Karrion Kross goes into detail on how his distinct entrance came together.
Kross signed with WWE in 2020, and he quickly became one of the top stars in NXT, as he had a presentation that stood out from everyone else. He and Scarlett came to the ring with a dark, imposing entrance that grabbed fans’ attention right away.
Speaking with Justin LaBar for TribLive, Kross was asked to describe how his entrance came together. He recalled how he and Triple H worked on it.
“Initially, when I got on board with the company, we obviously changed the name of the character that I was playing from Killer Kross to Karrion Kross,” he said. “Prior to that, when I was working as Killer Kross, I used a red X as an emblem. It was sort of a play on words, it was a red cross, essentially. Obviously someone else was using the red X in the company, so we wanted to go with something different.
“I had sent a variety of different concept art pictures to Hunter, and one of them was a silhouette of a bird, which was kind of a play on Karrion. So he ran with that, and he superimposed that into the entrance graphics. We had discussed what sort of vibe the music was gonna be in, and we both decided it was gonna be metal, so we exchanged tracks back and forth of what we kind of wanted to create from, sent it over to the studios.”
Kross continued by detailing how he and Scarlett rehearsed the entrance so they would be prepared ahead of their debut. He stated that they wanted to stand out, and having a unique entrance felt like a strategic way to do so.
“We got the music, they sent it to our phones, we were at home at the time, and we kind of practiced and rehearsed the entrance in our living room with beats and distance to walk and so forth, so when we got to work, we would kind of be able to expedite the whole process,” Kross said. “More than that, when we were looking at NXT and we were looking at WWE, I think one of the best parts about the programming is the ability for it to have variety with character presentations, so things don’t feel redundant or monotonous segment to segment, and we were trying to think of something that we could contribute to the show that would heel different. Right off the top, doing it at the entrance I think was probably the best strategic way to do that.”
“So when we got to NXT and we had to do the walk, we already had a framework that we had come up with, so we got through that process really quick. I’m pretty sure we actually knocked it out on the first try, and then we just did it a few more times, just to make sure we were getting the best camera shots and so forth. Hunter was very instrumental in helping us bring that to life, and Scarlett and I had excellent chemistry, so it was a no-brainer.”
Later in the interview, Kross explained how he believes WWE offers performers a chance to show people something they can’t find in real life, and he tried to lean into that upon his arrival in the company. He described how he especially wants to make a difference by giving younger fand a moment they will remember.
“I think there’s an excellent opportunity within the WWE Universe to show people something that they can’t find somewhere else,” Kross said. “You can find a loudmouth anywhere. You can find a loudmouth in traffic, you can find a loudmouth at the gas station. You can’t find these types of characters or perhaps a Karrion Kross walking your dog. The only place you’re gonna be able to find a larger than life character like that is in WWE. That was kind of the direction that I wanted to go in. I wanted to give something to people that they couldn’t find somewhere else.
“I remember being a kid in the audience and watching these giant guys walk down to the ring with the pageantry-type entrances and stuff like that. You never forget that. I wanted to create something that was going to appeal to all age demographics as well. I meet kids all the time that talk about the entrance and talk about the character and stuff like that. Stuff like that makes my day because I was that kid once. To be able to create those moments that they’re never gonna forget for the rest of their lives, especially at live events, that’s everything to me. I love that.”
Kross was released by WWE in November 2021, but he returned to the company the following August. He remains a featured member of the WWE roster; most recently, he lost to AJ Styles in the July 7 episode of WWE SmackDown.
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