The Case For More Karrion Kross

Karrion Kross is one of the most polarizing wrestlers currently in the business. You either want WWE to go all the way with him or you can’t understand why he’s on television every week. I tend to be on the side of wanting WWE to go all the way with him. Karrion Kross is a guy that can talk you into a building. He has this certain cadence to his promos that gives a mix of the old Sean O Hare “I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know” vignettes and the early Bray Wyatt “Wyatt Family” promos. The devil on your shoulder aspect of his character has been a constant thorn in your side for guys like Sami Zayn, AJ Styles, the New Day, and so on. Just look at the number of events that can be traced back to him.

Shinsuke Nakamura turning heel shortly after his feud with Kross. The current incarnation of the New Day is something that Kross foreshadowed for months before it happened. Even going back to Kross’ return to WWE in 2022 when Scarlett put that hour glass in the ring in front of Roman and the Bloodline. Within 10 months, the Bloodline was split in half and within a year and a half, Roman Reigns was no longer in power. Coincidence? Maybe, maybe not. Even going back to his feuds with Rey Mysterio, the Miz, and Drew Mcintyre, who all turned heel shortly after their programs were completed in Miz and Drew’s case and in Rey’s, shortly after this program is when he finally snapped on his son Dominik leading into Wrestlemania 39.

It reminds me a lot of the Fiend Bray Wyatt in the sense of consequences coming to those who dare to oppose him. I remember back in the infancy of the Fiend angle where he would “change” every person he came in contact with like Seth Rollins, who turned heel not even two months after his program with Bray ended. Kross having a similar effect is what is driving his character at the moment. His sole job is to make you question your own morality and whether the person we see on television every week is truly the person they are underneath. Kross has a point in everything he says. He never talks without making valid points. Sami Zayn did some horrible things with The Bloodline. He terrorized the roster for months as part of the Bloodline. Now, he’s this lovable guy and we are supposed to forget all the atrocities he committed as a disciple of Roman Reigns.

What people often forget, however, is that Karrion Kross is a very capable wrestler in the ring. People forget that because WWE rarely puts him in the ring for more than a couple minutes on Main Event. Kross had a chance to show everyone what he was about at Night of Champions I Saudi Arabia and, to no surprise to those who have followed him, Kross delivered. The match was strong and told a very well laid story. Kross came up short but that isn’t what this was about. It’s about opportunity and Kross needing more of it. He has been a loyal soldier to WWE and deserves a run similar to the one LA Knight is on. Kross and Knight have gone down similar paths. The first several months LA Knight was on the main roster after ditching the Max Dupri gimmick, he wasn’t really getting those reactions. The crowd would often sit on their hands and only pop whenever the three count was rendered. Then, slowly but surely, the crowd started to come around. The pops started to increase and get louder. People were starting to recite his catch phrase with him. Now, he’s one of the most popular guys on the roster.

Kross faced similar struggles as he wasn’t really getting the reactions he needed, mostly because WWE wasn’t exactly putting him in advantageous creative situations. Unlike Knight, however, the crowd started to slowly come around mostly because of Kross himself. The crowd started reacting to Knight because he was on television every week, often losing matches, and the crowd knew he deserved better. Kross wasn’t getting those matches. Kross had to do it through social media videos which were genius if I do say so myself. Then there was the promo he cut after WrestleMania on the WWE exclusive which addressed his issues with Logan Paul and AJ Styles. It did wonders for Kross improving his standing with the fans because slowly but surely the crowd reactions increased and got louder to the point where he got massively cheered at the Night of Champions kickoff while in Saudi and standing in front of Sami Zayn. That is something not many people would be able to do. Kross is making the most of whatever opportunities WWE gives him and I think that warrants more opportunities.

If you need a refresher on his in-ring capabilities, go watch his match with Eddie Edwards n Impact Wrestling when he was Killer Kross. Or his match with Harry Smith in Bloodsport. Or his matches with Johnny Impact and Brian Cage in Impact Wrestling. If you need a WWE crash course, his matches with Finn Balor, Samoa Joe and Johnny Gargano in NXT were highlights of his run there. His cage match with Drew Mcintyre at Crown Jewel 2022 is also highly recommended. These are matches that show Kross is more than capable of holding his own through those ropes. Karrion Kross also has the prom ability to hold his own against the top guys in the company. All Kross needs is the chance to show it. They could put Kross in there on Monday with GUNTHER and i would fully believe that he has a chance because he is believable and he believes everything he says and does. Kross believes he is right and the best villains throughout history are the ones who believe in their convictions and aren’t really wrong in their motivations.

Yes, I am fully aware that his contract is coming due, as exclusively reported by Fightful, his contract is due in a couple of months. What does that mean? Well it means WWE needs to get on the ball to locking him down on a new deal. I feel he has more than earned it. From his time in NXT, to getting brought up and put in some knock off Demolition gear, to getting fired and rehired a year later. Kross has always been a guy I thought was perfect for the WWE system. He’s a tailor made heel in professional wrestling but, much like LA Knight, I do feel the crowd reactions will eventually force WWE’s hand into giving him a shift change and knowing Karrion, he’ll kill that too. Kross is a guy who would’ve fit perfectly in the attitude era as either a member of the Ministry of Darkness or feuding with the Undertaker. Sometimes in professional wrestling it’s not just about the moves, as Karrion has proven he can do those, but it’s about the story and I don’t think there are many that are better at telling a story without even having a match than Karrion Kross and he should be rewarded for that.

Karrion Kross proved at Night of Champions what us Kross supporters have known all along and that is the fact that he can tell a story backstage and pay it off in the ring. Hopefully, the higher ups in WWE take notice of this and actually give him more opportunities instead of just quick 30 second backstage segments and five-minute matches on Main Event. We have seen in recent years with LA Knight, Cody Rhodes at WrestleMania 40, and recently with We Want Truth, that this current regime is not as opposed as the previous one to going in a different direction if the fan response is loud enough. The fan reactions to Kross aren’t going away so my advice to everyone who supports him is to keep doing it. Get louder, continue to sell out his merchandise, and in my opinion WWE will have no choice but to give the people what they want. They did it with Knight, they did it with Cody, they did it with Truth, they’ll do it with Kross. He’s the Devil you know versus the Devils you don’t and nobody deserves the opportunities more than Karrion “Killer” Kross.

Just stay away from all those dangerous back bumps!(I kid)

Until next time, I’m out.