Former NJPW Star Karl Fredericks Signs With WWE

Former NJPW star Karl Fredericks, who left the company in 2022, has seemingly put pen to paper on a deal with WWE and has already started with the company.

Karl Fredericks allowed his contract with New Japan Pro Wrestling to expire in September 2022, noting on social media at the time that he would not be putting pen to paper on a new deal with the company.

A month later, there were reports that he had been spotted at the WWE Performance Center, and it would now seem that it wasn’t just a one-off trip he made and that he will be making the journey more regularly as of this week.

A new report from Pro Wrestling Insider has said that Karl Fredericks has signed a deal with WWE, and will be a part of the NXT brand as you would expect for the majority of new signings. It further notes that he officially reported to the Performance Center in Orlando, Florida earlier this week.

Fredericks trained under Katsoyuri Shibata at NJPW’s Los Angeles Dojo from 2018 to 2022. During the last couple of years he was also featured on the company’s STRONG programming, which is based out of the United States. His final televised match came in the form of a victory against QT Marshall.

It would seem that Fredericks is not the only name on the WWE wanted list, as they are also interested in a deal for Tama Tonga.