• Look Back In History
• Pmessages
• Quiz
• Stump The Staff
• Top Fifty
• Close

MLW’s Killer Kross appeals to the smart wrestling fan

Posted: Jan 29th 2026 By: Jay Reddick

Killer Kross has made a living by appealing to intelligent wrestling fans.

His persona in the ring during his 11-year career has often been menacing, but during an interview with the Orlando Sentinel this week, he spoke in paragraphs instead of sound bites. His most recent surge in popularity started last year when interviews on WWE programming started to break the fourth wall about his dissatisfaction, delighting some in-the-know fans who like to take a peek behind the curtain.

So when he says the fans of Major League Wrestling “really, really know and understand the art of what they’re watching” in the ring, it’s the ultimate compliment.

Kross will wrestle for MLW on Thursday night at the Osceola Heritage Park Events Center in Kissimmee as part of Battle Riot VIII.
Top Videos Riley Kugel Highlights vs. Arizona State






Kross has appeared for MLW on multiple occasions dating back to 2020, and he says he is impressed by the fans’ deep knowledge of the wrestlers, the storylines and wrestling psychology in general.

“The audience in MLW is super smartened up,” Kross said. “We can do more callbacks (of things that happened in the past). We don’t have to create much exposition to get them up to speed; we don’t have to treat them as if they have no idea what they’re watching. We can kind of get to the good stuff right away.”

That goes double in Central Florida, perhaps the busiest region with the “smartest” wrestling fans in the nation. Kross won the NXT championship twice in Orlando, in 2020 and 2021, and also worked here for Impact Wrestling, now TNA.

“I’ve had a lot of fans reach out to me on socials who watched me wrestle at NXT and then Impact,” Kross said. “There will be people coming to Battle Riot this week who watched me win the NXT title, and that’s pretty cool. It’s a gathering of fans coming to see a show (MLW) that they typically don’t have (live) access to. With the different promotions, we’re not switching universes, we’re just switching solar systems.”

In recent months, competing all over the world as an independent wrestler, his sharp commentaries have continued, along with well-produced videos on social media. He’s even written a memoir, “Life is Fighting” (under his real name, Kevin Robert Kesar), about his journey.

Kross, 40, said he first fell in love with wrestling while watching Hulk Hogan, Randy Savage and the Ultimate Warrior as a child, but when he first entered the ring to train, he was immediately enamored with performing for crowds.

“Everybody in this building (at a show), no one is talking about what’s going on outside this building,” Kross said. “They’re leaving their grievances at the door. People of different races and religions are there, but no one’s talking about it. Instead, they’re roaring together. They’re cheering together, booing together, laughing together. And I was like, man, there’s a capacity for something greater than just high spots of people landing on their heads here.”

And he knows how to draw crowds. In Kross’ most quoted WWE promo, he complained that being a “good soldier” and silently accepting his position in the wrestler hierarchy didn’t get him anywhere. So now, without limitations, he exploits his newfound freedom in his independent appearances.

“With the realities of television formatting, sometimes people are placed into positions with a very low ceiling to succeed,” Kross said. “If you’re trapped in that position long enough … the casual fan may think certain performers don’t have anything more to give. That’s very soul-crushing. So I have to remind them that there’s still that guy in there. To be where I’m at right now, to have the freedom to perform the way they didn’t even know I could, is really important.”
More info

Battle Riot VII, billed as MLW’s biggest show of the year, happens Thursday at 7 p.m. at Osceola Heritage Park. Tickets are available at MLWLive.com and at the door.