WWE SmackDown Star Open To NXT Return
A WWE SmackDown star would be happy to return to NXT under one condition.
Karrion Kross returned to WWE in August 2022, less than a year after he and his wife Scarlett were released by the company. Despite being back in the company for well over a year, he has only competed 19 times on WWE television since with his most notable feud coming against Drew McIntyre. That ended when McIntyre defeated Kross in a Steel Cage match at Crown Jewel in November 2022.
Speaking to Chris Van Vliet on Insight, Karrion Kross spoke candidly about his experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic and noted the crowds in NXT at that time helped him massively:
“I don’t want to say I was dishonest, but I wasn’t entirely honest when I discussed how difficult being in lockdown was for me. During the whole pandemic, I was in Florida, a lot of my family was in Canada. Some of them are older, I have family in New York. I didn’t know, at the time, if it was a smart idea or even safe to go visit them, so I didn’t. I felt very isolated.
“I was at work, which was a relief. I had Scarlett, but it was a difficult time for me, personally, for all of us. It was difficult to get through and I was always hoping, while I was at NXT, that I would be able to get that premium live event crowd. I never got that.
“The TakeOvers that they did in New York….we had that little audience. Whether they knew it or not, they were like family to me. Even when they were booing me and calling me every name in the book, which they should have because that’s what I was trying to elicit. In place of my family that I didn’t have at the time, I had that audience.”
Karrion Kross open to WWE NXT return
Karrion Kross continued by noting that he’d be happy to go back to compete in front of the NXT audience but only if the story made sense for it to happen:
“I don’t think they realize just the feeling there, what that was like psychologically doing for me. That audience carried me through that period. It would be nice to see them again and it would be nice to do one of those TakeOver events. Narrative should make sense and it should be under the right circumstances. I wouldn’t just want to go back for the hell of it. I would want to go back for something good for them.”
Kross’ last match in NXT came at TakeOver 36 in August 2021 when he lost the NXT Championship to Samoa Joe. Incredibly that bout also turned out to be Joe’s last on the brand as well.