Show: Wrestling Epicenter
Guest: Karrion Kross
Date: 07/25/2025
Your Host: James Walsh
“We Want Kross!” Well, you’ve got him!
WWE Superstar Karrion Kross has a brand new book coming out called “Life is Fighting.” The rising star who has carved his own niche of late will finally share his life story with everyone in a book that looks to have the self-help elements of Marc Mero’s recent release mixed with the humor and warmth of the classic wrestling books released by Mick Foley and Chris Jericho. A must-read for all “Killer” Karrion Kross fans, this book gives you a chance to get to know the man, Kevin, behind the character we know and love from our TV screens.
Kross joins the Wrestling Epicenter for the second time ever, first joining us in 2019, and discusses all of the goodness of his book, the tragedy of the passing of Hulk Hogan, and the wonder that is love. Boy, that was poetic of me, wasn’t it? Give it a listen!
Karrion Kross’ new book “Life is Fighting” is available on August 5th via ECW Press! You can pick up your copy on Amazon or wherever your favorite books are sold! Or, direct from ECW Press!
You can find this and 23 years worth of fantastic interviews, nearly 900 of them, in our archives at http://www.WrestlingEpicenter.com. If you use this content on your site or share it on social media, please remember to link back to our main site!
KARRION KROSS:
On why this was the right time to put out the book:
“Actually, the book has been completed since 2022. I wrote it and then I was asked to return to WWE. And, I wanted to bring them in on it. For a variety of reasons that are very frustrating, it has taken this long to finally get it published. That is why it is coming out now.”
On if WWE was supportive of the book:
“They’ve been supportive of it. There is a chain of command whenever you are dealing with corporations. They have an obligation to protect themselves. It is not coming from an evil, malicious place. There are thousands of people all over the world working for this company – It is their livelihood. They need to look at it and make sure there is nothing in there that could be misconstrued, misunderstood, that could be inflammatory. Do you know what I mean? It is a safety measure. And, I respect the process. But, man, it just took so long!”
On his book, “Life is Fighting”, having an almost self-help feel:
“Let me be completely honest. I didn’t have any idea what the Hell I was writing. These people who sit down and write books and know what they’re doing, they have a talent that I just don’t. Lets just be frank! I had been told to write my life story on paper and publish it as a book and I was like, “No, thank you!” (laughs) But then, as an adult, you begin to learn, you grow, you develop… You know, you learn things. You go hrough life. That is part of my life. I like to help people! I do. I prefer to. Now, if they make me hit them in the stomach with a steel pipe every week, that is also a form of help by the way! But, as for the book, I just started writing and it became sort of a memoir. But, there are points that do have sort of a self help vibe, it is so kind of you to put it that way. (laughs) But, there are some things in the book that definitely will be helpful to people.”
On people saying he didn’t belong on the Ric Flair’s Last Match show and instead should have still been with WWE:
“I got that a lot that night. It is sort of a bittersweet comment. But, I got it a lot everywhere I went including that night. The weird thing is, I hadn’t heard that before I was with WWE. Nobody was coming up to me and saying, “You should be there.” It is hard to hear that a lot when you’re not (in WWE) but I’ve never lacked confidence in my abilities. I work hard, I study, and I’m always up and after it. I don’t live in a place of complacency. The industry is always changing and I’m always adapting. Lets face it, the industry is always a reflection of the times. It, and entertainment, has always been a reflection of society. There are things that we can go back and look at and thought were funny 15 years ago that would not fly right now. (laughs) You could go back 3 decades where the program was mirroring global conflicts. We’re not doing that anymore. Now, it is just different people and different times. I love it all. I certainly loved taking part in the Ric Flair show. But, I did hear a lot of that. I’m just happy to be here! What can i say?”
On the death of Hulk Hogan:
“Man, it is just tragic. It is tragic no matter what side of the fence you’re on. Any way you look at it, it is tragic. I can tell you that when I was a little kid, Hulk Hogan, “Macho Man” Randy Savage, and the Ultimate Warrior were my favorite wrestlers. And, I’m glad I got to see him when he was still the “Immortal One” and be that larger than life character when I was a kid.”
On previously making a point to say the “Devil is in the Details” with his persona:
“Absolutely! Always will be! There are always different perspectives on how to treat the audience as a performer. I like to treat the audience like they are very intelligent. An intelligent audience, they like call-backs, they like foreshadowing, they like the details! I like to give them that. I like to treat a lot of what I do as a thought piece and give people something to think about.”
On if it was difficult to write about his courting and relationship with Scarlett in his book:
“Yeah! It was terrible. It was horrifying! But, it is definitely a huge part of my life. I’m not trying to be overly dramatic when I say that I honestly do not know what kind of a person I would be today if I had not met my wife and had the time to get to know her, spend time with her, fall in love with her… I really wanted to become a better person for her! I looked at this person who was perfect for me and I thought, “Why don’t you try to become the kind of person this person deserves to end up with.” That played a big role in who I am as a person today.”
On some people being surprised Kofi Kingston wrote the forward:
“That is an example of how good I am at my job, brother! (laughs) I have made a lot of really good friends over the past 5 years. People have no idea. People know us as the personalities we play on TV. They can’t picture us sitting around discussing philosophical things and having a discussion. There are people who are of a different religious beliefs and I’m very close with them. it doesn’t even matter. It is neither here nor there. Kofi Kingston is a very good friend of mine – So is Xavier Woods. They’ve played such an instrumental part in allowing me to become the best version of myself. We’ve talked about different generations of wrestling. I can tell you that Kofi Kingston and Xavier woods play an important role in shaping the culture and the environment, in particular of the locker room. They keep it positive, they keep it lively. They keep it light. That is something I noticed coming in to the locker room. They are such an integral part of it all. I feel like, they would never say this. But, they set the mood and the tone. And, the mood and the tone is always good! That is a reflection of who they are. They’re veterans, of course. But, as men, they are very good people.”
On the infamous “red mask” look when he was called up to WWE RAW from NXT:
“I never really thought that it could or would kill anything because it was so glaringly obvious that it was not my idea. I had a body of work independent of WWE and it was clear from that body of work that I would not have come up with such a creative misstep. I’ll never be able to allow myself to make such a misstep like that because I never let the fan in me die. Yes, there is a professional. But, I feel like I know what the audience wants to see. That isn’t coming from a pretentious place like, “I know what they want!” It is coming from a place of, I actually talk the audience. When I talk to fans, I ask them what they like and what they don’t like. If they say they like me, I ask them why. Some people don’t approach things like that. That’s OK! That is my process. That is why I’ve always been able to preserve a connection with the audience before WWE and while I’ve been in WWE. There have been periods of time where people have not liked my work. To be frank, there are times I’ve not liked it either! But, I’ve always tried to make a course correction. I’ve always tried to do the best with what I’m given. Right now, I have to say, I feel like the temperature is right. I feel like people are liking what I’m doing and I’m leaning into that. I’m leaning into that and doing it instead of waiting to be told I can do it.”
On his book being compared to Mick Foley and Chris Jericho’s first books:
“That is amazing. That is awesome. It is very humbling. But, that should be number one for me. But, it isn’t. What is number one is that people are helped by the book or are entertained by it or get something from it. That maybe they look at something more or differently than they did before. That is what I want. But, being compared to those two guys? That is unbelievable. It is amazing. I really don’t even know what to say to that.”
On his social media videos including the one that featured the now late Kevin Sullivan:
“I am always interested in creating new content on my social media. I’m a creative person. But, I think it is important to bridge from Monday to Monday. If people are working 9 to 5 jobs or perhaps even multiple jobs, that is a long time People have busy lives. The way they feel on Monday about what they watched, that feeling might not take them through to next Monday. I enjoy creating things to prime them to get them to next Monday. The footage of Kevin Sullivan, I did independently of WWE. I had shot that a while before I released it. I had met Kevin Sullivan on the independents and he was always very good to me. I used to talk shop with him often over the phone. He would always say, “What the Hell are they doing with you? Don’t they see what they’ve got?” I’d go, “Kevin! Go get a writers job!” (laughs)”
On what it would mean to have Jesse Ventura call one of his matches:
“(Doing a Jesse Ventura impression) “It would be the most important thing to happen in my entire career!” (laughs) I have suggested it. Everyone asks me. Literally, everyone asks me every time Saturday Night’s Main Event comes around. Even his son has asked me! “When are you going to be on Saturday Night’s Main Event. My father would like to commentate on your match.” Everyone asks. But, so far, it hasn’t happened. They just act like it never happened.”
On what he hopes people take away from his book:
“I hope they take away the truth that this is what I’ve always wanted to do. This is my dream job and I’m happy to have it. This is all I’ve ever wanted to do is entertain them, even some of them before they were born (laughs) because I’m older than them. But, this is all I’ve ever wanted to do. And, I do not take this for granted.”
On if he’s re-signed with WWE:
“You know I can’t answer that! (laughs)”
