3 biggest mistakes WWE has made with Karrion Kross since his return
Karrion Kross's second WWE spell is currently blowing hot and cold. The two-time NXT champion was among the first superstars to return to the company after Triple H took over creative duties last year. Kross re-entered at a high level, working with Drew McIntyre and even teasing a showdown with Roman Reigns.
After initially returning to great hype, The Doomwalker's momentum has tapered off tremendously. His feuds have been poorly received, his matches even more so. It isn't easy to see Kross replicating his NXT success with his current direction despite his incredible presentation with Scarlett by his side. The creative team shoulders some blame for this, having made some missteps with him.
Here are three of the biggest mistakes WWE has made with Karrion Kross since his August 2022 return
#3. His ominous character has been undermined by underwhelming matches
Like Bray Wyatt, another of Triple H's returnees with a supernatural-leaning gimmick, Karrion Kross's character and in-ring presentation are vastly mismatched. His vignettes show a dark, menacing, and terrifying force of darkness that strikes fear into opponents and fans alike. This even carries over to his entrance and promos, but when the bell rings, it's another story entirely.
The blame for this can be placed on both Kross, who looks a shadow of his explosive NXT self, and WWE, which has done little to facilitate him. Whereas other dark characters like The Undertaker and Wyatt had specific match types tailored to them, The Doom Walker's matches have been ordinary. If the company wants him to stand apart, they must start making his in-ring work stand out.
#2. WWE has given Karrion Kross very little character development since his return
So karrion kross will just keep targeting people starting a feud that he will lose again and again and again #smackdown
In the nine months since his WWE return, Karrion Kross has not evolved as a performer. He has cut the same style of promos, wearing the same gear, and worked the same type of matches. His storytelling has thus fallen into a repetitive loop where he calls out an opponent, cuts an ominous promo, then threatens his target, leaving them his famous "Tick Tock" warning.
While this is one of the most bad*ss presentations in WWE today, it has stagnated with the fans, especially because of his weak win-loss record. A menacing character who keeps making ominous threats just to lose and do the same thing over again eventually starts to feel like a false prophet. This has hugely affected Kross's momentum and credibility with many fans.
The Doomwalker is supposed to be a dominant character, so losing as many matches as he has should at least have triggered a tweak in his gimmick.
#1. WWE has booked Karrion Kross as an afterthought
So is Karrion Kross just gonna call out a different guy every week, then the following week job out to them? That's what has happened every time. Kross's booking has been so disappointing thus far. Is @TripleH making him a glorified jobber bc he grew his hair out? #Smackdown https://t.co/0MfPfzollb
Karrion Kross returned to WWE last August by inserting himself into a confrontation between Drew McIntyre and Roman Reigns. He then had a fairly entertaining feud with The Scottish Warrior before fading to the background.
He has since been involved in several short feuds against Rey Mysterio and Shinsuke Nakamura with little setup and underwhelming payoffs on weekly television.
The Doomwalker has now set his sights on AJ Styles, whose main focus is the World Heavyweight Championship tournament. This has made the WWE Universe question Kross's creative direction and whether he will ever be booked in a top feud where he's the main focus. A rivalry against Bobby Lashley or Austin Theory culminating in a big win at a premium live event, could fix this.
If Kross continues to flip-flop between impromptu two-week feuds and multi-man matches, he may never replicate his NXT successes on the main roster.