Karrion Kross Quotes

Modern day wrestlers are fans of the performance of wrestling instead of the concept of wrestling.

I get a lot of influence from pro wrestling. People are like, 'Oh, it's fake.' But it's not about whether the guy wins or loses, it's about how he entertains you the whole time you're watching.

I've always loved the showmanship of professional wrestling. While I love making movies, I love that platform, too.

I loved my time in Deep South Wrestling. We trained so hard and I got a crash course into the world of sports entertainment and pro wrestling.

When I was in England, I did a lot of wrestling and moves. Over here, they were like, 'You don't need to do that much. Save your body. Become an entertainer rather than a wrestler.' And I wasn't used to wrestling on TV and in front of huge crowds, so it was a big adjustment.

Johnny Wrestling, to me, isn't just a cool nickname or a fun thing for the crowd to chant. To me, it's a state of mind, and it's just who I am. I first stepped foot in a wrestling ring when I was 8 years old.

Pro wrestling is not fake; it's sports entertainment. We go out there and we perform, and a lot of what we do out there is real, but we're not going to insult anyone's intelligence - there is a predetermined winner. It's just the fans don't know who it is, and that's what makes it so intriguing.

WWE is a space where I thrived, and I loved, and I still do. I love connecting with an audience; that is the greatest thing about going back to WWE.

Wrestling was like stand-up comedy for me. Every night I had a live audience of 25,000 people to win over. My goal was never to be the loudest or the craziest. It was to be the most entertaining.

The best wrestlers, whether it's a Hulk Hogan or a Rey Mysterio, are the ones who have psychology and can understand this business.

I've worked my entire career to try to broaden the perception of the WWE. A lot of folks think because we're so entertaining and oftentimes have such wild and well-defined characters that it's all we are. It has kind of been my life's work to tell the public that's not true.

I love wrestling, and I love telling a story to the audience.

Wrestling is to go out there and perform and make people believe that either of the performers in the ring can win - either the bad guy or the good guy.

To me, the best part of coming up in that, kind of the last era before it went that way with the FCWs or NXTs, kind of the farm system, is that, you know, wrestling Jimmy Valiant in front of 10 people in Cleveland. We didn't touch. I think we did two things, but we were out there for 20 minutes.

As far as the community involvement is concerned, I don't necessarily think that being a babyface or being a heel really affects that because, at the end of the day, people know that we're entertainers. We're very forward about that.

Professional wrestlers are human beings like anybody else.

WWE definitely gives you the forum, the stage to do different things and see what works. That's the cool thing about being in front of a live audience every single week in WWE. You get instant feedback.

The backstage stuff is not for everybody. I'm very hands on; I like to train and teach young guys now because there's so many of them. There are certain ways to do things, to get crowd reactions and sell your emotions and sell stories.

I always believe there's a place in wrestling for a little bit of everything.

I love wrestling. I love WWE. I love being a part of something special every single night we go out there.

Acting is a big ambition, but I still have a professional wrestling world to conquer.

People go into that arena, and they know the fix is in. They know what pro wrestling or sports entertainment is. That being said, they want it executed to the highest level so that they can suspend their disbelief and buy in, and so, in a world of make believe, you make people believe in you. It's as real as it can be.

Even though MMA and pro wrestling are very different, at the end of the day, it's all about entertaining. They are amazing athletes who go out there and give 100 percent.

WWE prepares you for so much other stuff in entertainment.

We love to be athletic, but at the same time, we love to entertain. So my sister was actually looking to play pro soccer in Italy, and I convinced her. I said, 'Please, there's this thing called WWE Diva Search. I really want to go. I think we can do this.' And sure enough, they gave my sister and me a shot.