For years, WWE has been accused of “not knowing how to make new stars.” The internet wrestling community cries about wasted talent, missed pushes, and the endless parade of legends in their late 40s still carrying the company. But what if the truth is far more sinister… and brilliant?
What if WWE has actually cracked the code?
The New Philosophy: Pain First, Push Later
Remember when Triple H once smirked at a press conference after R-Truth’s “release and rehire,” saying, “It’s all part of the show”? Well, that wasn’t a throwaway line. That was a manifesto.
WWE has realized the fans no longer buy the old push formula, unless you’re Samoan, in which case you can headline WrestleMania just by existing. For everyone else? You need to be mentally destroyed, emotionally humiliated, and left wandering the indies in depression before fans will rally behind you.
This isn’t incompetence, it’s strategy. And R-Truth was just the beta test.
The Daniel Bryan / LA Knight Playbook
We’ve seen the blueprint before:
- Daniel Bryan: “Not the guy,” “too small,” fed to the dirtsheets as management’s punching bag, only to organically explode with the YES Movement.
- LA Knight: Currently being told he’s “too old,” “just a catchphrase,” “not the office’s pick.” Translation? WWE knows the only way fans will love someone is if they feel they’re defying the evil empire.
WWE leaks the burial, fans rage, the star catches fire, and suddenly, creative “has no choice” but to give them a push. It’s psychological manipulation masquerading as poor booking decisions.
Brilliant.
Enter Karrion Kross: The Evolution of Torture
But with Karrion Kross, WWE is taking this philosophy to Kubrickian levels. Stanley Kubrick once tormented Shelley Duvall on The Shining to capture raw terror. Alfred Hitchcock literally traumatized Tippi Hedren with live birds. Lars von Trier drove Björk to a complete emotional breakdown during Dancer in the Dark.
WWE? They’ve adopted the same method, except instead of Oscar-worthy performances, it’s sports entertainment, and instead of art, it’s Stamford corporate panic over their aging roster.
Here’s the scheme:
- Step 1: Don’t just bury Kross. Fire him.
- Step 2: Don’t smarten him up. Keep him and Scarlett in the dark so their shoot interviews are genuine, teary, and viral.
- Step 3: Force him into Ariel Helwani’s studio to rant, rage, and break down, generating sympathy he never got with smoke machines and TikTok gladiator entrances.
- Step 4: Let him stew for 2–3 years in the indies, TNA, wherever. Let him build authentic anger, desperation, and exhaustion.
- Step 5: Rehire him when half the current roster retires at 47, now perfectly broken and ready to be rebuilt.
This is not incompetence. This is Shakespearean torture disguised as roster management.
The Samoan Exception vs. Everyone Else
Of course, none of this applies to WWE’s sacred cows: the Samoan dynasty. They get title runs handed to them, documentaries made about them, and Emmy campaigns launched before they even learn to run the ropes properly. Roman can headline WrestleMania for a decade straight, Solo can be fast-tracked to championship gold, and the entire Bloodline gets treated like wrestling royalty because fans expect nepotism from WWE.
But if you’re not blessed with tribal bloodlines? You need to bleed emotionally before you sniff the main event.
Fans won’t accept you unless you’ve been humbled, broken, and psychologically wrecked. WWE knows this. They’ve weaponized it.
So yes—Karrion Kross looks devastated, lost, betrayed. Scarlett looks blindsided. Internet fans scream “incompetence.” But WWE? They’re patting themselves on the back in Gorilla Position. Because in their minds, this isn’t cruelty—it’s the noble sacrifice required to forge tomorrow’s stars.
Just like Hollywood directors tormenting actors to get Oscar-worthy performances, WWE is torturing Karrion Kross so that in 2027, when Roman finally retires to Hollywood and Cody finishes his “one more story,” they’ll have a perfectly broken star ready to rise from the ashes.
Conclusion: All Part of the Show
So don’t cry for Karrion Kross. Don’t rage at WWE’s “incompetence.” This is the plan. This is the future.
WWE isn’t bumbling through roster decisions. WWE is playing 4D chess with people’s sanity, manipulating the human experience itself to create compelling television and authentic fan investment.
It’s cruel, it’s reckless, it’s psychotic…
…and it’s brilliant.