Karl Fredericks, a former NJPW star, will make his WWE NXT TV debut tonight.
Fredericks now goes by the ring name “Eddy Thorpe” in NXT. On February 13, WWE filed a trademark application for the ring name.
Thorpe will make his NXT Level Up debut against Dante Chen on tonight’s episode. The match is scheduled to begin the episode. You can see a graphic below.
WWE’s official NXT Level Up preview noted, “Thorpe is an intriguing newcomer who has competed all over the world and has a chance to turn heads if he can defeat his fellow veteran, Chen. Chen is 6-3 in his last nine matches on NXT Level Up, having most recently picked up a hard-earned win against Kale Dixon.”
On January 20, Thorpe made his NXT live event debut in Fort Pierce, Florida. After Axiom defeated Oro Mensah in singles, he attacked and knocked him out.
As of this writing, Thorpe has not tweeted to hype the debut, but shortly after Tuesday’s tapings, he tweeted, “Grateful [wolf face emoji]”
Ivy Nile will also face Valentina Feroz in tonight’s NXT Level Up episode, and Oba Femi face Xyon Quinn. Full spoilers from Tuesday’s tapings at the WWE Performance Center are available by clicking here.
Fredericks, 32, was first spotted at the WWE 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. On January 14, he reported to the WWE Performance Center to begin working for the company.
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.
The aforementioned tweet, as well as a graphic for Chen vs. Thorpe can be seen below:
Grateful ?
— Karl Fredericks • カール・フレドリックス (@karlfredericks_) February 15, 2023
