What To Know
- Killer Kross won the MLW Heavyweight Championship at Battle Riot VIII in an emotional victory witnessed by his mother, a cancer survivor.
- Kross and his wife Scarlett Bordeaux credit their strong relationship and supporting each other through career changes after parting ways with WWE.
- Both are enjoying their independence, performing around the world.
It was an emotional scene when Killer Kross proudly held up the Major League Wrestling Heavyweight Championship in celebration at Battle Riot VIII. This wasn’t only because the “Blood King” survived 39 others to win the wild elimination match to dethrone Mads Krule Krügger. Kross, a crimson mask, also had his family there to witness the moment. The event held right outside of Orlando on January 29 marked the first time the star’s mom watched him wrestle since beating cancer last year.
His new title was very much a symbol of overcoming the odds. Something Kross knows a lot about, especially recently after exiting WWE and forging a new path in recent months. Standing by the imposing figure’s side has been his wife Scarlett Bordeaux. After not doing much wrestling in WWE, the “Smoke Show” is becoming more active in rings like MLW. The longtime power couple tied the knot on an actual Alaskan glacier during a private ceremony in 2022. Husband and wife have been traveling the world, looking to make the most of this new chapter in their respective careers.
Here the two open up about their journey, relationship, and future.
MLW
What did it mean to win the MLW Championship with your mom present?
Killer Kross: To this day, I ‘ve had a lot of meaningful performances. That one is by far my favorite specifically for that reason. I feel like everything that has happened in my life in the last year, all the things I said yes to and no to, all the miles I flew, all the training, dieting, you name it. Every single thing that has happened, it took me to that moment where I had an opportunity to create something. Not just for myself, but my family and everybody there. With it being recorded and posted live for everyone to enjoy it forever, believe me when I tell you I’m very fulfilled, especially with my wife and my mother being a part of all that. I have a moment given to me that I can create for people to make something for her. I don’t know what son on the planet wouldn’t want to do that. I’m very grateful for it all.
How did your mom react when you’re in this match and a bloody mess and you acknowledge her like you did?
Killer Kross: She was very happy in the end. Scarlett and I were talking afterward. She told us when we were having dinner after the show, which was very late. That I felt the worst about. I think we were up until 3 or 4 a.m. My mother says, “You know I thought the blood was fake.”
Scarlett Bordeaux: She thought it was blood capsules or something. Then she saw him bruised and beaten up and she was like okay.
Killer Kross: We all laughed. She laughed too because she knows I’m okay, that I can handle it. My mother is also the toughest person I met on the planet. My grandfather was the same exact way. It’s a family thing. I laughed and thought, “Well good. She enjoyed the whole thing.” Then she re-watched and was like, “Oh sh*t.”
Scarlett: If she was bothered, she didn’t show it.
Why do you think your relationship works so well?
Scarlett: We always see each other as a unit. We’re always for each other, no matter what the other one wants to do.
Killer Kross: I don’t feel like we had a playbook, which I think is why it works. Wrestling is so unpredictable. It changes direction all the time with what the office wants, what the people want, what we think we should be doing. The fact you and I could improvisational change gears and create something good, I think that is why it works. I think if your playbook is too rigid, that’s when problems start to happen, especially with tag teams.
Scarlett: Our only rule with our relationship is really transparency. We apply that to everything. We’re just bluntly honest, even when we’re asking each other about our matches. We are brutally honest no matter what.
Killer Kross: The feedback is critical. If you really care about somebody, just tell them the truth. If you guys actually like each other, let alone love each other, whether the feedback is critical or harsh, it should be okay. The last thing you want to do is sugarcoat anything, especially in this business. If you create this dissolution by telling someone, then you disconnect. It’s a vibe thing. We’ve always been this way, even before we started working together and dating.
Scarlett: Oh yeah, even on our first date we were about just putting your worst foot forward. Show your absolute worst on your first date. It was actually Jimmy Jacobs who told us that. Put your worst foot forward.
Killer Kross: Don’t hide anything. Life is short. If you have something you need to work on or something isn’t right, start working on it. Get it right. Don’t pretend something is the way it isn’t.
What was your first date? When was the moment you knew something was there between you two?
Scarlett: Well, he fell asleep on our first date.
Killer Kross: Sure did.
Scarlett: We went to see Halloween Ends in LA on our first date.
Killer Kross: John Morrison, John Hennigan, suggested a really cool theater that we went to. It was very unique. The movie starts, her and I are throwing popcorn at each other. We’re maybe the only people in the theater, so we were maybe behaving very chaotically.
Scarlett: He got so comfortable when we were holding hands he fell asleep and properly snoring through the movie.
Killer Kross: Yep, I sure did. And we love those movies. It wasn’t like I wasn’t enjoying it.
Scarlett: I thought, “Oh my God, he is so bored.” He was like, “No, I was just comfortable.”
Killer Kross: It still happens. We’re watching TV at home, and I’m falling asleep.
How is it separating work and home life being together all the time?
Scarlett: I feel like you’re worse at that than me with this. I feel like you’re thinking about wrestling quite a bit.
Killer Kross: Yeah, I would describe it that way too. Talking about work isn’t really a problem unless we’re doing something we should be presently really involved with. If she and I are about to go down a ski slope and right before we’re about to go down a hill, I say, “I got this really good idea for a high spot or story.” I’m giving you an extreme example. It has never happened, but there are times to talk about it. I find one of the best things for me is having the time and space to get bored. If I have nonstop stuff to do, and I genuinely do, I don’t have a creative window. Creative ideas are going to come to me, but I need to stop thinking about everything else. If I can find time to get bored, stuff will come to me. The only place I’m going to get bored is at home.
Scarlett: If we’re stressed out for something that has to do with work or wrestling and overthinking something, we’ll give each other a lot of time. So we give ourselves 30 minutes of something like venting, then will focus on something else for a while. If we can get something out instead of focusing on it the entire day being stressed. If we set aside our vent time, we’re not just dumping on each other and things going on. We’ll try to be smart about things like that so it doesn’t become negative and not productive.
You’ve been through a crossroads in your careers. How important was to have each other as you decided your next moves?
Killer Kross: There is less of a rigid blueprint with how we proceed with everything. We kind of vibe off each other and vibe with what is going on and just speak plainly honestly and proceed forward to that place. In terms of needing a sounding board, I don’t feel she needs that or that I need it either. Obviously, having each other to bounce ideas off of is essential, but oftentimes we both know what we should be doing without needing the reassurance from each other. It comes from a place of precedence with honesty. Everything becomes easy when you’re honest. When you try to go around things and not do that, that’s when things get complicated personally and professionally.
Scarlett: We were both working independently for years before we knew each other. So, we’ve had each other for a long time to bounce ideas off. We’ve been independent first and came together as two complete people instead of needing each other to fill a gap.
Killer Kross: Her and I offer as performers two different chemistries in a show. Her and I would not chart the same psychology for our matches. We’re not doing the same thing or moving. We have two different personalities. We’ve always looked at pro wrestling as a variety act. There is a lot of different things that could be and should be in the show. Every match should not feel the same and stories should not be the same. I feel the differences have complemented each other.
Scarlett: I do think you’d do a great Stink Face move though if you’ve tried.
Killer Kross: Holy sh*t.
How does it feel to wrestle again in places like MLW? We didn’t get to see you do much of that in WWE.
Scarlett: I always have a very positive perspective no matter the situation I’m put in. If I’m told I’m going to manage, I’m going to manage the best possible. I’m going to make it feel as big as possible. That is what I was taught in the indies. If you’re given a tiny role, try to make it as big as possible. I enjoyed managing WWE. I feel like I was very good at it. I did want to wrestle more. I was always ready and training and ready. It felt revitalizing to be back on the indies and getting to show that again.
I think for a while it was difficult not being in the Royal Rumble. That’s something I really wanted. For a moment, they were talking about me and B-Fab actually being part of the tag match at WrestleMania we were in. That was the conversation we were in. We were excited, but it didn’t happen and we managed. We were still grateful and lucky we were able to do that. Yeah, I am a wrestler. I did want to wrestle more, but now I get to and get to do it over the world. I get to do it in MLW. We’re going to Romania soon. There is so much more cool amazing stuff going on.
When it comes to starting a family, where are you on that idea?
Killer Kross: Well, we already started a family. We have two dogs along with a stray cat my wife has taken in. We love this cat so much. The cat is starting to behave like a dog. The two dogs love the cat.
Scarlett: We caught her chewing a bone. That was weird.
Killer Kross: That was insane seeing the cat chewing on a rawhide bone. In terms of having little minions running around, I don’t know.
Scarlett: Whatever happens, it happens. We’re just enjoying life right now.
How do you look at your careers now post-WWE? Has your perspective changed?
Killer Kross: How do I say this without sounding passive aggressive? I’ll tell you right now we are the least tribal people you’ll ever meet. We’re not even salty about where things are at or where we are right now. We are very live and let live. We are very much about making the best of what you’ve got. We always do that. We’re grateful where we are at. This whole experience of being independent in the world and market we’re in, the information we’re acquiring all over the country and world has been invaluable. This is not experience or information we could have acquired without being independent. We’ve learned a lot about different markets, in wrestling and entertainment that we would not have been able to learn had we been inside the machine. Believe me when I tell you, and I think Scarlett will tell you the same, we’re very happy where we are at. I can tell you maybe we would not have been if the audience did not come with us.
I understand some people with how they perceive the world and their reality of what is going on through their newsfeed, if we’re not being shoved down their throats in their feed, maybe they think we’ve disappeared. But let me tell you, we’re in two or three major cities every weekend and thousands of people come to see us whether it’s comic cons or conventions, independent wrestling shows. The amount of love and support we are getting from the wrestling audience or people who just enjoy entertainment stuff has been overwhelming. Truthfully, I thought it may have simmered back a little bit a few months ago. It hasn’t. It is actually getting bigger and growing.
Scarlett: We are also not desperate for a contract. We weren’t sure if we wanted to jump straight into another major company. The thing is we are enjoying ourselves right now that we realized what we are looking for is the best story and having the most fun. Wherever we go, as long as we’re enjoying ourselves and telling a great story and the audience is enjoying themselves, that’s where we want to be.
Killer Kross: Showing up on an appearance basis has not only been good for us mentally. We’ve been able to develop a sense of trust with companies we’re working for, being able to tell them we’re going to commit to the things we’re saying and follow through with them. I’m not misrepresenting companies. A lot of companies like to lock people down because they are concerned about the behavior or going somewhere else or losing equity under the management elsewhere. We’ve been able to foster trust and equity with these companies we are working with, and this has been awesome.
Scarlett: One of the best things is when people come up to us at independent shows and tell us it’s their first independent show ever. And the fact they came because of us. To hear that, it’s insane.
Killer Kross: It’s awesome because you’re getting new fans outside of mass mainstream distribution, which is not easy.
What are your Valentine’s Day plans? Do you have an ideal date night?
Killer Kross: Her and I are living on the move. Very often we are somewhere else. When we get time to be home, it is wonderful. Personally, on Valentine’s Day, I like to go to a very nice restaurant. Somewhere quiet and not loud because our whole life is loud. A lot of what we do demands a lot of attention and energy. So, when we come home, we recharge. That’s when we can look after each other and ourselves. Stepping out to a really nice restaurant would be ideal for me. Or maybe cooking at home or ordering at home and having a movie night. We’ve always done our best to make sure we have date nights. Sometimes we do those on the road. Other times we do it at home and find a really good movie. We have go-to restaurants in our local area we don’t tell anyone about.
Scarlett: He gets me flowers all the time for no reason, which I love. I love flowers on Valentine’s Day, but he gets them for me all the time. What we really want on that day is to relax, eat good food, maybe relax to a really scary movie.
Killer Kross: That is the insanity of our household.
Scarlett: We also love getting back massages because we are doors from wrestling. That’s the best thing we could possibly do on Valentine’s Day. Just being together is number one.
Killer Kross: It’s massages, chocolate covered strawberries, a steak and watching a movie where someone gets decapitated. That’s Valentine’s Day for us.
Relive MLW Battle Riot VIII now on YouTube
