"Shades of Karrion Kross" - Fans worried about current champion after he gets 'buried' on WWE RAW

WWE's booking of Carmelo Hayes on this week's edition of RAW did not sit well with many fans, with some drawing parallels to Karrion Kross' main roster debut.

Hayes has been involved with a few main roster stars in the last few weeks. Besides his rivalry with Baron Corbin, the 28-year-old also aided Seth Rollins against Finn Balor on NXT last week. The current NXT Champion was also present on the red brand this week, where he once again saved The Visionary from a vicious assault at the hands of Balor.

This also led to a match between Hayes and Balor later in the show, in which the latter secured a clean victory in under ten minutes. Many fans were disappointed with this booking as it made the top guy from NXT look weak just 24 hours before his championship match against Baron Corbin.

Few also recalled that Karrion Kross received a similar treatment in his first match on the main roster, as Jeff Hardy defeated him in 90 seconds despite the former being the NXT Champion.

Embedded below are a few of the many responses to Hayes' RAW debut:

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Karrion Kross could never recover from his first loss on WWE main roster

Many stars were victims of presentation change upon their move to the main roster under the older regime of Vince McMahon. While some fared well upon the move, many were affected due to the modifications made to their character.

Karrion Kross' first stint on the main roster falls in the latter category. The Doom Walker wrestled his first match on RAW while he was the NXT Champion. Although the star was a dominant champion on WWE's third brand, he lost his bout on RAW in just 90 seconds. The two-time champion could never really recover from the setback and was eventually released from his contract in November 2021 after a lackluster main roster run.

Karrion Kross returned to WWE after Triple H took control of the company's creative team last year. The Doom Walker is currently a part of the SmackDown brand. However, his booking since the return is not something fans expected under The Game's leadership. The 37-year-old has seemingly been treated like an afterthought and hasn't been involved in many notable feuds.

He is currently involved in a storyline with AJ Styles and took on The Phenomenal One, and Mia Yim in a mixed tag team match with Scarlett by his side.