{"id":136702,"date":"2025-06-17T18:41:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-17T22:41:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/?p=136702"},"modified":"2025-06-17T18:42:58","modified_gmt":"2025-06-17T22:42:58","slug":"how-will-sami-zayn-deal-with-his-karrion-kross-dilemma","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/06\/17\/how-will-sami-zayn-deal-with-his-karrion-kross-dilemma\/","title":{"rendered":"How Will Sami Zayn Deal with His Karrion Kross Dilemma?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On the June 9, 2025 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Sami Zayn qualified for the semi-finals of the King of the Ring tournament. He now faces Randy Orton on Friday in the semi-final match. Things might be looking up for him, but something has been bothering him for months now.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Karrion Kross has been in his ear telling him things he doesn\u2019t want to hear. Kross knows that in order to take the next step in his career, he has to become the bad guy. On the June 16, 2025 episode of WWE Raw, <a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Fightful\/status\/1934792835179663576\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">he finally had enough<\/a> of Kross\u2019 pushing. He told him that they\u2019ll have a match when the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/06\/09\/queen-of-the-ring-2025-bracket-full-schedule-list-of-competitors-and-match-results\/\" target=\"_self\">King of the Ring tournament<\/a> is over. Will Sami Zayn take Karrion Kross\u2019 message to heart or will he refuse to listen to someone who seems to have his best interest in mind?<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-136709 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/06\/20250613_SD_Match_KOTR_RKOSami_16x9_Fri-70dea60bec4a856501b449ee36b31ffa-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Sami Zayn Will Have To Answer to Karrion Kross if he Fails to beat Randy Orton\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/06\/20250613_SD_Match_KOTR_RKOSami_16x9_Fri-70dea60bec4a856501b449ee36b31ffa-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/06\/20250613_SD_Match_KOTR_RKOSami_16x9_Fri-70dea60bec4a856501b449ee36b31ffa-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/06\/20250613_SD_Match_KOTR_RKOSami_16x9_Fri-70dea60bec4a856501b449ee36b31ffa-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2025\/06\/20250613_SD_Match_KOTR_RKOSami_16x9_Fri-70dea60bec4a856501b449ee36b31ffa.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/p>\n<h1 style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Zayn\u2019s Opponent Should Make Him Listen to Kross<\/strong><\/h1>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sami Zayn isn\u2019t facing just an ordinary wrestler on Friday. He\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/06\/06\/wwe-smackdown-results-6-6-25-live\/\" target=\"_self\">facing Randy Orton<\/a>, who isn\u2019t afraid to do despicable things to people. He punt kicked WWE legends numerous times, burned down the Wyatt Family Compound, and nearly burned <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2025\/05\/29\/heel-john-cena-how-wwe-can-up-hate-on-retirement-tour\/\" target=\"_self\">John Cena<\/a> with fireworks. There\u2019s nothing he won\u2019t do in order to win. That\u2019s why Zayn should actually listen to what Karrion Kross has to say.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To win against someone like Orton, you have to match his intensity. You shouldn\u2019t be afraid to commit a despicable act in order to get the victory. To Kross, Zayn is lacking the motivation to be the villain that can lead him to success. Sometimes you have to do horrible things to get ahead in the business. Karrion Kross knows that\u2019s the only way to beat Randy Orton. Now it\u2019s up to Sami Zayn to decide if he wants to listen to his advice.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Sami Zayn fires back at Karrion Kross: Raw highlights, June 2, 2025\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/xUDA27K5gbU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Kross Pushing Him To Be Out of Character is a Problem<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kross might have some good points, but his delivery could be a problem. It feels like he is pushing Zayn to be something that he is not.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sure, Zayn has had moments where he has turned up the heel work. But he\u2019s generally the beloved wrestler who cares about his friends. Like he said, he\u2019s not afraid to make mistakes and admit to wrongdoings. There\u2019s a reason why so many people like him. He\u2019s comfortable in his role and doesn\u2019t want to change who he is. That\u2019s why he\u2019s so resistant to the insistent nature of Kross\u2019 begging.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He wants a total transformation of Zayn, someone who is cold hearted and remorseless. However, at this point in his career, he doesn\u2019t want to be that guy. Sami Zayn wants to be a wrestler who conducts his business in an honest way instead of becoming a horrible person.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>What Kind of Wrestler Will Zayn Decide to Be?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The semi-final match between Sami Zayn and Randy Orton has a lot of stakes for Zayn. If he wins the match, he qualifies for the King of the Ring final at Night of Champions and makes Karrion Kross happy. But if he ends up losing, Kross will proclaim that he is weak and that he should\u2019ve taken his advice. It seems that either way, Zayn will be faced with a giant problem.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He doesn\u2019t want to change who he is to get ahead. But he also doesn\u2019t want Kross breathing down his neck anymore. That\u2019s why he was so insistent at getting a match with him at the conclusion of the tournament. But what if Kross is actually right, and being the bad guy is what he needs? Sami Zayn has to decide for himself what kind of wrestler he\u2019ll be from this point forward.<\/p>\n<p><em><span data-preserver-spaces=\"true\">Header photo \u2013 WWE \u2013<\/span><\/em>\u00a0<em>Stay tuned to the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_self\">Last Word on Pro Wrestling<\/a> for more on WWE NXT results and other stories from around the world of wrestling, as they develop. You can always count on LWOPW to be on top of the major news in the wrestling world, as well as to provide you with analysis, previews, videos, interviews, and editorials on the wrestling world.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>You can check out WWE programming on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.netflix.com\/title\/81788927\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Netflix<\/a>\u00a0(Raw),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usanetwork.com\/wwe-friday-night-smackdown\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">USA Network<\/a>\u00a0(SmackDown),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cwtv.com\/shows\/wwe-nxt\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The CW<\/a>\u00a0(NXT),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/tubitv.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tubi<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Evolve),\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.aetv.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">A&amp;E<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Superstar Sunday \u2013 Rivals, WWE LFG, and Greatest Moments) and\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peacocktv.com\/watch\/home\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Peacock<\/a>\u00a0(WWE Main Event as well as archives and premium live event streaming). Follow WWE on social media to relive top moments and matches on\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/wwe\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">YouTube<\/a>, and catch fast-paced action on X (<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/i\/events\/1773457579022155776?lang=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">WWE Speed<\/a>).<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On the June 9, 2025 episode of Friday Night SmackDown, Sami Zayn qualified for the semi-finals of the King of the Ring tournament. He now faces Randy Orton on Friday in the semi-final match. Things might be looking up for him, but something has been bothering him for months now. Karrion Kross has been in [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5338,"featured_media":136708,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2192,4,3],"tags":[6340,106],"class_list":["post-136702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-wrestling","category-wwe","category-wwe-universe","tag-karrion-kross","tag-sami-zayn"],"modified_by":"Laurence Gibbons","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5338"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=136702"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":136711,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/136702\/revisions\/136711"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/136708"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=136702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=136702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=136702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}