NXT Champion Karrion Kross Redeems Himself on WWE Raw, Submits Keith Lee

After losing in just two minutes in his Monday Night Raw debut last week against Jeff Hardy, NXT [...]

After losing in just two minutes in his Monday Night Raw debut last week against Jeff Hardy, NXT Champion Karrion Kross redeemed himself on this week's Raw by beating Keith Lee via submission. In a rematch from their NXT TakeOver XXX title bout, Kross managed to counter Lee's attempt at a Spirit Bomb, nailed him with a Running Forearm to the back of the head and applied the Kross Jacket in order to force Lee to tap. This gives Kross his first big win on the main roster, while Lee is now 0-2 since returning from his injury.

Kross' trip to Raw was briefly mentioned on last week's NXT, though it did reportedly wind up causing WWE to re-tape a segment for an upcoming episode when the returning Kross was showered with chants for Jeff Hardy when he appeared inside the Capitol Wrestling Center. It was confirmed during those tapings that Kross will face Samoa Joe at NXT TakeOver 36 during SummerSlam weekend.

Kross was originally advertised for a rematch with Hardy, but the former WWE Champion had to be pulled from the show after testing positive for COVID-19.

When it comes to jumping from NXT to the main roster, Kross' future has always been more of a question of when than if he'd make the jump. He even made it part of his character, saying on last week's NXT that having the championship gives him the freedom to go wherever he wants.

"I'm not a very big fan of undermining people's intelligence. I don't think that's really something anyone in this business should put on themselves. I think the WWE Universe [and] NXT fans should decide who the greatest will be, in due time," Kross said during a press conference leading up to NXT TakeOver: In Your House. "But I will tell you this, I don't plan on ever losing this title. That's number one. Number two; I don't plan on staying in NXT forever."

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