Killer Kross On Whether He’s Planning on Suing Impact, Reports of Heat Over Slammiversary Match

– In a lengthy interview with Sporting News, Killer Kross addressed his contract situation with Impact, whether he’s planning to sue and more. Kross has been at a standstill and hasn’t been booked for the show since Slammiversary over the matter, and there have been a host of rumors that have popped up since. Some highlights from the interview are below:

On when his issues with Impact first started: “The issues began last year regarding merchandising … I’ve been advised not to go into the full detail of the issues, but I am hoping that they can be resolved as quickly as possible. It’s something I’ve been working on for many months.”

On reports that there have been issues about his pay and creative direction: “I’m in a situation right now where I have to be very careful how I choose to address things. My hands are completely clean in all of this. I have been attempting to get clarification on things that were supposed to be given to me in a timely manner. Some of them have been … I’m not even sure how to put it. It’s so difficult to answer. It’s very difficult to even discuss. I’m doing my absolutely best to remain civil and professional on the entire ordeal and it’s extremely difficult. I’m really just looking to being treated fairly and I’m just looking to put my best work out there. There are now situations that are occurring where, basically, opportunities are being delayed and I guess, what the easiest way to put it, opportunities are being … I apologize. It’s really the first time I’ve talked about it. These things I’m attempting to pursue in my career, I’m being blocked from pursuing them for really ridiculous circumstances.”

On being removed from the AAA show in New York City on September 15th: “Not anymore. I was given that date and information brought to my attention as per Ed Nordholm (EVP of Anthem), I am now off that show … Yeah. That’s how it was conveyed to me [that he was removed when Impact got involved with the show]. Pretty unbelievable.”

On if he’s worried about his relationship with AAA going forward: “No because I’ve spoken with the entire chain of command with AAA and it’s just an unfortunate situation and they’re looking to continue a healthy working relationship together, which I really respect. They were my first true introduction to Lucha libre and I’ve been working with them for over three years now and the experiences they’ve provided me have been absolutely priceless. It’s really actually changed my life and my career. This is just, in my opinion, a really gross circumstance that’s occurred and I think it was pretty ill-mannered, respectfully.”

On the reaction backstage in Impact: “I don’t want to put words in anyone’s mouth or necessarily mention anyone’s name, but the best way to put it would be they’ve expressed that they’re pretty disgusted about how this situation is being dealt with and how I’m being treated. I’ve had full support from them the entire time which has been awesome. They know me personally and they know me professionally and I think anyone you could ever ask who’s ever met me, talked with me, or worked with me will tell you that I’ve been a constant professional ever since I stepped foot into this industry. I’ve always followed through with everything that I said I was going to follow through with. That’s not always reciprocated, unfortunately.”

On what he was told when Impact refused to grant his release: “Because I was under contract. That’s basically what they told me. They said that they were not going to be giving me my release and I thought that was ridiculous because literally in January, in front of the entire roster in Nashville, management stood in front of everyone and said ‘If you are not able to be here or can no longer be here or don’t want to be here, we don’t want you here and we will part ways.’ That’s something that has been told to just about everyone in the company, even prior to me being there, and at that time, it still hadn’t even crossed my mind. I was trying to improve my current situation and be on par and track with the things that were supposed to be done for me, essentially. So, they’re just … I guess you’d have to ask them. I wouldn’t even be able to speak on their behalf because we’re on two totally different pages, unfortunately.”

On if he would have stuck around if he got a raise: “The issue necessarily wasn’t even the raise. The issue was I was attempting to retrieve something that was supposed to be given to me. That’s the only way I can really put it right now. There was something that was supposed to be given to me and I was attempting to retrieve it for numerous months and it was really frustrating. I don’t know how else to say it. I think anyone in my circumstance would be just as frustrated or even more frustrated if I was able to discuss further detail about it. The raise would have helped. I had no intentions of leaving. I really enjoyed my time there outside of these issues which are now out in the open. I tried to keep a cool head and remain professional, even with these things being out there. I did my absolute best to communicate everything to everyone and I don’t think they can say that I didn’t.”

On if he plans on suing Impact since he believes they’re in breach of contract: “I’ve actually made it abundantly clear that I have not been interested in going into litigation. I’m not interested in going down that road. I’ve been trying for many, many, many months. I’ve been exhausting all options on how to fix this situation. There’s an attorney involved and we’re not suing anyone. I’ve been trying to avoid litigation as much as possible and, again, I have nothing to worry about in all of this. I really don’t. I’m not on the wrong on any of this and I’m just trying to follow my lane here. I have everything on paper. As I said before, I’m not worried about anything at all. I’ve done nothing wrong — at all. I’m just trying to do the right thing and I wish I would be met with that as well because there’s only one right thing to do here and it’s not being done.”

On reports that he refused to blade in his match First Blood match with Eddie Edwards: “I want it to be understood that I absolutely love Eddie Edwards. I actually used to call him ‘The Commander.’ That was my nickname for him because I looked at him as the guy who set the standard for work ethic and passion and dedication in the company. He had been there for an extended period of time and had some of the best matches in the company’s history and it was a great pleasure to work with him. Eddie and I had an idea for what we wanted to do that night and the company had a different idea. Eddie and I did the best we could with it. Obviously, there’s a story out there and people are discussing it with the whole blood issue. I was pretty pissed about that.”

On if he was concerned about the recent spread of Hepatitis C on the indy scene: “One-hundred percent and I brought that up that day. I talked about it with everyone that day. Some people knew about it, some people didn’t. I was really blown away that they were so interested in going in that direction. Why did we have to do it like that? I just did not understand at all. I actually spoke with Tommy Dreamer and I told him I was absolutely not doing that. It’s just infuriating.”