Eddy Thorpe on next week’s NXT

Eddy Thorpe is set to make his official WWE NXT TV debut on the main show during next week’s Stand & Deliver go-home episode.

WWE aired a teaser vignette for Thorpe this week, to build up his gimmick of a DJ who is tapped into his Native American roots. Thorpe said there’s more to “us” than you think as he appreciates the significance of his heritage but he also has to carry the responsibility of progression. He went on and said he will hold his people up and lead the way forward. WWE has not uploaded the vignette to social media as of this writing.

There is no word yet on who Thorpe will be wrestling next week.

Thorpe, formerly known as Karl Fredericks of NJPW, has impressed with his recent matches on NXT Level Up. He debuted with a win over Dante Chen on the February 17 NXT Level Up episode, then defeated Oro Mensah on the March 3 show, and defeated Xyon Quinn on the March 17 episode. Thorpe has also worked two non-televised live events – he attacked Axiom on February 24 in Jacksonville, then was defeated by the debuting Dragon Lee on March 11 in St. Petersburg.

The 32 year old Thorpe, who was first spotted at the WWE Performance Center back in August, left NJPW earlier 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. He reported to the WWE Performance Center to begin working with the company on January 14. Thorpe 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.

.@EddyThorpe_WWE makes his #WWENXT debut NEXT WEEK! pic.twitter.com/gjz3ex77p2

— WWE NXT (@WWENXT) March 22, 2023