Karrion Kross' return is a major boost for WWE SmackDown

On SmackDown tonight, Karrion Kross made his shocking return to WWE. He laid out Drew McIntyre and signaled that he is coming for the Undisputed WWE Universal Champion Roman Reigns.

When we last saw Kross on WWE programming, he was wearing suspenders and a gladiator helmet. This was a far cry from his NXT run where he was a dominant champion and had an amazing entrance with Scarlett Bordeaux.

Tonight, Kross had the same presentation as NXT and felt like a main-event star, which is a huge plus for the blue brand.

Karrion Kross: SmackDown's next top heel?

If you look at the SmackDown roster, it lacks main-event heels. After Reigns, you have Gunther. Then it falls off to guys like Happy Corbin, Sami Zayn (who is aligned with the Bloodline), and Sheamus and his group.

Outside of Gunter, it isn't a credible group right now. With Kross now in the mix, SmackDown could get a top heel for when Reigns (who is essentially part-time now) drops the title, whether to Drew McIntyre or to someone else down the line.

Karrion Kross and Drew McIntyre could tell a compelling story

The Scottish Warrior was Kross' main target when he returned. This already gives WWE a possible story if Drew defeats Roman at Clash at the Castle.

Both Kross and McIntyre were NXT Champions at one point in time, and they both got released at different phases in their WWE careers. The big difference is that while McIntyre got his big moment on the main roster, Kross was made to look like a fool. Now he wants to get the same thing as Drew, and he'll take no prisoners.

A possible World Title feud between McIntyre and Kross telling this story is exactly what SmackDown needs in its main event picture. It would be much better than a part-time Roman Reigns smashing opponents and leaving no title match for multiple premium live events.

WWE will have to do some work to fix the damage that Kross' first main-roster run caused to him. The crowd wasn't too loud when he appeared today, and part of that is likely due to how fans perceived him from his first RAW run.

With Triple H now in control and Kross being a product of the Black and Gold Era, there should be little doubt that the company can fix what it got wrong earlier.