Eddy Thorpe will make his official WWE NXT TV debut on the main show next week during the Stand & Deliver go-home episode.
This week, WWE aired a teaser vignette for Thorpe in order to build up his gimmick of a Native American DJ. Thorpe believes there is more to “us” than meets the eye, and while he values his heritage, he also recognizes the importance of progress. He went on to say that he will support his people and lead the way forward.
There has been no word on who Thorpe will wrestle next week.
Thorpe, formerly known as Karl Fredericks of NJPW, has impressed in recent NXT Level Up matches. On the February 17 NXT Level Up episode, he defeated Dante Chen, then on the March 3 show, he defeated Oro Mensah, and on the March 17 episode, he defeated Xyon Quinn. Thorpe has also worked two non-televised live events, attacking Axiom on February 24 in Jacksonville and losing to Dragon Lee, who was making his debut, on March 11 in St. Petersburg.
Thorpe, 32, was first spotted at the WWE Performance Center in August and left NJPW earlier that month when his contract expired. It was reported at the time that he had a tryout with WWE. His most recent NJPW match was in May, when he defeated AEW’s QT Marshall at the NJPW Strong Collision tapings. On January 14, he reported to the WWE Performance Center to begin working for the company. Thorpe 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.
Here is the logo from WWE’s new Thorpe vignette:
.@EddyThorpe_WWE makes his #WWENXT debut NEXT WEEK! pic.twitter.com/gjz3ex77p2
— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 22, 2023
