WWE NXT star Karrion Kross was interviewed by The Gorilla Position podcast this week. Kross discussed WWE creative, The Undertaker, wanting a match with Brock Lesnar and more.
Here are some highlights:
Has being on NXT matched your expectations?: “It has exceeded my expectations in terms of flexibility and creativity.”
When did you realize this is what you want to be doing with your life?: “I think this has always been my passion. One of the first memories I have, at all, is Ultimate Warrior beating Hulk Hogan. I remember seeing that as a little kid and I always gravitate back to that as an interest that I wanted to do.”
About your ring entrance, how much was that you and how much was that HHH and the team?: I would say that was collaborative. I don’t think we would have been able to create that sort of entrance anywhere else. I think that the lighting people are to thank, The graphics people are to thank as well as all the producers and agents. Scarlett and I were involved with the entire process all the way from beginning to end which we loved. We never shied away from any hard work or being accountable for anything creatively that we are doing. We like that style. We like the on the ground level creating that type of stuff and we were part of the whole process. We felt we were on to something right off the bat.”
Since arriving in NXT, has there been someone who has taken you under their wing and helped you along the way? “Yes.” Who is that person?: “I’m not going to say.” Why? “I will admit that I am very old fashioned. This is the way I came up. These are the people I came up around and I try to preserve that. Not to be difficult, but I think there is a time and place for all things to be revealed on that front and I think everyone will appreciate that I didn’t let the whole story out.”
There seems to be a general feeling among fans that talents who have an incredible run in NXT are then, in a lot of cases anyway, not then used to their full potential on the main roster. What are your thoughts on this and is this discussed backstage at NXT?: “I can tell you Scarlett and I are very happy at NXT. We feel like all the things we personally wanted to do, we are doing. Aside from that, my personal interest professionally, we are checking all the boxes. What we need to contribute in terms of character presentation I see we are able to do there and there’s no issues. Not to say there would be issues anywhere else. We are enjoying this entire process so we don’t necessarily focus on what’s going on anywhere else. We are given a direction to go in and then we create. That’s pretty much what we focus on. With the time allotted, we want to engage the viewer as much as humanly possible and that’s where our focus is generally at.”
Who would you have your eyes on for a big WrestleMania match: “You said WrestleMania? I would say Brock Lesner. The measuring stick, it depends on the context. The way you would draw up what the measuring stick looks like might be different than the way someone else does, right? For me, the measuring stick would essentially be who can draw the most into a building and who can draw the most attention. I think that he is a guy that transcended sports entertainment. He is in mainstream entertainment. I think that figures like that in our business are pretty important. We always need new fans. We always want to create new fans. I think there are people who can engage the hardcore fans nonstop, easily, no problem, the purists I guess you can say. Then there are people that have a mainstream entertainment appeal. I respectfully don’t know, in my opinion, if he would be the measuring stick as much as The Rock would be the measuring stick. I say that because in terms of generating attention and interest, I think he is the highest paid actor in Hollywood. He came from here. If someone wants to emulate the absolute most success they can find in this business, I would say The Rock is the guy.”
If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit Gorilla Position podcast with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription
