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Former IMPACT Wrestling Champion Eli Drake made his NXT debut on today's NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day's pre-show under a new name, LA Knight.
Interrupting the panel discussion between the commentators, LA Knight put the entire locker room on notice and said he would be coming for any title he desires. He also threatened to attack Wade Barrett if the latter tried to disrespect him. Later in the show, Drake was seen signing his NXT contract with William Regal backstage.
Previously working for NWA, the 38-year old was seemingly let go from the company after he dropped his NWA Tag Team Championships, which he held with James Storm, in November 2020. While Storm has since then shown up in IMPACT Wrestling, WWE seems to be the perfect destination for the star popularly known as Eli Drake.
Since his departure from IMPACT Wrestling in 2019, many fans had hoped to see Drake signing with WWE. However, he chose to work with NWA for a while before signing on the dotted line with the company. It must also be noted that Drake previously had a stint with the global juggernaut from 2013-2014 that ended due to the star not getting along well with then-head coach Bill Demott at the Performance Center.
Eli Drake can instantly become a major player on WWE NXT in the coming weeks
Eli Drake can be expected to show up on this week's NXT and enter a major storyline almost instantly. With his incredible mic skills and good in-ring chops, Drake can quickly rise the ranks and compete for the top gold on WWE's Black and Gold brand.
While fans have already started predicting the possible feuds he could have, a potential rivalry with Johnny Gargano could be quite fun. Gargano's hilarious heel character can have some entertaining segments with Drake's uber-cool, self-centered heel.
On the other hand, some criticisms have been leveled against the name LA Knight, under which Eli Drake will now wrestle in NXT. Some have said that the original name was much better than the new name, while a few other fans have said that it wouldn't be a hindrance to his success in the company. A few tweets also pointed out towards Drake being way too old to wrestle in NXT.
That said, let's see how the Twitterati reacted to Eli Drake's debut on WWE NXT. Do share your thoughts and opinions in the comments section below.
