The enigmatic Scarlett engineered an impromptu alliance between Karrion Kross and Finn Balor, which ended in a chain reaction of blunders and betrayals. Balor opened the March 17 broadcast of NXT with words for Kross, who soon joined him in the ring. Tension was obviously building between the two in the lead-up to their match at NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver. Their tete a tete was interrupted by Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch, who confronted Balor that his opponent at Stand and Deliver should be their stablemate, Pete Dunne.
Scarlett ominously put forth the suggestion that Lorcan and Burch face Kross and Balor in a title bout for the NXT Tag Team Championship. The crowd at the Capitol Wrestling Center cheered the proposal, though Balor and Kross were clearly an uneasy team. Announcer Wade Barrett pointed out that Scarlett’s role at Kross’s side seemed to be causing chaos in order that Kross comes out on top. Teaming Kross with Balor surely fed back into this motive, but it was initially unclear how.
It was truly a tense scene between @WWEKarrionKross & #NXTChampion @FinnBalor before an untimely interruption from the #WWENXT Tag Team Champions! pic.twitter.com/tIEYkGoOB9
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 18, 2021
Karrion Kross and Finn Balor vs. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch
Karrion Kross opened the action, hitting Oney Lorcan hard with a clothesline and a suplex. Lorcan tagged in Danny Burch, who Kross quickly clotheslined. He then clinched in a vicious bear hug on Burch, applying painful pressure to his lower back. Burch struggled to get out of it and was slammed hard to the mat by Kross. When Lorcan entered the fray, Kross grabbed hold of both Lorcan and Burch and threw them. Burch landed particularly hard on the back of his neck.
A stoic Finn Balor looked on, watching Kross operate. Balor tagged in and quickly managed to get Lorcan down and in submission. Lorcan broke free of the lock and targeted Balor’s arm, holding him to the floor. Lorcan rolled Balor through, shoulders down, but Balor managed to turn things in his favor and rolled Lorcan through before issuing a dropkick. He mirrored Lorcan’s earlier maneuver and targeted his arm, putting him in submission.
Lorcan fought free and seized control, slamming Balor from ropes to post, kicking and clotheslining him. Lorcan suplexed Balor and pinned him, but the NXT Champion kicked out. From there, Lorcan issued several punches to Balor’s jaw, a vulnerable spot after his notorious injury. Balor kicked Lorcan and took control of the action, manipulating Lorcan around the ring, knocking him down and issuing a double stomp to his chest. Balor punched Lorcan up and over the ropes. Outside the ring, he issued a sling blade to Lorcan, and then a dropkick.
The impact not only sent Oney Lorcan flying but colliding with Scarlett. Concern swirled around Scarlett. Finn Balor, clearly stunned at the accident and its fallout, walked over to check on her. This enraged Karrion Kross, who attacked his de facto tag team partner and rolled him into the ring. Lorcan seized a shot at Balor, and covered him, retaining the NXT tag team titles via pinfall. Kross quickly surmised that he would have to clear Lorcan from the ring to have a clear shot at Balor, and went to work on Lorcan. He issued a Doomsday Saito suplex to Lorcan, rendering him inert, and then a suplex to Balor. Scarlett abruptly succeeded in calling off Kross’ barrage and looked at Balor with intrigue as he lay unconscious after Kross’ savage attack.
Scarlett draped Balor’s NXT Championship belt over his chest, and mysteriously declared to the immobilized champion,
“Everything happens for a reason: you can’t escape fate.”
.@FinnBalor couldn't escape his fate on #WWENXT last night. ❌
𝑻𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝑻𝒐𝒄𝒌. @WWEKarrionKross @Lady_Scarlett13 #NXTTakeOver pic.twitter.com/2DS4SAiYr8
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 18, 2021
What’s Next?
What does fate, or rather, Scarlett, have in store for “The Prince” of NXT? Something about Finn Balor has made him suddenly valuable to Scarlett’s plans for Karrion Kross. She may see Balor’s defeat at Stand and Deliver as imminent, placing the NXT Championship in her paramour Kross’ hands. However, she may have a longer game in mind: reawakening the Demon King. Since returning to NXT, Balor has worked under the Prince guise and has shown no signs of returning to his more elaborate, fan-favorite persona. However, the supernatural mystique of Kross and Scarlett may change that. In Balor, Scarlett may have found an opponent that Kross can push to new limits over the course of a punishing feud, unleashing the creature that fascinated her when she peered into his eyes: the Demon King.
Whether or not such a long game is in Scarlett’s cards, Kross’ fury with Balor is only beginning, and surely won’t be forgiven or forgotten when the two face off at NXT TakeOver: Stand and Deliver.
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