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In a recent interview with WhatCulture, Eli Drake revealed why he refused to compete in a match against Tessa Blanchard.
While Eli Drake had a commendable run with the company, it met with an undeserving end which saw him involved in a lot of controversies right before his shocking exit. He went into the details of a planned match between him and Blanchard to explain why he didn't think it was good for him to square off against her inside the ring.
What happened between Eli Drake and Tessa Blanchard?
Revealing the backstage details about this proposed match, Eli Drake confirmed that he was never informed about this match prior to the announcement. This took him by shock, and while he respects Tessa as a performer, he didn't feel that the match looked believable on paper. Here's what Eli Drake said,
"I've done the mixed tag before, so I'm not opposed to that. I'm in a group chat with some of the guys who were working there, and one of them had already told us that they'd pitched this match to him - it was him against Tessa - and he said that he wasn't comfortable with it. But they said something to him before they announced it. With me, they just announced it and said nothing to me - after one guy had already turned them down for being uncomfortable with it. First of all, how do you just announce that when one guy already said he's uncomfortable with it and just assume I'm good and cool? And in my mind, I'm thinking, 'They already know I'm leaving, because I told them in January. Okay, they'll try to bury me on my way out."
"I've got immense respect for Tessa - she's probably the best female wrestler in the world - but she's also 5' 4" and 140 lbs, and I'm 6'1" and 230 lbs. It just doesn't look believable to me."
Eli Drake stated that it was already established that this match would be uncomfortable and yet, it was what the creatives wanted him to do. After his time with Impact Wrestling, Eli Drake believed that he didn't deserve to buried before his exit from the company.
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