WWE reportedly has significant plans in store for former NXT World Champion Karrion Kross in the aftermath of WrestleMania 41.
As shared on WrestleVotes Radio, WWE intends to further develop Kross’ character on television, with more consistent appearances expected in the coming weeks.
While Kross did not compete at WrestleMania 41, he made his presence felt by attempting to influence AJ Styles to use brass knuckles in his bout against Logan Paul.
Fan appreciation for Kross has grown in recent months, with many highlighting his compelling portrayal of a “devil’s advocate”-style persona.
Kross and his wife Scarlett made their return to WWE in 2022, following their release the year prior, as part of the first wave of rehirings led by Triple H.
This is it. The break Karrion Kross needed, he got, right here. This is the best fucking thing he has done with a WWE logo stamped on it pic.twitter.com/za5zIsk3UT
— JDfromNY (@JDfromNY206) April 21, 2025
During a recent interview with Sportskeeda, Steve Maclin expressed his desire to defend his TNA International Championship against the likes of WWE Superstars Pete Dunne, Drew McIntyre, and Sheamus. He said,
“Now, being the TNA International Champion, that means so much more and a lot more weight on my shoulders to now face some of the best talent from all over the globe. Whether it’s at TNA or on the independents over in the UK or Australia or Japan, anywhere that I can get to, I plan to defend this title. It’s a lot of pressure. With this working relationship now too with WWE, you have this crossover from so many international talents that are there, the likes of Pete Dunne, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus. There’s endless possibilities that I would love to take and have those opponents show up or whether I show up there. It’s funny, my wife’s like, ‘Oh, who’s somebody you’d want to face from over there?’ It’s just like Sheamus was a guy that I had a lot of respect for just because he started in the Monster Factory way back when just when I did when I first started trying out in wrestling. Then, even during my time in WWE, he was always respectful to me and never was one of those guys in the locker room that was the angry old vet type. He was respectful, I was respectful to him, I would go to him for questions or even just to watch him. He’s somebody that I’ve always loved that style.”
Kevin Owens has been using the Stunner as his finishing move since 2019, replacing the pop-up powerbomb.
He previously shared that he received permission from Steve Austin to use the iconic move.
While speaking with Chris Van Vliet on the “Insight” podcast, Owens revealed that while Austin gave his blessing, Vince McMahon was initially against the idea. He said,
“So anyway, then I asked [Austin] I want to do the Stone Cold Stunner as my finisher, and I just want to make sure you’re okay with it, and he said, ‘Yeah, I actually can’t believe nobody’s asked me already yet. So yeah, please go ahead.’ So I was really pumped. Then I went to Vince and asked him if I could, and he said, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ Okay. Then years went by and I got hurt. I went away for a bit and I came back as a babyface. My first match back was a tag team match against Erik Rowan and Daniel Bryan, who was doing the protecting the earth, and I had to go over. I had to beat Bryan that night. They’re like, Well, what do you want to do? Stone Cold Stunner? And they said, okay, all right. And that was it. From then on became my finish.”
