10 Things We Learned From Speaking To Eli Drake

2. Was He Surprised At Ricky Starks' NWA Exit?

Eli Drake NWA
NWA

Since NWA Powerrr debuted late last year, one of the lesser-known names to seize the opportunity to make themselves known on an international stage was Ricky Starks.

Sure, performers like Eli Drake, James Storm, Thom Latimer, Ken Anderson, and the reinvented Nick Aldis had all shown previously what they were capable of, but the platform of the NWA gave Ricky Starks the biggest chance of his career - and boy, did he take that chance!

Starks constantly shone on the Powerrr stage, and he was even the first person to win the NWA's relaunched Television Championship. But then in a surprising move, Starks departed the NWA last month.

When asking Eli on whether it was a shock to see the Stroke Daddy exit the NWA, Drake told us, "I guess with the way that everything's happening with the current climate in the world, and we're not able to do shows, NWA has kinda given the option for people to restructure their deals or to possibly opt out if they didn't want to take this downtime and wait until we can do shows again. I've gotta imagine perhaps he's got feelers somewhere, he's got an opportunity somewhere. I'm not terribly surprised. I don't know what or how his deal was structured, but in my case I'm good to stay where I am for now unless somebody comes to me with a really, really good offer."

Clearly a big fan of the hugely talented Starks', Eli added, "With Ricky, I'm not terribly surprised, but at the same time we would have loved to have had him still, for sure."

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/Saints, Jamie Hayter, 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.