Karrion Kross Says WWE Success Is About Composure, Feels Lucky To Have Triple H

Karrion Kross returned to WWE with a purpose last August, targeting the likes of Roman Reigns and Drew McIntyre in his first very first appearance. At the time, there were reports of Kross being positioned as the No. 2 heel on the "WWE SmackDown" brand behind only Reigns, not to mention rumors of Kross capturing one of Reigns' two titles if WWE decided to split up the Undisputed WWE Universal Championship.

However, "The Doom Walker" has seemingly become an afterthought with regard to top storylines on the blue brand in recent months. Since losing his feud with McIntyre, Kross lost several opportunities to challenge Intercontinental Champion GUNTHER and subsequently exchanged wins with Rey Mysterio in a feud ending without an inconclusive winner. 

Despite his hot-and-cold booking, Kross has the utmost faith in Triple H, who brought Kross back to the WWE almost immediately after taking over as Chief Content Officer last year. In a recent chat with "Out of Character with Ryan Satin," Kross was asked if he was confident about achieving success in the WWE since his previous run — under the Vince McMahon regime — ended with his abrupt dismissal from the company.  

"I was not apprehensive at all during my comeback," Kross stressed. "Because I feel like 99 percent of your success in this industry comes down to composing yourself under stress and pressure. So I felt better with myself, in terms of being confident to shoot down an idea, or a theme, or a project that I just knew wouldn't work."

Kross was referring to McMahon & Co. taking away elements from his "WWE NXT" character that preceded his previous main roster run, a decision that was widely criticized by fans and former wrestlers on social media. 

With Triple H taking over from McMahon as the go-to person on WWE's creative front, Kross had every reason to be optimistic upon his return.

"The NXT run they gave me was a murder run," Kross admitted. "They literally had me clean out everybody and everyone. I had no reason to believe that anything would become weird or not work out [on the main roster]. This is the one thing they [main roster creative] asked me to do I was not totally 100% behind. In my mind, I was thinking how foolish it would look the one time they asked me to do this thing if I said 'no.' I mean, all of that was in my head at the time."

"When I came back, I had none of those things to worry about," Kross continued. "Financially, my wife and I were good. We were having fun working on different projects. We have always loved working with Hunter. He is the easiest boss I have ever had, in terms of being accessible to discuss ideas. On the flip side, too, excellence is expected with Hunter. 

"While he's easy to talk to and everybody's favorite boss, he also expects us to bring it. I think that brings out the best version of all of us. Literally every show, he is out at ringside with everybody. He is involved in everything. We are very lucky to have him."

As of this writing, Kross is not scheduled to wrestle a match at WrestleMania 39. This past Friday, Kross lost a fatal five-way match for a shot at GUNTHER's Intercontinental Championship at the Showcase of Immortals.