Impact Wrestling should not be upset with honest, reflective Killer Kross

Killer Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux both requested their releases from Impact Wrestling and Kross thoroughly explained their reasoning on a recent podcast appearance. Reportedly, Impact are upset with Kross for making his feelings public and that’s extremely petty of them.

On Monday morning, Impact Wrestling officially announced that they had granted Scarlett Bordeaux her release after she made it clear that she was upset with the company. Impact, per Bordeaux, hasn’t been compensating some of its wrestlers fairly and Killer Kross detailed how Bordeaux had to live with her mother because of her financial situation.

He made these comments and spoke at length about his own contract situation while appearing on Petey Williams’s Wrestling Perspective podcast. Williams is a producer, wrestler, and long-time member of Impact’s roster.

While Bordeaux has been granted her release, PWInsider.com’s Mike Johnson reports that Impact will not do the same for Kross. Earlier, Johnson reported that Impact’s leadership is upset with Kross and some in the company have even compared Kross to Eli Drake, who was released by the company after refusing to wrestle Tessa Blanchard.

The comparisons to Drake are ridiculous. Unlike Drake, Kross has never refused to work with one of Impact Wrestling’s top wrestlers, nor has he disparaged the company. Kross went out of his way to set aside any bitterness in his podcast appearance with Williams, instead focusing on his desire to receive fair compensation; he even spoke about how he understood certain things from Impact’s perspective.

Professional wrestlers risk their future health and, yes, their lives inside the squared circle. The fact that talent signed to Impact have to live with their parents to offset housing costs, sign third-party bookings all over the world and pay for their own expenses is saddening. So many wrestlers have to pay for their own insurance and live with so much uncertainty. It just isn’t right.

Kross simply wants better for himself and his family and it’s what he’s earned as a member of the Impact roster. Since signing with the promotion, Kross has been one of their most praised stars and his character work and expansive vocabulary have made him a rising star. Kross is equally intimidating and talented. He has all the tools to be a future world champion.

He’s also underpaid, undervalued and now, in the doghouse in the eyes of a company that has trouble taking constructive criticism.

Impact should really be blaming themselves for not valuing their talent appropriately, because they could avoid this situation with better business practices. Instead of paying their wrestlers their worth and focusing on improving a product that lost a television deal and has faltered since last summer’s excellence, they’re angry with a wrestler calmly explaining their situation.

Additionally, Kross is probably speaking on behalf of wrestlers other than just himself and Bordeaux, which means Impact should pay especially close attention to his words. They should take this time to be introspective instead of comparing Kross to a guy like Drake, who insulted both the company and individual wrestlers.

Kross has insulted nobody; he’s just trying to make a living off of his hard work. If Impact Wrestling can’t understand that in this climate of increased competition and interest in wrestling, then maybe they don’t deserve the supremely talented, underpaid wrestlers that populate their roster.