After two separate stints on the indies, Karrion Kross knows a thing or two about the differences between how WWE likes to put angles together and how companies like Impact, New Japan, Major League Wrestling, and even your local indie opt to run their shows.

Some value hard-hitting, shoot-esque action, others, like Lucha Underground – where Kross performed as the White Rabbit – like magical realism, and others still try to emulate the WWF, with larger-than-life characters and black-and-white morality. But in the opinion of the “Killer,” wrestling lives and dies based on storytelling and getting fans engaged in the product, as he noted in an appearance on Keepin' It 100 with Konnan.

“I mean I’ve always tried to tell a story of what I’m doing to give people a reason to really care just behind having a winner or loser,” said Karrion Kross said via Wrestling Headlines. “How imperative it is to have like a real reason, um, why these guys are in the ring, I think that’s — I overlooked that prior to getting into WWE because it wasn’t a necessity to have because a lot of the matches we could have on the independents were cold matches. You go in there. It’s the first day that you met the guy. If you’re smart and you’re a professional, you’ve watched his stuff so you can understand what he does, and you guys from your timing together with the time allotted out there live.”

Asked to elaborate on some of his favorite matches from within the WWE system, Kross noted that one of his top picks actually happened this month, in the main event of Money in the Bank, no less.

“Being in the machine now and seeing how important storytelling is — I can give you a prime example,” Kross added. “That tag team match with The Bloodline, the Civil War, that was in my opinion, that was one of the best matches I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m not just putting it over because I’m in the company, I just mean I felt like I was watching a movie.”

Though it's hard to really put The Bloodline Civil War into historical context since it's so fresh in the mind and the story being told technically isn't even over yet, the match did live up to the admittedly lofty expectations in the moment, with Dave Meltzer giving it a 4.5-star rating for the combined efforts of Jey Uso, Jimmyy Uso, Roman Reigns, and Solo Sikoa. Kross' pick, as it seems, will age incredibly well.

Karrion Kross reveals the advice he gave Bron Breakker about Tommaso Ciampa.

Elsewhere in his appearance on Keepin' It 100 with Konnan, Karrion Kross was asked to discuss his journey through WWE, from his time in NXT up to his current angle with AJ Styles.

While Kross hasn't been back in developmental since his fateful match against Samoa Joe in August of 2021, he has opened himself up to being a resource to the next generation of NXT stars, including Bron Breakker, to whom he told a very interesting anecdote to before working a program alongside Tommaso Ciampa.

“Tommaso right now is, he’s in a bulk, and I told him he looked awesome. I do remember shred king Tommaso in NXT. I’ve never told this story before, but you’ll appreciate this because you know Tommaso and how he is. When Bron Breakker got hired, he’s a good kid, and he was introducing himself to everybody. I don’t know what he witnessed one morning, because I wasn’t there, but he came up to me, he’s like, ‘Yo, can I talk to you for a minute?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, of course, what do you need?’ He’s like, ‘Hey, this thing happened with Tommaso this morning and hey, is he f**king crazy?’ He just went from zero to a hundred and started yelling about all this f**king stuff. I just want to know what the deal is.’ Of course, I have to say this, I go, ‘Hey, man, listen. He is f**king crazy, and you should just stay away from him. Honestly, he’s a real f**king loose cannon, and we’re not really sure what to do with him. We just all kind of stay away from Tommaso.’ He’s like, ‘Holy sh*t.’ I was trying so hard to keep a straight face,” Kross said via Fightful.

“I went to tell Tommasso, he’s cutting, and this is what happens when he cuts. I just went and told Tommasso. Tommaso’s reaction was the best. I have to talk to him in his ear because he’s in a trance, the Tommaso trance. He’s listening, but he’s looking somewhere else. I tell him the story, and at the end, he just looks at me and goes like this, [sighs], and just looks away.”

Fortunately, Breakker was able to get past his initial impression and went on to work some fantastic matches alongside and opposite the “Blackheart” during their shared tenure in NXT. While much of that is now in the past, as Breakker has firmly gone over to the dark side to become the top heel in NXT, who knows, maybe the day will come when the duo are working together once more, maybe with the entire Way at their backs too.