Jakob Cross hates New Zealand, but he won’t leave until his work is done.

“You don’t leave a book half written, a painting half painted or a house half built do you?” he asks.

“You drive forward till the job is done. And hell, why quit now when I’m starting to have so much fun? I’m starting enjoy the misery I bring to New Zealand – why stop now?”

The Beast of the British Isles believes he was exported to New Zealand to keep the country in check.

“I didn’t come to this country by choice. I was sent to this country. The people chose a product of pure rage wrapped in a British flag and gave him one sole purpose: to make this nation realise that it is still on a leash.

“When you have a disobedient mutt on a leash, sometimes the leash needs to be tightened. Do you understand? I’m a weapon, an enforcer. I am here to restore dominance and balance.”

Cross came to New Zealand when he was nine years old, and grew up in the Manawatu.

"I came at a young age to assist the blending in process," he says.

"How do you learn every strength and weakness of an enemy? You infiltrate. And as you can see with [Ben] Mana, that fool Travis Banks, and even NZWPW, I'm very good at it."

Cross attributes his mean-streak, turning his back on his friends in favour of celebrating his British roots, to suppressing years of rage caused by growing up as a New Zealander.

"It comes from years and years of living a lie, being one of you. It transcends our nationalities. I had to keep my rage buried deep down, I had to be nice, be a good guy... I'm not a good guy.

"Over time, being a slave to this society of gutless sheep, that rage festered, it manifested and it became hate. You could say I am hate personified. And when I finally let the beast free, you all didn't like it.

"Travis Banks especially. The man I tricked for 11 years into believing we were best friends... no. And he tried to stop me and he failed. Ben Mana, he keeps trying to stop me and so far he has failed. I'm the Beast of the British Isles for a reason, and those two men know why more than anyone."

Mana and Cross have a storied past. Originally tag team partners, Cross turned his back on Mana, and ultimately took the He Toa Cup from him at Bringing Down the House.

Cross doesn't care for the cup that he currently holds - a stark contrast to the pride Ben Mana had in holding the title - but being champion is all part of a bigger plan culminating at Power Play, he says.

"I took it from Ben because I knew someday it would come in handy. And now it has. I beat Ben for that cup. At Power Play he's going to see it and remember I can beat him.  June 15th, Ben, is going to be the longest night of your damn life. I took the cup, and at Power Play I take the belt."

Cross has been keeping his eye on the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, and the upcoming London Olympic games. Both events will pale in comparison to his celebration when he wins the NZWPW Championship tomorrow night, though.

"I don't want to hold it [the NZWPW Championship]," he says.

"Ben Mana, he wants to hold it. He wants to be champion. He wants to raise the belt on high for all to see, he wants his friend and biggest supporter, Adam Avalanche, to raise his hand. He wants to be champion.

"I need to be champion. I need that title, I need to have that belt, I need to be the best. Who will succeed? The man who wants, or the man who needs?

"I need it because it will prove everybody wrong. I need it because it will elevate me beyond the level Rehua has tried to keep me at. I need the championship because it's the perfect way to break this nation's pathetic spirit in half."

NZWPW Power Play IX
Friday, June 15
Lower Hutt Horticultural Hall