San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Kross is ‘ready to make history’
Wrestler hopes to win the Royal Rumble, make the most out of his second chance
The last time Karrion Kross wrestled in San Antonio, he defeated WWE legend Jeff Hardy.
But he wasn't happy about it.
His character wasn't working. The entire package wasn't working. It had gone through too many changes since he was promoted to WWE Raw from NXT.
Less than a month later, on Nov. 21, 2021, the WWE released him.
“It's funny how things work. It served a greater purpose for me to become a mentally healthier person,” Kross said. “I had to live through something where I had to make a very, very big change and adapt very quickly. … You know when you go through something that's very difficult in life, you're going to see whether you can get through it or not. And we did very well.”
Kross, whose real name is Kevin Kesar, and his wife and wrestling valet, Scarlett, picked and chose his bookings. Scarlett, who real name is Elizabeth Chihaia, headlined a local San Antonio show tagged with her nickname, RCW Smokeshow.
Still, they chose not to sign with other promotions. Instead, they stayed true to what they believed — Kross could be WWE champion one day.
That will become a lot more likely if he can win the WWE Royal Rumble — a modified 30-person battle royal in which the participants enter at timed intervals instead of all beginning in the ring — on Saturday at the Alamodome.
“Everybody's time is ticking in the Royal Rumble,” Kross said. “I cannot wait for this. I have been in so many different types of battle royal matches, but none of them can compare whatsoever. This is a whole other animal. To me, especially growing up watching WWE as a fan, and now as a professional, the Royal Rumble is just as important to me as WrestleMania. This is a careerchanging event. This can set somebody up to be a part of history forever.”
Kross re-debuted on Smackdown in August, taking down former WWE champion Drew McIntyre in dramatic fashion.
“We had no idea what we were doing until about like, four or five o'clock,” Kross said. “When Hunter (WWE chief content officer Triple H) told us, ‘You're going to drop Drew by yourself.' I was shocked. Almost nobody beats up Drew McIntyre by themselves — usually they do it in packs. You know what I mean? That's where he's at. I went, ‘Oh, wow.' And then he told us ‘You're gonna drop an hourglass in front of Roman (Reigns).' And I went, ‘Holy cow.' So, I knew we were off to a very good start.”
Only two days before that, Kross had received a call from Triple H, inviting him back to the WWE.
“He called us up and he said, ‘Do you want to come home?' And I responded, ‘Well, like, yeah.' And then he was like, ‘All right. Here is my next question. Can you be here in a day and a half ?' And my wife and I were like, ‘That's pretty fast,' ” Kross said. “We had our lives planned out. People don't know this, but we were thinking about having a kid and starting a family. But we just kind of gave each other a look and were like, ‘Yeah, we can do that.' ”
It helped that Triple H, told them they would be using the characters and the elaborate entrance they all developed together in NXT.
“When we were putting this together ... I had written the characters (Scarlett and Karrion Kross) so that they operate together. I've always seen Kross as animalistic and without a particular direction,” he said. “But Scarlett provides a direction to where he's supposed to put his energy. Without her, he would attack anyone and everyone, because he is addicted to chaos and can't find his own way without this esoteric, mystical woman who is pulling a tarot card to let him know who to fight and the time to do it.”
In the five months since, Kross has feuded with McIntyre, Madcap Moss and now, Rey Mysterio. Still, he said he is taking everything day by day.
“I didn't have any expectations coming back on board because of how — to be honest, and I don't want to undermine anyone's intelligence — the way that the last run had went,” Kross said. “It was very unexpected, in a lot of different ways. But I had a really good feeling about coming back just by the way the conversations were going.”
Still, he said he knows plans change, especially after WWE co-CEO Stephanie McMahon announced her resignation from the company last week. Hours later, social media was inundated with unsubstantiated reports that the WWE was being sold to the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund.
Meanwhile, Vince McMahon returned to WWE's board of directors as the company's executive chairman.
McMahon had retired in August amid reports of a sexual misconduct scandal including $12 million in alleged hush money payments.
“It's in my news feeds, it's everywhere. It's inescapable at this point,” Kross said. “But the people that I have spoken to about it, like my personal friends in the business, no one's really concerned or afraid for their job. All of us are ready to adapt . ... I think everyone's just taking it day by day to see where everything lands, and we're all trying to remain optimistic.”
At the Rumble, Kross will get another opportunity to win a big match in San Antonio. This time, though, he will be doing it on his terms.
“This is my life. I know exactly what's going on. … I am genuinely very excited for the Rumble,” Kross said. “I know all about this. I'm ready to make history with this.”