Karrion Kross Dethrones John Cena & Penta as WWE's Top Apparel Seller
Fort Worth, TEXAS - APRIL 25: John Cena addresses the crowd during SmackDown at Dickies Arena on ... More April 25, 2025 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Eric Johnson/WWE via Getty Images)
John Cena has been amazing on his farewell tour, and Penta remains hot four months after he made his WWE debut. Fans have responded, pushing Cena's St. Louis Blues-inspired T-shirt from WWE Backlash and Penta's signature mask to the top of the best-selling apparel list on WWE Shop.
However, neither item is occupying the top spot. That distinction belongs to the suddenly red-hot Karrion Kross whose 'String Them Up' t-shirt is currently in the No. 1 spot on WWE's Top-Seller apparel list.
When you consider how Kross has helped to engineer this run up the ladder and into the consciousness of WWE fans, it's pretty impressive.
After WrestleMania 41, Kross cut a soon-to-be-iconic, half-shoot interview with Sam Roberts. He targeted AJ Styles, who had just put over Logan Paul in one of the less-spirited matches of the two-day premium live event.
In case you missed it, it's here. Pay close attention to the t-shirt he's wearing. Yep, it's the one that is the top-seller on WWE Shop.
Kross' rage against the machine was brilliant because, while arguing against Paul's path to success with WWE and taking a 'shortcut,' the often-ignored Superstar is using social media to air his gripes and to make himself 'undeniable.'
In the promo, Kross mentions some advice he got from Goldberg. The wrestling icon told Kross to be a good soldier. Clearly, Kross thinks that plan has blown up in his face and he's ready to do things his way.
Rarely will you see a WWE Superstar do a better job at playing a role in their own rise. Did WWE give permission and an indirect platform for Kross to 'go rogue?' Maybe, but who cares.
All that matters is the performance, and Kross is in the midst of weaving a masterpiece of self-promotion. He is playing the game the new school way. Look at the feature he got a week ago with his wife Scarlett by his side.
Killer Kross is coming back and droves of fans are here for it–or at least on their way. Many of them figure to be wearing his t-shirt when they arrive.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News24
33 minutes ago
- News24
‘Sex pest' Jared Leto denies claims of lewd behaviour made against him by 9 women
Nine women have accused actor and singer Jared Leto of inappropriate behaviour. The women allege that his behaviour is 'predatory, terrifying and unacceptable', according to an expose by Air Mail. Jared (53) is accused of engaging in inappropriate behaviour over the years, including flirting with teenagers. One of his alleged victims was just 16 years old when Jared allegedly approached her and grabbed her by the arm while she was outside a café in Los Angeles. 'We had a quick conversation, and he got my number,' she said. She added that Jared called her home a few days later, recalling: 'I don't know if he was on drugs or what . . . It was the weirdest, grossest voice . . . [But] for me, it's Jared, you know?' She said that Jared told her he was hosting a party at his house that evening and invited her to it. The woman declined, saying, 'I didn't even have a driver's licence.' Nevertheless, she said, Jared kept calling her, 'always at one, two, three AM'. And the conversations turned sexual. 'He'd ask things like: 'Have you ever had a boyfriend? Have you ever sucked a d***?'' she told the publication. READ MORE | Joshua Jackson in legal battle with his ex-wife over daughter's schooling Another woman, model Laura La Rue, says she met Jared at an animal rights benefit when she was 16. They started texting and she would visit his studio. Laura claims Jared once walked into a room nude 'like it was normal' when she was 17. 'I thought maybe this was just what adult men do,' she said. Another victim, who was underage when she first started chatting to Jared, alleged that he would ask inappropriate questions when she'd go to his house, such as, 'Do any of the little boys you hang out with f*** you?' She said that when she turned 18, the actor masturbated in front of her at his house and forced her to touch him. This is not the first time Jared has faced accusations of inappropriate behaviour. In 2012, Los Angeles-based DJ Allie Teilz wrote about her encounter with him on Facebook, saying, 'You're not really in LA until Jared Leto tries to force himself on you backstage . . . In a kilt. And a snow hat.' The DJ recently wrote on her Instagram stories, 'I was assaulted and traumatised by this creep when I was 17 . . . He knew my age and didn't care. What he did was predatory, terrifying and unacceptable.' The actor has denied the accusations against him, and insists Allie was lying. He added that nothing about his conversation with Laura was inappropriate, and a spokesperson's statement said that 'Ms La Rue later applied to work as Mr Leto's personal assistant, further underscoring the absence of anything inappropriate in any of their interactions. All of the allegations are expressly denied.'
Wall Street Journal
an hour ago
- Wall Street Journal
What is a Severed Body Doing In a Wes Anderson Movie?
A bomb goes off on a plane, blowing a guy in half and ripping a hole in the fuselage. The pilot ejects and the hero goes down with the aircraft but survives the crash. It's not 'Mission: Impossible.' It's the opening sequence in the latest release by Wes Anderson, the filmmaker whose singular style gets labeled with words such as whimsical and twee. The effects are special. When the unlucky passenger explodes, he leaves a prim pair of legs buckled into the seat and an artful spritz of blood on the cabin wall.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
After his viral moment, Cecilio Waterman and Panama still have much to celebrate
This article is part of our Finding Fútbol series, a special feature produced by The Athletic to chronicle how the U.S.'s Hispanic communities celebrate and enrich the beautiful game. Cecilio Waterman isn't tired of any of it. It has been three months since that moment when a friend's joke changed his life. Everyone laughs, but like all the best jokes, it's funny because there's some truth behind it. Before Waterman scored a dramatic, stoppage-time winner for Panama against the U.S. men's national team, then jumped over the advertising boards, climbed onto a TV network's stage and celebrated with his idol, he was not exactly a household name. He got buzz, he got attention, but Waterman insists it was never about going viral or anything to do with social media, though his profiles got a boost. Advertisement 'I didn't do it for marketing. It simply came to me in the moment,' Waterman said this month. As part of the pre-Nations League media day, he'd been asked who his idol was growing up and selected Thierry Henry, not knowing the Arsenal legend would be watching Panama's Concacaf Nations League semifinal against the U.S. pitch-side as part of CBS Sports' coverage. 'He was there, and it came out of my heart to go hug and celebrate with him. It was totally natural,' Waterman told The Athletic. Now that he's known in Panama and beyond, everyone jibes. Things seem to be going a little more smoothly. 'When I got here with the national team, they were all reminding me of that moment, and it was just a great moment with how everything went down,' Waterman said. 'I got back to my club (Chilean side Coquimbo Unido), I became a starter again, I started scoring — everyone joked it was because of Henry. It was a really beautiful moment for me.' It wasn't just Waterman shouting in the stadium. With a population of around 4.5 million, Panama is the smallest country in Central America, aside from Belize. Unlike other countries in the region, there haven't been huge waves of immigration to the U.S., either. Yet, a small but mighty group of Panama supporters who live in the U.S. were at the Nations League semifinal in SoFi Stadium. Victor Chancay, who lives in San Diego, travels around the country to support Panama in tournaments like the Nations League and Gold Cup. His group tries to get seats in the end zone to make its support felt more strongly. As he remembers watching the Waterman goal, he says he felt like the buildup to the moment — Janpol Morales' winning the ball back, Adalberto 'Coco' Carrasquilla playing Waterman in — happened in slow motion. 'Us Panamanians just had an enormous shout, a huge cheer,' he said. 'This goal was very, very important for Panama, and we celebrated it in a way where … you just don't have the slightest idea how we celebrated that goal and the passage to the final.' Advertisement Like many TV viewers and the crew on the desk themselves, Chancay was confused at first when he paused his celebration to see Waterman in the face of the Arsenal legend. 'I saw him shouting, and Titi was like, 'Damn, is this guy crazy?'' he recalls. 'I said, 'Wow, they're going after Titi for something,' but after, on TV, I saw he was shouting, 'You're my idol, you're my idol.' From afar, I couldn't hear because all us Panamanians were cheering.' Waterman can understand the confusion, even from his countrymen. But he insists the moment was distinctly Panama, a moment when he couldn't contain his joy and expressed it unreservedly. 'It comes from our childhood. It's something cultural: having joy, having good energy, enjoying the moment,' Waterman said. 'Sometimes when we talk, you think we're shouting, but that's just how we are — we're happy. In the national team, we laugh a ton. It's a very loving country.' Though Waterman is happy to relive those moments, he also knows it's time to turn the page. Like most of the current Panama group, the journeyman attacker wasn't part of Panama's first trip to the World Cup in 2018. At age 34, the 2026 tournament in the U.S. is undoubtedly his best chance to play in a World Cup. Even as Los Canaleros made the Nations League final in March and the 2023 Gold Cup final, Panama manager Thomas Christiansen and his players have remained consistent: A continental trophy would be a remarkable achievement, but their focus is fixed on a return to the World Cup. That's why clinching a place in the third and final round of qualification this week was so important for Waterman. After that, he'll also be working to make sure he has a place in the squad. After his goal in the semifinal, Waterman earned a start in the final against Mexico. But competition among him, semifinal starter José Fajardo and other attackers remains stiff as Christiansen works to find a consistent scorer. Advertisement 'My goal is to push Panama as a group to the World Cup, do things well. In Chile, after the moment with Henry, I started to be a starter with the club. The manager there gave me confidence, I started scoring, and we're in this good moment,' Waterman said. 'Wherever you are, when you come to the national team, it's a good time. 'When I scored that goal against the United States, I started on the bench. When you come to the national team, you're open to supporting the team in whatever role as a good teammate so the country of Panama wins.' In a small country like Panama, everyone needs to be pulling in the same direction. Chancay says when Panamanian TV stations show him and his group tailgating in the parking lot before matches, he'll hear from friends in Central America. 'There are Panamians there!' Chancay imagines the TV networks are saying the same thing. Unlike many larger countries, many of those Panamanian reporters transmitting the images are happy to be seen wearing the national team's jersey. In a country with such a relatively small population, viewers would find it strange if they weren't supporting the national team. In a sense, aren't we all rooting for Panama? Waterman became a national hero in March, but he goes into this summer's Gold Cup and fall's World Cup qualification carrying the hopes and expectations of this country. Who else is going to score the goals but the guy who did it before — and received the blessing of a god of the game, to boot? His friends continue to laugh about the moment, his teammates joking about Henry's luck rubbing off on him during this stretch. Still, he'll have the last laugh. He knows exactly what he's going to do with the No. 14 Arsenal shirt Henry presented to him after the semifinal victory. 'I'm going to hang it and put it in the living room of my house,' Waterman said. 'I have several shirts, but when it's one you've wanted since you were a kid? I've got a lot of shirts from friends, but that's the top, top.' Advertisement Now, with a smile, Waterman sets out to create another joyful moment his countrymen will remember forever – and he'll never get tired of talking about. The Finding Fútbol series is sponsored by Modelo. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Sponsors have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.
