Killer Kross Pitched Idea To Bring Back Attitude Era Stable
Could you imagine a PG version of The Corporate Ministry?
Not only did Killer Kross imagine it, but he also relayed the idea to WWE creative shortly before his release last November.
However, unlike other attempts at reviving a nostalgic act from pro wrestling's most popular era, Kross' pitch drew inspiration from modern-day conspiracy theories and the alleged presence of occult forces in large corporations.
"I had ideas about bringing back The Corporate Ministry," Kross told NBC Sports Boston in a recent interview. "That was one of my final ideas that I had. I had a series of writers on board for that who thought it was a very good idea. I thought pitching those ideas would be cool because there's some nostalgia to it. You know, with all these crazy conspiracy theories that are always going around about esoteric businesses and stuff like that, and cults, and evil companies and stuff like that, I thought there would be a tasteful way to fictionalize that type of stuff and put it back on TV with a nostalgic twist."
While Kross didn't give further details on why his idea never came to fruition, he did provide insight into why a lot of pitches in WWE get brushed aside.
"All of the writers that I dealt with, I loved them," Kross said. "I know that writers get completely skinned, decapitated, and delimbed from wrestlers saying that the writers suck, they're terrible, blah, blah, blah. I didn't have any issues with any of the writers that I've ever worked with. I loved all of them. I got to know them personally and professionally. The problem was that all the ideas would come up together, and whether they had awesome ideas for me, or they would ask me about my own ideas, they all have to go through one person. If that one person feels like it doesn't resonate to them, they don't make sense, or they're just not in the realm of how they particularly see things going and in entertaining people, then they're just gonna go out the window."
During the pilot episode of "WWE SmackDown" in April 1999, The Undertaker's Ministry of Darkness and the Corporation — led first by Vince McMahon and later by his son, Shane — joined forces to establish The Corporate Ministry. The unholy union was the culmination of a yearlong storyline dating back to Judgment Day: In Your House 1998, where Paul Bearer turned on his kayfabe son, Kane, setting in motion the formation of The Ministry. Meanwhile, Vince McMahon had formed his own stable, the Corporation, as part of his feud with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, but the two groups came into conflict when the Ministry went after McMahon's daughter, Stephanie. Through a complicated series of events, the Ministry ended up merging with Shane's version of the Corporation, but the combined faction turned out to have always been part of Vince's plan to bring Austin to his knee. The Corporate Ministry didn't last long, however, disbanding four months after it had formed.
A video of Killer Kross' interview with NBC Sports Boston can be seen below. He also looks ahead to his upcoming match against Davey Boy Smith Jr. at the "Ric Flair's Last Match" pay-per-view event scheduled for July 31.
H/T to WrestlingNews.Co for the transcription