Karrion Kross has opened up about WWE‘s last-minute contract offer, revealing that Scarlett was left out of the proposal and he was given 24 hours to sign it.
The 40-year-old became a free agent after his contract expired on Sunday (August 10), and his final appearance was a loss to Sami Zayn at SummerSlam on August 2. His popularity has skyrocketed this year, earning constant “We Want Kross” chants on RAW and PLEs.
Karrion Kross Lifts Lid On WWE Contract Situation
Kross sat down with Ariel Helwani to discuss how his WWE departure unfolded while delving into how the promotion handled negotiations over a new deal. He told the MMA journalist that an offer of a new contract only arrived this past week and that the company refused to explain the terms of their proposal:
“The truth of the matter is, my contract was up last week. I never actually received a contract offer until last week. I think it was Tuesday (the offer). I got the offer, and I wanted to know how they came to the valuation of that offer. Just wanted some information, metrics and analytics to explain ‘hey, this is how we got there’.”
Kross added:
“When I inquired about that, they were unwilling to provide the information and told me I had 24 hours to reply to the offer or they would rescind it. So the next day we talk, I ask if they have the information. They don’t, and I said I can’t make an informed decision without the information and I’d like to keep the dialogue open.”
Kross has spent his entire WWE career alongside his real-life wife and on-screen manager, Scarlett, who many feel deserved more of a spotlight alongside her partner. While she didn’t compete, she was a key part of the RAW star’s act, calming him down when he got too enraged.
Despite this, WWE didn’t include Scarlett in their offer to Kross:
“Nothing, she had nothing, there was no offer to her. I was told at one point ‘after we deal with you, we’ll deal with her’. I don’t know (if they were willing to offer her a separate contract). I don’t see why we couldn’t have done things the way we did before.”
Kross arrived in WWE in February 2020, initially starting in NXT and quickly becoming the developmental brand’s top heel, winning the NXT Championship. His first run on the main roster was a disappointment as it came during the Vince McMahon regime, and he was given a restrictive gimmick.
This resulted in Kross and Scarlett being released in November 2021 but they returned in August 2022 under Triple H’s creative control. This allowed them to get over as the menacing duo that NXT fans had been impressed with years before.
Kross was given his own stable, ‘The Final Testament’, but unfortunately, the group didn’t click with fans. He went back to the drawing board and used his imagination to garner fan support through social media promos, and soon enough, he was ‘wanted’ every week on RAW.
The former TNA star started feuding with Sami Zayn earlier this summer after trying to tempt Zayn to turn to the dark side. But he suffered three losses to the former Intercontinental Championship, including in his final outing at SummerSlam.
Triple H Has Gone Back On His Word
There have been several bold business decisions that have taken place since Triple H took over creative and that includes CM Punk’s return at Survivor Series in November 2023. Nobody thought the Best in the World would ever return after spending nine years away from the company.
Hell froze over at All State Arena in Chicago that night, and it is arguably one of Paul Levesque’s greatest nights sitting behind his desk in gorilla. He gave a memorable review of the return in the post-show press conference and one line enthused fans after years or poor booking and storytelling:
“If our fans want it, if the WWE Universe is excited to have it, then let’s go, and we’ll figure out the rest of it from there.”
Many will point to this claim when situations such as Kross’ exit arise because fans have made clear what they “want”. The company’s chief content officer can pretend his WWE Universe “Want Brock”, but that wasn’t the phrase trending on social media during the summer.
