Karrion Kross Retains NXT Title - Chokes Out Samoa Joe!

Karrion Kross leaves Samoa Joe laying as NXT went off the air.

Jul 14, 2021 July 14th, 2021

Last night's episode of NXT TV saw Karrion Kross successfully defend his NXT Championship against Johnny Gargano, before then idiotically turning his attention to Samoa Joe.

In an excellent main event, Kross put Johnny Wrestling away after hitting four powerbombs, his patented Doomsday Saito and then a big forearm to the back that was enough to get the 1-2-3. For those hoping for an in-ring return for Samoa Joe, that seems to be edging ever-closer if the post-match shenanigans here are anything to go by.

Of course, Joe was the special guest referee in this NXT Title contest, and he and Kross ended up going face-to-face once the match was over. After the Samoan Submission Machine refused to raise Doomsday's hand in victory, Kross attacked Joe from behind and choked him out.

The CWC crowd filled the arena with boos as NXT went off the air, and it looks like we'll not only be getting a Samoa Joe return to the ring, but that Karrion Kross and the NXT Championship will be in Joe's crosshairs.

Many have long touted Karrion Kross to be moved to Raw or SmackDown sooner rather than later. Having already ran through top NXT talent such as Johnny Gargano, Adam Cole, Kyle O'Reilly, Finn Balor, Pete Dunne and Tommaso Ciampa, if Kross is making the main roster move and dropping the NXT Title soon, Samoa Joe is the perfect person to take it from him.

Andrew Pollard

Senior Writer

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.

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