WWE star Nikki Cross spoke with RoundaRousey.com recently where the women’s tag champion spoke about a multitude of subjects including her recent wedding with NXT’s Killain Dain. Cross also reveals that she’s gone back to college, and breaks down how the independent wrestling scene prepared her for NXT. Highlights are below. (Full interview here)
Getting married to Killain Dain:
It was great. We’ve been together since 2008—so that was like 11 years. … And then we went home to Scotland for the wedding. So it just felt very nice to spend it with friends and family. … It was quite a kind of intimate wedding, so we just kept it very… you know, like just friends and family. It was nice to celebrate with everyone. And my mum got to see me walk down the aisle, so I think she was very happy with that.
Going back to college:
Obviously, it’s my job, and it’s always been my dream job. And it’s always been my passion. But … actually, I got some really good news yesterday. I went back to college, so I’ve been doing some courses with a college here in Florida. And I was doing women’s history and American history and also art history. And from that, I kind of decided to go back and pursue my Master’s degree.
I actually applied for a course at Edinburgh University in Scotland, and they do … a completely online degree, which obviously suits me because I want to do this stuff. And I actually got the email a couple of days ago that I’ve been accepted into the course. So that was actually great news. That was very good news to wake up to on Monday. We had RAW on Monday, so it was very good news to wake up to on a Monday morning, I was like, “Oh yay! I got accepted.” Because I wasn’t expecting a response back for about four weeks. So that was really nice. … So I’ll be going back to school. I kind of took a break—this summer, I took a break from study—and then I go back in September. That’s kind of what I do outside of wrestling.
Favorite TV shows and movies:
We are actually … big TV people. Right now, we’re watching seasons of Supernatural. We just got done with Jessica Jones. I watch a lot of programs. … I just got done watching the new Scream series.
We also like going to the movies—we’re big cinema people. … We actually just saw [Spider-Man: Far From Home] a couple of months ago because we both love the Marvel movies. We’re big cinema people, we’re big movie people. We like watching TV and just relaxing and chilling, going out for dinner, things like that.
The indie wrestling scene:
I think that independent wresting just really showed me that if you really put your mind to something, you will reach your goals and you’ll achieve what you want to achieve. The scene on the independent scene was such a rush. … I got to travel the world. I got to wrestle in Japan and wrestle in Europe and wrestle in Canada and wrestle all over the United Kingdom. So I really got to see the world before coming to NXT. That’s where I worked with different styles, worked with different people, and I gained so much life experience. … You know, I started in wrestling when I was 18 years old, so I feel like all my adulthood has been in this world, been in wrestling.
So I’ve had so many amazing, amazing experiences that I just wouldn’t change for anything, because it really made me who I am as a person. When I was almost 10, I always wanted to get to where I want to be now. So all those experiences—whether it be talking on the microphone, working with the different styles, doing media, and obviously just everything I’ve done—just prepared me. Like I said, it showed me that if I put my mind to something, I’ll achieve it. And obviously, coming to Florida and coming to NXT, and then now on SmackDown, it’s the same idea.
If I just put my mind to something and just work really hard and just try different stuff and don’t be afraid to try anything… Don’t be afraid to try something new. And when it is something new, just completely devote myself 100%—just go all in with it. … Don’t be self-conscious—just do it and you’ll be okay.
