Nikki Cross Is Studying For An Impressive Advanced Degree When She’s Not Wrestling

By September 2019, Nikki Cross enlisted back in school after being accepted to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland — which offers a “completely online degree” — she told RondaRousey.com, allowing her to work while on the road with WWE. That track would now land Cross in her last full year, as she nears closer to achieving her Master’s degree and with the option to “get a Ph.D. if I want to.”

Nikki Cross puts a lot of value in her continuing education, “because you’re not always going to be able to wrestle,” she told Lilian Garcia. “We are all like one day away from God forbid that [career-ending injury].” Professional wrestling stands as Cross’ biggest passion in life, but many performers have stressed the importance of having a backup option due to the inherent risk and unpredictability of the sport. “Wrestling is my passion, but I always knew that there is a possibility that I’m not physically going to be able to do that, when I’m 50 or 60, right,” she added.

Luckily for Cross, she highly enjoys her backup plan. “I did women’s history this last 12 months [before enrolling at Edinburgh] and it was like the closest thing besides wrestling that I would come home and talk for hours about,” she said. Her studies there taught her a number of different perspectives on the subject, which she came to “admire and respect.” In addition, Cross believes that learning from the past will hopefully prevent the same mistakes. Ultimately though, Cross aims to eventually become a history teacher.