10 Things We Learned From Speaking To Eli Drake

3. He Was EXTREMELY Close To Signing With AEW

Eli Drake
Impact Wrestling

Upon finally departing Impact Wrestling in 2019, Eli Drake effectively had his pick of which promotion to sign with.

Much like WWE had repeatedly shown interest in Eli, so too All Elite Wrestling was keen to bring in the charismatic performer. And not just keen, for a deal between Eli Drake and AEW was so close to happening that Drake had even selected his AEW entrance music.

As Eli revealed to us, "When I left Impact, there was [interest from AEW]. As a matter of fact, breaking news, I had two separate deals ready to go with them, ready to be signed. To the point where I had even sent them my entrance music. We were about to be 'go'. Then some things just fell through, and it didn't end up happening. They sent me one deal, we renegotiated, they sent me another. They were just waiting on my signature."

For whatever reason, a deal couldn't be reached, Eli weighed up other options, and that was when the one-time TNA Champion signed himself up to be a part of Billy Corgan's relaunched National Wrestling Alliance - where he's currently one half of the NWA Tag Team Champions alongside James Storm.

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 and Presenter, 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 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 and Eli Roth to Kevin Smith and the Russo Brothers, to Kevin Conroy and Frank Miller, to Bret Hart and Sting, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, and Brian Flynn, to many, many more. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is a long-standing season ticket holder and an FSA Award-winner for his time co-hosting the Fearless in Devotion podcast.