Former New Japan Pro Wrestling star Karl Fredericks was seen on Wednesday at the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Florida.
At the time, there were no further details on why he was there. In the latest edition of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer reported that Fredericks received a private tryout. There’s no word yet on if WWE has offered Fredericks a contract.
Fredericks broke into the business in 2015 and worked for several independent promotions, including All Pro Wrestling. In 2018, he began training at NJPW’s LA Dojo along with Clark Connors and Alex Coughlin. He went to Japan as a representative of the LA Dojo for the Young Lion Cup tournament in 2019, winning it before later teaming with Hirooki Goto for the World Tag League that same year.
Last June, Fredericks unsuccessfully challenged Tom Lawlor for the Strong Openweight Championship. His time with NJPW ended with his last match, which happened on the May 15th episode of NJPW Strong, where he defeated QT Marshall.
In an interview, Senior Vice President of Talent Development Creative Shawn Michaels recently confirmed that WWE will continue to sign indie and international talents. At the same time, WWE still focuses on signing more collegiate athletes.
