10 Things We Learned From Speaking To Eli Drake

The Namer of Dummies talks the NWA, turning down WWE three times, nearly joining AEW, and more.

by Andrew Pollard
Eli Drake NWA
NWA

Dripping with charisma and electricity, Eli Drake has long been one of the most entertaining performers in the wrestling business when afforded the opportunity to showcase his skills. These days, Drake calls Billy Corgan's National Wrestling Alliance his home, but with 17 years of experience behind him, Eli has a storied career full of ups and downs (hey, Simon Miller!).

From his time as an independent standout, to an NXT stint laced with Bill DeMott problems, to a five-year run in TNA/Impact Wrestling, Eli Drake has covered plentiful miles across the landscape of professional wrestling.

We were fortunate enough to sit down and grab an hour in the company of the current co-holder of the NWA Tag Team Championships, with a whole host of fascinating topics on the table with Eli.

Whether it was his reasoning for turning down WWE three times, just how incredibly close he was to signing with AEW, his refusal to wrestle Tessa Blanchard and his subsequent Impact firing, all of those are covered here - of course, with a whole lot of NWA goodness, to boot!

Here then, are just ten things we learned from chatting with Eli Drake.

10. His Current NWA Contract

Eli Drake NWA
NWA

Throughout our interview with Eli Drake, it was easy to see that this is a wrestler who is having an absolute blast in the National Wrestling Alliance. And while Eli enthused about how happy he is in the NWA right now - as is clear for all to see upon watching NWA programming - we did manage to ask Drake just how long he's contracted to Billy Corgan's promotion for.

As Eli told us, "My current deal, I started it the end of June last year. It was a one-year deal, but we recently just signed a new one. I'll be there for at least the next year."

Given how both WWE and AEW have shown strong interest in bringing Eli Drake into the fold, it remains to see just what the future has in store for the former TNA Champion. Whatever happens with Drake moving forward, he's not going to be short of offers should he end up departing the NWA in a year's time - with him being a proven commodity both in-ring, on the mic, and in his general character work.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.