Within the last decades the transition metal-catalyzed cross-coupling of non-activated alkyl halides has significantly progressed. Within the context of alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling, first row transition metals spanning from iron, over cobalt, nickel, to copper have been successfully applied to catalyze this difficult reaction. The mechanistic understanding of these reactions is still in its infancy. Herein we outline our latest mechanistic studies that explain the efficiency of nickel, in particular nickamine-catalyzed alkyl-alkyl cross-coupling reactions.