Karrion Kross Relinquishes the NXT Championship Due to Injury

Karrion Kross opened this week's NXT by announcing that, due to the shoulder injury he suffered at NXT TakeOver XXX, he needed to relinquish the NXT Championship. Kross arrived at the start of this week's NXT with his right arm in a sling, and confirmed that he had suffered a separated shoulder against Keith Lee and was in "searing pain." He claimed in a promo that he was a "realist," and that he knew he would not be allowed to defend the championship in his current state. He then placed the title in the middle of the ring, effectively relinquishing it. He let out a final warning, indicating that he would eventually be back to reclaim the title.

Kross is the second NXT Champion in history to relinquish the title due to injury. Tomasso Ciampa had to drop the title back in March 2019 due to surgery-requiring neck surgery. He now has the shortest single reign as NXT champion at four days. It was not announced at the time how a new champion will be crowned

"On the path there are obstacles, but for me, the obstacles are the path."

Due to injury, @WWEKarrionKross must relinquish his #NXTTitle. #WWENXT @Lady_Scarlett13 pic.twitter.com/usClkIAdMX

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) August 27, 2020

Triple H first broke the news that Kross had suffered an injury against Lee in his post-show media conference call.

"I wish I could say, as good as he is at his job, I wish I could say that [he was just selling]. I'm going to have to find out. We'll get him an MRI and everything," he said on Saturday night. "Right now it looks like he separated his shoulder."

Karrion Kross reportedly separated his shoulder during his match with Keith Lee. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. 🙏🏾 #WWENXT pic.twitter.com/jKoZ0QNRTI

— GIFSkull IV - Banned Soon Due to False DMCA Spam (@GifSkullIV) August 27, 2020

In an interview with ESPN following TakeOver, Kross indicated that he would not be out of action for very long.

"I feel mixed emotions right now. The whole situation is very bittersweet. I think from a natural place, I'm always a very motivated individual. I'm a solution-based thinker, rather than a pity-based thinker," Kross said.

"From my point of view, no [I won't be out for a significant period time. Due to] how I feel and what I've heard, I don't know. I'm very intuitive with my body," he later added. "And the range of emotion [sic] that I have right now, while it's not what I would like it to be, for me personally, it would indicate to me that I'm going to get be able to get through this without any sort of extreme measures, so to speak.