A Killer in Toronto

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Impact Wrestling has really gotten it right with more than a handful of their newer talents lately.  Tessa Blanchard comes to mind as one of the best young female wrestlers in the business.  Su Yung has been absolutely fantastic with her work.  Sami Callihan is a maniac that has remarkably stirred up the entire industry.  Brian Cage is an unbelievably athletic beast of World Championship proportions.  These are all wrestlers that have been with the company for less than a year and who have all been very successful on-screen.  However, there is another impressive performer who is putting the entire pro wrestling world on notice.  He debuted recently after a lengthy “mystery attacker” storyline preceded his arrival.   The stark impression that Killer Kross has made so far in Impact Wrestling has been exceptional.  Now, simultaneously, he has also debuted in Lucha Underground as The White Rabbit, who we know very little about yet.  What we do know so far is that he is the leader of The Rabbit Tribe and that he has a disturbing and demented persona.  It’s a similar scenario to how Sami Callihan is a different shade of himself as Jeremiah Crane in LU.  Killer Kross is bursting onto the worldwide pro wrestling scene with a velocity that is rarely seen.  Don Callis has explained on Impact commentary that earlier in Kross’ life he was a bare knuckle fighter.  Most of us probably didn’t even know that competitive bare knuckle fighting was a thing, but the fact that he actually did this adds another layer in helping the audience understand who he is.  It’s something legitimately dangerous and badass that contributes to the mystique of Killer Kross.  He is just getting started but he already has my attention completely, along with hundreds of thousands of other fans around the world.

What kind of madness do you think Killer Kross might unleash in Toronto?  The narrative here is that he is clinically psychotic and a high functioning sociopath.  Look up the definitions of those mental health conditions.  It all fits.  Between Slammiversary and the subsequent TV tapings (July and August), this city could become synonymous with the initial rise of Killer Kross.  I can’t imagine that he wouldn’t at least make an appearance at Slammiversary, but I could be wrong.  Regardless, it’s obvious that Impact’s creative team has big plans for this guy.  It seems like a perfect time to elevate him into a whole new level of craziness and destruction.  He has been outstanding with his promo work and had a great showing at the Windsor tapings.  In some ways, he’s a throw back to old school heels that just want to destroy everyone and everything with reckless abandon.  Now it’s time to take it up another notch.  We don’t know exactly what his role will be at the pay-per-view as of the time that I published this column, but I have a suspicion that if he does appear that he could steal the show somehow.  Having these events take place in front of invested and passionate live audiences is priceless for Impact Wrestling right now.  You get a real sense for what is working and who is over with hot crowds.  That is not something that you can accurately gauge in Orlando at the Impact Zone. The Rebel Complex will be a tremendous venue with raucous fans.  A perfect place for Killer Kross to raise hell.

The Slammiversary card is stacked and there figures to be some surprises and unpredictable craziness over the course of the initial 3 days in Toronto.  Look at this Slammiversary lineup.  The top three matches that I’m personally looking forward to are Moose Vs Aries for the World Title, Pentagon Jr. Vs Sami Callihan in mask Vs hair and Sydal Vs Cage for the X-Division Title.  The entire show should be awesome and there is absolutely no filler at this point.  Everything matters and has a build.  Just a friendly reminder that we will have exclusive pics from the Toronto Impact tapings right here at DiscussPW.  Yes, there will be DPW representation at the Rebel Complex.  Look for that coverage exclusively in our Spoiler Discussion.

Let’s jog down memory lane for a moment with some Killer Kross content.  It’s hard to explain my fascination with him but I’m sure it has something to do with my appreciation for character development.  Personally, I connect more with strong characters than technical wrestling, but a mix of both things is necessary on a wrestling show.  Specifically, I like the more demented and disturbing wrestling personas like Rosemary and Su Yung.  Impact has an edge to it which sets it apart.  The angle between Eddie Edwards, oVe and Dreamer has a distinct grittiness.  The LAX storyline has similarities to certain things that happened in Breaking Bad.   This isn’t a little kids show.  I’m starting to get an ECW vibe, which makes sense if you think about it.  The intensity that Impact Wrestling has implemented in 2018 is unique and intriguing.  Killer Kross embodies that type of violence and brutality which is beginning to define Impact.  Check out these video clips of his promos and tell me you’re not impressed.

This promo video in particular was just fucking amazing:

 

Here he is debuting on-screen for Lucha Underground as The White Rabbit and instructing Paul London to murder Mascarita Sagrada simply for leading him to his lair:

 

And then there’s this one:

 

Pretty stunning, right?  He has a similar cadence to that of Jake “The Snake” Roberts in his prime.  An eerie calmness that grabs you.  I mean, Jake is an absolute legend and was one of the best promo wrestlers of all time.  I’m not saying that Kross is on that level yet but he has that kind of potential.  His eyes are cold and piercing as he stares right through you and into your soul….. honestly it’s somewhat scary.  Everything he does is with a calculated purpose.  You cannot teach this kind of “it factor”.  You either have it or you don’t.  Rosemary has it.  Tessa has it.  Eli Drake has it.  Aries has it.  I could go on and on but, to me, the bottom line is that the addition of The Devil of Monterrey makes this roster a lot more interesting.

Killer Kross’ ring entrance with the red lighting and the creepy theme music is just amazing.  There are so many things that Impact Wrestling can do with him.  As far as male wrestlers currently on the roster, I’d say that Brian Cage and Killer Kross are on a similar path to greatness.  Both are very talented, with Cage being more skilled inside the ring but Kross being superior with his promo work and character.  The finishing maneuver (Kross Jacket) that he uses where he simply chokes his opponent out MMA-style is also a perfect fit.  He’s very physically strong and displayed that when he easily suplexed the near 400-pound Fallah Bahh in his debut match.   He threw Petey Williams around like a rag doll.  If you’re not impressed yet, just wait… you will be.  Simply put, Impact Wrestling is a better pro wrestling promotion with Kross in it.  His prior work in Future Stars of Wrestling, GFW, House of Hardcore and AAA has prepared him for this time of ascension.

I haven’t been this excited for a character in wrestling in quite some time.  He just has a certain aura about him.  His unique tattoos (especially the ones on his back) are also somewhat of a mystery and it sounds like that aspect will be incorporated more into his character as time goes on.  I realize that not everyone is going to agree with me on my assessment of Killer Kross, but I rarely get this enthused about a new Impact wrestler.  The last time I was this inspired was when Rosemary debuted in January of 2016.  I had a similar feeling that we were witnessing greatness and I have the same feeling about Killer Kross now.  In closing, an interesting side note is that Kross resides in Las Vegas currently.  Future Stars of Wrestling has confirmed that Impact Wrestling will be shooting Impact episodes there in November.  Go ahead, tell me I’m wrong about Killer Kross making a triumphant homecoming less than 4 months from now.  Who knows what he’ll have accomplished by then but I’m excited to see it all play out.  He is the New Beginning after all.