Eli Drake will remain with IMPACT Wrestling for the time being. Drake has been a professional wrestler since 2003. He worked the independent circuit before getting his shot in WWE in 2006. He worked with the professional wrestling juggernaut several times over the next eight years.
After being released from WWE in 2014, Drake again returned to the indies where he still competes today. In addition, Drake recently signed a contract extension with IMPACT Wrestling, who he joined back in 2015. During a recent interview with Wrestling Inc., Drake explained the decision behind opting to extend his deal with the promotion:
“It’s amazing. I had options, obviously, to do other things, but I like my lifestyle right now,” Drake said.
“I like the idea of not being stuck in a warehouse five days a week. That’s not a shot at anybody, that’s a fact of life, if you will. I just like my lifestyle living in L.A. I didn’t want to move to any other state, I didn’t want to go anywhere else.
“And I like the freedom that I have to do what I do, be what I am and make the money that I’m making. So everything is pretty good in my book and in my world, so it’s A-OK to stay with Impact.”
WWE did show interest in signing Drake earlier this year, however, IMPACT presented a more favorable offer. Drake likes the lighter schedule IMPACT offers him, as opposed to the grueling travel responsibilities in WWE. In regards to a possible WWE return sometime down the road, here’s what Drake had to say:
“I don’t know, and the reason I don’t know is I’ve had a strange crossroads with this business over the last couple of years,” Drake said.
“It’s changed a lot, it doesn’t feel like the same business I fell in love with 20-30 years ago. But that’s not to say that I can’t still do my own thing my own way, that’s exactly what I’ve always done and that’s what I’ll continue to do.
“But wrestling has changed in a lot of ways and not for the better, in my opinion – but again, if I could continue doing my thing then who knows? We’ll see what happens, and if I feel like I want to continue doing that at a much more exaggerated pace, as far as the schedule and what not.”
Do you think Eli Drake will ever be back in WWE?
