Much Frustration, Shock, Backstage In NXT Over Karrion Kross Raw Loss (Patreon)

If you were baffled by the booking of Karrion Kross on WWE Raw this week, you weren't alone. Several NXT talent and staff spoke with Fightful about their shock and frustration around the NXT Champion losing to Jeff Hardy. 

One talent told Fightful that it felt like a message was being sent, though they didn't elaborate on what they thought that message was. There was significant frustration from those we spoke to about how Finn Balor, Adam Cole, Johnny Gargano, Santos Escobar, Oney Lorcan and others had worked hard to help make Kross as dominant as possible. The general mood of those that we spoke to was a "not mad, disappointed" vibe, as they felt this represented how the NXT brand was viewed by higher ups as a whole

We heard that Kross appeared to be in good spirits backstage after the match, though one talent present did note that Kross was put in an unfavorable position considering his spot as a protected talent on one brand, and a new talent on another.