Nikki Cross surprised the WWE fans just a few weeks ago when she appeared in new ring gear with a mask and a cape. Cross let us in a little more about her new persona even more recently and stated that she isn’t a Superhero. She is “Almost A Superhero” also known as A.S.H.
While the commentary is slowly starting to refer to her as officially Nikki ASH, Cross recently appeared on El Brunch de WWE where she explained more about her new gimmick. The gimmick has appeared to come out of nowhere, but according to Cross, this has been in the works for several months.
“So, the idea started to form right about the Royal Rumble. For me, I’ve always really took a lot of inspiration, a lot of comfort, a lot of escapism in superhero movies and superhero television shows. Growing up in Scotland, as a little girl, I would always watch the X-Men cartoons and the Spider-Man cartoon. So for me, I really wanted to come up with something that was very inspirational to little girls and boys and just something that’s a very positive message. So for me, it’s the whole thing. The whole message is I don’t have superpowers.
I don’t have super speed. I don’t have super strength. I cant fly, unfortunately. But you don’t need any of that. You don’t need superpowers to be a superhero. You can be a superhero by being good to people. To be kind. To always try and look out for others and stand up for those in need. For me, that’s the really important message. We can always be better, we can always do better. The idea is I put on this cape, I put the mask on, I put this outfit on, this lovely cute little leotard, I put on these wrist gauntlets and I can try anything. That’s the message of almost-a-superhero. I’m so excited and I’m so proud of everything.”
She would go on to comment on the outfit itself along with the confidence she has had as of late. Prior to July 5 RAW she was on an undefeated streak for weeks. On this week’s show, she was in an eight-woman tag team match and Cross took the pin from Nia Jax.
“The butterfly on the outfit represents metamorphosis. This transformation. Then the lightning bolts around the butterfly, that’s my spark. Everyone has that spark. For me, it’s a supercharge. It’s dynamic energy, positivity, love, it’s all of that. That’s really the core, the heart of Nikki Cross.”
Cross continues, “I feel so empowered. I love the costume, we wanted to create something that people can dress as; cosplay. They can wrap a blue towel or a yellow towel around their neck and they’re Nikki Cross. We really wanted to create something that was so relatable. Relatable to our audiences and something that when they put on — they put on the cape, they put on a mask, and they feel brave and they feel courageous. For me, it gives me so much confidence. I put the costume on for the first time and I was like, ‘I can take on the world. I’m ready for action.’ I felt so confident. I just felt amazing.”
Former WWE Superstar and Cross’s husband, Killian Dain, recently spoke on his wife’s new character and explained that it has been something she has wanted to do for quite some time. In an interview with The Shining Wizards Network: Ringside Rant, Dain supports her character and explains that there was doubt that this gimmick would even end up on the screen.
“What I love about this gimmick is it’s given her the opportunity to be the character she really wants to be. She wants to be appropriate for little girls and someone to aspire towards because not all our characters are that way, some are villains or whatever, so this is a good opportunity for her to be, especially the way the world is right now, to be a positive force, it’s actually quite incredible. It’s been fun because this [idea was hers] and she was able to pitch it. It took a long time to get started. The funniest part is we thought it was never going to happen, then boom! It was all ‘go, go, go!'”
He continues, “She’s loving it right now. Even when she started doing stuff on TV right before the superhero gimmick, this all happened out of nothing. Somebody got hurt or something and she filled in, it went well because she’s that type of character and great. They were like, ‘Okay, let’s go full steam ahead with the superhero stuff. Honestly, it’s a great experience for her. She’s out there on her own now. She’s not attached to SAnitY, she’s not attached to Alexa, this is just her and she’s an incredible talent. She’s got all this charisma, but there’s a lot of times that you don’t get to showcase that, that’s the nature of the business, but she’s getting that opportunity now and my fingers and toes are crossed for her.”
As mentioned earlier, Nikki is slowly moving towards using the last name of ASH more frequently on WWE programming. On the July 5 episode of RAW, she was mostly called by this name on commentary and was shown on screen when she made her way to the ring. The ring announcer still referred to her as Nikki Cross as well as her entrance theme.
How are you liking Nikki’s new character and how do you see it being perceived as the live crowd comes back in just two weeks? Join the discussion below!
Full credit for all transcriptions – Fightful
