New Japan Pro Wrestling alum Karl Fredericks has confirmed his signing with WWE by making an appearance at an NXT live event.
Fredericks signed with WWE earlier this month, with the news broken by PW Insider.
His deal with the McMahon-led promotion comes after he confirmed last summer that he would not be re-signing with NJPW, ending his four years with the promotion.
WWE NXT
At the WWE NXT live event in Fort Pierce, Florida, Fredericks made his debut, confronting Axiom in the ring.
Fredricks’ demeanor garnered boos from the crowd, and teased saying something, but left without saying a word.
Footage of Fredericks’ debut was later shared by WWE on its Instagram Stories.
Karl Fredericks
In 2018, Fredericks entered New Japan’s LA Dojo along with Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin, and would represent the Dojo the following year in the NJPW Young Lion Tournament.
Fredericks would win the 2019 tournament with a total of 12 points and would team with Hirooki Goto that same year in the World Tag League.
In August 2020, Fredericks competed in the inaugural New Japan USA Cup Tournament, with the winner earning an IWGP United States Heavyweight Title shot, but lost to KENTA in the first round.
The next year, Fredericks challenged Tom Lawlor for the Strong Openweight Championship but came up short.
Fredericks was first spotted at the WWE Performance Center in September 2022, a month after his deal with New Japan expired.
Interestingly, Fredricks said that he did not see himself going to any other company than New Japan prior to his contract expiring.
