This year, former NXT Champion Karrion Kross has enjoyed a surging popularity in WWE, with fans routinely cheering "We Want Kross" at WWE's weekly television shows and monthly premium live events. In the eyes of WWE Hall of Famer Paul Heyman, the response to Kross has been similar to that of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who used it to majorly propel his career during WWE's Attitude Era. The weight of that comparison isn't lost on Kross. Neither is it for fellow WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray.
While addressing the confusing nature of Kross' WWE contract status on "Busted Open Radio" (prior to Kross' in-depth interview on "The Ariel Helwani Show"), Ray pointed out the significance of Kross not only being compared to Austin, but also the man making the comparison, Paul Heyman. "There was something said last week that I don't think you can disregard, because it's coming from one of the smartest people in the entire wrestling industry," Ray said.
"This smart person is comparing Karrion Kross to one of the top two or three most over people in the wrestling industry. When Paul Heyman says that Karrion Kross reminds him and his groundswell of a Stone Cold Steve Austin, that can't fall on deaf ears. Why would Paul Heyman put himself out there like that? Does he just like Karrion Kross so much that he knows, 'Well, the kids contract's coming to an end. They're getting rid of him, but let me say something nice about him on the way out and compare him to Stone Cold Steve Austin'?"
As Ray alluded to, Heyman's comments were made mere days before the existing WWE contracts of Kross and his wife/manager Scarlett expired on August 10. That detail has widely been accepted as legitimate by Ray and many wrestling fans. The reported events surrounding those expirations, however, continue to be up for debate.
According to Kross, WWE offered him a new contract around August 5, but later rescinded it when he insisted on getting more information about the analytics that went into their offer. Meanwhile, Scarlett, with whom Kross has been paired with on WWE television, apparently did not receive a proposal at all.
Given Heyman's aforementioned endorsement, Ray believes that WWE officials, namely CCO Paul "Triple H" Levesque, would have actually made an extra effort to retain Kross. "Paul's opinion goes very, very far in the WWE. So Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux are Hunter creations. Are we to think that a Hunter creation has fall so far from the initial creation to the point where Hunter himself is like, 'Yes, we have to cut these two because we don't see anything in them. What do you think, Wise Man? What do you think, Oracle? What do you say, advocate?' The advocate, and the Wise Man and the Oracle say, 'Well, he kind of reminds me of Steve Austin.' And Triple H still goes. 'Yeah, but we still gotta get rid of him.' That doesn't add up to me."
In further assessing the situation, Ray pointed to the possibility of it being a work, specifically for WWE to later include in a future episode of "WWE Unreal." The Netflix series, released on July 29, has already shown fans a backstage look at the creative process behind certain matches and storylines, such as Charlotte Flair's 2025 return.
If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "Busted Open Radio" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.
