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NXT Champion Karrion Kross makes WWE Raw debut

Posted: Jul 20th 2021 By: Ethan Renner

NXT Champion Karrion Kross made his WWE Raw debut on tonight's show.

Kross faced Jeff Hardy in a singles match, a bout won by Hardy. Kross's Raw debut also came minus his longtime valet Scarlett.

During the match, Hardy missed his Swanton Bomb finisher. Kross backed Hardy into the corner and attempted to climb the ropes. Hardy then hit a powerbomb off the second rope. Hardy then used a jackknife cover with his feet on the ropes to pin Kross.

Kross was interviewed in the ring following his loss. He stated that Hardy had just made the biggest mistake of his life. To close the segment, Kross said that "everyone will fall and pray."

Kross's main roster debut came on the June 24 episode of Main Event, where he defeated Shelton Benjamin. Kross also worked dark matches for WWE in June, facing Dolph Ziggler and Slapjack at SmackDown tapings. He would also face Cesaro and Drew Gulak in dark matches in July.

Kross's WWE signing was announced in February 2020. He would go on to make his NXT debut in April 2020. Kross went on to claim the NXT title for the first time at NXT TakeOver: XXX in August 2020. His first title reign lasted just four days, as he suffered a shoulder injury at TakeOver and was forced to vacate the title.

Kross would return to NXT in December 2020. His second NXT title reign began on April 8, 2021 when he defeated Finn Balor on night two of NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver. He most recently defended the NXT title on last week's episode, defeating Johnny Gargano.