When it comes to long-term story-telling, there is perhaps no better example of that in the WWE than with Karrion Kross.
While he was originally brought in as an unstoppable force on the WWE NXT brand, Vince McMahon would underutilize him in a massive way when he was called up.
That led to Kross and even his wife Scarlett being fired. by WWE eventually. Thankfully, once Triple H took over and McMahon was pushed out of all power in WWE, Kross was brought back. Except this time, he was actually going to become an anchor for the company in ways none of us realized.
Everyone who interacts with Karrion Kross turns to their darkest side after their interaction, or they are gone from WWE entirely. Kross plays mental games on someone, constantly getting in their ear and making them change without even realizing it.
He plants a seed in their mind and waters it every time he sees them.
His actions are subtle and often scoffed off by most WWE Superstars initially. However, while they all fight Kross, they eventually cannot resist going to a darker place. Some are easier to turn while others have to be constantly primed.
In this list, we'll discuss everyone Karrion Kross has impacted and how it has shaped WWE.
DREW MCINTYRE
Drew McIntyre was a top guy in WWE. He was brought back to the company after being fired from WWE many years ago. When he was let go, he was a shell of the "chosen one" that we once knew. That led Drew to making himself stand out on the Indies and even in places like TNA.
He won numerous championships, and it caught the eye of Triple H, who brought him into NXT. From there, Drew hit the main roster and would soon become one of the top guys in WWE. He won the 2020 Men's Royal Rumble, even eliminating Brock Lesnar from the match.
He was going to the main event, WrestleMania, but sadly, the Pandemic happened.
Drew had his big moment in front of zero fans in the live audience. He beat Brock for the title, but it felt hollow. McIntyre led us through the Pandemic as the top guy, and was rightfully upset when WWE seemed to move on from him afterward.
That led to his issues with The Bloodline, and even being screwed over by them in his native Scotland in the main event of The Clash at the Castle.
Karrion Kross preyed on this, making Drew realize everyone was trying to take his opportunities away from him. Especially a returning CM Punk and even the World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins.
He took Drew's temperament away, making him hate everyone and becoming jealous of anyone who dared step in his way. This is why Drew has been so blinded with rage constantly.
His hatred and jealousy has cost him everything, leading to even losing the World Heavyweight Title after beating Seth to win it.
Kross is responsible for the Drew we see today.
REY MYSTERIO
Unlike others, Rey Mysterio never officially turned heel after his interactions with Karrion Kross. However, Kross never wanted to see Rey go completely to the darker side of himself. Rather, Kross wanted to take something from Mysterio that the lucha legend had for his entire career.
Kross took Rey's patience away. This is key for any professional wrestler, but especially key for a luchador/high-flyer like Rey.
If you recall, this was the same timeframe when Dominik Mysterio had turned on Rey and joined The Judgment Day. "Dirty" Dom continued to attack or belittle his father as often as he could, but Rey refused to fight his son no matter what he did.
Kross slowly ate away at Rey during this difficult time, causing him mental instability. Eventually, primed by Kross, Rey snapped and would attack Dominik. This led to the two facing off at WrestleMania 39, and they have been at odds ever since.
THE MIZ
The Miz is a special case for Karrion Kross. Everyone knows Miz has not been on the side of the angels for very long in his career. Any babyface turn of his was always temporary because, well, Miz works better as a heel.
While The Miz is not always a major threat as a heel, one thing is clear...he is a much better heel than he is a babyface. Therefore, all Kross had to do was prime Miz just a little bit to get him to turn on his former tag team championship partner, R-Truth.
Of course, Truth did not quite understand this turn and it took him a while to realize Miz was now his enemy. However, the move was effective. Miz then became situationally attached to Karrion Kross and the Final Testament faction.
Considering they were going up against the Wyatt Sicks at the time, this made sense for Kross.
He used The Miz as essentially his own personal shield to avoid a lot of major issues with them. Miz himself knew that was the game Kross was playing.
By this point, though, Kross had already made Miz turn back to the dark side where he was most comfortable.
AJ STYLES
Regarding AJ Styles, Karrion Kross knew exactly how to get inside of his head. He played on AJ's desire to get back into the main event. Styles is older now, and despite still being "Phenomenal," was no longer in the same position he was in years ago as WWE Champion.
AJ would leave during one of his already planned breaks, but then return with a completely different personality. He also would come back in remarkable shape, shocking WWE fans with his transformation. Of course, this led to AJ becoming a heel.
It also led him to eventually leave The Club faction, and abandon his mentorship of Mia "Michin" Yim. What Karrion did was simple, he played on AJ's ego. He made him feel as if he was not same guy he used to be. For a man as prideful as AJ, this really affected him.
Styles felt he had to return with a new, no-nonsense attitude where he took zero prisoners. People were going to get hurt, and he planned to be the one that did it to them. If you got in his way, you would get put down.
In a way, Kross did AJ a favor here. Even if it changed him in negative ways, too.
SHINSUKE NAKAMURA
Another person who can say Karrion Kross perhaps helped him is Shinsuke Nakamura. While the Japanese Superstar was one of the most successful NJPW stars of all time, his WWE career has been a bit mixed.
Sure, he held the NXT Championship a few times, but his main roster run has been suspect. He won the Men's Royal Rumble match in 2018, giving him a major match for the WWE Championship at WrestleMania 34.
However, 2018 was the last time Nakamura smelled the main event scene.
Since then, he has been sort of in and out of the mid-card title divisions. The major threat of the past, however, was gone. In its place was a shell of the man Nakamura used to be. Karrion Kross knew that in order to bring back that Japanese assassin we all knew, he needed to take something from him.
Kross took Nakamura's honor. It is something that cannot be physically stolen, but it holds a big emotional weight when one loses it. That is especially true for someone like Nakamura. When Kross did this, he ignited something deep within Shinsuke.
When Nakamura returned, he came back with an entirely different personality and partially even a new look. He also came back happily attacking anyone he felt like, viciously assaulting his opponents, and even won the WWE U.S. Championship from a rising star in LA Knight.
People often assume Kross turns people into their worst self, but some people thrive on the darker side. Nakamura seems to be one of those people.
THE BLOODLINE
Unlike others on this list, Karrion Kross never truly spent a lot of time trying to get inside the head of The Bloodline. Rather, he knew they were on the darker side considering Roman Reigns was their leader for a while.
Instead, he used an hourglass that predicted the end of the original Bloodline. This would technically happen for most at WrestleMania 40. However, the official end of the original group took place on the Friday Night SmackDown episode later that week.
Solo Sikoa kicked his brother Jimmy Uso out of the group, and would slowly bring new members into the group in Tama Tonga and Tanga Loa. Before bringing in his official ace, Jacob Fatu.
Even Paul Heyman would eventually be kicked out of the group after being forced to watch his original tribe dissolve around him. Karrion Kross might have predicted the end, but likely did not predict the rest. However, the fact he predicted this much is pretty impressive
THE ATTEMPTED: JEY USO & SAMI ZAYN
Not every attempt for Karrion Kross is successful. A few examples of this might be Jey Uso & Sami Zayn. While attempts with Jey have been minimal, he has been heavily trying to get into Sami's head a bit before the WWE Royal Rumble PLE.
He has not been successful trying to get through to Sami. It is quite interesting to see how much more frustrated Karrion is with Zayn. He cannot seem to get anything different out of him, and if anything he has only made him want to do what he initial had in mind more.
Yet this has not always worked out for Zayn, and it might make sense for Sami to take Karrion's advice this time. It could be that Sami is not falling for what Kross is selling because he spent time in The Bloodline—often falling victim to the cult of personality that was Roman Reigns back then.
For those that have been in situations where they have been manipulated into doing or believing in something, they know what that feels like. Therefore, Zayn knows what Kross is trying to do and seems to be refusing to fall for it.
Yet something makes us think this is not Karrion's final testament. He might still get through to Sami one day.