Karrion Kross revealed that WWE never considered him as Randy Orton’s opponent for WrestleMania 41.
After Kevin Owens injured his neck and pulled out of his scheduled match against Randy Orton. WWE planned for The Viper to face an unknown challenger on the biggest stage of them all. Before the match, fans speculated several possible opponents, including Aleister Black, Rusev, and Karrion Kross.
However, WWE ultimately revealed that the mystery opponent was TNA World Champion Joe Hendry at WrestleMania 41. Although fans speculated Karrion Kross would face Randy Orton. Kross appeared in a different role during the AJ Styles vs. Logan Paul match.
During his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Karrion Kross asked whether that idea was ever on his radar or if it was ever proposed to him. “It was only ever something that was tracking online. No one at any point ever said, ‘You’re in the running’ or anything like that. Randy’s one of the greatest of all time and as badly as I would want to be in the ring with him, and I still do, I would never be so… I don’t know, condescending as to go to them and go, ‘How ‘bout me?’ Like, they know who’s available and it’s a special event and maybe they felt like it was random, whatever.”
Ariel Helwani asked Kross if he believed in the “grab the brass ring” mentality. Kross said “For me there always is, but I feel like there’s also a line of delusion. Helwani pointed out that pursuing a big opportunity isn’t delusional. Kross mentioned ,”You’re right, I think I’m being hard on myself. No, you’re right, and a lot of people told me that. But I’m telling you the truth, I didn’t [pitch myself in that spot]. Maybe I should have…”
However, Kross mentioned he’s not one to second guess himself. He said WWE made the right call when he found out Joe Hendry got the spot.
Karrion Kross believes Joe Hendry earned his spot against Randy Orton at WrestleMania 41
Karrion Kross believes Joe Hendry has been in top form for years and was fully prepared for big opportunities. “For what they wanted on the show and the right opponent and for everything that that show needed, I think it was the right opponent. Selfishly, of course I would have wanted to wrestle Randy, but if you see the look on people’s faces and you hear the reactions, they had a good time. And I’m not going to argue with that. I would have loved to have wrestled Randy at WrestleMania, but you know, it is what it is.”
“And at the end of the day, it’s their show that you want to be part of, not the other way around. So you try your absolute best to demonstrate that you could be the guy for that and you’ve just got to find a way to cope and deal with the decisions that you may find to be undesirable or the ones that you don’t agree with and you’ve got to get your head in the game for the next round, the next Monday, or whatever that is. That’s the way I’ve always looked at it.”
Read More: Karrion Kross Clarifies Post-WrestleMania Comments, Says He’s Not Disgruntled In WWE
