Karl Fredericks Reveals He Was Out Of Action Due To PCL Injuries

The injuries shelved Karl Fredericks.

After being released from WWE in May 2025, Karl Fredericks, f.k.a. Eddy Thorpe, returned to the independent scene.

He was only able to wrestle in six matches before he had to step away in November 2025. He returned to in-ring action in August 2026. While appearing on Wrestling Observer Live, Fredericks revealed that he was dealing with PCL injuries.

He suffered the first PCL injury while he was still with WWE and added that the company would not approve of him posting about the injury. During his post-WWE run, he tore his other PCL.

“It’s my first real match back coming off of a PCL injury and a break, and yeah, it’s big for me. Coming back to work with something to prove.” Fredericks continued, “So I tore my left PCL in NXT, and it was confusing for me… they kind of hid it, and they wouldn’t let me post about it — I don’t know — post about it or share information on it I guess, and then after my release in the fall, I started wrestling again and in my fifth or sixth match, in late November, I tore the other one. Luckily it wasn’t as bad as the left one by any means and I took an extended break and made sure I’m feeling good. Hopefully come back and ready to make another run here.”

For several years of his career, Fredericks was part of New Japan Pro-Wrestling. He graduated from their Young Lion system.

If the quote in this article is used, please credit Wrestling Observer Live with an H/T to Fightful for the transcription.