Killer Kross: MLW Isn’t Afraid To Pivot Towards What Fans Want
Killer Kross is happy that MLW listening to its fanbase resulted in a world title reign.
Kross won the MLW World Championship at Battle Riot VIII in Orlando. After the win, he spoke with WrestleZone’s Bill Pritchard about how it feels to be champion again. Kross feels “pretty damn good” about being champion, and although it was “his” moment, he was still focused on the overall show.
“Even beyond the audience and the people watching online, I really thought I was going to be more motivated by something centered on myself. Instead, even in that moment, I felt very motivated by trying to create the biggest moment I possibly could for everybody watching,” Killer Kross said. “Even for the people in the match. It felt very good — unexpected in a good way.
“I rediscovered something about myself that night that I thought maybe wouldn’t be present, and it was a good thing,” he added. “I realized I’m still very show-centric. Even in moments that should be mine, I’m still very focused on the overall show.”
Killer Kross fulfilled his promise to be ‘champion’ again
In November, Kross released a video where he spoke about becoming champion again. He said being champion again was something he felt would come to fruition based on the reception he was getting from fans across the world. He wasn’t sure how or where, but he knew it would happen sooner than later.
“I didn’t realize how badly I missed being in the position of being a champion. Everyone wants to be there, of course. Everyone’s working toward that,” Kross said. “That’s a given. But I didn’t realize how much I missed it.”
Kross also knew this run would be different because he’d primarily been a villain during his WWE tenure. Now, this was a chance for the audience to see him in a new light.
“Respectfully, being outside the machine, every other place isn’t going to go against the audience. They really listen to them, and they’re not afraid to pivot on a moment’s notice toward things people actually want. There are fewer moving parts. It’s not as complicated for everywhere else to listen to the audience and change things on a dime,” Kross explained.
“So we were able to do that, and it seemed like everybody was pretty happy that night. They all got what they wanted. It’s an amazing thing. Like you said, man, I put it out there, but even before I put it out there, I felt like this is where we were going.”
Killer Kross talks inside baseball
WWE does give in to fans’ demands on occasion, like Daniel Bryan’s WrestleMania XXX win coming as a result of the YES! Movement. WWE fans pushed for Killer Kross to have a bigger role, but it ultimately didn’t work out, and he left the company after the two sides were unable to work out the terms of a new contract. Kross knows that it can be difficult to change course in a large company when so many plans are already in motion. He also sees how refreshing it is to have MLW listen and keep their finger on the pulse.
“I feel like you’re the same way as me with this, if you don’t mind me saying so. I don’t care for the tribalism in wrestling, and I don’t care for passive-aggressively throwing shade in the media or anything like that. I’m really not about that. But it’s hard not to discuss some of the intricacies when you’re talking about inside baseball. I never mean to come off in a particular way that’s derogatory or negative, if I ever do.
“The fact of the matter is, the bigger the operation gets and the more chefs you have in the kitchen, the more difficult it becomes to do what you’re saying other companies are able to do. At the same time, it’s a blessing, and it’s actually great for the crowd to feel like they’re involved,” Kross noted. “There’s nothing worse than telling the audience that they’re everything, that they’re the lifeblood of all of this, while they can clearly feel pushback toward the things they’re asking for. It’s okay to starve them a little if there’s a payoff, but if there’s no payoff, and I’m speaking in generalities, that’s no good.”
Killer Kross says MLW has a really good finger on the pulse with what fans want
Kross says MLW is very in-tune with what it’s audience wants. Similar to turning Matt Riddle heel last year to get ahead of making headlines for personal issues, MLW listened to the fans who wanted Kross in a top spot. MLW also plans ahead to give fans in specific markets the shows they want, which benefits everyone in the crowd.
“From conversations I’ve had collaboratively with the office there, they pay attention to everything going on live,” Kross said. “They also pay attention to the online post-edit shows, watches, and how people are feeling about what they’re seeing in the program. They build toward what people are enjoying, and I think they know their markets pretty well, too.”
Kross pointed out that Chicago is a lucha-heavy market, and MLW planned for that. Because of that, MLW can present different styles of wrestling in each city it visits.
“It’s going to be a completely different show from Battle Riot, and it’ll also be very different from the one we did in Charleston, which had a little bit of lucha but was still a heavy lucha show. I thought that was a good call. The company is able to do that, and I think it benefits the audience in every single way.”
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