Killer Kross Explains How Infamous Adam Cole Promo Came About
Former "NXT" Champion Killer Kross has reflected on the infamous Adam Cole promo during his time on the black and gold brand, admitting it was "a weird day" as soon as he arrived.
During their feud in WWE, Cole had claimed that Kross wouldn't be much without all the bells and whistles that went around his entrance, and in an interview with "The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling," Kross weighed in on it. He admitted that "it's partially our fault," because it is the wrestler's job to make things feel as legitimate as possible.
Despite that, when he saw the promo which he believes was written by Dewey Foley, he admits that he read it and felt that "the promo is unfinished," which is what he got told when arriving at work. Kross had ideas of what he wanted to say, which "was pretty much the opposite" of what Cole stated to him.
He wanted to point out that there were "kids in the audience" that were "the same size" as Cole and that they could "beat the living sh*t" out of him, which is why WWE made Kross "feel special". Unfortunately, WWE told him, "you can't say that" because Cole had "been doing favors for people."
"He had hurt his wrist at the time or something, then he did the thing with Pat. They were like, 'We need him in the fatal five-way because we're going to lose you soon and we'd like you to go over clean on everybody, so you have clean kills on everybody going up. So this promo is really for him to look strong,'" he recalled. "I was like, 'No problem.' I am killing these guys in the ring, I am undefeated, I have the belt, it's TV, it's fiction, it's a script, so I was like, 'Let him go for it.'"
Kross was a character that WWE invested heavily in from the moment he arrived on the black and gold brand, and he admitted "they spent so much money on airtime" and "giving to the Kross character." That was particularly the case with the entrance, which he believes "people were really enamored by" as it brought something different to the table. He believes the promo "just shot their whole investment of this entrance in the head with [Cole's] promo."
"They told him to say that, and if the roles were reversed and I had the script, I would say it too," he admitted. "We go to work and we say what's on the paper. But I thought, 'That was a bizarre decision,' because I was like, 'There's a million ways to make him look really strong in this promo, but there's a lot of people that are going to check out of my presentation after he says this."
Ultimately the promo did happen, but Kross felt that he was "in an excellent position", therefore, "it was not the hill to die on." In the end, Kross remained a top act during his entire time in "NXT," but he did end up having his memorable entrance and Scarlett Bordeaux pulled away from him on the main roster.
His spell on WWE "Raw" was a forgettable one due to the booking decisions that surrounded him, and since being released in November, Kross has gone on to appear around the independent circuit, working for notable promotions like MLW and New Japan Strong.
If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.