On this week’s installment of WWE Main Event on Hulu, we saw some new faces among the main roster competition as NXT Champion Karrion Kross and North American Champion Bronson Reed appeared in singles competition. Reed squared off against Main Event regular Drew Gulak and Kross went one-on-one with Shelton Benjamin. While it’s exciting to see these NXT stars get a taste of main roster action, fans seemed to be upset with Karrion Kross and how he was presented. 

Reed and Gulak wrestled what was essentially a 4-minute squash match, where Reed hit all of his usual moves, looked like a beast, and came away with the win. Kross on the other hand battled Benjamin for nearly seven minutes before applying the sleeper hold and winning by referee decision. That was one of the issues to be had with Kross’s Main Event appearance. Fans were unsure why the dominant, undefeated NXT Champion would go through a fairly even back-and-forth match with 45-year-old Shelton Benjamin on a show that doesn’t air on television. 

While that’s understandable, Benjamin is still a great worker, in-ring talent, and beloved by most fans. While it’s clear that WWE has no more big plans for Benjamin after splitting up the Hurt Business and taking him off television, he is a 20-year veteran of WWE and one of the best options for the company to put trust in when easing new talent onto the main roster. Although his in-ring days are numbered, squashing the dependable veteran on Hulu doesn’t seem right.

More concerning than the actual match was Karrion Kross’s entrance. One of the main draws for Kross is his NXT entrance where he is accompanied by Lady Scarlett. The music, lights, smoke, and choreography of the two make for a spectacle every time. However, in his Main Event entrance the 6’4” Kross marched down to the ring as his song played, and that was that. No Scarlett, lights, or smoke. 

Adam Cole was onto something in his recent promo to Kross, where he stated that all of these things are needed to make Kross feel like a big deal. It’s a staple of the character, and something we will most likely see when Kross makes his televised debut. WWE has to agree with Adam Cole and the fans, understanding that if Kross is stripped of the things that make him feel special, he is doomed from the start. 

That being said, these are essentially just tryouts. WWE clearly has taken a liking and interest in both men, booking them strong on NXT and putting the championships on them. While NXT stars being ruined on the main roster is a common occurrence, WWE creative will likely see Reed and Kross as valuable additions to an extremely thin roster. 

Reported by Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Reed and Kross being called up to the main roster in the near future is inevitable, as the two have been spotted backstage at recent SmackDown tapings. They participated in dark matches, and were given the opportunity to tape these Main Event matches at Raw. 

While we don’t know which brands either man will debut on, expect it to be soon. Bronson Reed’s debut may happen within the next few weeks as he dropped his North American Championship to Isaiah “Swerve” Scott on the June 28th episode of NXT. After the show, Reed shared a tweet apologizing for his failure, but ending it with “What’s next?” The WWE Draft is currently slated to take place on the August 30th episode of Monday Night Raw, so don’t be surprised to see Kross debut during the roster shake up.