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Killer Kross addresses issues with IMPACT Wrestling, ready to go in 'separate directions'

Posted: Sep 11th 2019 By: Brian Fritz

Killer Kross is at an impasse with IMPACT Wrestling.

Just over a year ago, he made a big splash with the company debut, attacking Petey Williams on the June 14, 2018 edition of the “Impact” television show. The next year saw him as a featured part of their shows from working alongside then-champion Austin Aries and later going on to challenge Johnny Impact for the IMPACT world championship.

While Kross was becoming a breakout star for the company, problems grew behind the scenes between himself and management. In his words, promises were not kept and contractual issues lingered.

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Earlier this year, both Kross and his girlfriend Scarlett Bordeaux — who was also working for IMPACT Wrestling — decided it was time to move on and both asked for their release.

Bordeaux was released from her contract. Kross was not.

Another matter of concern came later in the summer when Kross was booked to face Eddie Edwards in a First Blood match at the July 7 Slammiversary XVII event. Kross was asked to blade – intentionally cut himself – during the match, something he felt was unsafe and was uncomfortable with. Instead, fake blood was used, but the situation added to the rocky relationship.

Kross has not been booked by IMPACT Wrestling since then and the two sides remain at a standstill. Now, the 34-year-old Kevin Kesar has decided to break his silence.

Sporting News recently spoke with Kross regarding his current relationship with the company, their ongoing differences, why he was not given his release, and what happened at Slammiversary.

Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

SPORTING NEWS: How would you describe your relationship right now with Impact Wrestling?

KILLER KROSS: Not good (laughs). It is not good at all.

SN: When did the issues begin?

KK: The issues began last year regarding merchandising.

SN: What was that issue?

KK: I've been advised not to go into the full detail of the issues, but I am hoping that they can be resolved as quickly as possible. It's something I've been working on for many months.

SN: Is that the only issue you have with the company right now? There has also been talk differences regarding about pay and your creative direction.

KK: I'm in a situation right now where I have to be very careful how I choose to address things. My hands are completely clean in all of this. I have been attempting to get clarification on things that were supposed to be given to me in a timely manner. Some of them have been ... I'm not even sure how to put it. It's so difficult to answer. It's very difficult to even discuss. I'm doing my absolutely best to remain civil and professional on the entire ordeal and it's extremely difficult. I'm really just looking to being treated fairly and I'm just looking to put my best work out there. There are now situations that are occurring where, basically, opportunities are being delayed and I guess, what the easiest way to put it, opportunities are being ... I apologize. It's really the first time I've talked about it. These things I'm attempting to pursue in my career, I'm being blocked from pursuing them for really ridiculous circumstances.

SN: You’ve worked for AAA and now they're partnering with Impact Wrestling on an upcoming show in New York City on September 15th. Are you going to be working on that show?

KK: Not anymore. I was given that date and information brought to my attention as per Ed Nordholm (Executive Vice President of Anthem Sports & Entertainment, IMPACT Wrestling’s parent company), I am now off that show.

SN: So, AAA booked you, but once Impact got involved in that show, you were told you would not be a part of that show.

KK: Yeah. That's how it was conveyed to me. Pretty unbelievable.

SN: Are you concerned with your relationship with AAA going forward since they now have a working relationship with Impact?

KK: No because I've spoken with the entire chain of command with AAA and it’s just an unfortunate situation and they're looking to continue a healthy working relationship together, which I really respect. They were my first true introduction to Lucha libre and I've been working with them for over three years now and the experiences they've provided me have been absolutely priceless. It's really actually changed my life and my career. This is just, in my opinion, a really gross circumstance that's occurred and I think it was pretty ill-mannered, respectfully.

SN: What have some of the people on the roster said to you regarding this situation you have going on with Impact?

KK: I don't want to put words in anyone's mouth or necessarily mention anyone's name, but the best way to put it would be they've expressed that they're pretty disgusted about how this situation is being dealt with and how I'm being treated. I've had full support from them the entire time which has been awesome. They know me personally and they know me professionally and I think anyone you could ever ask who's ever met me, talked with me, or worked with me will tell you that I've been a constant professional ever since I stepped foot into this industry. I've always followed through with everything that I said I was going to follow through with. That's not always reciprocated, unfortunately.

SN: You were on Petey Williams podcast in June and talked about when you signed your Impact deal last year, you learned that others were being paid better and you wanted to re-negotiate. Do you regret signing that deal?

KK: I don't regret signing the deal from last year despite all of this, to be honest with you, because I've met a lot of really wonderful people and I've been able to have a lot of great life experiences. I think sometimes you get the bad with the good and you get the good with the bad and I always try to remain optimistic that it will work out. There's a sense of gratitude that I can find in all things. Regarding the finding out about other people making more money and whatnot, I want everyone to make as much money as possible. I don't think there's such a thing as an overpaid person in this business. You get what you get. I was led to believe that these things were not available on any stretch of the imagination and a lot of personal things began occurring in my life where I was really no longer able to maintain being there under the circumstances I was under. I was told that a lot of things were going to happen that year that there was no follow through on. I tried to express that and I was initially interested in staying onboard. I wasn't trying to leave. I wasn't trying to hold anybody up or strong arm them. That's all, like, insane stuff that people are creating their own context about. That wasn't at all what was happening. In the process of all that, I was attempting to retrieve something that was owed to me by the company. I had been trying to retrieve that for an extended period of time and I was very cool about it and I was very professional about it. I got along with everyone and I tried to put my best foot forward and I think anyone who watches my work, you'd never know anything was wrong because I had a very small window to optimize my time to perform to the best of my ability for that company and I think everyone would tell you that I came with my working shoes every single time.

SN: There have been reports that you asked for your release earlier this year back in May. What were the reasons you were told why Impact was going to keep you?

KK: Because I was under contract. That's basically what they told me. They said that they were not going to be giving me my release and I thought that was ridiculous because literally in January, in front of the entire roster in Nashville, management stood in front of everyone and said 'If you are not able to be here or can no longer be here or don't want to be here, we don't want you here and we will part ways.' That's something that has been told to just about everyone in the company, even prior to me being there, and at that time, it still hadn't even crossed my mind. I was trying to improve my current situation and be on par and track with the things that were supposed to be done for me, essentially. So, they're just ... I guess you'd have to ask them. I wouldn't even be able to speak on their behalf because we're on two totally different pages, unfortunately.

SN: Why do you think they've let other people out of their contract, including Scarlett, but won’t do the same for you?

KK: It's hard for me to say. I don't want to say anything that's disparaging, but if people are looking into this and they're reading between the lines, I'm not telling anyone what to think and I'm not putting words in anyone's mouth and I'm not necessarily trying to paint any sort of picture. I'm more or less trying to navigate through this as easily as I possibly can. Just looking at it, what do people think? It's difficult for me to address.

SN: Were you surprised when you and Scarlett had your conversations with them and they said 'Scarlett, we're going to let you go, but Kross, you have to stay?'

KK: I wasn't surprised how quickly they let her go and it's not on my behalf to discuss that, but I wasn't surprised at all. The only thing I was surprised about was how they didn't make a stronger effort to keep her because she is an excellent performer, an excellent professional wrestler, and her viewership on videos for any company she works for, monetize greatly. She's a major asset to any company she works with. She loves this business and loves entertaining people. That whole situation will be a story to be heard one day, I'm sure. It's just not my story to tell.

SN: When you were going through all of this earlier this year, would you have been happy to stick around if you had gotten a raise or were you hellbent on getting a release?

KK: The issue necessarily wasn't even the raise. The issue was I was attempting to retrieve something that was supposed to be given to me. That's the only way I can really put it right now. There was something that was supposed to be given to me and I was attempting to retrieve it for numerous months and it was really frustrating. I don't know how else to say it. I think anyone in my circumstance would be just as frustrated or even more frustrated if I was able to discuss further detail about it. The raise would have helped. I had no intentions of leaving. I really enjoyed my time there outside of these issues which are now out in the open. I tried to keep a cool head and remain professional, even with these things being out there. I did my absolute best to communicate everything to everyone and I don't think they can say that I didn't.

SN: You said there's something they promised. If you get that along with a raise that was commensurate with other people, would that appease you or is it past the point of no return?

KK: I would address it as the best way to rectify this situation, in my opinion, is for both of us to go our separate ways peacefully because I think that's just where we're at. Everything that's happened up to this point, what's transpired and occurred, and I think even people on the roster would probably agree with me. Again, not to put words in their mouth, but I know for an absolute fact that I'm not alone in my observations and assessments of the situation at all, under any circumstance. That's all I'm looking to do. I'm just looking to working somewhere else. I have very good grounds to be able to do that.

SN: Do you believe they are in breach of your contract right now?

KK: Yes.

SN: There has been talk that you are going to sue Impact Wrestling. Do you plan on suing them?

KK: I've actually made it abundantly clear that I have not been interested in going into litigation. I'm not interested in going down that road. I've been trying for many, many, many months. I've been exhausting all options on how to fix this situation. There's an attorney involved and we're not suing anyone. I've been trying to avoid litigation as much as possible and, again, I have nothing to worry about in all of this. I really don't. I'm not on the wrong on any of this and I'm just trying to follow my lane here. I have everything on paper. As I said before, I'm not worried about anything at all. I've done nothing wrong — at all. I'm just trying to do the right thing and I wish I would be met with that as well because there's only one right thing to do here and it's not being done.

SN: Can you explain why they're in breach?

KK: I really can't. I've been advised not to but if this winds up going to court and people hear about it, I think they're going to be pretty appalled.

SN: You haven't done anything with them since July at Slammiversary. If they would have called to book you, would you have worked? Have they called you?

KK: They haven't called me for anything after Slammiversary in terms of bookings. Just because where we're at right now, it's so different from where we were then and where we were then was, in my opinion, I didn't feel good about it.

SN: When it comes to the Slammiversary match, there has been talk you upset the company because they wanted you to get color in the First Blood match with Eddie Edwards. What happened there?

KK: I want it to be understood that I absolutely love Eddie Edwards. I actually used to call him 'The Commander.' That was my nickname for him because I looked at him as the guy who set the standard for work ethic and passion and dedication in the company. He had been there for an extended period of time and had some of the best matches in the company's history and it was a great pleasure to work with him. Eddie and I had an idea for what we wanted to do that night and the company had a different idea. Eddie and I did the best we could with it. Obviously, there's a story out there and people are discussing it with the whole blood issue. I was pretty pissed about that.

SN: Speaking about that, there was concern about a recent spread of Hepatitis C on the independent scene around that time. Is that what you were concerned about?

KK: One-hundred percent and I brought that up that day. I talked about it with everyone that day. Some people knew about it, some people didn't. I was really blown away that they were so interested in going in that direction. Why did we have to do it like that? I just did not understand at all. I actually spoke with Tommy Dreamer and I told him I was absolutely not doing that. It's just infuriating.

SN: How much has that situation added to the other issues between yourself and the company?

KK: I have no idea because I'm out of communication. I have no idea, but I can probably take a wild guess that a lot of people are probably becoming angry with varying situations and circumstances. If people were happy, they wouldn't want to leave and I think I should just leave it at that. Sometimes it has absolutely nothing to do with money. It has to do with the way you're being spoken to and communication. It has a lot to do with that. There's been a very interesting history that people could look into and could draw a lot out of.

SN: Why do you think whoever it was with the company was so adamant about you getting color with a blade rather than finding something else to do if you were uncomfortable?

KK: I don't know and neither did Eddie. We really didn't understand that. Him and I had a totally different idea of what we wanted to do that night. They seemed to be very pressed on doing that match and I had expressed to them — as did Eddie, actually — that we had another idea in mind for that night and they seemed to be really driven to go in that direction.

SN: Was there any concern on your behalf when you were announced that match?

KK: Yeah. I was very concerned. I was like 'What the hell?' I was like 'Who's volunteering me for this? We need to have a discussion about this.'

SN: So, this conversation had been going on for a while regarding the match?

KK: A couple of weeks. I was expecting certain precautions to be taken leading into that and nothing was really formulating. It was an HIV or hepatitis or something, I don't recall exactly, but there was some sort of blood-born pathogen outbreak shortly before that. I've never been OK with people doing that. I never volunteered anyone to do that and I've never asked anyone to do that. I really haven't. If people want to do that, that's fine, but there's a series of steps that should be taken. This isn't the medieval times — we kind of need to grow up here. It's not about who's tough and who's willing to do this or do that. You're losing blood from an area in your head near your brain. This is no f— joke. There's complication that can occur with that and depending on someone's vitals, their diet that day, water, altitude, there's a lot of s— that could go wrong. I've very passionate about this subject. It's just frustrating. You'd think we'd be entering into things very differently. There was even one idea pitched that ... Eddie was supposed to be on apron and he was going to grab the cane and hit me directly in my f— face with the cane. That's a real cane — that's not a prop. I'm supposed to put my hands down and get clipped in my f— face? Come on, what are we doing here? I'm all about putting on the best show possible. I really am. But the best show possible doesn't have to entail, I don't know, possibly getting disfigured or contracting a disease. I don't think that needs to be part of the story.

SN: Right now, you can work on other independent shows, but cannot work for companies with television including WWE and AEW. Considering the current landscape in wrestling, how much are you looking forward to other opportunities once this is over?

KK: I'm really looking forward to it. I'm always attempting to cultivate a healthy, positive atmosphere wherever I go. I like to have a healthy and positive set of parameters in my life and I'm not someone who's interested in engaging in these types of situations and circumstances. I'm a very anti-drama type person. I would just like to be on the same page with everyone and I've been doing my absolute best to keep the peace on everything. In all sincerity, really, I'm just trying to do the right thing and I want everyone to move forward and be happy and we can all go in our separate directions doing our best work. It's really all I'm trying to do here.