Karl Fredericks, known as Eddy Thorpe in NXT, has revealed that he requested his WWE release. The 34-year-old, who was part of WWE’s roster cuts on May 2, joined the company in early 2023. In response to online inquiries about his political statements, Fredericks said, “I asked for my release from WWE so I could do something f–king meaningful with my life.”

He further elaborated, “I set the goal to work there. I spent a decade working for it. I got it. And in my experience I came to the conclusion I didn’t want to do it.” Fredericks also noted that WWE prohibited him from DJing during WrestleMania Weekend, stating, “No. WWE wouldn’t let me DJ for free in Vegas mania weekend. While other talent got to make money on their outside ventures.”

Prior to joining WWE, Fredericks trained at NJPW’s Dojo starting in 2015 and won the Young Lion Cup in 2019. However, he decided not to re-sign with the promotion in August 2022, expressing dissatisfaction after being excluded from that year's G1 Climax tournament. “Last thing I’m even going to entertain with a voice rn as far as professional wrestling goes is that @njpwglobal doesn’t deserve Karl Fredericks,” he tweeted on June 12.