Karrion Kross On NXT TakeOver, Rumors Of debuting In SmackDown Or RAW, Name Change, Scarlett & More

Karrion Kross recently did an interview with Newsweek where he talked about several topics, including his big win on NXT TakeOver, rumors of him debuting in SmackDown or RAW, name change, working with Scarlett, being a fan of NXT, and so much more

Check out the highlights below.

Karrion Kross on how he feels after his win on Sunday:

“Feeling very good. The reason for that is the people feel very good about what they watched and that’s always the endgame.”

Karrion Kross on his first NXT Takeover match:

“I feel great. This was an honorary privilege to have an opportunity to contribute to the legacy of Takeovers. These shows are the best shows on the planet. And having an ability to take part in it. I’ve always wanted to be a part of it.”

Karrion Kross on if he was an NXT fan:

“Always. I don’t deny that I study everything. Stuff from the 70s, 80s, 90s, current I watch it all. I enjoy the process of assessing, analyzing it and even as a professional I still think it’s very wise to allow the fan in you to continue to remain alive. The professional always has to come first, but the fan in you allows you to relate to what people are watching. If the fan in you dies, as a professional, you’ll never understand what [the fans] want or what they’re seeing.”

Karrion Kross on rumors that he was going to go straight to Smackdown or Raw:

“I heard all that. That sort of situation was….I don’t really know how to answer it. I submitted myself to the process of whatever WWE wants to do with me. I’m going to trust this process. So whatever direction they were going to point me in I was going to go full speed. And, respectfully, I had no specific desire to go in one direction or another because I was going to trust the process.”

Karrion Kross on being prepared for his name change:

“I anticipate anything and everything changing on a daily basis. Which may be why I’m crazy. Maybe that’s why? It could be all the black coffee, who knows, but in all seriousness I was ready for that to happen. I’m not blind to the reality of sponsorships and endorsements and stuff. And I don’t mind the challenge of change. I enjoy that. That’s life. You can’t grow without change. I was ready in the event that ‘killer’ had to go out of the window to adapt and expand on the character. There was another guy before ‘killer’ and his name was Kevin, and I expanded on that as well. The way I feel about the character presentation is that this is the same guy that everyone’s gotten except we expanded on it. I really kind of lean on that word very much because this is still the same thing, character wise. With the exception that it’s bigger than ever and more mythological than ever. This is a better version.”

Karrion Kross on his debut entrance:

“That definitely was a collaborative effort. And I would definitely want to take the time to acknowledge the people and departments that never get mentioned in these conversations. That is the family itself creating that from A-Z. From the lights, all of the production technicians, all the cameramen, agents everyone involved was really on that. This was a massive collaborative effort that I and Scarlett were a part of for the people at home.”

Karrion Kross on his NXT debut not being in front of a crowd:

“Yes and no. Of course when the time is right I can’t wait to get back to being able to work in front of people again. However, there is a level of gratitude that won’t ever be able to verbalize to make it here. And no one realizes how many of us [wrestlers] there are in the world. There are thousands and thousands of people just alone in the US that want to be here doing this and I’m among them. And I’m here doing it. I will take any opportunity, that was my state of mind. I will take any opportunity to be on that stage, be seen and to contribute. That’s where I come from in terms of exercising the perspective on that subject. I’m happy with the whole process and I’m really comfortable in these shoes and there’s challenges that need to be met every single day.”

Karrion Kross on comparisons to Brock Lesnar and his 2014 match with John Cena:

“In a situation like that, my own perspective on what we did, I think they are less important than what the fans’ have. It’s important to listen to them and listen to what they are saying because they are who we are catering to and all the comparisons I found very flattering and complimentary. I was personally flattered especially if you’re going to be compared to the greatest people in the business. It’s not a bad thing.”

Karrion Kross on working with his girlfriend Scarlett in NXT:

“Her and I are in a relationship together, but more importantly than the novelty of working together we both believe that we have something totally different to offer as a presentation. To be entirely honest with you, that’s the reason we wanted to work together. We are both completely confident in being able to have potentially separate careers and being able to carry on our own. But we genuinely felt that we were able to showcase something different to the WWE universe that hasn’t been done before. Of course there’s been valets and managers, tag team duos where one goes single and the other is supporting in the corner. This idea that we’ve been camping on, we’ve been working on for a very long time. Sort out how it could work, come up with different scenarios, visualize different things, visualize different areas of growth, what it can be, where it can go and we both committed to it. We can definitely pull off this operation and figure out the right way to explain this in a business format how and why it could work. This can be a great idea and different and we were met with enthusiasm and now you guys got it. And we’re happy we’re able to do it.”

Karrion Kross on what to expect from them going forward:

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”