POST NEWS UPDATE: Karrion Kross discusses working with Drew McIntyre, praises McIntyre’s resilience

Karrion Kross on working with McIntyre, The Brawling Brutes, Rikishi chats Jacob Fatu, Zack Clayton-JWoww, Masha Slamovich/PWG NINETEEN

Photo Courtesy: WWE

If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.

** Following the 2022 Extreme Rules Premium Live Event, David Shoemaker invited Karrion Kross onto The Ringer Wrestling Show. Kross had just scored a win over Drew McIntyre in a Strap match with assistance from Scarlett. Kross heaped praise onto McIntyre for his resilience.

I’m gonna say something that might surprise a lot of people listening to this but Drew McIntyre is a prime example of somebody in life, not even just in wrestling but in life, he’s been knocked down so many times personally and professionally throughout his entire life and this guy still gets up every day. He might not be inspired, he might not feel enthusiastic or motivated like all of us. We’re all human beings, you know what I mean? It’s cool to promote motivation or inspiration or wake up driven. Honestly, people don’t wake up like that but that guy, on the days he wants to do it, on the days he doesn’t, gives 110 percent at everything that he does and a lot of people have counted him out professionally throughout his career and he’s always proved them wrong. That’s somebody in life that anyone could look at and go, you know, ‘I’m down and out on my luck right now. But, this guy did it, maybe I can do it too’ and I think those people, they’re important in life because we all deal with resistance in life; physically, mentally, spiritually and a lot of times it feels like you gotta give something up or you can’t go on or you gotta change something, you can’t do what you love anymore. He’s a prime example of someone who kept trying to find a way to make it work and he did. He made all of it work. So being able to work with somebody like that, not even just professionally but personally is you just can’t make something like that happen in life. That’s just something that is around and if you’ve prepared for the day when it comes around and you’re lucky enough to be around somebody like that, then it pays off and I felt like for me, it paid off tonight [at Extreme Rules].

** Coming off of their win at WWE Extreme Rules, The Brawling Brutes (Sheamus, Butch & Ridge Holland) sat down with The Ringer Wrestling Show for a post-match chat. Sheamus expressed that being with Butch and Holland has brought his passion for wrestling back to a level ten.

Sheamus: On a personal note for me, I’ve been here 13-and-a-half years on the main roster and these two boys, these two lads [Butch & Ridge Holland] have completely reinvigorated me in this business, really brought my passion back to a level ten. I can’t tell you how special it is to be in there with them. Both of them are hungry, both of them are passionate and we all push each other and we look out for each other. That’s a group, that’s a group, we’re The Brawling Brutes and that’s it. It’s Sheamus, Ridge and Butch, that’s it, the three boys. You look out there at Imperium and there’s kind of like some sort of bleeding level of authority there. There’s no level of authority here man. We’re three boys, three mates who would bleeding die for each other out there and that’s what’s special and that’s what the crowd are feeling right now, are really gravitating towards the three of us because there is no ego man. We’re all in there together. We’re there for the group and we live and die by the group and when we go out there, we put our bodies on the line, we go through a war because we know that’s what we need to do… We wanna give everyone out there their money’s worth and anything less from us just doesn’t cut it.

Butch is months into the transition from ‘Pete Dunne’ to his current on-screen incarnation. He said he’ll never get upset at people for saying they want him to be ‘Pete Dunne’ again. Butch added that for the first time in his career, as this character, he’s having adults relay to him that he’s their child’s favorite wrestler.

Butch: I bump into people on the street all the time and they’ll tell me, ‘I want you to go back to being Pete Dunne, I want you to be The Bruiserweight’ and all that kind of stuff. I’m never gonna get frustrated with those people or feel like just focus on what I’m doing now because I’m grateful for the fact that they’ve followed me for the past five, six years, 16 years, who knows? I’m always grateful for that and they have the right to feel that way. They might watch it and might not connect with it but, those that do, we travel around and do these live events and Philadelphia’s one thing, it’s a wrestling town. But we do live events all over the world and popping up in France and hearing the reactions for the Butch character itself and a lot of the smaller towns in the States that we go to and see how well that connects and it’s the first time in my career I’ve had people say, ‘You’re my kid’s favorite wrestler.’ Before that, it was a lot of adults. Or even like teenagers or a lot of people that — the Philadelphia crowd [at Extreme Rules], those kind of people. Whereas now, I bump into people and it’s like, ‘You’re my son or daughter’s favorite wrestler’ and I see how the kids react to me now and like I said, these are the wins I try and take from it all and don’t try and take it too seriously and realize we’re all making an amazing living doing what we love.

** While doing a virtual signing for K & S WrestleFest, Rikishi commented on Jacob Fatu. He questioned why WWE or AEW has not signed him and it was mentioned to Rikishi that Fatu is under contract to MLW. He added that he must be because otherwise, Fatu wouldn’t be there.

WWE, why don’t you guys sign him [Jacob Fatu]? AEW? I believe he does [still have a contract with MLW]. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be there.

** Pro Wrestling Illustrated’s Candice Cordelia conducted an interview with Zack Clayton. He was asked about the possibility of his fiancée Jennifer Farley (JWoww) accompanying him to the ring for a match. He believes every time he gets asked about it, the chances of it happening increases.

You know what is actually helping [with the possibility of JWoww accompanying me to the ring]? Is every time I do one of these, that’s the question. Then I go tell her that, ‘Hey, they asked again. Where are we at with this?’ So, every time, it’s a little bit closer to happening but I don’t know. It’s still gonna take some convincing.

** There’s an interview on Jim Varsallone’s YouTube channel with Heath. Over the weekend, Raven was inducted into the IMPACT Wrestling Hall of Fame. Heath recounted his first-time meeting Raven at an independent show and that experience not going well. When Heath and Raven crossed paths this year, he does not think Raven remembered their first encounter.

You know what’s funny? I’ll say it. I’ve always thought of Raven as being a damn ass. Being real. I remember back when I was on the indies, I had an encounter with him and I was kind of over in this little indie fed but then again, it was me at a little indie fed and this had to be more than 20 years ago, you know? And he was the guest star there and everything. We were in a tag match… and I asked him at the show, I was like, ‘What would you like to do?’ He was like, ‘I’m gonna come in, I’m gonna jab you a few times, bump on the third one. I’m gonna kick you in the gut, DDT you’ and I’m like, ‘Woah, what? No. We can do more than that,’ you know? And the next thing you know, I remember going back to him and everything and I remember him being like, ‘Kid, I’m gonna jab you three times, bump on the third one. I’m gonna DDT you’ and I’m just like jeez, damn. So that was the comeback and I’m just like… what the hell? I don’t know if it was like he had a bad day or there’s millions of excuses, you know? But that was my first little taste of him to where I’m just like, this asshole. What the hell? [Heath laughed] But then again, I saw him… I forget what show we were doing. I think it was the night that America’s Most Wanted reunited with The Good Brothers and myself against the Honor No More guys. I think he was at that show and I remember I saw him and we shook hands and everything. I don’t even think he remembered at all [Heath laughed]. Not at all. He’s just like, ‘Ah, nice to see you,’ this and that but then again, like I said, it was 20-something years ago and I was nobody. It just cracks me up but then again, his gimmick and everything he’s done, it’s one of those intriguing, cool [things]. I could totally see why IMPACT would definitely have him in the Hall of Fame for sure because his legacy and everything he’s done for the business and in the business is pretty damn cool.

** This past July, Masha Slamovich and Yuka Sakazaki wrestled at PWG ‘NINETEEN’. It was the first time a woman (women) competed on a PWG show since 2016. Slamovich told Wrestle Purists that the experience ranks as one of the best of her career.

Wrestling for PWG was a huge goal of mine that I had wanted to achieve for years. I was told countless times that it was impossible, it could never be done, and why would I be the one to do it? When I walked through that curtain, the feeling in that room was beyond words. Wrestling Yuka Sakazaki was a joy, and I was so honored to have been chosen alongside her to make history at PWG NINETEEN. It is hands down one of my favorite moments of my career.

** Prior to IMPACT Wrestling’s Bound For Glory pay-per-view, Ace Austin and Gia Miller were the focus of a Captain’s Corner virtual signing. Austin looked back on his experience as a part of the 2022 NJPW Best of the Super Juniors tournament.

I went over there for five weeks [Austin commented on his NJPW Best of the Super Juniors experience]. So it was a total… Everything about my career has been all in. I’ve always thrown myself all into a situation so I think five weeks in Japan was a perfect way to get my first experience there and the reaction was — I mean, I can’t say that I’m surprised because I know the talent that I possess. But yeah, I’m super grateful for the explosion of popularity that I got from my time in Japan.

** The funeral for Antonio Inoki is scheduled for October 14th. The general public is not allowed to attend so a farewell get-together will be held for fans at a later date. NJPW has an Inoki shirt available for purchase at this link.

** A new photo of Shinjiro Otani was posted onto his Twitter account. The latest update on Otani was that he was not able to move his body from the neck down.

** IMPACT Wrestling uploaded Raven’s Hall of Fame speech onto their YouTube channel.

** New Japan Pro-Wrestling are taking a look at applications from wrestlers. They’ll be coached by Kazuchika Okada if their applications are accepted.

** Masha Slamovich appeared on Busted Open Radio with Thunder Rosa and David LaGreca.

** There’s an interview on the Hindustan Times site with Liv Morgan.

** October 9th birthdays: Eddie Guerrero.

** Willie Mack was interviewed by Slam Wrestling.

If any of the quotes from the following podcasts or video interviews are used, please credit those sources and provide an H/T and link back to POST Wrestling for the transcriptions.

About Andrew Thompson 9443 Articles
A Washington D.C. native and graduate of Norfolk State University, Andrew Thompson has been covering wrestling since 2017.