Former NJPW Star Karl Fredericks Makes WWE NXT Debut (Photos and Video)

By
PWMania.com Staff
-
(Photo Credit: Jim Varsallone)

Karl Fredericks, a former NJPW star, has made his WWE NXT debut.

Axiom defeated Oro Mensah in singles action at Friday’s NXT live event in Fort Pierce, FL. Fredericks arrived at the ring after the match. Some fans recognized Fredericks, while others chanted “who are you?” and “what’s your name?” at him, according to our correspondent. Fredericks went to promote Axiom, but changed his mind and beat down the masked Superstar instead. For complete Fort Pierce results, click here.

Fredericks does not appear to have received his new WWE ring name yet.

Fredericks recently signed and reported to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando on January 14. WWE is expected to announce the new Performance Center Class soon, and Fredericks will almost certainly be a part of it.

Fredericks, 32, was first spotted at the Performance Center in August and left NJPW the following month when his contract expired. It was reported at the time that he had a tryout with WWE. His last NJPW match was in May, when he defeated AEW’s QT Marshall at the NJPW Strong Collision tapings, but he has since worked a few indie events.

Fredericks began wrestling in 2015, but joined NJPW in 2018 as a Young Lion at the LA Dojo and graduated in 2020. In 2019, he won the Young Lion Cup. He made headlines earlier this summer when his contract with the NJPW expired on August 1. After venting on Twitter in June about being left out of the G1 Climax, Fredericks announced his departure in early August, saying that while the end of his NJPW chapter was disappointing, he is grateful for the four years he spent with the company.

Photos and video from Friday night’s show are available below:

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR