In an interview with Denise Salcedo of Instinct Culture, Killer Kross has directly addressed the widespread fan belief that his departure from WWE was a storyline, confirming the exit is legitimate. Kross and Scarlett’s contracts expired in August and were not renewed, but the nature of his final on-screen promos and his consistent television presence led many to believe it was a planned angle.
“There are hundreds of people who have been coming to the table, a lot of them angry because they were hoping it was a work and there would be a payoff,” Kross stated. “I would never work somebody like that. To me, it’s not in good taste. Running an angle where you lose your job and upset people is not something I would do.”
The confusion was so prevalent that even fellow talent within WWE were unsure about the situation. Scarlett noted that their co-workers thought it was a storyline, and Kross revealed he had a text from a colleague questioning the legitimacy of his departure. “A lot of the guys didn’t know,” Kross added. “We were like, ‘Let’s see what happens. Maybe they’ll recover the situation.’ We remained somewhat quiet about it.”
This official confirmation ends weeks of uncertainty that began with what Kross described as frustrating and tumultuous contract negotiations. He had previously revealed that despite his desire to begin talks in January 2025, he did not receive an offer from WWE until the final week of his contract in August. The offer came with a 24-hour ultimatum and did not include a deal for Scarlett. When Kross requested analytics to understand the company’s valuation and stated he couldn’t make an informed decision without them, the offer was withdrawn.
The contract issues were compounded by creative frustrations. In the months leading up to his exit, Kross felt the company was not capitalizing on his growing popularity. He was instructed by several people to ignore the crowd chants he was receiving and was pulled from the 2025 Royal Rumble at the last minute. Kross also stated that significant creative plans for him on the August 10 episode of Raw were canceled just one day before the show.
After a week of conflicting reports following his contract’s expiration, Kross released a video on August 10 titled “My WWE Contract Ends Today” to clarify his status, explaining that the ambiguity was preventing other promotions from contacting him. He and Scarlett have since returned to the independent circuit, making an appearance at a Game Changer Wrestling event on August 23.