Karrion Kross Explains Decision To Sign With WWE Over AEW

To the delight of many WWE fans, Karrion Kross made his return to the company several weeks back, returning to his "NXT" gimmick as the mysterious character with his wife Scarlett by his side. Kross was let go by WWE in November 2021, a move that puzzled many but gave him a fresh start after a disappointing and bizarre main roster call-up. Like several others who were released, the former "NXT" Champion could've entertained the idea of heading to Tony Khan's All Elite Wrestling, but detailed why he ultimately chose not to during an interview with Mirror Sport.

"There was an idea that was proposed to me to come and do something there [at AEW]," Kross said. "But it was just so abundantly clear to me from dealing with fans face to face, that a WWE return was what people wanted to see. ... It was always flattering. We were grateful we were receiving offers to do things but at the end of the day we knew we really should not tie ourselves down contractually somewhere else."

Kross' main roster debut following his dominant "NXT" run was less than stellar, with the 37-year-old infamously losing to Jeff Hardy in quick fashion as part of his "WWE Raw" debut. During his brief stint on the show, fans soured at the way he was treated, hoping after he was released that his return to the company would mirror his previous "NXT" gimmick. "We'd be in airports, we'd be in restaurants, in gyms, meet and greets, you name it anywhere, and we would have people come up to just pour their hearts out and express a lot of admiration and regret that things did not play out the way that they wanted them to," Kross said. "Telling us how heartbroken they were that they never got to see the continuity of what we created in "NXT" come up to the main roster. So in the back of our minds every single time we got an offer that was a deciding factor."