WWE NXT Champion Karrion Kross made his Raw debut on Monday’s episode when he lost to Jeff Hardy.
Fightful Select reports there was shock and frustration among several NXT talent and staff. One talent stated that it felt like a message was being sent.
“There was significant frustration from those we spoke to about how Finn Balor, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Santos Escobar, Oney Lorcan, and others had worked hard to help make Kross as dominant as possible.”
The general mood from people was a “not mad, disappointed” vibe, as they felt this represented how the NXT brand was viewed by higher-ups as a whole.
It was said Kross appeared to be in good spirits backstage after the match and one talent there stated Kross was put in an unfavorable position considering his spot as a protected talent in NXT.
