Karrion Kross has elaborated further on the update that he has made his WWE exit due to contract expiration.
On August 9, news first broke that Kross and his wife Scarlett’s contracts had expired shortly after fans spotted that they had been moved to the alumni section of WWE’s website. While there were some who suspected that this may have been part of a storyline due to the company looking to blur the lines more in the modern era, multiple follow-up reports indicated that the departure was legitimate, leaving many surprised due to the surge of support for Kross online.
On August 10, the former NXT Champion put out a lengthy video on YouTube titled “My Contract Ends Today”, where Kross gave his side of the story.
Karrion Kross Speaks Out On WWE Exit, The Future, And More!
Speaking about the negotiations, Kross noted that he first spoke to the company about a new deal back in January, adding that no serious discussions ever took place over a possible new contract:
“I expressed interest to renegotiate in early January with WWE,” he said. “I think it’s crazy, preposterous that anyone would think that I wouldn’t want to be here or like go somewhere else. It’s frustrating because you express your interest to say and be here and do things…I’m not going to beg, I’ve already been clear.”
“Many months have gone by and we never had a single conversation about it until recently, and I don’t even feel like the conversation I’ve had recently was like an actual serious one,” he recalled. “The conversation made me really angry because I just didn’t feel like it was a real conversation….there really wasn’t anything that was discussed of real substance. Actually, it didn’t make me angry and it didn’t make me upset, it just profoundly disappointed me because I think about this business probably differently than the person I was speaking to because of the nature of what I do.”
Kross also spoke about the surge in fan support, stating that he was told by certain people that he should ignore it as it wasn’t going to last:
“I remember in the beginning people were saying hey, I wouldn’t take it seriously, it’s not going to last or hey, let’s see if it’s for real when you go out there tonight or if it’s still there when we’re in a different city or a different state,” he recalled. “Then when it was still there and it got louder and louder and louder every week, that went away and it was kinda like “Well, we’re not really ready to fully embrace that.” I was being told by certain people, ‘Don’t acknowledge it,” which felt really wrong because having a connection with the audience, especially one that is like this, this doesn’t just come around for everybody. It wasn’t something that was constructed or thought of. This happened organically through a series of events and I wouldn’t even say it’s something that happened recently this year. This is something that is happening because of what has happened over the last three years.”
“I don’t feel like we are all collectively going in the direction that the audience would like us to go in. And that part doesn’t feel good,”
With it previously being unknown if Kross and Scarlett were actually gone from WWE, other promotions reportedly were unsure if they should reach out for potential bookings. Scarlett since posted a follow-up statement on social media, confirming that they would be accepting future appearances:
“My time in WWE has been an incredible ride, and I can truly say it’s been the best locker room I’ve ever been part of. These people aren’t just coworkers, they’re family. I love you all, and I’ll deeply miss seeing you every week,” she wrote. “To the fans, you’ve never just been a crowd. You’ve been our partners in every fight and the reason we give everything for this. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. The next chapter starts now and I’m ready to bring something unforgettable to any stage, anywhere in the world. If you want The Smokeshow on your show… let’s make it happen.”
H/t to F4WOnline for the use of transcripts.
Featured image: WWE
