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What's the story?
After getting fired from Impact Wrestling in early April 2019, conventional thinking was that now Eli Drake was free to go to whichever promotion he chose to go to.
But after Impact attempted some legal maneuvering to potentially block him from going to a different promotion right away, Drake declared that he was officially a free agent after a post on social media.
In case you missed it . . .
Drake was one of the cornerstones of Impact Wrestling as it was transitioning from Dixie Carter in charge to a new regime.
He did win the Impact Heavyweight Championship, but since then, he hasn't been booked as close to the top as he had been before. Since his booking was not where he would have liked it to be over the last year, Drake commented on that in an interview with Wrestling Perspective Podcast.
The heart of the matter
There were a few reasons speculated about as to why Drake was terminated from Impact in April. One reason was that he refused to participate in an inter-gender match with Tessa Blanchard.
Another reason speculated about was that he knocked Impact writers in his interview with Wrestling Perspective Podcast. Yet another factor was that he informed management in January that he would not be renewing his deal that expired in May.
The new regime did continue to book him but placed stars (Pentagon, Jr, Johnny Impact, Brian Cage) newer to the company over him over the last year.
Impact did allegedly try to block him from signing elsewhere after getting terminated, but 'the Namer of Dummies' announced his freedom on his Twitter today.
With the official announcement made, Drake now has the ability to take his talents to Japan, Ring of Honor, Major League Wrestling, All Elite Wrestling or WWE. All of those promotions would love to have him as he is among the best mic workers in the game today.
What's next?
Depending on what he wants to do, Drake can dictate his future. He would be a perfect fit in ROH, MLW, AEW or WWE, but with WWE's booking issues lately, he might decide against signing with the juggernaut. One thing is for sure - Drake will be making a big impact somewhere new this year.
