Category: Featured

Featured stories and must-read content from BodySlam.net.

EXCLUSIVE: Killer Kross Talks Pet Peeves and Advice for Young Wrestlers

Killer Kross (known to many fans as Former WWE Superstar Karrion Kross) is no stranger to the grind of professional wrestling. Having built a reputation across multiple promotions for his intensity and discipline, Kross is now offering insight into an often overlooked side of the business: locker room culture and the importance of taking care of your body.

Speaking with Bodyslam.net’s Kyle Collison, Kross addressed locker room etiquette and personal pet peeves, but made it clear he’s not someone who gets easily rattled.

“God, that’s really hard for me. I mean, I.. I’m not really an irritable person. And I see people doing stupid things all the time. And I kind of just laugh. I laugh at stupid shit.”

While Kross didn’t point to specific behaviors that frustrate him, his response paints the picture of a veteran who has seen it all, and chooses not to dwell on the negatives. Instead, his focus remains on growth, professionalism, and longevity in the industry.

That mindset carried over when the conversation shifted to advice for young wrestlers entering the business. Rather than offering cliché guidance about paying dues or earning respect, Kross zeroed in on something far more practical and often ignored: nutrition and recovery.

“What about advice? Advice.. I would say start studying nutrition because it’s not necessarily about having a particular body composition, but it’s understanding what a calorie is the different types and how your body responds to eating those things and you want to leverage nutrition to recover faster because you’re going to love wrestling in the beginning and you’re going to train seven days a week and you’re going to bump your head off and you’re going to get beat up and you’re going to feel like crap and you’re going to have to recover so you don’t get hurt.

And the only way you’re going to recover is through getting a good amount of sleep, staying hydrated, has to do with potassium, magnesium, sodium, electrolytes and just knowing what to eat. If you eat everything in abundance, even good things, it’s going to work against you. You got it. You got to figure out what what that is. So no, none of these wrestling schools are going to teach you that because they’re not nutritionists. So maybe, might get a nutritionist.”

Kross’ advice underscores a shift in how modern wrestlers approach their careers. While locker room etiquette and respect remain foundational, there is a growing emphasis on sustainability, and how to stay healthy, recover properly, and extend a career in an industry known for it’s physical toll on the body.

For Kross, it’s simple: the passion will always be there early on, but without the right habits, that same passion can lead to burnout or injury. His message to the next generation is clear—learn your body, invest in your health, and don’t rely solely on wrestling schools to teach you everything you need to succeed.

In a business built on toughness, Kross is reminding talent that longevity isn’t just about how hard you go, it’s about how well you recover.

You can check out the full interview with Killer Kross with Bodyslam.net’s Kyle Collison from Astronomicon 9 below.

April 15, 2026
EXCLUSIVE: Killer Kross Talks Upcoming Rousey And Carano Fight

Killer Kross Weighs In On Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano.

Former WWE Superstar Killer Kross is looking ahead to one of the most anticipated potential matchups in combat sports, offering his thoughts on Ronda Rousey’s upcoming MMA fight against Gina Carano.

Speaking in a recent interview with Bodyslam.net’s Kyle Collison, Kross shared his excitement for the clash between two of the most influential figures in women’s mixed martial arts.

“I think it’s exciting. I mean, she has fans all over the world and pro wrestling and in mixed martial arts. I mean, she introduced MMA to people who never even watched MMA for the for the attraction of a dominant woman being showcased on all these cards and stuff like that. And of course, Gina Carano did as well. She was kind of the OG in my opinion. That was the fight everybody wanted to see it first. When they were in strike force, that was the girl girl. I’m going to watch the fights. I’ve met both of them. I was on the road with WWE with Rhonda. She was super cool student of the game. Always wanted to learn. No matter what anybody’s preconceived notion is or they’re basing an opinion off of something that she said that’s like out of context or whatever. They have these negative opinions. I’ve been around her for real. She’s an awesome human being and I met Gina a long time ago. God, I can’t remember what gym it would have been in Las Vegas, but it would have been maybe in 2013 or maybe even before that.. but I met her briefly. It was a long a by super cool. Very grounded. I can’t wait to see them go at it. It’s going to be a battle of the legends man.”

You can check out the entire Killer Kross interview with Bodyslam.net’s Kyle Collison at Astronomicon 9 below.

Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano will stream live on Netflix on May 16th, 2026.

April 15, 2026
EXCLUSIVE: Killer Kross Talks Winning MLW World Title In Front Of His Recently Cancer Free Mother

Killer Kross has reached the top of Major League Wrestling, capturing the MLW World Heavyweight Championship in what he described as the most meaningful moment of his career.

Killer Kross, a former World Wrestling Entertainment Superstar – known to fans as Karrion Kross during his time with WWE, secured the MLW World Heavyweight Championship victory in a grueling contest that pushed him to his physical limits. The win, however, carried far greater significance beyond the title itself, as it unfolded at MLW’s Battle Riot VIII in front of his mother, who recently completed cancer treatments.

Speaking in a recent interview with Bodyslam.net’s Kyle Collison, Kross reflected on the emotional weight of the moment.

“Literally best moment of my career, one of the best moments of my life. If people aren’t aware, my mother is a cancer survivor, so she finished all the treatments. She’s cancer-free. It was the first time she got to see me perform post-treatment, so that was the longest amount of time I was in the ring. I think I was out there for like, I think they told me like an hour and a half, and you’ve got to be active, man. You can’t be a slouch.

That’s a long time to be getting punched and kicked and kneed in the head. Thanks, Matt Riddle, but yeah, a bloody mess. I went through the whole crucible.

You know, I came out MLW World Heavyweight Champion. More importantly, the reaction that I heard from the audience when we won, I was like, that was very validating for me and for my mother to be there and to have that moment and share that, that real moment, everybody, you know, they’re publicly live forever. It’s there. I don’t think anything’s ever going to top that, to be honest.”

You can check out the Bodyslam.net exclusive interview with MLW World Heavyweight Champion Killer Kross below.

Kross’ victory marks a significant milestone in his post-WWE career, reestablishing him as a dominant force on the independent scene and within MLW. The physically demanding bout, lasting approximately 90 minutes, underscored both his endurance and resilience inside the ring.

Beyond the in-ring achievement, the presence of his mother added a deeply personal layer to the championship win. After enduring a lengthy battle with cancer, her attendance—and Kross’ ability to share that moment with her—gave the victory a lasting emotional resonance.

The crowd response further amplified the occasion, with Kross noting the reaction as a validating experience not just professionally, but personally. For a performer who has competed on some of the industry’s biggest stages, the moment stands apart as uniquely meaningful.

With the MLW World Heavyweight Championship now around his waist, Kross begins a new chapter—one defined not only by championship gold, but by a career-defining moment that transcended the ring.

You can watch MLW’s highlight video of Killer Kross’ World Title victory at Battle Riot VIII below.

April 14, 2026
WWE Under TKO – Scale, Control, and the Insulation of Power
An institutional autopsy of structural dominance, moral hazard, and the accountability deficit in professional wrestling.
Rationale – Necessity of Structural Analysis

This inquiry intentionally departs from the traditions of the personal wrestling editorial or event-driven critique. In the post-2023 climate, WWE no longer operates as a mere sports-entertainment promotion; it functions as a sophisticated, vertically integrated conglomerate within the TKO Group Holdings framework. Consequently, traditional narratives focused on ‘creative quality’ or fan sentiment are insufficient to map the entity’s true impact.

We adopt a forensic institutional lens for three specific reasons:

Objectivity over Affect: By utilising institutional terminology—such as ‘Yield Optimisation’, ‘Institutional Decoupling’, and ‘Narrative Capture’—we move the discourse from the subjective (how the product feels) to the objective (how the system functions).

Synthesis of Disparate Risks: A standard editorial often fails to bridge the gap between ticket pricing, sex trafficking litigation, and federal policy. This format allows for a synthesis of interdependencies, demonstrating how these seemingly unrelated factors interlock to form a protective shield for the corporation.

Governance as a Primary Metric: In any high-performing organisation, accountability and internal controls are the primary drivers of long-term health. When these are bypassed in favour of algorithmic success, it signals a systemic transformation that demands a rigorous, evidence-led diagnostic rather than an editorial opinion.

Abstract

In 2025, WWE achieved record revenues of £1.37 billion ($1.709B)—a 22% increase—coinciding with the strategic migration of Premium Live Events (PLEs) to ESPN’s new streaming platform and the global consolidation of content onto Netflix. This fiscal ascent exists in stark contrast to deepening legal risks, including the April 2026 Janel Grant affidavit and ongoing Delaware Court of Chancery litigation. Through vertical integration, geopolitical site fees, and unprecedented political proximity, WWE has transitioned from a market-dependent promotion into a sovereign corporate entity. This system effectively converts commercial scale into structural immunity, insulating the platform from fan backlash, leadership scandals, and traditional market feedback.

I. The Streaming Duality: Privatising the Audience

The 2026 media landscape marks the end of WWE as a public-facing ratings entity and its birth as a proprietary data asset. By migrating its global library to Netflix and its domestic PLEs to ESPN’s direct-to-consumer platform, TKO has rendered the ‘Fan Referendum’ invisible. Public dissatisfaction no longer translates into visible ratings declines; it is buried within opaque proprietary data sets, allowing the company to dismiss localised apathy as algorithmic noise. Furthermore, as a core pillar of the Disney-backed sports bundle, WWE operates akin to a SaaS (Software as a Service) model. This integration into the ‘Disney Defence’ ensures that recurring revenue remains functionally decoupled from the immediate creative or ethical quality of the product.

II. Yield Optimisation and the Gentrification of Extraction

WWE’s 2025–2026 strategy prioritises inelastic equity extraction over audience cultivation. Average domestic ticket prices reached £95 ($118) in 2025, a real-term doubling since the merger. While WrestleMania 41 achieved a £53 million gate, WrestleMania 42 shows a 19.3% lag in distribution as of April 2026, suggesting the system has reached a utility ceiling. This aggressive pricing constitutes the deliberate gentrification of the live event, pricing out the core fan base in favour of a corporate-tourist demographic. To compensate for the resulting sterile atmosphere, the system relies on crossover celebrities like Logan Paul to generate viral digital impressions—a cycle that further alienates the core audience whose vocal energy historically constituted the product’s primary aesthetic value.

III. Labour Integration: The ‘UFC-isation’ of Talent

Standardised TKO master agreements, implemented following the 2025 UFC antitrust settlement, have codified a new era of labour subjugation. Contracts now routinely include clauses for AI-generated digital replicas, ensuring the ‘Superstar IP’ can survive the biological ageing, injury, or termination of the human actor. This technological moat serves as the ultimate corporate contingency against individual talent leverage or public cancellation. Simultaneously, through the acquisition of AAA and the ‘WWE ID’ programme, TKO has restricted competitive mobility. Independent wrestling no longer functions as a competitor but as a subsidised farm system, ensuring WWE dictates the macroeconomic terms of entry and exit for the entire industry.

IV. Governance Continuity and the Moral Hazard

The system’s resilience in the face of the Janel Grant litigation is a critical indicator of its structural insulation. The April 2, 2026, affidavit alleges that current President Nick Khan and former COO Brad Blum were aware of and facilitated a documented culture of misconduct. This joins ongoing Delaware Chancery litigation regarding deleted Signal messages involving Paul ‘Triple H’ Levesque, suggesting a culture where the destruction of evidence is calculated as an acceptable operational cost. TKO has gambled that its £16 billion ($20B) internal valuation provides enough financial gravity to deter structural regulatory intervention, prioritising revenue continuity over the leadership resets typically required by a functional governance framework. This represents a profound moral hazard: the enterprise is now too profitable to be disciplined.

V. Geopolitical and Institutional Buffering

WWE’s revenue is increasingly anchored by immovable macro-economic forces that provide reputational buffering. The expansion to four Saudi PLEs in 2026 provides a non-negotiable nine-figure revenue floor entirely immune to domestic consumer boycotts. Domestically, the company enjoys unprecedented political proximity. Linda McMahon’s 2026 ‘final mission’ to dismantle the U.S. Department of Education—having already terminated nearly half the department’s staff—provides a level of institutional legitimacy that severely complicates traditional regulatory or journalistic scrutiny. This proximity functions as a reputational detergent, laundering the corporate image through the highest corridors of American power.

System Synthesis

The mechanisms of TKO-era WWE—the Netflix/ESPN distribution duality, the SaaS-style revenue model, the gentrification of live events, and its geopolitical anchors—interlock with total coherence. The system is no longer a promotion competing for fans; it is an integrated fortress. By leveraging informational capture—utilising a proxy press and credentialed talking heads to pathologise legitimate criticism and destabilise competitors—the company has constructed a multi-dimensional shield. This shield protects the executive layer from the consequences of misconduct, the financial layer from fan apathy, and the market layer from genuine competition.

Conclusion – The Sovereign Verdict

The forensic evidence suggests that WWE has achieved the ultimate corporate objective: the perfection of a closed-loop monopoly. Through the strategic use of global streaming algorithms, geopolitical guarantees, and political proximity, TKO has successfully neutralised every traditional mechanism of accountability. The fans have lost their vote through aggressive repricing; the talent has lost their leverage through synthetic rights; and the executive leadership has lost its liability through the sheer, unassailable scale of the merger.

As the company proceeds through 2026, it exists as a perfected commercial vessel—one that can absorb sex trafficking affidavits, federal investigations, and the alienation of its core audience without a single tremor in its stock price. The softening of WrestleMania 42 sales is not an indicator of a failing business, but the final symptom of a completed transformation. The ‘Fortress’ is finished; WWE has outgrown the necessity of the people it was built to entertain, evolving instead into an immutable infrastructure of modern institutional power.

References (Harvard style)

Delaware Court of Chancery (2026) In re World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. Shareholder Litigation.

Grant v. McMahon et al. (2026) Affidavit of Janel Grant, April 2, U.S. District Court (CT).

TKO Group Holdings (2026) Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2025 Results.

U.S. Department of Education (2026) Secretary McMahon statements on ‘Final Mission’ and Departmental Dismantling.

WrestleTix / Pollstar (2026) Comparative Analysis: WrestleMania 41 vs. WrestleMania 42 Ticket Velocity.

CNBC / ESPN (2025) WWE Domestic Streaming Rights Agreement: 2026 Transition.
April 11, 2026
BodySlam: A Fresh Coat of Paint

“Now is no time to think of what you do not have. Think of what you can do with what there is.”

— Ernest Hemingway, “The Old Man and the Sea (1952)

In December 1922, a train robbery at the Gare de Lyon train station in Paris, France, changed the life of future literary giant Ernest Hemingway. Hadley Richardson, his first wife, was en route to meet him in Switzerland when a suitcase full of his short stories and carbon copies was lost in the chaos.

Instead of giving up, Hemingway resolved to recreate what he could of his missing work. He had time, but needed to make up for what was stolen from him, so he pivoted. His writing style changed; the sentences became shorter, the paragraphs less messy, and the prose became easier to digest. A personal disaster became a revelation, begetting much-needed upgrades.

BodySlam, for the uninitiated, was funded by Cassidy Haynes. Our platform has seen many put fingers to keyboard from photographers, writers, interviewers, podcasters, and scoopsters. Our work is sourced by many, and its contributors have collaborated, even worked for other outlets. It was BodySlam that broke the news that Bryan Danielson would join AEW in 2021. If you’ve come across witty pieces about people with bad takes like Disco Inferno, odds are you have visited our site. Articles recapping incredible matches, profiling wrestlers, or giving biting commentary on the wrestling scene, we’ve been there.

Classic BodySlam logo. Good times, am I right?

Recently, BodySlam has undergone something similar. In the first week of April 2026, the server for the website’s previous iteration had been deleted. Some of the work had been saved, but not all of it. Years upon years upon years of work, gone. Yes, even mine.

That sucks. Plain and simple, it’s heartbreaking that the work of BodySlam contributors has vanished. Yet, there’s hope. Our writers are hungry and ready to start again. We know it’s a long road back to where we were. Online web traffic will be a fight. Ranking high in search results. All of that jargon.

While some were sadly unable to save backups, others did. Bittersweet silver lining as it is, it won’t replace the time it took to deliver news, education, or hard-hitting narratives. Time we won’t get back. But inevitably, it is what it is.

Speaking for myself, I’ve taken those precautions before I even joined wrestling media. Word Docs. Google Docs. Flash drives. Hard drives. Sony PlayStation’s Test Drive 6.

I won’t state what began this. Instead, I’ll nudge you to Cassidy Haynes and Cory Hays’s layout of what happened. (Shameless plug below.)

I’d like to take this moment to promote an incentive to keep your eye on BodySlam’s new content: I’ll be revisiting my previous works that were lost in the shutdown.

What does that mean? For readers of my work specifically, especially what I’ve contributed to BodySlam, they can expect the classic Corey Michaels style, but with all the improvements I’ve made during my growth as a writer. I won’t go into much more detail here, so stay tuned.

More importantly, what does this mean for BodySlam readers?

Previously, the old way had some hiccups. Ads that would interrupt the reading flow. Short-form articles filled with keywords and buzzwords without much material to provide needed context. Compromised integrity and the struggles in communications. There was a lack of focus, chaotic and wildly so. We made do with what we had. Then, a play forced BodySlam’s hand, and ultimately, it will be for the better.

How so?

Well, as you’ve likely noticed, the website is sleeker and wayyyy more reader-friendly. The design is responsive and easy on the eyes, providing helpful scannability. Our new server is more secure, and we’ve tailored the search engine so readers can eventually find our stuff more easily. Additionally, this means longer-form content, so you get more substance to chew on. Our post-shows may receive an uplift in graphics as well.

Look at this homepage. Doesn’t it look so clean? – Credit: Danny Bennett, Bodyslam

Fewer obtrusive ads will be present going forward, leading to a less broken site experience. Furthermore, we’re relocating premium access from our Patreon to the BodySlam+ tier on the site, to avoid ads and include exclusive content not found in the free version.

We’re serious about earning trust and building stronger brand recognition, so expect that integration across our media channels. We aim to improve our public relations with outlets and creators both inside and outside of BodySlam.

Most importantly, we aim to be a place where wrestling fans can be themselves and represent the wide array of fans who enjoy this compelling medium. That goes for anyone in any walk of life; wrestling media’s seen an influx of diverse voices, not just of straight white cisgender men, but anyone willing to share their insight into the industry through their voice. Pro wrestling transcends race, nationality, gender, and sexuality. We haven’t forgotten that.

Contributors, both past and present, made BodySlam what it was through undying passion and fiery dedication. That will never change. The heart of BodySlam will pump that same blood, and you can feel its pulse with the other publications in wrestling media.

It’ll be a long road back. We’ll face challenges and make mistakes, but rest assured, BodySlam will be the best it has ever been and will get better. Not just today, but all the days to come.

We have a vision. The old way doesn’t work anymore. Therefore, folks, our current motto is this:

BS is back, this time with no more BS.

April 11, 2026