Former NJPW star Karl Fredericks has officially arrived in WWE NXT.
Friday’s NXT live event in Fort Pierce, FL saw Axiom defeat Oro Mensah in singles action. After the match, Fredericks came to the ring. Our correspondent noted that some fans recognized Fredericks, while others chanted “who are you?” and “what’s your name?” at him. Fredericks went to cut a promo on Axiom, but then changed his mind, and beat the masked Superstar down instead. You can click here for full results from Fort Pierce.
It appears Fredericks has not received his new WWE ring name yet.
It was recently reported that Fredericks 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 likely be a member of that class.
The 32 year old Fredericks, who was first spotted at the Performance Center back in August, left NJPW that same month when his contract expired. It was reported then that he received a tryout with WWE. His last NJPW match was in May, a win over AEW’s QT Marshall at the NJPW Strong Collision tapings, but he has worked a few indie events since then.
Fredericks began wrestling in 2015 but started with NJPW as a Young Lion at the LA Dojo in 2018, and graduated in 2020. He won the Young Lion Cup in 2019. He made headlines back in the summer when his NJPW contract expired on August 1. After taking to Twitter back in June to express frustration over being left out of the G1 Climax, Fredericks confirmed his departure in early August and said there was disappointment in the end of his NJPW chapter, but he is grateful for the four years with the company.
You can see photos and video from last night’s debut below:
Some dork came put to disrespect @Axiom_WWE! #NXTFtPierce #NXTFortPierce pic.twitter.com/lt5gFFdQUw
— Wyatt (@BeastWrestler21) January 21, 2023
Some more @karlfredericks_ pics from tonight! #NXTFtPierce #NXTFortPierce https://t.co/LIzGJd0zL7 pic.twitter.com/y7DbeyWt7r
— Wyatt (@BeastWrestler21) January 21, 2023
KARL FREDERICKS SHOWED UP AT TONIGHT’S NXT HOUSE SHOW!!! LET’S GO! #NXTFtPierce pic.twitter.com/oS69nzvZ0S
— ZSJ G1 CLIMAX WINNER!!! (@AnnetteReid247) January 21, 2023
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