Backstage Reaction To Karrion Kross’ Monday Night Raw Debut

Can you blame them? As is the case with so many other things, a first impression can mean almost everything in wrestling. At the same time though, it is very rare to have a wrestler really make their first impression, as so many wrestlers have performed elsewhere before someone can be seen. One wrestler made their first impression this week and it has not exactly been well received.

Reigning NXT Champion Karrion Kross made his Monday Night Raw debut on this week’s show, losing to Jeff Hardy in a non-title match in one minute and forty seconds. This was Kross’ first loss in a singles match at any level in WWE and it seemed to be his official debut on the main roster. Such a loss was quite the surprise and it seems that some people are not happy.

According to Fightful Select, one unnamed wrestler said that they felt “a message was being sent” with Kross’ loss, though it was not clear what kind of message it was supposed to be. Some wrestlers are said to be annoyed for the NXT wrestlers, such as Finn Balor, Tommaso Ciampa, Johnny Gargano and others, who worked to make Kross look like a star. The feeling was said to be disappointed rather than angry, though Kross was said to be upbeat despite the loss.

Kross is in a weird place. Check out his time on Monday Night Raw and in NXT:

Jeff Hardy vs. Karrion Kross: Raw, July 19, 2021

Karrion Kross vs. Johnny Gargano – NXT Title Match: WWE NXT, July 13, 2021

Karrion Kross lays waste to Mr. Regal: WWE NXT, July 20, 2021

Opinion: This is one of those moves that feels like it was designed to be some kind of weird test for Kross. That’s all well and good for the people who like that idea, but at the same time, it does not do much for Kross or the audience. Both the WWE audience and the NXT audience now see Kross as less important, even though it was not mentioned on this week’s NXT. I don’t get it, but that is often the case with someone moving up to the main roster.

What did you think of the Kross vs. Hardy match? Where does Kross go from here? Let us know in the comments below.

Thomas Hall has been a wrestling fan for over thirty years and has seen over 50,000 wrestling matches. He has also been a wrestling reviewer since 2009 with over 5,000 full shows covered. You can find his work at kbwrestlingreviews.com, or check out his- Amazon author page with 30 wrestling books.

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