the story of her engagement to Killer Kross in September this year. She recalled how both of them were having a bad day and there were no friends around. But Kross explained that together they could turn even the bad days into something special.
Naturally, the topic of their marriage was brought up and Renee asked about their preparation for it. Bordeaux revealed that they haven’t finalized anything but claimed that she would like to elope:
“I was on the road most of this month. I got to try on a couple dresses. I haven’t thought anything yet but I think I’d really like to elope. I want to go somewhere where there’s mountains. I was looking at Montana. I really just want close friends and family there because we’re talking about it and I’m like, ‘I don’t think a 100-person wedding or more people is for me. A lot of these people we might not even see in 10 years.’
I feel like I want [it] to be for us. I want to be surrounded by people who care about us. I just want to do it somewhere beautiful and have really good food. When we plan [it] it’s going to be maybe two or three weeks ahead. We’re just gonna call up our people and be like, ‘Alright, get on the flight. we’re going.'”
How Renee Paquette And Jon Moxley Got Married
Jon Moxley aka Dean Ambrose with Renee Paquette
In response, Renee Paquette told the story of her own marriage to Jon Moxley. The couple got married in an impromptu ceremony. It took place in the early hours of April 9, 2017, at their home in Las Vegas. They had hired a 24-hour pastor from yelp. Paquette revealed that they spent a total of $500 on the marriage:
“That’s the way to do it I feel. You spent so much money trying to cater things and get people somewhere and booking a venue and blah blah blah. It’s like you really just want it to be you guys. You want it to be nice and simple.
Jon and I got married for $500 which included the tip and that was it. We called it a day. I happen to have a white dress hanging in my closet. Same thing we were like, we had a weird bad day. I went up to bed and a bit of a mood. He comes storming up after me. [He was like] ‘We’re gonna get married right now.’ [I was like] ‘Okay, shit, here we go.'”
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Killer Kross was one of the victims of the lack of coordination between NXT and main roster officials. Many believed that he had all the tools for a successful career on Raw and his unique gimmick would help him stand out. Fans were outraged when he was repackaged upon his call-up. It was evident from his debut loss against Jeff Hardy that the main roster officials did not understand his character at all. The point was proven further when both Kross and Scarlett were released from their WWE contracts after a lackluster run in November.
However, even after the poor treatment on the main roster, the former NXT champion is not bitter about his WWE run as a whole. He talked about it during his most recent appearance on Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. Killer Kross mentioned that he got to learn a lot during his WWE tenure. He claimed that he would have gone through with it, if he had known how his run would pan out:
“This may shock a lot of people but like I said, I like to look at the glass half full. If someone had presented a crystal ball and said, ‘This is how your career is gonna go [in] WWE and by the end of it, this is what’s gonna happen. There is nothing you can do about it. Would you like to go? Or would you just say skip this period?’ I would honestly have gone. Because I learned so much. And I grew as a person and especially with what was going on in the world at that time like it served many purposes in a greater aspect of either mentally, physically, spiritually.”
Killer Kross On One Thing He Would Change About His Main Roster Run
Killer Kross
Killer Kross was asked about the one thing he would change about his WWE run. Replying to it, the former champion mentioned how fans were already fantasy booking the NXT version of his character against main roster stars. He explained that he would have kept the gimmick when he moved to the main roster:
“If I could have done something differently, I mean, very simply put, I would have attempted to maintain continuity at what we’re doing in NXT. And taken that to the main roster because fans were already fantasy booking us to be walking down the aisle of WrestleMania.
The fans were telling the company what they wanted to see. And so the matches were there. The tickets could have been sold. If we just listened to what people were telling them that they wanted. This would have been super easy in my opinion. If we could have done things differently, that’s what I would have done.”
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Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux were two of the more surprising releases in WWE this year. Kross had been built up as a huge star in NXT but when he hit the main roster, things changed. Scarlett was removed from his act, he was repackaged and given a helmet with no explanation. Then they were both just released.
Kross and Scarlett were guests recently on Oral Sessions with Renee Paquette. During the discussion, both Kross and Scarlett spoke about trading in creative freedom for financial stability when they signed with WWE. Kross says his intuition knew something was off after he first lost to Jeff Hardy on RAW, however. He noted that he was given no notice when their planned 10-minute match was cut short by 9.5 minutes.
“I do my entrance and get out there,” Kross said of his first match with Hardy. “The ref comes to me and goes, ‘Hey, your 10 minute match is down to 90 seconds.’ First time we’re working on television, we don’t really know each other in the ring, our rhythm, they come back from commercial and I’m trying not to laugh.”
Kross continued to say that he was worried about where things were going after that match.
“Part of this business is doing what you are told,” he continued. “My intuition was telling me that everything was off and felt wrong and I felt something bad coming four months before it happened, but everyone I talked to was like, ‘No, everyone loves you. There are no problems,’ but I felt it coming. I tried to, as professionally polite as I could, talk to people in the chain of command and be a good sport.”
Kross became further concerned when he was given an email regarding the repackaging of his character. He was given something of an updated “Demolition” style gimmick, complete with a helmet and all. Kross said he knew the look would not get over in 2021.
“I got an email with what it was supposed to look like,” Kross said of his repackaging. “Apparently, the music was supposed to change, the entrance was supposed to change, and it was supposed to be an enhanced version. When I saw the picture of it, I showed it to [Scarlett] and I just started laughing.”
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Scarlett would continue to say that despite what happened, they knew what they were getting into with WWE. They were trading in creative freedom for financial stability.
“We were also ready, when we signed up for WWE, we were trading creative freedom to finally be able to have a steady income,” she said.
We tried to take that perspective no matter what. ‘It’s not our money, no matter what, we’re going to make the best of whatever it is,'” Scarlett continued.
Former WWE Superstar Karrion Kross has a new project in the works.
WWE released Kross on November 4th. Despite excelling in WWE’s developmental system, the former NXT Champion floundered on the main roster due to lackluster booking.
Since his release, he’s back to using the name Killer Kross. He’s also been posting teaser videos on social media, as seen below.
Killer Kross’ New Project
Killer Kross (real name Kevin Kesar) has landed a leading role in an upcoming action film, according to Fightful. Production is scheduled to begin in early 2022.
As of this writing, no further details are available. However, an action movie seems to be a great fit for the 6-foot-4, 265-pounder.
Kross does have some acting experience. He previously co-starred in the 12-episode series, Before the Dark (2013-2014).
Scarlett Bordeaux Comments
Kross’ significant other, former WWE Superstar Scarlett, has confirmed that he’s landed a “really big” movie role.
During a recent appearance on The Asylum Facebook show, she said they’re both keeping busy with different projects.
“Kross just got a really big movie role. I’m [securing] photoshoots for magazines, stuff like that. So, we’re enjoying not being tied down anything right now.”
As for their future plans in wrestling, she added, “Anything’s on the table. Let’s put it that way.”
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