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WWE SmackDown has recently witnessed several superstars return to the brand. While CM Punk and Randy Orton made their returns sometime ago, on the latest edition of SmackDown, Roman Reigns made his first appearance on the blue brand since beating LA Knight at Crown Jewel 2023.
Naturally, these returns week after week have led to plenty of excitement among the WWE Universe. However, it seems like the Stamford-based promotion has more in store for fans. In the coming weeks on SmackDown, the WWE Universe could witness the return of a legendary figure.
The legendary figure in question is Paul Ellering. On the latest episode of SmackDown, fans witnessed a vignette of Karrion Kross, in which he spoke about a new beginning. Towards the end of the vignette, Kross seemed to tease the return of Paul Ellering.
If this is true, there is a huge potential that Ellering could lead Kross to form a faction with the Authors of Pain. During AOP's time on NXT, Ellering used to manage them. But, when the tag team was called up to the main roster, they decided to part ways with the talented manager.
However, given that AOP experienced majority of their success under Ellering, it won't be surprising to see them work together. While the angle is speculative, it will be interesting to see if something along similar lines take place on SmackDown.
Wrestling veteran claims SmackDown star must go back to NXT
Over the last few years, several WWE Superstars on the main roster have gone back to NXT to reinvent themselves. One of the most recent examples of the same has been Baron Corbin. Similarly, as per wrestling veteran Bill Apter, SmackDown Superstar Karrion Kross must also go back to NXT.
During an episode of Sportskeeda Wrestling's Smack Talk, Apter noted that WWE must bring Kross back to NXT, and make an effort to recreate him from the ground up. As per Apter, the Stamford-based promotion has not packaged Kross properly. The wrestling veteran said:
"They need to bring him down to NXT to recreate him from the ground up. He is an excellent worker. He has an excellent presentation; he can work in the ring, but they haven't packaged him properly. I think he needs to go down in NXT. Look what they did with Corbin. They moved him up to main events in NXT; they did it very slowly. They need to do that with Karrion Kross. He needs to go back there." [From 33:38 to 34:07]
While Bill Apter's suggestion might be apt for Karrion Kross, it seems WWE wants to keep him on the blue brand for now. It will be worth observing what his last episode's vignette leads up to in the coming weeks.
