Former NXT star Eddy Thorpe is back to using his real name, Karl Fredericks, and it looks like that isn’t the only thing he is going back to. He’s coming back to the wrestling ring and the independent scene that helped make him create a name for himself.
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Karl Fredericks Returns To The Indies
Several post-WWE matches were announced earlier this week, including his Jersey Championship Wrestling debut match on September 21. His opponent will be GCW and TNA star Mance Warner.
Fredericks is also set to appear at a West Coast Pro Wrestling show on September 5 in San Francisco. Last Saturday, Fredericks made a surprise appearance at a West Coast Pro Wrestling Show, where he announced to the crowd that he was back. It’s worth noting that his last match with the promotion was in September 2022 against Kevin Blackwood, who is currently the promotion’s world champion.
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Karl Fredericks Upset Over His Lackluster WWE Run
Fredericks was part of the May 2 roster cuts, though he later revealed on social media that he asked WWE for his release over creative differences.
“I asked for my release from WWE so I could do something f–king meaningful with my life. I set the goal to work (in WWE). I spent a decade working for it. I got it. And in my experience, I came to the conclusion I didn’t want to do it.”
He also added how he was upset about not being able to DJ for free in Las Vegas during WrestleMania weekend, even though WWE didn’t have him on the card for the biggest event of the year.
Before his WWE release, Fredericks had been with the company since 2023. One of his last NXT matches was on April 15, where he was defeated by Ethan Page in a Fatal Four-Way match for a future shot at the NXT North American Title. The other two opponents were Lexis King and Wes Lee. Page has since gone on to win the title from Ricky Saints.
Before his WWE career, Fredericks was one of the first to take part in New Japan Pro-Wrestling’s Los Angeles Dojo. Highlights of his career include winning the 2019 Young Lions Cup after defeating Shota Umino in the finals and being a participant in the World Tag League with Hirooki Goto. While he left NJPW in 2022, Fredericks could maybe one day return to the promotion.
