5 potential feuds for Karrion Kross in AEW
WWE has once again shocked the world with mass releases of in-ring talent, with this batch including 2-time NXT Champion Karrion Kross. Kross was brought into NXT with his on and off-screen partner, Scarlett Bordeaux (shortened to Scarlett within NXT), and was quick to assert himself as a legitimate challenger within the brand.
The likes of Bronson Reed, Tomasso Ciampa, Leon Ruff and Danny Burch fell to Kross on his way to Keith Lee and the NXT Championship. In fact, apart from a tag team loss to Danny Burch and Oney Lorcan for the NXT Tag Team Championship alongside Finn Balor, the only loss Karrion Kross suffered in NXT was his NXT Championship defense against Samoa Joe.
Aside from the Joe loss, Kross beat all of his one-on-one competition and captured the NXT Championship twice, with the first reign only coming to an end due to injury.
The dominance of Karrion Kross in NXT failed to translate to his main roster run, debuting without Scarlett and losing via a roll-up to Jeff Hardy. Kross' first match on the main roster after dominating NXT was a loss and completely pulled the rug on his momentum.
Kross was then softly repackaged with new ring gear and presentation but he was still a far cry from the monster we had seen in NXT. While the ending turned out to be so sour, he can take immense pride in his NXT run as he dominated to great effect. He worked well as a monstrous conqueror and was the perfect villain for Samoa Joe to make a triumphant return against.
Kross is bound to find more success in a similar role outside WWE, and will no doubt have challengers lining up waiting to face him. Let's take a look at five faces within AEW that could serve Karrion Kross with gripping feuds.
#5 Karrion Kross vs Adam Cole
Both Karrion Kross and Adam Cole have represented the black and yellow brand of NXT as recently as this year, with Kross holding the NXT Championship Cole pursued at Takeover: In Your House 2021 in a Fatal-5-Way match.
In a tragic sense of irony, it only makes sense that they should stand opposite one another for Kross' first run in the company that helped hammer the nail into the black and yellow coffin, AEW.
Adam Cole famously laid into Kross in a promo, highlighting that he was given star treatment and presentation to make up for his lack of superior in-ring ability. The words were sharp as they echoed the thoughts of the fans and those who had questioned the decision to have Kross steamroll the entire NXT roster and helped to lay the foundation for a feud between the two.
The program never materialised within the walls of WWE, with NXT making the switch back to developmental territory, Kross being drafted to Raw and Cole leaving for AEW; maybe we could see this story realised in AEW?
Karrion Kross and Adam Cole have a story to tell, and they are more than capable of sharing this tale in the ring. They both witnessed the fall of NXT, and should Kross join AEW, both will have the chance to face each other within the company responsible for the fall.