Karl Fredericks is no longer under contract with New Japan Pro-Wrestling.

31 comments

1. I wish him good luck on whatever he does next, but imo he really overreacted over not being in the G1 this year. I mean, look at Henare, he had to wait forever but the hard work is finally paying off, that’s how New Japan works.

2. A lot of the NJPW LA dojo guys got really screwed over by Covid, it’s a shame because I’d really have loved to see Frederick’s get a big babyface push. Hope they don’t miss the boat on Coughlin too.

3. Absolutely gutted by this news. Karl has been passed by some of his classmates recently sure but I think they really had something with Karl, Alex, Gabe, Karl to build around.

   The fact that Karl didn’t really even get a chance to make it in NJPW is awful and likely really hurts their recruiting for future la dojo guys.

4. Damn. That sucks. Karl was always a great hand and could have been huge.

   I guess we’ll never get to hear the full version of his banging theme song either…

5. This really sucks. Karl has a ton of potential and I believe he could have been a big star in NJPW. He did a bunch of rage tweets about not being accepted for the G1 but I‘m with him on that. They could have brought in an extra guy for each block and actually it would have worked out much better that way.

6. See, I’d rather see him in the G1 than Chase.

   At this stage they need to start pushing the LA Dojo guys to bigger things than undercard away from Strong

7. Really disappointing end to his New Japan tenure given that they clearly had big plans for him down the road. Unfortunately for him, he was made somewhat expendable with the rapid development of both Clark and Alex.

   Not sure where he goes now. Impact might be best because they need good talent, and he’d likely get a decent push there. NXT is also a possibility, but I’m not sure if WWE is in talent acquisition mode right now. He could always work elsewhere in Japan – I think NOAH was recently recruiting foreign guys, and I’m sure they’d love to have him there.

8. So WWE or AEW?

9. Remember what the Juice did?

   Nevertheless, I wish Carl all the best in his future endeavors.

10. Once he wasn’t in the g1 that really seemed to be in for him I guess.

11. Aw man what a bummer! It was so cool to have a guy from around my hometown in NJPW… Hope he does well wherever he goes

12. I agree with everyone, Karl should have been in the G1. The guy more than paid his dues. He got passed on Strong because outside of winning a Strong belt, what was left for him to do? He needed to be promoted to Japan. I kind of feel like NJPW jerked him around. He deserved better

13. I’ll always remember his amazing dropkick

14. This one sucks

15. It would be nice if he was doing the same kind of gimmick as Juice did and then turn up and turn heel, but that is most likely not the case. A shame, he had talent.

16. And this should be a lesson NJPW will hopefully learn after this – you have to do something with these guys that have been on Strong for years besides not renewing their contracts. What’s the point of watching this show if these people’s careers go nowhere? I don’t even know if Lawlor had won a match in the G1 and he’s held a Strong belt for the vast majority of his time. I guess Rosser would have been a jobber in the G1 as well? I guess I’m peeved because it feels like all the time I’ve watched Strong was a waste outside of the few wrestlers who are now on excursion.

17. This fucking sucks

18. I’m somewhat less high on him than this thread.

    I think he will be a loss but I watch most episodes of strong and two things stood out to me. Firstly he’s been passed by his classmates and secondly he was floundering post graduating.

    Now this doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have eventually got into a groove (heck look at Yoshi-Hashi getting going in his late 30s) but as things stood in 2022 he’s not exactly been wowing me. Certainly not saying he was bad but I expected more

19. Don’t blame him. He’s 32 and has clearly lost a lot of shine since he won the Young Lions Cup, and as many more have pointed out him not being in the G1 seems to have been a last straw type of deal. I don’t blame him for wanting to go somewhere else for a bit to prove himself.

20. I remember seeing him years ago and I thought he would be a big deal in NJPW soon. And that just never happened. I don’t know what happened between him and the company but it’s strange that they just decided to do nothing with him.

    Didn’t he have a few run ins with QT Marshall and the Factory? I think he would be a solid fit with them to make them a little more legitimate before maybe getting a good push in ROH.

21. The last 3 years his mental health cratered, so I hope he can get that straighten out before he gets signed anywhere

22. Man, I saw him win the Young Lion Cup in Kobe and really wanted him to succeed. Always thought he seemed very impressive as a YL and that night I was convinced I was witnessing the start of a beautiful NJ journey for him.

    Shame it didn’t work out but wish all the best for Karl during the rest of his career, I’m a big fan.

23. Karl was just [announced](https://www.instagram.com/p/CguzMH4vbtr/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=) for the West Coast Pro x Prestige Wrestling show on 9/3. He’s been working dates for West Coast fairly regularly since this time last year and it’ll be interesting if he keeps doing so, because they’re doing a collab show with Pro Wrestling Revolver and NOAH/Dragon Gate in November.

24. I honestly never saw much star power in Karl. Thought he was a fine wrestler but not a star. I watched him and the la dojo lions closely too and i just never saw what NJPW was seeing. Connors, Narita, Coughlin, Uemura, Umino are the future stars of NJPW as I see

    Also, with just how njpw works with the very long apprenticeship is not for everyone. And clearly he was frustrated with not moving up in their ranks fast enough. Decent showcasing on njpw strong but never got much of a push to the japanese audience.

    I wish him luck. But idk if hes got what it takes. Hopefully he proves me wrong

25. I get why he’d be frustrated. He was set to face Kenta in the the 2020 NJC before covid. In an interview the said he was going to debut the Alpha Wolf gimmick there and be a regular on the roster. Instead he’s been treading water for 2 years. Now, some his Strong run could have been better and I’m sure that’s partly due to him, but it has to be demoralizing to almost reach stardom and have it snatched away by fate.

26. Wolf pack of one

27. Thank you Alpha Wolf fka ‘Young Lion that I think looks least likely to be named’ Karl Fredericks. It’s a shame you came around when you did. I think things may have been closer to your expectations in non COVID times.

28. Looking at his twitter, he has many fans!

29. What happened to the NJPW contracts expiring after wk?

30. These last few years weren’t good to him. His post-YL debut in Japan was going to be against KENTA. Then covid happened.

    I think they were still high on him when Strong started up, immediately putting him in a feud with Jeff Cobb. I really felt he was going to be in the G1 in 2020, but got replaced by Yujiro last second. The only reason I say that is because he only had 1 win on Jeff Cobb, same guy he was feuding with on Strong.

    From then on, there’s nothing I can say that hasn’t been said already. Between his side projects distracting him, and the other Young Lions surpassing him, the G1 snub was likely the last straw. Felt it was coming with the way he was tweeting recently.

    Completely understandable why he chose not to re-sign, a lot of us would be just as frustrated if we were in his position. Hope he continues wrestling though, it would be a shame to let all that hard work fizzle out to something like that. He’s a great athlete, and the potential is still there.

31. 😔 Wrestler who looks like Olivier Giroud didn’t make it through.