Nikki Cross: “Me and Alexa discovered that we have really good chemistry”

Nikki Cross spoke with RondaRousey.com for a new interview discussing her team with Alexa Bliss and more. Highlights are below:

On getting married to Killian Dain: “It was great. We’ve been together since 2008—so that was like 11 years. … And then we went home to Scotland for the wedding. So it just felt very nice to spend it with friends and family. … It was quite a kind of intimate wedding, so we just kept it very… you know, like just friends and family. It was nice to celebrate with everyone. And my mum got to see me walk down the aisle, so I think she was very happy with that.”

On how she unwinds from “wrestling mode”: “Obviously, it’s my job, and it’s always been my dream job. And it’s always been my passion. But … actually, I got some really good news yesterday. I went back to college, so I’ve been doing some courses with a college here in Florida. And I was doing women’s history and American history and also art history. And from that, I kind of decided to go back and pursue my Master’s degree. I actually applied for a course at Edinburgh University in Scotland, and they do … a completely online degree, which obviously suits me because I want to do this stuff. And I actually got the email a couple of days ago that I’ve been accepted into the course. So that was actually great news. That was very good news to wake up to on Monday. We had RAW on Monday, so it was very good news to wake up to on a Monday morning, I was like, “Oh yay! I got accepted.” Because I wasn’t expecting a response back for about four weeks. So that was really nice. … So I’ll be going back to school. I kind of took a break—this summer, I took a break from study—and then I go back in September. That’s kind of what I do outside of wrestling.”

On how the indy scene prepared her for NXT and WWE: “I think that independent wresting just really showed me that if you really put your mind to something, you will reach your goals and you’ll achieve what you want to achieve. The scene on the independent scene was such a rush. … I got to travel the world. I got to wrestle in Japan and wrestle in Europe and wrestle in Canada and wrestle all over the United Kingdom. So I really got to see the world before coming to NXT. That’s where I worked with different styles, worked with different people, and I gained so much life experience. … You know, I started in wrestling when I was 18 years old, so I feel like all my adulthood has been in this world, been in wrestling. So I’ve had so many amazing, amazing experiences that I just wouldn’t change for anything, because it really made me who I am as a person. When I was almost 10, I always wanted to get to where I want to be now. So all those experiences—whether it be talking on the microphone, working with the different styles, doing media, and obviously just everything I’ve done—just prepared me. Like I said, it showed me that if I put my mind to something, I’ll achieve it. And obviously, coming to Florida and coming to NXT, and then now on SmackDown, it’s the same idea. If I just put my mind to something and just work really hard and just try different stuff and don’t be afraid to try anything… Don’t be afraid to try something new. And when it is something new, just completely devote myself 100%—just go all in with it. … Don’t be self-conscious—just do it and you’ll be okay.”

On who inspired her as a fan: “For me … I remember when I first started watching wrestling, it was Lita and The Hardy Boyz and Trish Stratus and Test & Albert, and they would just have such fun interactions. And when Lita and Trish … main evented Monday Night RAW … it was incredible. You know, the women evolved over the years. And to see the way the division grew and the different generations and different years… I just take inspiration from many different things, and I was just very happy to see all that and see that growth. It was amazing. Molly Holly was always someone that I would talk [watch], and Molly Holly would have some great matches. … And there’s Mickie James. There’s just so many good, so many amazing talents—and like I said, over the years, we saw it grow, we saw it develop. We had the Evolution pay-per-view last year, and it was just amazing to see the way everything grew.”

On who she didn’t get to work with in NXT but wishes she did: “Io Shirai. We actually got together in Japan, 2015. So I would have loved to have worked with her in NXT, but the stars didn’t align for that one. But hopefully in the future, the stars align and we can work together. I loved working with Candice LeRae—I thought that was amazing. I’ve worked with Dakota [Kai], so I’d like to explore that more. Tegan Nox as well, that girl from Wales. I would have loved to work with her as well. That’s the beautiful thing about wrestling, is that there’s so many people you would have loved to have worked more with, but you’ll always get a chance to because everything kind of comes full circle. So there’s people that I didn’t think I’d get the chance to work with and I got the chance to work with. So the way I see it, I’ll get to work with them one day. So that’s the beautiful thing about wrestling, is that you always get to [eventually wrestle] people that you want—you will get to work with them again. There’s never any goodbyes in wrestling.”

On her team with Alexa Bliss: “Me and Alexa discovered that we have really good chemistry, in terms of [how] our personas very much bounce off each other very well. And we just have so much fun together—we’re having a lot of fun right now. Like I was just saying … anything where we just get to show different elements of the characters—which people might not have necessarily seen before—there’s nothing more exciting than that to me. I think a lot of people are enjoying that. I think people are really compelled by it. They’re intrigued by it and I’m excited to see what’s next. I’m excited for the fans to see what’s next. … I think Alexa is showing these different elements of her personality that you’ve never seen before and likewise with me. People that know me from NXT, they’re seeing a whole new side of me, and … I love that. I love that it’s almost like an onion with the layers, you know? You’ve seen Shrek? You know that reference? … It’s almost like an onion with … all these different layers. And I just, I love that and I just love taking the fans on that journey.”