Killer Kross: You Don’t Want To Treat The Audience Like Background Actors, There Is No Need To Say Their Voices Don’t Matter

Before he departed WWE in the summer of 2025, Killer Kross (Karrion Kross in WWE) received a groundswell of support from the fans.

Despite the fans cheering for him, Kross’ contract was not renewed. Nearly a year later, fans have criticized WWE for not going with hot hands such as LA Knight or Bron Breakker when the crowd has been behind them.

Appearing on The Ariel Helwani Show with Ariel Helwani, Kross was asked if there was any vindication as to what’s happening in WWE now as a sign that it had more to do with them than him.

“That was the general consensus with everyone I spoke to at the time, and still currently right now. There are new players involved behind the scenes, and the politest way I can put it, when you acquire something that is so lucrative, you automatically think you understand it because it all reads logically on paper like any business plan. Professional wrestling is a market, and its fans are not like any other market on the planet. The audience is supposed to be part of this. You don’t want to treat the audience like they are background actors. If they’re not cheering for the person you want them to cheer for, you don’t turn up the volume or boos or ‘this is awesome’ chant when it didn’t land. You don’t do that. When the audience likes something, let them like it. When they don’t like something, let them dislike it and don’t alienate them. When they have something to say, and they don’t like online, there is no need to say that their voices don’t matter. This is your consumer market. It doesn’t necessarily mean you have to treat them like consumers. You are producing something for them. If they don’t like it, this is valuable information. You don’t have to say ‘it doesn’t matter.’ Not everyone is going to like what you produce, I understand that. There is such a thing as toxic criticism, and nobody cares for that, but there is a better way to address all this. I don’t think it’s totally simple, but it starts with giving the crowd some validation,” he said.

Elsewhere during the interview, Kross discussed his exit from WWE. You can find his comments here.

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