After a week of speculation, it looks like we have our answer: Karrion Kross has left WWE (along with his manager and real-life partner Scarlett), with their three-year contracts expiring Sunday.
As wrestling news goes, it's not exactly the Brock Lesnar return. Even his biggest fans wouldn't argue that Kross was ever among the top names in WWE (though some will say he had the potential to be a much bigger deal). But he did take a much bolder gamble than pretty much anyone else on the roster, and one which made him one of the most interesting wrestlers to follow.
To understand the strategy, you need to appreciate the extent to which WWE likes to micromanage its communications. It might not be surprising for a multi-billion dollar company, admittedly, but it's still a reasonably recent innovation for pro-wrestling. As a rule of thumb, WWE's cautious approach means that you can normally assume that anything you hear a wrestler say outside of the televised product has been cleared in advance by the media team. At least until someone like Karrion Kross decides to break that rule.
Before this year, most of us had never really looked at Kross' personal YouTube channel. Then back in January, the former NXT champion began putting out his own video promos, speaking directly to the fans in his WWE persona. In one audacious example, he even tried to interject himself directly into the ongoing Sami Zayn vs. Kevin Owens feud, days before their big match at Elimination Chamber. It felt fresh and exciting, but also hugely risky.
Why the willingness to throw out the usual rulebook? The fact that Kross was already more than halfway through his three-year contract may have played a role, coupled with the fact that his last PLE appearance had been way back in April 2024 (admittedly at the blockbuster WrestleMania XL). Either way, it began to look like the gamble might just pay off.
In the weeks ahead of this year's WrestleMania 41, you had the first rumbles of an online movement in support of Kross. For a while, it looked like WWE might be listening to the social media fanbase, when Kross and Scarlett began to appear more regularly on "Raw" in segments teasing a feud with AJ Styles. You started to hear speculation that Kross would face Styles at 'Mania, which was set to take place in his hometown of Las Vegas.
As we know by now, the 'Mania match wasn't to be. Instead, Kross would have to make do with an entry into the tainted Andre the Giant Memorial Battle Royal on "WWE SmackDown" and a run-in during the match between AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul. It was a big setback, but one which became the trigger for the most interesting part of the whole Kross strategy: his self-produced YouTube documentary, which became one of the unexpected hits of the year.
In theory, the documentary was meant to be about Kross' match at Bloodsport -- the MMA-inspired promotion in which WWE stars occasionally appear -- and there was plenty to promote the fight. But what really cut through with fans were the sections in which Kross aired his frustration at being omitted from the 'Mania card in the first place. Within a few days, the film had drawn some 200,000 views, without any endorsement from WWE.
After that, everything dialed up a notch. Parts of the crowd would begin chanting for Kross from the audience on "WWE Raw" -- or holding up signs in support of their man. Some put their money where their mouth was. On more than one occasion, Kross ranked among the top three merch-sellers on the WWE shop, rubbing shoulders with names like John Cena, Cody Rhodes and Jey Uso. In other words, exactly the sort of metric that will make WWE executives sit up and take notice.
How far Kross succeeded internally isn't clear. But given he did get two PLE matches (one at Night of Champions and one at SummerSlam), it looks like WWE was at least willing to give him a shot. Sure, neither match exactly set the internet alight, but they weren't exactly out of step with what you'd expect at a WWE PLE, either in terms of wrestling or storyline.
Whether you loved his work or not, it was hard not to root for Kross. He wasn't the first wrestler to try to appeal to the fanbase -- neither did he come close to the levels of ground support for the likes of Daniel Bryan -- but he was dedicated in his approach and was creative on social media. His willingness to actively criticize booking decisions was a big risk, but one that clearly resonated with his supporters.
For all his creative disagreement with the industry, Kross was no agitator. In his promos, he spoke about his attempts to be a "good soldier" for WWE -- something that his Cagematch record backs up. Even when he didn't appear on the televised part of "Raw", he often wrestled on the pre-match show -- something that takes time and commitment. Both he and Scarlett even travelled to Saudi Arabia in November 2024, just to participate in an untelevised dark match.
In the end, though, it wasn't to be: Kross' three year-spell in WWE has officially come to an end. In truth, it's hard to see why it didn't work out: particularly given Kross repeatedly showed he could deliver merch sales and social views. For whatever reason, though, WWE clearly didn't see a place for him in the current product.
Who knows, maybe he will pop up in AEW or TNA and prove that those fans chanting "We want Kross" behind Triple H were right all along. If nothing else, though, his latest run in WWE will be remembered as a valiant attempt to take fate into his own hands, and one that will have resonated with fans and talent alike.
He may not have succeeded in his big gamble -- but he certainly won't be the last wrestler to try.