Eddy Thorpe no more.
The former NXT star made his return to the indies under his old ring name, Karl Fredericks. The 35-year-old made his return at DPW x Prestige x West Coast Pro Cruel Summer on July 26th. He didn’t wrestle, but Fredericks delivered a promo about his Indian heritage and felt that he’s back and better than ever.
Fredericks was a part of the May 2nd cuts. It was genuinely shocking to see his name on the list as NXT was in the midst of pushing Fredericks. The former NXT star came off a hot feud with Trick Williams and the company actually protected Fredericks when he and Williams clashed on the December 17 episode of NXT. Thorpe would challenge for the NXT Championship once again in a triple threat match against Oba Femi and Williams, though he came out on the losing end.
Once he was done with the NXT Championship and Trick Williams, Fredericks moved into the middle of the North American title feud. Then it was revealed by the man himself that he requested his release.
Before joining WWE, Fredericks was mainly known for his time in New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but left in 2022 due to his frustration over not being in the G1 Climax. Fredericks was in New Japan for nearly eight years as he entered the New Japan Pro-Wrestling LA Dojo in 2015. Given his exit, it wouldn’t be shocking if Fredericks never competed in New Japan ever again, but this is professional wrestling, so never say never.
It’s interesting that Fredericks requested his release now instead in 2023 as that was a pretty lackluster year for him in NXT, though that could be chalked up as WWE trying to find the right spot for the former NXT star. At the moment, there’s no confirmed matches coming up for Fredericks, but it won’t be long since he is a name due to his New Japan and WWE ties. We’ll keep you updated when Fredericks is finally being advertised for a match at an upcoming show.