During a recent interview with TV Insider, Nikki Cross commented on the WWE Women’s Tag-Team Championships, doing commentary, and more. You can check out some highlights from the interview below:
On doing commentary: “I want to say it was Michael Cole’s idea. I think it started when Alexa was competing against Asuka leading up to our women’s tag team championship match at WrestleMania against the Kabuki Warriors. Michael Cole is such a wonderful person because he was very encouraging. He told me to be myself. I think I was dancing on the table and cheering on Alexa. I really had so much fun. I think he is such an amazing commentator. It has been great working alongside him.”
On when her friendship with Bliss began: “I love to tell this story. For me, what you see on television was very much happening behind the scenes. We got to know each other. We did that backstage segment, I believe May of last year in London. That’s the first time we had a segment, but we both wanted to work with each other. We both pitched the idea. We saw something in each other. That was the start of our backstage friendship. We were traveling a lot together and doing these long drives. We were traveling from the same airport, so we’d wait for our flights to board and chatted away. Our friendship grew from there as we learned more about one another. The audience has come on this ride with us. It was art imitating life, and life imitating art. I’m so proud of that because it really comes from a very organic place. We both like NSYNC and Backstreet Boys. Although I think she is a bigger NSYNC fan. I’m definitely more of a Backstreet Boys fan.”
On being at the forefront of the Women’s Tag Team division: “The titles are like our little babies. I have such pride in the division because there are so many talented tag teams. Working against the Kabuki Warriors really helped push us because they are so good. The IIconics returned a few weeks ago. We also have Sasha and Bayley. Being at the forefront is a role me and Alexa take very seriously. It’s an honor to defend the titles because there are so many great tag teams. We’ve seen this story between Sasha and Bayley develop too, so I’m excited for everyone to see where that is. There are so many stories to tell, and I think the women’s tag team championship has so much room to grow. We want to give it the platform it deserves, even for tag teams that haven’t been established yet. Our tag team came out of friendship. That can easily happen to other girls on the roster with a natural friendship and chemistry. There is no reason way they can’t come together. We want to keep going forward. This week is just another way with the titles being defended on a major platform like Fox. Me and Alexa just want to do our best for the golden babies.”
On what two wrestlers she would like to see team up to face them: “We had matches with Tamina and Lacey Evans. I don’t know if we can call them Team Mama Bear? Can we do that? Tamina was absolutely amazing to me when I first came up to Raw and SmackDown. She really took care of me. I don’t call her Tamina. I call her Mama Bear. I’d love to hear what the WWE Universe thinks of that. You also got Carmella and Naomi, which is another combination we’ve seen before in the Elimination Chamber. That’s a team I would love to go against as well. If you gave me an hour, I could probably come up with a bunch of combinations because we have such an amazing locker room. All three brands have a wonderful mix of talent.”
On using her platform to share important issues: “Having a platform as a public figure is a responsibility. We have a responsibility to the WWE Universe. It’s something I do take seriously because I want to do what is right and best. I want to raise awareness about issues like social injustice and racial injustice. I think it’s wonderful WWE put out a statement in the last few days and spoke about supporting a multicultural society and condemning racial injustice. WWE is taking a stand beside the black performers and employees and fans around the world and encouraging people to use their voices against racism. I stand behind WWE on that and want to use my platform responsibly to raise awareness. I also want to educate myself and research and find out all the ways I can help. I want to do this for me and my own personal development.“
