Karrion Kross Took His Original Wrestling Name From This Iconic Movie Killer

Wrestling fans love to get behind the underdog who they see working their tail off to get better. Sometimes the support from the WWE Universe has led to certain superstars getting a huge push. Ask Bryan Danielson and Kofi Kingston where they would be without the fans demanding to see more. Just recently, fan outrage caused WWE to bring R-Truth back. Fan support doesn’t always work though. No matter how much the audience loved Zack Ryder, Vince McMahon wouldn’t push him.

Today, another wrestler is going through a similar situation. Despite him having the look, promo skills, and talent, Karrion Kross has been a bust on the main roster. It remains to be seen if WWE will finally do something big with him, but fans love Kross’ sinister and psychotic character. It’s a trait he’s portrayed for years, going all the way back to his Killer Kross days, a name he took from Anton Chigurh, the terrifying villain portrayed by Javier Bardem in 2007’s No Country for Old Men.

Killer Kross Got His Name From ‘No Country For Old Men’

Fans Started Chanting “Killer” At Kevin Kross

• He first started wrestling as Kevin Kross.
• Kross was putting extra tape on his hands during matches.
• After watching No Country for Old Men, he copied what Anton Chigurh did to a cop.

Karrion Kross’ real name is Kevin Kesar. As you see, both his actual and wrestling name begin with the letter K for the first and last names. At nearly 40 years old, Kross started wrestling later in life, making his major debut in Global Force Wrestling just a few days after his 30th birthday.

In an interview with Chris Van Vliet, Kross spoke about how he came up with his first wrestling name, Killer Kross, saying that he initially started as Kevin Kross because he liked the way it sounded and thought it would be easy for fans to chant. Those fans, however, had a different idea in mind.

“I think it was around the time I wrestled Shane Douglas. I had extra tape on my hands, and I’d just finished watching No Country for Old Men. And there was this scene when they finally arrest Javier Bardem’s character… he’s in the police station and he grapevine’s the cop’s back, and he has the handcuffs, and he chokes him with the chain. So I overtaped my hands that night, and I figured a great way to go home would be to unravel the tape and do that exact spot. And people were chanting ‘Killer Kross’. That kind of just followed me for a couple months, and I was like, that’s got a nice ring to it. And it’s very character-driven. I can draw a lot out of that. The fans are calling me that for months, so I was like, well, my name is Killer Kross now.”

Who Is Javier Bardem’s Anton Chigurh?

He Won A Best Supporting Actor Academy Award

• No Country for Old Men was written and directed by the Coen brothers.
• It also stars Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson.
• Anton Chigurh is a terrifying villain who plays mind games with his victims.

In case you don’t know what Karrion Kross is referring to, No Country for Old Men, written and directed by the Coen brothers, was one of the most celebrated movies of 2007, even winning the Oscar for Best Picture. Based on a novel of the same name by Cormac McCarthy, the crime thriller about the search for a terrifying hitman stars the likes of Tommy Lee Jones, Josh Brolin, and Woody Harrelson, but the movie belongs to Javier Bardem.

Bardem won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor because of how scary he was as Anton Chigurh. He’s like Michael Myers without the mask as a killer who feels nothing. He’s a complete psychopath, killing people with a bolt pistol used to put down livestock, and deciding on whether his victims live or die by a simple coin flip. Chigurh also has a way with words. Just by the calm, cool, menacing way he speaks, the villain pulls you in. He is easily one of the most iconic film antagonists of the 21st Century, and you can see how Kross has channeled him throughout his career.

Karrion Kross Excels With Great Heel Character Work

There Is A Reason WWE Fans Want To See More Of Him

• Killer Kross also competed in Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling.
• His name was changed to Karrion Kross when he signed with WWE and debuted on NXT.
• Kross’ current character tries to get into the heads of other wrestlers.

At 6’4″ and 265 pounds, with a face that looks perpetually angry, Karrion Kross was made to be a villain, and he’s spent most of his career being a great heel when given a chance. He’s no simple powerhouse brute though, but a character with a lot of detail. In Lucha Underground, he debuted The White Rabbit as the leader of The Rabbit Tribe. His promos were about time running out, as he said “Tick tock”. That followed him to TNA as well (then called Impact Wrestling), where Killer Kross spent over a year building up his name.

Sadly, the Killer Kross name had to be dropped when he joined WWE in 2020. Now called Karrion Kross, he quickly took over NXT with his wife, Scarlett, who brought an hour glass to the ring. Despite having his gimmick seriously damaged by an Adam Cole promo, Kross was still one of the more menacing names on the developmental roster because of his commitment to character.

It’s frustrating to see how Karrion Kross has been used on the WWE main roster. He is a great talker, but he debuted wearing a helmet and jobbing out to Jeff Hardy, and has done little since Triple H brought him back. Over the past several months, Karrion Kross is finally getting the chance to show what he’s capable of. Several backstage promos have shown him talking to various wrestlers and trying to get in their heads. He’s an evil man, playing mind games just like Anton Chigurh. If WWE ever really lets him loose, Kross could be a Killer.