Karrion Kross says the NXT TakeOver audiences carried him through the COVID pandemic.
Kross joined WWE in February 2020 and debuted on the NXT brand that April by attacking Tommaso Ciampa. By that time, restrictions due to the COVID pandemic were in full effect, meaning that NXT was filmed behind closed doors at Full Sail University, meaning there was no audience for Kross’ first TakeOver match at In Your House, where he defeated Ciampa.
In October 2020, NXT moved to the Performance Centre, which had been set up as the ‘Capitol Wrestling Centre’. The building had been redesigned to allow for LED boards featuring fans joining the show virtually, while family and friends of the wrestlers were allowed to attend live as well as a very limited number of fans.
The restrictions were gradually lifted through 2021 until a full audience was once again allowed.
For Karrion Kross, the pandemic was a difficult time, and he has revealed that even the smallest audiences during that time were a big psychological boost for him.
“It was a difficult time for me, personally, for all of us” – Karrion Kross on the COVID pandemic
During a recent appearance on Insight with Chris Van Vliet, Kross discussed his experience of the pandemic, explaining that much of his family lived far away, leaving him feeling isolated.
“I don’t want to say I was dishonest, but I wasn’t entirely honest when I discussed how difficult being in lockdown was for me.
“During the whole pandemic, I was in Florida, a lot of my family was in Canada. Some of them are older, I have family in New York. I didn’t know, at the time, if it was a smart idea or even safe to go visit them, so I didn’t. I felt very isolated.”
Being able to work was a relief for Kross, although he was always hoping to get a full PLE audience.
“I was at work, which was a relief. I had Scarlett, but it was a difficult time for me, personally, for all of us. It was difficult to get through and I was always hoping, while I was at NXT, that I would be able to get that premium live event crowd. I never got that.”
Referring to the small audiences he was able to wrestle in front of, Kross admitted they “were like family” to him.
“The TakeOvers that they did in New York….we had that little audience. Whether they knew it or not, they were like family to me. Even when they were booing me and calling me every name in the book, which they should have because that’s what I was trying to elicit.
“In place of my family that I didn’t have at the time, I had that audience. I don’t think they realize just the feeling there, what that was like psychologically doing for me. That audience carried me through that period.”
Kross says it would “be nice” to be able to perform in front of the NXT audience again, but he would only do it if it was under “the right circumstances.”
“It would be nice to see them again and it would be nice to do one of those TakeOver events.
“Narrative should make sense and it should be under the right circumstances. I wouldn’t just want to go back for the hell of it. I would want to go back for something good for them.”
During the same interview, Karrion Kross said a match against John Cena was “not impossible” and that fans had been fantasy booking the pair during the pandemic.