Backstage Update On Previous WWE Plans For Several Released Superstars

New details on recent plans for Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Keith Lee and Mia Yim.

by Andrew Pollard
Keith Lee Mia Yim
WWE

With WWE last week having released another 18 wrestlers, Fightful Select now has an update on previous plans for four of those talents.

This report states how the recent changes to Keith "Bearcat" Lee and Karrion Kross were not the ideas of the individuals themselves.

In regards to Kross, several people backstage tried to plead the case of the two-time NXT Champion in terms of how how he was used upon being moved to the Raw brand. Regardless of how poorly received Kross and Lee's recent changes were, most within WWE were well aware that it was the booking and creative direction of these characters that was the problem - not the talent themselves.

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Additionally, there were some pushing heavily for Scarlett to be utilised alongside Kross. While WWE contemplated having Scarlett as a solo wrestler on Raw or SmackDown, ultimately she was "sidelined" and the promotion decided to do nothing with her.

Mia Yim is another name mentioned in this Fightful story, with there having been several tentative plans to have Yim compete on Raw or SmackDown prior to this year's WWE Draft. Those plans all ended up being nixed, with Mia having not competed in-ring across 2021, period.

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Thursday saw Karrion Kross, Scarlett, Keith Lee and Mia Yim released alongside Nia Jax, B-Fab, Ember Moon, Eva Marie, Franky Money, Harry Smith, Oney Lorcan, Gran Metalik, Lince Dorado, Trey Baxter, Jessi Kamea, Katrina Cortez, Zayda Ramier and Jeet Rama.

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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.