Wyatt has kept away from the ring since his release from WWE, but recent reports have suggested that he will return to the company soon.
On Twitter, former ECW personality Joel Gertner expressed his desire to see Wyatt face Karrion Kross, who returned to WWE alongside Scarlett on the post-Summerslam 2022 episode of SmackDown.
Gertner said that if the match was to happen, then he wouldn’t need to watch wrestling anymore, as the industry would have peaked with the Kross-Wyatt match.
In response, Kross shared a tweet with a video, where a character encourages another to “call me,” signifying that the two-time former NXT Champion is interested in facing Wyatt.
The film clip also gave the impression that Wyatt is already in Kross’ ‘house’ which would be WWE in this scenario.
Wyatt’s Return
While Bray seemed gone for good when he was released from WWE in 2021, a lot has changed over the past year.
It’s reported that Triple H is much higher on Bray than McMahon ever was and that several Superstars have made it clear they’d “go to bat” for the former Universal Champion.
Wyatt hasn’t commented publicly on the rumors of an imminent WWE return, but did recently share a social media post where he referenced WWE.
Since debuting on WWE’s main roster, Roman Reigns has faced, and defeated some of the company’s biggest stars.
Triple H, John Cena, Brock Lesnar, and AJ Styles are just some of the names to fall to Reigns, and that’s before his heel turn in August 2020.
Since adopting the moniker as the ‘Tribal Chief,’ Reigns has kept an iron grip on the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship which he holds to this day.
For the First Time Ever
Reigns has defeated some of WWE’s biggest names, but there are a select few that the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion is yet to take on one-on-one.
During last Friday’s SmackDown, Karrion Kross returned to WWE attacking Drew McIntyre, and made it clear that he has Roman Reigns in his sights.
Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter has reported that a plan between Kross and Reigns is in the works, and could be at this November’s Survivor Series Premium Live Event (via Sportskeeda.)
“Reigns is not booked on Extreme Rules in Philadelphia at this point. If they go with Reigns vs. Kross, as things stand right now, it would either be TV or the earliest would be Survivor Series barring the weekly circumstances involved in wrestling.”
Survivor Series will mark a decade of Reigns on the main roster, as he debuted at the event in 2012 as part of The Shield.
Before Survivor Series, Reigns will defend the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship against Drew McIntyre at next month’s Clash at the Castle event.
Tonight, WWE SmackDown on FOX will descend on the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina for the latest installment of the show.
After some monumental changes to WWE’s management and several returns, fans are interested in what will happen on the show in this post-Vince McMahon era of the company.
WWE’s Head of Creative Triple H will be running things behind the scenes, and thanks to a report, we have an idea of what will be taking place during tonight’s two hours of the blue brand.
Karrion Kross’ Return
On last week’s SmackDown, Karrion Kross and Scarlett returned to WWE, with the former NXT Champion attacking Drew McIntyre.
Kross’ abrupt appearance at the end of last week’s show also saw him stare down with Undisputed Universal Champion Roman Reigns, making it clear he wants to be champion.
According to Fightful, Kross will be on tonight’s show, “with full presentation” including his hourglass entrance.
The Contract Signing
Tonight’s SmackDown will continue the build to WWE Clash at the Castle, which will see SmackDown Women’s Champion Liv Morgan defend against Shayna Baszler.
The pair will have a contract signing tonight, where Morgan will still wear a sling, selling her kayfabe injury from Baszler earlier this month.
Ronda Rousey has been scheduled to get involved with the contract signing in some way.
And More
Fightful also reports that there is a table spot planned for tonight’s SmackDown on FOX.
Sheamus, Drew McIntyre, the Street Profits, and Roman Reigns are all tentatively scheduled for the show, though the card as always is subject to change.
We have some news to pass along regarding Karrion Kross and Scarlett returning to WWE.
PWInsider reports that, after Karrion Kross and Scarlett were released last year, they maintained regular communication with WWE. With that being said, the regime change worked out in their favor.
Also, Kross and Scarlett have been added to the WWE’s internal SmackDown roster. Kross is to be positioned as the number two heel on the program behind Roman Reigns. As for Scarlett, she’ll be managing Kross and isn’t expected to wrestle regularly.
Of course, that could always change down the road. It’s also believed that the pair will fulfill their remaining obligations on the independent circuit as much as possible. Kross and Scarlett made their returns on last week’s episode of SmackDown Live.
Kross attacked Drew McIntyre during a promo segment with Roman Reigns. His return, alongside Scarlett, closed out the show. Kross had initially signed with WWE in February of 2020.
Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux
During his run with the company, Kross was assigned to the NXT brand along with Scarlett, where he reigned as NXT Champion twice. They were later granted a release from their contracts in November of 2021.
Since, Kross has been competing on the independent circuit; as well as for various other promotions such as Major League Wrestling (MLW), New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), and others.
Now, it seems Kross has found himself a favorable position in WWE on the main roster.
The days of one “Undisputed WWE Universal Champion” are numbered.
At WrestleMania 38, Universal Champion Roman Reigns defeated WWE Champion Brock Lesnar to unify the company’s top World Championships.
Called ‘the biggest main event in WrestleMania’ history, the win saw Reigns be crowned the ‘Undisputed WWE Universal Champion,’ a title he holds to this day.
Since unifying the two championships at WrestleMania, Reigns has been carrying the two title belts to symbolize being the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion.
That could all change very soon however, following Karrion Kross’ return to WWE during last night’s SmackDown.
Undisputed No More?
Fightful Select reports that Kross’ impactful return, attacking Drew McIntyre and having a face-off with Reigns, is the sign of a big push for the two-time former WWE NXT Champion.
An idea suggested backstage is for Kross to be inserted into the current feud between Reigns and McIntyre.
There has also been a pitch for Kross to challenge Reigns, but for one of his championships, effectively ending the title unification.
De-Unifying the Titles
It was Vince McMahon who made the decision for the WWE and Universal Championships to be unified, but its the USA Network who are in support of the titles being split.
USA Network executives are said to be unhappy with how few appearances Reigns makes on Raw and wants a World Championship of their own.
Per Fightful, the network has also pitched the idea of having an interim World Champion, similar to Jon Moxley being the interim AEW World Champion due to CM Punk’s injury.
The report notes that it’s unclear how seriously WWE considered the idea, as Reigns is not injured, and having an interim Undisputed WWE Universal Champion would make little sense.
At the end of Friday’s episode of SmackDown, they returned as Drew McIntyre was cutting a promo on Roman Reigns ahead of their match at Clash at the Castle in September. The screen went grey with music playing as an hourglass appeared on the entrance ramp.
Kross appeared and attacked McIntyre from behind before having a staredown with Reigns. Scarlett was carrying the hourglass and turned it upside down before pointing at Reigns.
Kross’ first run in WWE saw him be pushed as a top star in NXT, and became a two-time NXT Champion. Alongside his wife and on-screen partner Scarlett Bordeaux, they immediately got over with their entrance.
However, when he was sent to the main roster, WWE stripped him of what made him stand out, such as his entrance, look, and Scarlett. He was also the NXT Champion, but was booked to do jobs for various stars.
WWE had planned to repackage him again before he was let go last November. When he was released, he reportedly had interest from several promotions, but he never signed a full-time deal.
Killer Kross (Karrion Kross) might be returning to the WWE soon.
According to Fightful Select, Kross has been someone discussed as a name that WWE is interested in bringing back. Many people believe that he will return, including one source who indicated they believed it was already in the company’s plans.
Kross had been rumored to make an appearance for ROH this past April at Supercard of Honor before the company was sold to AEW President Tony Khan. He was also contacted for an AEW booking that he passed on against Wardlow on an episode of Dynamite, which led to WH. Morrissey appeared and lost to the popular AEW star.
Triple H had booked Kross to be a top star in NXT as he won the NXT Title twice and got over with the fans for his presentation alongside Scarlett. Many fans thought he would be a top star on the main roster.
Kross was brought up to WWE Raw last year without any major creative plans for him, and without his wife. After being repackaged, he was released. Kross has worked Major League Wrestling and NJPW dates since his 2021 WWE release.
In an interview with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston, former WWE star Killer Kross, who wrestled as Karrion Kross for the promotion, opened up about an infamous segment between himself and Adam Cole that took place in June 2021.
The segment was set up to have Adam Cole, who is now in AEW, run down and tear apart Killer Kross in a worked shoot-style promo. Cole would later repeat statements similar on other WWE programming. At the time, Kross was the undefeated NXT Champion, but he didn’t even address Cole’s comments.
According to Kross, the whole segment was scripted by WWE and was intended to help get Cole where he needed to be for their upcoming matchup.
Kross On The Infamous Promo
Killer Kross spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston before competing on the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Kross spoke about how the segment came together and his reaction to all of the blowback.
The former two-time NXT Champion said (Edited for clarity):
“No. In his [Adam Cole’s} defense, because I’ve been asked this a lot, that was scripted. He was told to say that. It wasn’t him having a meltdown to be a d*ck. It wasn’t like that at all. He was told to say that.
This has become a very popular discussion amongst fans and stuff like that because our job is to make that stuff, it’s the intention. We’re told by producers and writers, ‘We want this to feel as real as possible so this is the direction we can go in.’ But, very much like you said, and a lot of people have said to me afterward, it seemed really counterproductive to have a fourth wall promo where only one guy was breaking the fourth wall. It’s like, it’s just one of those weird, weird days.
Some matches are constructed for one guy to get over, and that’s just the way it is. Then, sometimes, some promos are constructed for one guy to get over. At the time, I was told that they felt like he needed that, and I was not one to really fight anybody on that. I’ve always been very easy to deal with and get along with.
They put me on a course to just absolutely ruin everybody. So, the way I saw it at the time was like, ‘He’s gonna be doing the job for me at the end of the month on the pay-per-view. Everyone else has exchanged equity, their own equity, in putting me over for a year and a half. I think I can handle the promo where this is going to be happening.’
Functionally, as an investment, the construction of that promo did not make any sense at all. I thought it was weird that they wanted to go in that direction because– I’ve even said this previously before, it’s their money to get people to believe and invest in this type of thing. This is the time and energy they’re putting into character presentation and they kind of shot in the head, which I thought was just so unusual. It was very weird.
NXT Didn’t Want Kross To Rebuttal
Like, even Adam [Cole] was asking like, he’s like, ‘Are you okay with me saying all this to you?’ Yeah, of course, dude. He’s always been very cool. It was odd, and then there was like follow-up stuff the weeks after too. They kept writing the character into this place where they didn’t want me to rebuttal.
And I, prior to that promo and interview, I’d always have some flexibility to kind of like, ‘Here’s the endgame of the promo, you can say whatever you want. Whatever you think your character would say on the way there to get us from point A to B.’ They didn’t want that. And then after that, I kept getting chopped off in promos later on. They were just kind of, in a manner, putting me under in the promos, which I thought was weird. But also, in all fairness man, it’s not advantageous of the talent that’s going under to have me run them over for four weeks in promos and then for them to get killed clean on the match.
But, to your point, I think that there’s so many– in a universe full of fiction, an unlimited amount of possibilities, there are many different ways to make talents look strong and get over. I’ve always thought, me personally, it’s why I haven’t really practiced it, tearing a talent down and not letting them get anything back, and hoping they’re gonna keep their momentum and their equity in the eyes of the audience when they go over in the match is not the best way to do things. But again, I’m just a wrestler.”
Kross On The Online Reaction To The Promo
Kross went on to speak about the reaction online and how it’s influenced his career.
He said, “Yeah, it is unfortunate. It’s a weird twilight zone type of thing. I wanted to, until that angle was totally dead and gone, I wanted to protect the legitimacy of that [promo] even though it was kind of working against me. Like I even told Adam, when I see him at media events, ‘Don’t f*cking talk to anybody. Sorry. Like, don’t tell anybody.’ I’m not gonna tell anybody either. My friends are asking me about it. Only the people that I trust, I’ll let them know that it’s a work because the conflict and the heat is what’s going to create the interest in seeing the match.
It got very toxic, very negative, and very weird. That’s social media for you. Some people want to drum things up and make them. They want to put them in another context then they actually really are in. So, you just do the best you can with what you have.”
Ric Flair’s Last Match
Killer Kross will be competing against Harry Smith on the Ric Flair’s Last Match card. Ric Flair’s Last Match takes place on Sunday, July 31th at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN. This is just one of the live wrestling shows scheduled for Starrcast V during WWE SummerSlam weekend. However, it is set to headline the whole convention.
As of right now, the card is as follows:
Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs Jacob Faty
Rachael Ellering vs Deonna Purrazzo vs Jordynne Grace
Clark Connors vs Ren Narita
Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) vs Harry Smith
The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Rey Fenix vs Taurus vs Laredo Kid vs Bandido
The Von Erich (Marshall & Ross) vs The Briscoes
If you use the quotes above, please credit the original course with a h/t and link back to SEScoops for the transcription.
During a recent discussion with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston, Killer Kross talked about his experience being in the NXT locker room during the period where NXT and AEW went head to head.
Kross, NXT & Wednesday Night Wars
(Credit: WWE)
Killer Kross, as Karrion Kross, made his NXT debut in April of 2020 with Scarlett Bordeaux by his side. Later that year, at NXT TakeOver: XXX in August, he defeated Keith Lee to win the NXT Championship for the first time. The following day, WWE announced that Kross had suffered a separated shoulder during the match, and on the next episode of NXT, he vacated the title.
Kross would return in December 2020 by attacking Damian Priest. In April, Kross would defeat Finn Balor at NXT TakeOver: Stand & Deliver to win the NXT Championship for the second time. Kross only took one loss in NXT, and that was when he lost the NXT Championship to Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver 36 before moving up to Raw.
WWE’s NXT and AEW’s Dynamite went head to head in the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ from October 2, 2019, to April 7, 2021. They were both live on air at the same time, on different stations, competing for Nielsen ratings each week. Most weeks, AEW would win the battle for rankings. On April 13, 2021, NXT moved to Tuesday nights, ending the Wednesday Night Wars. During this time, Kross had 14 matches under the NXT banner.
Competition Between NXT & AEW Wrestlers
Killer Kross spoke with SEScoops correspondent Steve Fall for NBC Sports Boston prior to competing on the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Kross spoke about how the locker room viewed the ‘Wednesday Night Wars’ and his perception of the discourse.
When Kross was asked if there were any feelings of being in competition with AEW between NXT Superstars, he initially responded:
“If there was little pockets of people that really thought that or felt that way, I wasn’t really engaging with them.”
When Steve Fall asked if that feeling of competition truly existed, Kross had more to say.
The former two-time NXT Champion said, “Probably. I don’t think anyone would’ve come to me with that though. The reason being is I’m pretty even keel. My focus is always on producing the best of the time that’s given to me for the show. So, to give an example, I was just most interested in being as entertaining as possible with the time that was given in the show, in the vignettes, and stuff like that. I would get with teams of people and I would just focus on that.
I do know that there are some people who focus way too much on what other people are being paid, and their quartelys, and what the demographics are, and stuff like that. At the end of the day, I hate to say it, it’s true though, as a wrestler, you can only be accountable for so much. So, if you’re going to concern yourself with details that are completely out of your control, you’re not going to enjoy this anymore. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen people drive themselves insane.
Kross: You’re Stressing Yourself Out Like You’re The Chairman of the Company
It’s like, ‘You don’t write your own stuff. You do what you’re told, you only had so many options for music; you only had so many options for your entrance. You don’t control who’s going over in your matches.’ The way people are reacting to the overall arch of this has very little to do with you and you’re stressing yourself out like you’re the chairman of the company. It’s like, if you just focus your energy on the things that you can control versus the things that you can’t, I think your work will come off better. That energy will be more enthusiastic, it’ll be better there.
I just see people dragging themselves over things that– they’re burning their own energy off in the wrong direction that’s not gonna provide a healthy return. That’s just always been something that’s been clear to me even before I got into wrestling. Just being careful what direction you’re putting your energy to. You always wanna make sure if you put your energy into something you get a healthy return. That doesn’t necessarily mean monetarily. Just means, do you feel good doing this? Are you gonna feel good about it afterward? If not, why are you doing it? If you can’t answer that question, don’t do it.”
Ric Flair’s Last Match
Killer Kross will be competing against Harry Smith, the son of the British Bulldog, on the Ric Flair’s Last Match pay-per-view. Ric Flair’s Last Match takes place on Sunday, July 31th at the Nashville Fairgrounds in Nashville, TN. This is just one of the live wrestling shows scheduled for Starrcast V during WWE SummerSlam weekend, but it is set to headline the whole convention.
As of right now, the card is as follows:
Impact World Championship Match: Josh Alexander (c) vs Jacob Faty
Rachael Ellering vs Deonna Purrazzo vs Jordynne Grace
Clark Connors vs Ren Narita
Killer Kross (w/ Scarlett Bordeaux) vs Harry Smith
The Wolves (Davey Richards & Eddie Edwards) vs Motor City Machine Guns (Alex Shelley & Chris Sabin)
Rey Fenix vs Taurus vs Laredo Kid vs Bandido
The Von Erich (Marshall & Ross) vs The Briscoes
If you use the quotes above, please credit the original course with a h/t and link back to SEScoops for the transcription.
Over a dozen former WWE Superstars are now free agents.
As part of WWE’s ongoing effort to aggressively cut costs, the company held another round of mass layoffs on November 4th, 2021. Talent from NXT had 30-day non-compete clauses, while the main roster stars were bound by 90-day restrictions.
We are 90 days removed from November 4th, which means all of the following stars are now free agents and able to work anywhere:
B-Fab
Davey Boy Smith Jr
Ember Moon
Eva Marie
Gran Metalik
Karrion Kross
Keith Lee
Lince Dorado
Mia Yim
Nia Jax
Scarlett Bordeaux
In two more weeks, another batch of wrestlers will join the free agency market from the releases that took place on November 18th:
John Morrison
Top Dolla
Ashante Adonis
Isaiah “Swerve” Scott
Tegan Nox
Drake Maverick
Shane Thorne
Jaxson Ryker
It remains to be seen how many of these performers join the ranks of AEW, Impact, New Japan Pro Wrestling, MLW and the independent scene.
Killer Kross was one of the victims of the lack of coordination between NXT and main roster officials. Many believed that he had all the tools for a successful career on Raw and his unique gimmick would help him stand out. Fans were outraged when he was repackaged upon his call-up. It was evident from his debut loss against Jeff Hardy that the main roster officials did not understand his character at all. The point was proven further when both Kross and Scarlett were released from their WWE contracts after a lackluster run in November.
However, even after the poor treatment on the main roster, the former NXT champion is not bitter about his WWE run as a whole. He talked about it during his most recent appearance on Oral Sessions with Renée Paquette. Killer Kross mentioned that he got to learn a lot during his WWE tenure. He claimed that he would have gone through with it, if he had known how his run would pan out:
“This may shock a lot of people but like I said, I like to look at the glass half full. If someone had presented a crystal ball and said, ‘This is how your career is gonna go [in] WWE and by the end of it, this is what’s gonna happen. There is nothing you can do about it. Would you like to go? Or would you just say skip this period?’ I would honestly have gone. Because I learned so much. And I grew as a person and especially with what was going on in the world at that time like it served many purposes in a greater aspect of either mentally, physically, spiritually.”
Killer Kross On One Thing He Would Change About His Main Roster Run
Killer Kross
Killer Kross was asked about the one thing he would change about his WWE run. Replying to it, the former champion mentioned how fans were already fantasy booking the NXT version of his character against main roster stars. He explained that he would have kept the gimmick when he moved to the main roster:
“If I could have done something differently, I mean, very simply put, I would have attempted to maintain continuity at what we’re doing in NXT. And taken that to the main roster because fans were already fantasy booking us to be walking down the aisle of WrestleMania.
The fans were telling the company what they wanted to see. And so the matches were there. The tickets could have been sold. If we just listened to what people were telling them that they wanted. This would have been super easy in my opinion. If we could have done things differently, that’s what I would have done.”
If you use any quotes from the article please credit SEScoops with an H/t for the transcription
Mark Henry is not a fan of how WWE utilized Karrion Kross on the main roster.
Nov. 4, 2021 was a dark day in the wrestling industry as WWE went on a new talent release spree. Kross was one of the names on that dreaded list along with his fiancee, Scarlett Bordeaux. The release of Kross left many fuming as the general consensus is that WWE doomed Karrion Kross after giving him the gladiator entrance attire.
Mark Henry Criticizes How WWE Handled Kross
During an episode of Busted Open Radio, Mark Henry slammed WWE’s idea of a gladiator gimmick for Kross.
“You look at the world of entertainment. Sometimes it’s art imitating life, sometimes it’s life imitating art. When was the last time you saw a gladiator show? I’ll wait. Plenty of zombie shows on TV. Plenty of sports shows. Mortal Kombat-type characters, superhero-esque things. There are no Spartacus-type shows on TV to associate a Karrion Kross to.”
Henry went on to question why WWE just didn’t allow Kross to be the character he was on the NXT brand.
“He’s basically like taking something that he heard overnight and within a week transitioning and trying to make it mainstream in the world of wrestling. It did not work. What he had before in NXT everybody loved, we loved it. We talked about him, how great their entrance was, how cool his finish was, the fact that he could absorb so much punishment and still get the job done. Did they ever once show his resiliency in a match with one of the people that he wrestled on Raw or SmackDown? No. Not one time did he weather the storm, took a real good ass-whooping, and then made that comeback and made the crowd happy, and there you go, Karrion Kross. Not once.”
Kross is a former two-time NXT Champion. He was praised for being an unstoppable monster on NXT but when he appeared on Raw, he immediately lost to Jeff Hardy. At the time, Kross still held the NXT gold. WWE also didn’t use Scarlett to manage Kross on the main roster.
Please H/T SEScoops with a link if you use any quotes from this article
In the case of Karrion Kross, Vince McMahon reportedly had pulled him from television due the feeling that he wasn’t getting over. They were in the process of repackaging him again when the decision was made to cut both him and Scarlett.
“Vince McMahon had just pulled Kross from television, saying that he hadn’t gotten over and within the company they were told they were going to repackage him a third time,” wrote Dave Meltzer.
Harry Smith, aka Davey Boy Smith Jr., was released after wrestling one dark match earlier this summer. The original plan for him was to be a star on the NXT UK brand but at the time he was signed, travel wasn’t opened up and so the decision was made for him to be on the main roster.
He got COVID shortly after his dark match and was told to keep quiet about it. Then they just did nothing with him and released him yesterday.
Franky Monet, B-Fab, Lucha House Party & Others
The NXT talent will all have 30-day no-compete clauses although Ember Moon was under a main roster deal and may have a 90-day clause.
All main roster talent will have 90-day no-compete clauses including Hit Row’s B-Fab who just signed a main roster deal last week.
Age should never be and issue a d I’m sick of ppl using that as a reason that someone should lose their job. I’m a women, a wife a mother to 2 dogs, an aunt and a friend. Nobody should EVER say that 38 is old. GROW UPPPPP https://t.co/sHmVp27fx0
In the case of Franky Monet, aka Taya Valkyrie, she had been pushed heavily on the old NXT but she had not been featured following the re-brand into NXT 2.0.
Age was also a likely factor in several releases. It was noted that WWE’s directive is to hire women under the age of 25 to attract the male 12-34 demographic.
“The new directives on hiring new women is the recommendations are 25 or younger,” Meltzer wrote.
Once I’ve gathered myself from feeling all levels of disappointment, sadness, anger and also uncontrollable laughter, I’ll have a statement. But for now…. 30 days. #WERALOCA
Both Gran Metalik and Lince Dorado are said to have asked for their releases and were expected to be cut.
It was noted that all veteran talent on NXT were discussed as being possible cuts. There is also talk that some talent could be signed to 60-day tryout contracts moving forward.
WWE is set to make even more changes to the character of Karrion Kross after deviating from his original persona upon his main roster call-up earlier this year.
According to the Wrestlevotes Twitter account, the idea is for the former NXT champion to be more of a “psycho” and yet still be calm. The presentation of his entrance music is also set to change:
“Source states WWE is shifting Karrion Kross’ character once again. Plan is for him to be more of a “psycho” yet still “calm & cool.” As of now the helmet stays, but for whatever reason, still no Scarlett. Presentation of entrance including theme music set to change as well.”
As the report notes, the officials still have no plans for Scarlett to be reunited with the former NXT star on the main roster despite the fan criticism.
“Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.”
Karrion Kross signed with WWE back in February 2020. He was dominant in NXT, winning the brand’s top title a couple of times during his stint in developmental.
Kross made his main roster debut in July this year, though the company made significant changes to his presentation. He also lost his debut match against Jeff Hardy.
At first it was suggested that Kross may be built up slowly leading to a reunion with Scarlett. Though now it’s evident that the company has no clear direction for him.
Karrion Kross admits there are some big changes in the transition from NXT to the main roster.
Kross is the former two-time NXT Champion. Following a title loss to Samoa Joe at TakeOver 36, Kross become a full-time member of the Monday Night Raw roster. He has been without Scarlett Bordeaux since making the move and his new entrance gear has been criticized.
Karrion Kross is rolling with the punches, however, and he is optimistic. During a chat with the folks at Table Talk, Kross detailed the differences between NXT and the main roster.
“It’s a completely different experience in the way that the show runs. The CWC, the day felt, in terms of how the show was laid out, felt very premeditated in terms of the direction we knew we were going to be going and everything was spaced out with time allotted. It just felt more concrete whereas with Raw, there are so many moving parts and a lot of things that are changing moment to moment. Being able to adapt and change on the fly, I don’t want to necessarily say it was hard, it’s more fun. I enjoy stuff like that and don’t mind pressure whatsoever.”
Kross has also explained Scarlett’s absence without getting into personal details. He told D-Von Dudley that the two are simply waiting for “things to run its course.” Kross insisted that Scarlett is healthy and is training every day for when she’s ready to return to TV.
WWE NXT superstar Scarlett Bordeaux has confirmed her engagement with the former NXT champion and her longtime on-screen partner Karrion Kross.
The female star revealed the news on social sites earlier today. She posted a photo of the duo with a ring in her hand and told everyone to ‘pop the champagne’
A number of people have reacted to this news. Numerous wrestling personalities have responded to Bordeaux’s post on Instagram to congratulate the duo.
The list of names that have congratulated the couple includes past and present WWE stars such as Kayla Braxton and Matt Rehwoldt as well as AEW stars such as Sammy Guevara and more:
Scarlett Bordeaux and Karrion Kross have been dating since their time in Impact Wrestling. Both the stars had asked for their release from the promotion at the same time as well.
Though while Impact decided to release Bordeaux early, they kept Kross under contract. He was released about 6 months later than Scarlett back in December 2019.
The duo has since signed with WWE and they were paired together for their run in NXT as well. Kross was called up to the main roster earlier this year but there is no word yet on when officials are planning to bring Bordeaux up.
Karrion Kross showed off his new look for a match on Monday’s episode of Raw when he took on Ricochet.
He was wearing a mask for his entrance and also had an outfit. He beat Ricochet in a singles match from San Diego, CA at the Pechanga Arena on the USA Network.
After 50-50 booking with the likes of Jeff Hardy and Keith Lee, perhaps Kross is getting a push once again with Vince McMahon behind him. There was no sign of Scarlett as she has not been seen on WWE TV in several weeks.
Kross finished up with WWE NXT on Sunday night when he lost the NXT Championship to Samoa Joe at TakeOver 36 Orlando, Florida at the Capitol Wrestling Center. Kross won the title back from Finn Balor at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver – Night 2 this past April.
Kross made his pro wrestling debut in 2010 and later made a name for himself while working for Global Force Wrestling, Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling. He departed from Impact in late 2019. He ended up in WWE in early 2020.
Reactions to Karrion Kross’ New Look
Karrion Kross’ new look was met with a “mixed reaction” on social media.
The highly anticipated first-ever match between Samoa Joe and Karrion Kross for the NXT Title took place in the main event of the WWE NXT TakeOver 36 event.
The match was a strong showing for both men with them getting plenty of offense. Joe looked like he hadn’t missed a beat inside of the ring. Joe with the muscle buster for the win and to become the NXT Champion.
Joe was favored to win the championship considering Kross made his main roster debut last despite some questionable booking after losing to Jeff Hardy. Kross is slated to be on the Raw roster going forward, but without Scarlett.
Joe hadn’t wrestled since February 2020 due to concussion issues. He was working as a commentator for the Raw brand until he was released by WWE this past April. Fast forward to June, Joe returned as an on-screen authority figure for NXT and also worked in the talent scouting department in NXT.
Joe was supposed to keep order for NXT General Manager William Regal, but when Kross choked out Joe after retaining his title over Johnny Gargano then attacked Regal the following week, that was enough to make Joe snap and demand to be allowed to wrestle again.
Joe wanted Regal to sign a contract to have him back as an active in-ring performer in NXT and sign a contract for the match at TakeOver. Regal agreed to what Joe was offering and made the match official.
Kross won the title back from Finn Balor at TakeOver: Stand & Deliver – Night 2 this past April.
A spoiler has been revealed, and a Superstar is reportedly set to return for Monday’s episode of WWE RAW.
According to a report from PWInsider, Jeff Hardy was seen backstage for tonight’s RAW, and will return to the ring to wrestle.
Hardy was last seen in action on July 19, when he defeated a RAW TV-debuting Karrion Kross. Hardy was removed from TV after testing positive for COVID-19 to quarantine himself for two weeks.
The positive COVID-19 test put a stop to the feud with Kross that had reportedly been planned. Fightful indicated that the original plan was for Kross to face Jeff Hardy again on the July 26 episode of Raw, and lose for a second time.
There’s no word on who Hardy will face for his return. The following matches and segments have been announced for Monday’s show, starting at 8pm EST:
Randy Orton returns after being off RAW for over a month to open the show
Bobby Lashley will respond to Goldberg regarding his SummerSlam WWE title defense
Charlotte Flair will address loss to Nikki A.S.H. in last week’s non-title No Holds Barred match
Karrion Kross lost his debut match on the WWE main roster last week to Jeff Hardy. He got in the winners circle this week when he defeated Keith Lee, however. Kross is also believed to have been scheduled to lose to Hardy again this week on RAW had Hardy not tested positive for COVID-19.
According to comments from Andrew Zarian on the Mat Men Podcast, the plan had been for Kross to continue losing up until he was joined by Scarlett, who would then turn his luck around.
“Karrion Kross was supposed to lose again to Jeff Hardy in the rematch and then finally go berzerk,” said Zarian. I’m not 100 percent on this but I was told that the plan was that Karrion Kross keeps losing until Scarlett shows up and that’s gonna bring him back on track because she is able to unleash the warrior, whatever they’re calling him, the gladiator in him.”
Karrion Kross’ Tough Loss
Following his victory over Keith Lee on RAW this week, Kross was interviewed backstage and spoke about his “tough loss” to Hardy the week prior.
“Tough loss, it’s an interesting choice of words,” Kross said. “I would say Jeff Hardy cheated but then again, he might be the smartest man in WWE, because if I were him that’s exactly what I would have done.”
“It lit a fire in me. I need to understand and not lose sight that people will do anything they possibly can to get out of that ring in one piece. But Jeff Hardy and I, we’re not done yet, not by a long shot,” Kross continued.
As expected, the main event of NXT TakeOver 36 will be Samoa Joe challenging NXT Champion Karrion Kross for the title on Sunday, August 22, 2021.
On Tuesday’s episode of NXT, Joe offered his resignation as an enforcer to NXT General Manager William Regal.
This was done as a way for Joe to be able to fight Kross. Per the stipulation of the original agreement he had with Regal when he made his return about a month ago, Joe couldn’t get physical unless provoked. Well, after last week’s attack by Kross to Regal, he couldn’t let that stand.
He also wanted Regal to sign a contract to have him back as an active in-ring performer in NXT and sign another contract for the match at TakeOver. Regal agreed to what Joe was offering and made the match official.
It will be an interesting booking decision made by WWE as Joe will likely be favored to win the championship considering Kross made his main roster debut earlier this month and entered into a program with Jeff Hardy. Kross is also slated to be on the Raw roster going forward, but without Scarlett.
WWE NXT UK Champion WALTER vs. Ilja Dragunov is the only other match announced thus far.
At the recent NXT television tapings held at the Capitol Wrestling Center, Samoa Joe’s in-ring return was confirmed. During the tapings, Samoa Joe offered NXT General Manager William Regal his resignation so that he could face Kross. Regal agreed and signed the paperwork for a match between Kross and Joe at Takeover 36 for the NXT Championship.
For Samoa Joe this would be his first match since February of 2020. He has been out of action dealing with concussion issues. Following his release from WWE’s main roster this spring, Joe moved to NXT where he became something of Regal’s enforcer, although he only lasted a short while in the role.
Joe appeared on Ryan Satin’s “Out of Character” podcast at the end of June and spoke about his transition to NXT.
“I’ve kind of been in this situation before. A younger me probably would have been really, really freaked out. But, I mean at this point you just roll/pivot. That’s really all there is to it when it comes to life in general. That’s kind of the mantra I’ve kept. At that point I think I was already kind of in the works and setting up the next framework for whatever else I was going to do. A few hours later I get a call from Hunter and it pretty much all kind of changed.”
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.
WWE NXT Champion Karrion Kross made a good impression on Vince McMahon and other high-ranking WWE officials after working dark matches as he was called up to the main roster.
Pwinsider reported earlier today that there has been a lot of talk over the last several days that Kross will be joining the Monday Night Raw roster. A source stated Kross is already listed internally on the Raw roster as a heel.
It happened on Monday’s episode of Raw when he wrestled Jeff Hardy. Scarlett wasn’t with him. Hardy actually beat Kross with a roll up in the same night that Hardy got his No More Words song back. Post-match, Kross said that Hardy just made the biggest mistake of his life because in the end, everyone will fall and pray.
Kross made his pro wrestling debut in 2010 and later made a name for himself while working for Global Force Wrestling, Lucha Underground and Impact Wrestling. He departed from Impact in late 2019 after back and forth legal maneuverings between the two sides.
He ended up in WWE in early 2020 where he has held the WWE NXT Championship twice, working on screen with Scarlett.
Scarlett, Blackheart, and former NXT North American Champion Bronson Reed have been brought to recent TV events for WWE officials to check out. Kross and Reed worked a WWE Main Event TV episode several weeks ago as Kross defeated Shelton Benjamin and Reed defeated Drew Gulak.
