Karrion Kross had a defining moment at NXT Takeover: XXX, but he didn't escape unscathed. He was injured during the match.
Kross won his NXT Championship match against title holder Keith Lee, finishing the match with a nasty suplex. As it turns out, he may have very well done it with a separated shoulder. Kross could be seen favoring the shoulder throughout the match, with his arm hanging.
Speaking to Fightful after NXT Takeover XXX, Executive Vice President of Global Talent Strategy & Development for WWE Triple H says that right now, WWE is fearing the worst.
"As good as he is at his job, I wish I can say that he was just really good at his job, I really do wish I could say that. I'm going to have to find out, you know, get him an MRI and everything. Right now, it looks like he separated his shoulder somewhere in that match. I knew it was hurt. I knew he was hurt. He wanted to continue. Medical team was watching him and felt like he could continue. They felt like they knew it was a separated shoulder and to the degree that it was by looking, so they were comfortable with him continuing. You know, he's tough man. There's not much more to say about that to go through that with Keith Lee, who's a big boy, when you when your shoulder is separated like that is not easy," said Triple H.
Throughout the slow paced match, Kross used his injured shoulder on multiple suplexes. Triple H applauded his new champion for gutting it out. WWE's medical team will conduct further testing to identify the issue.
"It's very painful. You got him through it and he got to the end. I know he's -- bittersweet because he's ecstatic in the moment, he is excited in the moment. This is a dream come true for both him and Scarlett. They have worked an entire career to get to this moment. I can tell you that from the bottom of his heart and I've had that conversation since the first day. So to him, to get here in talking to him earlier in the day, what he almost felt like was this crazy, surreal moment where the two of them, both he and Scarlett, kept saying, 'it's hard for us to believe we're in here in this moment and it's hard for us to even envision that we are like they kept waiting for it to change today or for something to happen that would change everything. Then you get to that moment with the uncertainty of something like this in the end, and my heart breaks for him. I know everybody here does, but we'll see where he's at," Triple H said. "They're going through everything and as soon as we can get them in a facility, we'll get them an MRI and then we'll see where everything goes. Hopefully it's it's not too crazy and we can figure out how to work around it or work through it or whatever that is."
WWE posted the following update, confirming Kross' shoulder injury.
Karrion Kross captured the NXT Championship from Keith Lee at TakeOver XXX, and he did it after sustaining a shoulder injury, WWE.com has learned.
WWE medical staff confirmed that Kross sustained a separated acromioclavicular joint during his battle with The Limitless One. Despite the injury, a determined Kross took down the champion, showing incredible toughness by lifting Lee up for a devastating Doomsday Saito off the middle rope to claim the NXT Championship.
Kross will have an MRI on Monday to determine the full extent of the injury.
Stick with WWE Digital and Social platforms for more on Karrion Kross’ status as it becomes available.
You can hear the entire Triple H media call from post-NXT Takeover above. You can also check out our full coverage at this link, and our post-show podcast at this link. We also have the SRS Select review of NXT Takeover on Fightful Select.
When using any part of this transcript please credit Fightful and LINK BACK to this story.
