After much anticipation for his official main roster debut, many fans were disappointed with WWE’s booking of NXT Champion Karrion Kross on his first night as an official member of the Raw roster.
Monday’s episode of Raw saw him drop a quick loss to Jeff Hardy. Post-match, Kross warned Hardy that he just made the biggest mistake of his career so it appears that a feud will be playing out in the coming weeks.
There was said to be a lot of “shock and frustration” within WWE NXT from talent and staff due to the way WWE handled Kross’ first night, according to Fightful Select. It was said the general mood among those in NXT wasn’t a “mad, disappointed” vibe, as they felt like this represented how the NXT brand is viewed by WWE higher-ups as a whole.
One person stated that the loss felt like a message being sent, but didn’t further elaborate. Those backstage at the show noted Kross was in good spirits backstage after the match. One talent stated Kross was put in an unfavorable position considering his spot as a protected talent in NXT while also being a new talent on another brand.
This debut came after WWE built Kross up during the broadcast with vignettes and praise from the announcers. There’s no clear direction yet for Kross’ status in NXT.
It’s likely we will find that out Tuesday’s NXT after he retained his title over Johnny Gargano last week, and then attacked Samoa Joe, the enforcer to NXT General Manager William Regal.
