5 Ups & 4 Downs from WWE Raw (16 June - Results & Review)

2. It’s Happening!

For months now, Karrion Kross has tormented Sami Zayn with backstage encounters, sidling up to him and offering cryptic comments about how he’s destined to fail at everything unless he embraces a darker side of himself.

Monday, the two ramped up their arguments as Karrion predicted that Sami would inevitably lose in his King of the Ring semifinal to Randy Orton because the Viper knows how to do whatever it takes to win.

This incensed Zayn, who fired back that Kross is a coward who hides in the back, talking in riddles rather than trying to back it up in the ring because he can’t, or he’s afraid he’ll fall on his face. He reaffirmed his focus on the KOTR tournament but said he was turning his attention to Karrion afterward and settling it in the ring. Kross spent Sami’s entire monologue seething and then smirking at the prospect of a match, declaring that it’s “about time.”

Kross is the quintessential “…and then the bell rang” wrestler, as he has done a fantastic job building interest due to his strong character work, but his in-ring work sadly has not matched his strong promos. Perhaps a match against Zayn, one of the best going today, can bring something out that changes hearts and minds, which would be fantastic.

At the very least, Sami calling Karrion out is the right call at this point in the story, as Zayn needs to needs to push for himself and silence the critics, although it could backfire on him.

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Scott is a former journalist and longtime wrestling fan who was smart enough to abandon WCW during the Monday Night Wars the same time as the Radicalz. He fondly remembers watching WrestleMania III, IV, V and VI and Saturday Night's Main Event, came back to wrestling during the Attitude Era, and has been a consumer of sports entertainment since then. He's written for WhatCulture for more than a decade, establishing the Ups and Downs articles for WWE Raw and WWE PPVs/PLEs and composing pieces on a variety of topics.