Karrion Kross and Scarlett's contracts are up. The situation appears to be legitimate, unless WWE has taken measures they've not before with departures.
Kross and Scarlett had told people that had asked in recent months that their contracts were set to expire in August, which happened at midnight on August 10. The two were moved to the alumni section of WWE's website. Ashante Thee Adonis also revealed that his contract had expired. There were no other departures today. All three were removed from the company's internal roster.
We're told that Kross and Scarlett are likely to address their situation in the next couple of days.
Those we spoke to in WWE claim that Kross and Scarlett were originally slated to travel to WWE Raw last Monday, but that their travel was changed by the company and they weren't at the show. Clips of Kross' match with Sami Zayn did air, but no mention of Kross fulfilling the stipulation of "admitting he was wrong about Zayn" occurred.
We haven't confirmed if they had been presented a contract offer, but WWE sources indicated a number of months ago that they had told Kross that a conversation would be coming. Whether or not that happened, we don't know. Wrestling Observer reported this week that they believed a contract offer had been made, as of that time Kross denied that to be the case. We've not been able to confirm if an offer was made. They had also claimed to people in the industry that there was no notice of expiration from WWE, and those are usually standard from WWE when a deal is coming up.
There were a number of WWE talent that we spoke to that were surprised things came down to the wire like this. WWE had been getting ahead of contracts in the last year and a half since former EVP of Talent Dan Ventrelle left the company. One top talent simply said they hope it gets sorted out and the two remain with the company.
As with their future, we've reached out regarding interest and possibilities outside of WWE.
Though they didn't have a pleasant exit from TNA, the regime has completely changed within the company, so that is also an option. Specifically when we reached out to higher ups in TNA, they told us there was no ill will. However, there is an active WWE partnership that could affect the possibility of Kross and Scarlett both there and AAA.
Kross worked regularly in AAA for over two years before joining WWE his first time around. Scarlett also worked in AAA a number of times. In fact, her debut is still the most viewed AAA clip on the company's youtube, at 35M views. The next closest is 10M.
On the indies, Kross worked numerous Bloodsport shows and does have connections to GCW. Even then, the wrestling landscape outside of WWE is largely different than three years ago. AAA is owned by WWE, TNA has a partnership with WWE. Kross also had a good relationship with Major League Wrestling, but they run events less frequently now. New Japan Pro Wrestling also booked Kross for their STRONG brand in the United States, but that's been done for a couple of years, and NJPW has only ran three standard shows in the USA this year.
When we asked MLW higher ups about their thoughts, they figured the situation was a work and the two would be rewarded for their work over the last year on screen. They said if it isn't, the two won't be out of work long.
Sources in WWE both on the talent end and the creative end claim that they've been told that as of now, the departure is real.
To make it clear, there's always the possibility that Kross and Scarlett's situation is a work, and we've long said that it wouldn't benefit them to tell people that they've signed. As a result, many of the promoters we've spoken to aren't sure if they should be reaching out to Kross and Scarlett. If it is a work, Scarlett, Kross, WWE higher ups are in on it together, and creative and talent are being worked.
Below are the facts as we know them:
- Kross and Scarlett's three-year WWE contracts were scheduled to go until August 10.
- When asked by wrestlers, agents and others in the industry, Kross and Scarlett claimed that they did not have new contracts or had been offered new contracts. So if they're working, they're also working a lot of those people. They also claimed to sources in the industry they hadn't been told their deals wouldn't be renewed as of a week ago.
- WWE higher ups did say this weekend to Fightful that Kross and Scarlett's appearance on the WWE Alumni page was a contract expiration. However when we reached out in an official capacity, no on the record confirmation of their departure was given. WWE in an official capacity doesn't typically speak on ongoing negotiations.
- They were removed from the internal roster, and many were notified in the company of the departures.
- Fightful itself has not reported that Kross and Scarlett have been offered a new deal. We do not have that information. Talent believed they would be.
- A number of wrestling companies don't know if they could/should reach out because they aren't sure if the situation is legit or not.
