WWE star and former two-time NXT champion Karrion Kross recently joined Peter Rosenberg for a conversation about all things pro-wrestling, including his thoughts on getting to work with lucha-libre legend Rey Mysterio, and how his story with Drew McIntyre is not yet complete. Highlights from the interview can be found below.
On his feud with Drew McIntyre and why fans should wait to see how the story plays out:
Drew [McIntyre] was one of the first people who actually called me when I got released and we had a conversation and he had basically told me, he was like, ‘I know how good you are, you know how good you are, the fans know how good you are. Go out there and shove this up their ass and make them call you back.’ That’s what he told me on the phone and so, the irony of that — no one even knowing that. I never told anyone that until now I think. Coming back and him walking onto the bus they were hiding us in. I gave him big hug. I was just like, ‘Here we are.’ We just laughed. He was like, ‘That was quick.’ So, working with him, I mean I would work with Drew McIntyre seven days a week. He has such an excellent ear for the audience, live when we’re out there, just as a worker. He can feel where the crowd’s going before they’re even there. I don’t know if that’s gonna translate to people who don’t wrestle but, he understands his audience. He’s one of the hardest working people I’ve ever met and I would probably say one of the toughest too. I think you could probably hit him or Sheamus with anything and they’d still be alive; like a car or an asteroid. So, it’s been a blast and I will tell you and for any fans listening, that story is not done. You just have to wait and see how it plays out.
On getting to work with Rey Mysterio and what it means for the lucha-libre legend’s legacy:
Over the moon, over the moon [excited to work with Rey Mysterio]. So, there was like three luchadors that I had on my list — four actually. For many years, a lot of people don’t know but I spent half of my career in Mexico in lucha libre. I was in AAA working in major cities, major television programs… So, I’m a very big lucha libre fan, I understand it, I speak the language and it was Dr. Wagner, wanted to work with Pentagon, Fenix and I wanted to work with Rey and getting Rey, checking that name off the list for all these years has been very difficult [Kross smiled] and it seems like it’s gonna happen right now. I remember the first time I actually saw Rey was against Juvie in ECW. I wanna say ‘96 but I have terrible memory. It could have been before that… Remember the powerbomb on the car outside? It was unbelievable, it was hardcore lucha libre so, I’m very, very excited about this. I’m getting ready to give people something unique and interesting to Rey’s total, overall story arc that they haven’t seen yet before. I’m gonna get into some really interesting things if permitted to and I think I will be. I think we’re collaboratively and creatively ready to embrace that process and so far, it’s been that way since I got back and I’ve been very, very happy.
(H/T and transcribed by Post Wrestling)
