MLW's Killer Kross faces biggest challenge yet as he defends world title against Josh Bishop at major PPV

Killer Kross will enter Major League Wrestling’s (MLW) Saturday Night SuperFight having to defend his MLW World Heavyweight Championship against Josh Bishop, who is riding a wave of momentum going into the pay-per-view.

Kross and Bishop will meet in a Last Man Standing match at Cicero Stadium in Chicago. It will be Bishop’s best chance at dethroning Kross, who has been the champion since Battle Riot VIII.

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"I think I’ve got a very good chance to retain," Kross told OutKick Dropkick. "However, I think it's gonna come down to who's gonna come out of this the toughest. If you're not coming in, as close to bulletproof as possible, I don't think we're gonna be able to walk out the winner on this one. Last man standing, you know what I mean? It's. This isn't about wrestling ability, this isn't about technical prowess. This is gonna be who's tougher. That's just the way I see it."

Last Man Standing matches turn out to be one of the more brutal showcases in pro wrestling.

The object is to do enough damage to your opponent that he is on his back for at least 10 seconds. Kross, himself, is coming off a title defense against Donovan Dijak on the go-home episode of "Fusion." Bishop and Dijak broke apart and Bishop delivered an Exit 187 to Dijak, seemingly building momentum to the championship fight.

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But that was just a part of Kross’ 2026. He admitted the year has been "painful" but also highly successful.

"I never doubted it," he said of the success he’s had this year. "But with pro wrestling, it doesn't matter really what you're capable of or what you think you can do and oftentimes, it doesn't even matter, depending on what company you're in, what sort of connection you have with the audience, if they don't want to give you the time to go out there and shine, then it's kind of like it doesn't exist.

"So, tthe only thing that was up in the air was like once I get out here, are those opportunities gonna be available because I'm ready to deliver? And they have been in mass quantity. So, I mean, it's, I'm having the time of my life. I can't say it enough, man. I really, truly am."

Despite the feud between Kross and Bishop this year, Kross recognized how far Bishop has come in his growth as a pro wrestler.

"He has a bright future ahead of him," Kross said. "I've said it before and I'll say it again, he's a perfect throwback. He's got that Sid Justice, Sid Vicious type of demeanor, and people love that, and you just can't find those types of wrestlers sitting around anymore.

"A lot of what we see in the programming is this incredible hybrid Lucia type stuff. The era of the big man is kind of few and far in between, and I think with wrestling being best formatted as a variety act, you gotta have somebody like that on the show. You need some, you need some heavy hitters, those larger than life type characters, and I definitely think he fits the bill."

Saturday Night SuperFight takes place this weekend and can be seen on Veeps at 8 p.m. ET.