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Released WWE Star Fires Shot At Shawn Michaels On Indie Return

By Lyle Kilbane • Published Jul 28, 2025 13:50 EDT
Shawn Michaels WWE NXT

A released WWE star has restarted their career on the independent scene and fired a not-so-subtle dig at NXT boss Shawn Michaels.

Dakota Kai was amongst a host of names let go by WWE on May 2nd, with the likes of Braun Strowman and Shayna Baszler also shown the exit door. Several NXT names were also released at the same time, with the likes of Cora Jade, Dani Palmer, Eddy Thorpe, Gallus, and Jakara Jackson now looking to continue their careers elsewhere.

Thorpe and Kai are in a relationship, and both will surely be looking to continue their wrestling careers elsewhere. Thorpe is perhaps better known for his spell in New Japan Pro Wrestling, where he was known as Karl Fredericks. In NJPW, Fredericks graduated as a Young Lion before he became a regular part of the roster. During the COVID shutdown, he joined NJPW STRONG based in the US before joining WWE.

Karl Fredericks Is Not Shawn Michaels’ Indian Now He’s Left WWE

Karl Fredericks recently revealed that he asked to leave WWE, and now he’s returned to the independent scene at DPW x Prestige x West Coast Pro Cruel Summer on July 26th.

Fredericks appeared after intermission on the show, delivering an impassioned promo referencing his Indian heritage and telling the “cowboy” in Orlando that he was “not their Indian.”