Buy stock in Josh Bishop.
The Major League Wrestling (MLW) star has been on a tear in the company this year. He stepped up when he was called upon to be one-half of the tag team champions with Donovan Dijak and he scored a pinfall on world heavyweight champion Killer Kross in a tag team match.
Their heated feud will culminate in a Last Man Standing match at Saturday Night SuperFight this weekend in Chicago with the MLW World Heavyweight Championship on the line. Bishop expressed confidence he will be able to keep Kross down for the 10 seconds he needs to become the new champion.
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“I’m pretty confident,” he told OutKick Dropkick in a recent interview. “You’re right, I have been on a tear. I beat Kross already, so, I mean, putting him down for 10 seconds, I already put him down for three, and then honestly, he was laying down for probably an extra five minutes, just holding his ribs, crying in pain. Screaming for Scarlett (Bordeaux). They cut it from the stream, they cut it actually from the show, they cut it, he was laying down for so long, they actually brought out medical staff to stretch him out.
“So, I mean, I just think it’s 1, it’s Exit 187 through a table again, same as the last time and Kross ain’t getting up, and I’m leaving with the MLW Heavyweight Championship.”
Bishop and Kross met earlier this year for the title.
Kross brutalized Bishop as he stripped the ring and choked out his opponent to keep the belt. But he vowed that this time, things will be different.
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“I will be the last man standing. There’s nothing he can do to keep me down,” Bishop said. “Last time, he hit me with a low blow, threw me off guard, then suplexed me through a bunch of tables and chairs. And that was horrible, but I got up and I was crawling around after, and then he choked me unconscious. I just can’t let him choke me out, that’s it. You just can’t choke me out, but you’re not gonna be able to, because I’m gonna put you through a table first.”
As Bishop continues to get more opportunities in MLW, his popularity has risen within the pro wrestling world itself. Bishop, for some, represents the next generation of tall heavyweights who are likened to the earlier days of pro wrestling when big men ruled the ring.
Bishop told OutKick Dropkick he isn’t even close to his prime level just yet.
“I’m not even close to getting started in how I feel, honestly. I feel like I haven’t even began to even hit my prime,” he said. “I’m not even 30 yet. I think I have so much left in the tank, and I think I have so much more good tricks up my sleeve and things I can’t wait to show going at the end of 2026 and into 2027, and just continue this momentum.
“And yes, I have gotten a lot of momentum this year, and it is great to see me start to get more of that internet, I guess, respect or whatever that internet community kind of whatever, because I’ve never really played to or cared about that kind of stuff as much. So, it’s nice to kind of see that, and then I’ll just continue to build upon that and just keep the snowball rolling, and just continue to grow it and just keep this momentum going past 2027, past 2028, past 2029, just continue to keep going. Saturday, once I become the MLW champion is gonna be a good way to end 2026.”
Kross became the MLW world heavyweight champion at Battle Riot VIII in February, eliminating Matt Riddle last. He’s held the title for more than 250 days since then and has vanquished everyone who has tried to take that gold off of his waist.
It’s not going to be easy for Bishop to keep someone like Kross down, but if anyone can do it, he has proven already that he can.
Saturday Night SuperFight will take place at Cicero Stadium and can be seen on Veeps at 8 p.m. ET.