Backstage Update On Confusing Nature Of Karrion Kross's WWE Departure

The WWE contracts of both Karrion Kross and his wife Scarlett expired on August 10, with both stars being moved to the alumni section of WWE's official website as a result. Their situation with WWE had been the subject of much discussion as of late as news of their contracts reaching their expiration dates became public knowledge earlier this year, and while reports earlier this week suggested that Kross had been offered a new deal, that turned out to not be true, and with both Kross and Scarlett now gone from WWE, many people within the business have been left wondering just what on earth has actually happened since no one seems to be able to provide a straight answer.

Sean Ross Sapp of Fightful Select released a detailed report on what he could gather from the situation, which does appear to be legitimate barring any extraordinary measures taken by WWE to keep things under wraps. One thing that has caused many fans to see this as a legitimate departure is Ashante Thee Adonis also revealing that his contract expired on the same day as Kross and Scarlett's, with Ashante also being moved to the alumni section of WWE's website along with Kross and Scarlett, as well as all three Superstars being removed from WWE's internal roster.

Sources from within WWE have also had a lot to say about Kross and Scarlett's situation, stating that they were in fact slated to travel to the August 4 episode of "WWE Raw" until the company changed their plans. No mention of Kross's WWE SummerSlam stipulation with Sami Zayn where Kross would have to admit he was wrong about Zayn was made, despite clips of the match being shown on the broadcast, and Zayn ended up appearing on the August 8 episode of "WWE SmackDown" in his hometown of Montreal, Canada, with almost no mention of his match with Kross being made.

The supposed contract offer that Kross was given earlier this week has certainly caused a stir as that reportedly wasn't true, but was believable as many people in and out of WWE thought an offer was going to be made.

Fightful couldn't confirm that a deal had been offered since their departure or in the days leading up to it, but WWE sources reportedly told people within the industry that there was no notice of expiration, something that is common for an expiring contract in WWE. However, talent were under the assumption that an offer would be made to Kross and Scarlett, and were reportedly very surprised when they were notified of their departures. One of the reasons behind the surprised reaction was because many talent thought WWE had been getting ahead of their contracts following the departure of now former EVP of Talent, Dan Ventrelle in 2024, who was notorious for letting contracts run right down to the wire.

While many talent want Kross and Scarlett to remain in the company, they can't stay if they don't have contracts, and the two Superstars themselves had stated that they had not been offered new deals as of one week ago, while also being told that their current deals wouldn't be renewed or extended. Both Kross and Scarlett are expected to address their situation in the coming days, with part two of "The Killer" documentary on Kross's YouTube channel already offering up some insight as to where his head was at leading up to August 10.

There is, of course, every chance that this could all be a work, with Fightful claiming that it wouldn't do Kross any favors to say that he had re-signed with the company. With that said, if the situation is a work, then they are working a lot of people, including fellow talent and people in creative, which was something that came under fire during R-Truth's initial departure earlier this year. If there were any doubts, WWE confirmed to Fightful that their departures were simply contract expirations, but couldn't comment on the record about their departures as the company doesn't usually speak about on-going negotiations.

Given the groundswell of support surrounding Kross and Scarlett right now, it's only natural that many companies who both Superstars have connections to are interested in bringing them in. 

Kross and Scarlett had a less than amicable exit from TNA (then known as Impact Wrestling) in 2018, but the company is under new leadership these days, and higher-ups within TNA have no ill will towards Kross and Scarlett and would be more than happy to bring them in. However, due to TNA's working relationship with WWE, that could cause a potential issue. The same can be said for WWE's relationship with AAA, another company Kross and Scarlett have a lot of history with, who would also be happy to bring them in at some point, as would GCW who WWE have worked with as of late, with Kross having featured on a number of "Bloodsport" shows over the years.

With all that said, there is one major issue with Kross and Scarlett's future; no one knows if they are allowed to reach out to them. The reason for this is because bookers and promoters don't know if their departure is a work, making people reluctant to offer them spots on their shows. Higher-ups in Major League Wrestling, another company Kross made a name for himself in and has a good relationship with, told Fightful that they thought the situation was a work and would be re-signed for all the hard work they've put in as of late, and that if they are legitimately out of WWE now, they won't be for long.

Overall, Karrion Kross and Scarlett's WWE departure has managed to confuse almost everyone who has been asked about it, and until he shows up in another company in the coming weeks, the two former WWE Superstars will names on everyone's lips in the coming weeks.