Latest news with #ScarlettBordeaux
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Karrion Kross opens up on his departure from WWE and what comes next: 'This is baffling to me, too'
Despite becoming one of the most over acts in professional wrestling, Karrion Kross is navigating free agency after his WWE contract expired this week. It had been rumored for months that Kross was free agency-bound sometime during the summer. The former NXT Champion confirmed on his YouTube channel that he and his wife, Scarlett Bordeaux, became free agents Sunday. With speculation surrounding the confusing outcome and its legitimacy, Kross spoke in studio Wednesday on Uncrowned's "The Ariel Helwani Show" to break down what led to his departure from WWE. "The truth of the matter is, my contract was up last week," Kross said. "I never actually received a contract, like an offer, until last week. I think it was Tuesday, off the top of my head. "I got the offer. I wanted to know how they came to the valuation of that offer. I just wanted some information, some metrics, analytics that support, 'Hey, this is how we got here.' When I inquired about that, they were unwilling to provide that information and told me I had 24 hours to agree to the offer or they were rescinding it. The next day we talk. I ask if they have the information. They don't. I said I can't make an informed decision without the information, and I'd like to keep the dialogue open. They rescinded the offer. That's actually where we're at." Kross, 40, firmly denied that his free agency was some sort of storyline or work that would lead to something bigger in the WWE. The timing of Kross' departure has only fueled speculation, as it came after the controversial brief free agency for R-Truth following his contract expiration in June. Like with Kross, R-Truth's free agency was legitimate, but the outcry of support ultimately led to a new offer being extended, and he returned weeks later. There's no non-compete clause to prevent Kross from doing as he pleases from this point on. However, he still wishes he were booked for WWE programming, after he and Bordeaux were supposed to appear on last week's "Monday Night Raw." Regarding Bordeaux, Kross revealed she wasn't included in the aforementioned vague offer that he received before its rescission. "Sunday, we get a message saying we're gonna be flown home. So, now we're not gonna be on 'Raw.' That didn't feel very good," Kross said. "Never in my life have I felt more supported, like ever. It's so much support that I don't even know what to do with it, but it is motivating. ... As undesirable as this situation is, I still have hope that we can recover it, work it out. The support that I get from people on a daily basis everywhere is unbelievable." This isn't the first time in Kross' career he's left WWE to look in from the outside. In 2021, he and Bordeaux were released from their contracts, rather than having them expire, before inevitably returning in 2022. As an NXT product before he arrived on the main roster, Kross was always largely viewed as a "Triple H guy," since he was on the show when the current COO steered that ship exclusively. Unfortunately for Kross, they haven't been able to have as clear a conversation about where things currently stand. "I had a conversation with him earlier in the year about all of this," Kross said. "They took a point-man and they put him between us to communicate. Now, the point man is responsible for all the dialogue. He knows that I want to talk. He knows what I want to do. ... I've made it very, very clear that I want to keep the lanes of communication and dialogue open. It's a very weird situation. It's weird, dude. I've conveyed everything. This is the way forward. Everyone just needs to stop being weird." If Kross never returns to WWE, his last match will have been the trilogy clash with Sami Zayn from their feud that culminated on Night 1 of SummerSlam 2025. Kross went 1-2 in the series, losing the final match, which he was content with. Ideally, the overall impact of his loss would have been "bigger" than perhaps just a pinfall defeat. Either way, he knew that was the end of his run — for now. "I had a gut feeling," Kross said of SummerSlam being his last match. "I couldn't tell you why. My gut is never wrong. I felt in that moment this is the last time. I felt it all day. There were subtle things that I couldn't even tell you. I could not even convey in words, body language, energy, stuff like that. I even had a friend of mine tell me to do something for the live crowd when you're leaving to say goodbye or something. I didn't want to be unprofessional. This moment, clearly by design, is for the babyface to get everything back that I took away from him. I don't need to make this about myself right now. It's about him. I've been taking from him for weeks. So, let's do the right thing, let's be accountable, let's not go into business for ourselves. Let's not upset the audience by doing some sort of whatever during the show. Just go out there and do the job they're asking you to do, as I have always done." In a way, WWE's latest handling of real happenings — such as with R-Truth or the fake Seth Rollins injury — has hurt Kross' current potential prospects. On the current docket, he and Bordeaux only have some non-wrestling dates planned, and the second biggest wrestling company in the world, AEW, hasn't reached out. The latter, presumably, because of the expectation that Kross' free agency is a part of a story. Ultimately, nowhere outside of WWE is of interest, anyway. "I've read it. I've seen it," Kross said of theories about his latest saga. "Everyone's thinking I'm just going to pop up under some company that's in the WWE umbrella. They're hoping I do because this seems so nonsensical to people. People are following the course of events that have happened to get to here, and going, 'How did this happen? This must not be real because this makes no sense.' Believe me, I also think that this makes no sense. This is baffling to me, too. It drives me nuts that I have to actually even admit that. It is baffling. "I'm still waiting, man. I'm waiting at the table to finish discussing the things that we never got a chance to discuss. I think there's still a lot to talk about. I'm not fishing for any major television wrestling companies to call me. I have been contacted by several, but I'm not looking for that. That's not actually what I'm looking for. I would like to explore the conversation more with WWE."
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Bully Ray: Is WWE Blurring The Lines With Karrion Kross's Status?
Karrion Kross could be on his way out of WWE alongside his wife Scarlett. As the old saying goes, though, it ain't over until it's over. Following his loss to Sami Zayn at WWE SummerSlam, reports indicated that Kross and Scarlett's WWE contracts are set to expire this weekend with no word from WWE about potentially signing a new deal beforehand. Despite that, WWE Hall of Famer Bully Ray is remaining optimistic about this contract situation, especially given Kross' surging popularity. 'Personally, I don't think the WWE is going to let Karrion Kross and Scarlett Bordeaux go,' Ray said on Busted Open Radio. 'I think there's too much of an organic groundswell amongst wrestling fans. I think that there would be backlash against the WWE. It would be different backlash than we heard for R-Truth. R-Truth was our lovable guy. He made us laugh. If you were fans, you're like, 'No, no, no, you can't get rid of truth. We have fun with him.' Kross, this guy is like a rebel to wrestling fans. They are clamoring for him. 'You heard what happened at the post-SummerSlam press conference. They were chanting 'we want Kross' and that speaks volumes,' Ray continued. 'The WWE Universe likes Karrion Kross. They want him to stick around. They see something in him; they see something in Scarlett. Obviously, the WWE Universe is attracted to this guy. There's something about Karrion Kross that is resonating with the WWE Universe, but it doesn't seem to be resonating with the higher ups, or maybe it is. Are they blurring their own lines with Karrion Kross?' As Ray alluded to, some lines in WWE have blurred recently, with Seth Rollins' fake injury and subsequent Money in the Bank cash-in as a prime example. In Kross' case, it has yet to be seen if their reported contract expirations are legitimate or potentially part of another complex story in WWE. Bully Ray also shared his idea for how WWE could get Kross over in a huge way. Kross, a former NXT Champion, returned to WWE in August 2022 alongside Scarlett. RELATED: Karrion Kross Reflects On Near Meltdown Over Dropped Call With Triple H The post Bully Ray: Is WWE Blurring The Lines With Karrion Kross's Status? appeared first on Wrestlezone.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Karrion Kross vents on WWE frustrations, viral WrestleMania promo: 'I'm still pretty pissed'
Karrion Kross has gotten the professional wrestling world to say his name. April's WrestleMania 41 showcase had extra meaning for the former NXT Champion, since it took place in his hometown of Las Vegas. Despite that, Kross was left without a match for the two-night marathon. Advertisement As a result of Kross' frustrations, he appeared on WWE's official WrestleMania 41 recap podcast after the festivities were over and cut the most-talked about promo of the weekend. Speaking Wednesday during an in-studio appearance on "The Ariel Helwani Show," Kross explained why he went off the way he did. "The biggest misconception anyone can take from what I said on WrestleMania was that I'm disgruntled," Kross said. "I'm not. I'm just really, really, really hungry, man. I'm really hungry. "All of this is coming from a place of passion. It's all about the grand scheme of things. People are paying to come watch the greatest show in the world. I want to be a reason on the show where they felt like they got every single cent worth of that. I want to be more than just an Easter egg. I want to be more than just a guy in the back, ruining peoples' lives." Kross, 39, watched as his airtime dipped to begin 2025, after his program as the leader of his stable The Final Testament wrapped up opposite The Wyatt Sicks in December. Alongside Kross and his wife Scarlett Bordeaux were his now-former partners, the Authors of Pain's (AOP) Akam and Rezar, with manager Paul Ellering, all of whom have since been released from the company. As a result, Kross has been mostly limited to a backstage role on "WWE Raw," antagonizing the likes of AJ Styles and Sami Zayn. Advertisement In his now-infamous shoot-like promo, Kross punctuated his statements with a fiery line about the status of his contract (reportedly set to expire this summer) leaking to the media. Unlike the rest of the targets within his promo, such as celebrity wrestlers like Logan Paul, Kross admitted that he was genuinely upset that his personal contract information is now public. "That put me over the edge because that was also happening shortly after AOP and Ellering were gone," Kross said. "It was just like kind of one thing after another. I'm still pretty pissed about that. "I don't know who did it, it's impossible to say. I have no idea, but I was kind of out of my mind at that moment. It's just privacy. Who the hell is supposed to know about that? Stuff gets leaked all the time." Although Kross has gained significant steam throughout the wrestling community since WrestleMania, he's still yet to be showcased in a bigger capacity. And ultimately, seeds were still planted at the "Show of Shows," when he appeared toward the end of Styles' match against Paul on WrestleMania Night 2. Advertisement Kross' on-screen persona has clearly taken issue with the YouTuber-turned-wrestler Paul — and while it was a focal point of his promo, Kross believes some clarity is needed on what exactly he meant. "I don't have a problem with Logan Paul," Kross said. "I think he's an amazing athlete, and I think he's doing really good work. And a lot of people will be pissed that I'm saying that, but it's true. I don't want to B.S. around that. "What I have a problem with is this idea within the system to reward the mainstream archetype, like Logan, with certain types of liberties and privileges that could be delegated to the people that have pretty much dedicated their entire lives and are here full-time. I struggle with that, and I'm not the only one. I think it just needs to be said." Advertisement Kross added that Paul never said anything to him after the promo, and they've each gone about their business. This weekend at Saturday Night's Main Event, Paul will challenge World Heavyweight Champion Jey Uso for the WWE title, with Kross cheering on the champion. In the meantime, Kross hopes he can work his way into the upcoming Money In the Bank ladder match, which would give him the opportunity to cash in on a future world title match of his own. "I have no problem as a professional wrestler with anyone coming in on our show and doing anything," Kross said. "Just as long as I get to hit them with a steel chair as they walk in. If I can hit them with the chair, they can come in and do whatever they want. After that, it's fine. But in all seriousness, we, the collective, the talent, the wrestlers, the performers, we can go viral too. "I don't want there to be this idea, this dependency that other people from other lanes are the only people that can do that. We can too. That's why I say it didn't come from a disgruntled place. It came from a place of passion. I want to show people what they want to see. I know what they want to see, and I proved that. That was the whole point."
