Killer Kross Ready to Lead Counter-Corporate Wrestling Push as MLW Fusion Returns (Exclusive)

The new season of MLW Fusion will return to television this Saturday on YouTube, beIn Sports, and Veep. Killer Kross is ready to lead that return as the world champion and top guy in the company.

Kross won the MLW World Championship in January of this year by surviving the the annual MLW Battle Riot match. He's held onto the championship since then and is thrilled to carry the responsibility as the champion.

Ahead of the Fusion season premiere, Kross spoke to The Takedown on SI regarding his role in MLW, the corporatization of pro wrestling, and much more.

/// FREQUENCY OPEN ///

To the fighters.⁰To the fans.⁰To the ones ready for something real again.

FUSION returns this Saturday.

▶️ https://t.co/2foz8AZgmQ (6:05 pm ET)
📺 @VEEPS (9 pm ET)
👊 @beINSPORTSUSA (10 pm ET) pic.twitter.com/ZIHQXkOl6o
— MLW (@MLW) May 28, 2026

"(This is) a position I've been working toward my entire career and it feels really good to finally be in it and feel the weight of it," Kross said of being MLW World Champion. "The honor, the privilege, the accountability, the responsibility. It's extra motivation. Extra fuel for every performance. There aren't just performance stakes for me. There are real-life stakes every time I go out there. You get in front of that audience, they cheer for you, and you have to prove you deserve it every single time."

Kross returned to MLW in November of 2025 after his contract with WWE expired that same summer. He said that one key ingredient was present in his talks to return to MLW. Time.

Killer Kross had one major request when negotiating a return to MLW

Kross said that he requested to have time to tell stories. He wanted time to perform, so he could prove people that believed in him right. As the champion, he has an even deeper investment in making sure the trust put in him is fully realized on a regular basis.

"I didn't know it was going to feel as fulfilling as it does until I got into the position and held it," Kross said of the world title. "I just wanted to prove the people who saw something in me right. The audience saw something in me, and I wanted to prove them right. No hang-ups, no excuses. MLW opened the door and let me step into the ring as the person they thought I was."

Part of the fulfillment comes from taking the job as the company lead guys seriously. Every time Kross walks through the curtain for a show, he's representing the company. Kross recognizes that because he works in many of the MLW main events, he's the last guy people see before they leave the show and that his performance could be the difference of fans returning for another show or not.

MLW Fusion returns on Saturday and this is why fans should watch

As the champion, what is Kross' pitch to potential new fans deciding whether to check out MLW for the first time? It's all about the talent.

"MLW has performers from all over the world and the majority of them are hyper-experienced," Kross said. "We have guys from CMLL, New Japan Pro Wrestling, NOAH, WWE, even people who go back to the WCW days... We've got everybody from everywhere and there are no limits. We don't have to worry about shareholders and all the closed-door speculation about what content we can produce.

"More important than anything, the performers have a strong foothold in the collaboration of their performances and stories. They're heavily involved. This isn't a company where the storyline gets delegated from a writer's room and handed down. We have a writing and creative team, but the wrestlers being more involved is a respected and expected part of MLW. That's why I think the stories will land differently as Fusion rolls out."

MLW announced a brand new distribution partnership for their Fusion product earlier this week. The company will stream the show on the Live Nation Veeps platform beginning with the premiere on Saturday night.

Live Nation's Veeps Locks In Free Saturday Night Digital Streams Of Major League Wrestling https://t.co/VA8NgT31kl
— Deadline (@DEADLINE) May 26, 2026

Kross has seen it all in pro wrestling. He's had a previous stint in MLW earlier in his career, spent time in TNA, NXT, and had two different runs on the WWE main roster. Kross understands and follows the business end of the company and had a lot to say on the corporatization of wrestling coming out of a heavily sponsored and critiqued WrestleMania 42 in Las Vegas.

"Time will tell," Kross said regarding whether or not pro wrestling will be able to sustain itself on the heavily corporate path. "What I will say is there's an appeal to MLW right now that's unique, and it's relative to your question.

"Hardcore wrestling fans who know their history, who grew up watching with their friends and family, aren't married to the aesthetic of a major corporate organization with the gigantic fireworks and the big buildings. That's all wonderful, but they're really there for the stories being told in the ring. So we lean into that. We don't try to be something we're not."

MLW Fusion returns on Saturday night with a two-hour show. Announced matches for the show include Shotzi vs. Priscilla Kelly, Hammerstone vs. Bishop Dyer, The Good Brothers vs. Joe and Mark Coffey, and a special press conference from Kross and Scarlett.

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