J.D. Drake On The Status of His AEW Deal, Importance Of the Indie Scene

J.D. Drake has been boosting his name with appearances on AEW, and he discussed his status with the company in a new interview. Drake spoke with Sports Illustrated discussing his match at Limitless Wrestling’s show this coming Friday, his AEW experience and more. You can check out some highlights below:

On his opportunity on AEW TV: “This opportunity has meant the world to me. I thought my career was done right after the pandemic hit when the world shut down in 2020. I thought for sure that was the end of it. Then I got the opportunity I have now, and there is just no way I’m going to let it fly by. Every time I step into a wrestling ring in AEW, I’ve made sure to make myself as memorable as possible. I’ve got plenty of haters out there. There’s also all kinds of love, but this one goes to the haters. Y’all are just going to have to put up with me for a very long time. I’m not going away anytime soon.”

On the possibility of signing full-time with the company: “Right now, my future with AEW is day-to-day. But they continue to bring me down. I’m part of a fantastic faction with Ryan Nemeth, Cezar Bononi and Peter Avalon, and it’s been a blessing every time that they’ve said to come down. Until they tell me not to, I’m going to Jacksonville.”

On his experience on the indie scene: “Without the indies, you don’t have anything else. Every large company in the world started because of independent wrestling. Without independent professional wrestling, there is no big time. That’s why it means so much to me. The independents are the grassroots of professional wrestling. It’s where everybody gets their start, it’s where talent is found and it’s where you hone your craft to become as good as you possibly can be. Even the homegrown talent in big promotions, they’re still going to run across independent talent that will shape them and mold them into the superstars they’re going to become. Indie wrestling makes all of this exist.”

On his Limitless Wrestling Championship match against Daniel Garcia on Friday: “The Limitless Wrestling championship is a belt I’ve had my eye on for a very long time. Even when I was in a tag team in Limitless with Anthony Henry, I always had the thought in the back of my mind that I could be the top guy there. Now that I have the opportunity. This is a very sought-after championship, and it would be a great one to add to the collection.”

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐌𝐄𝐃: JD Drake challenges Daniel Garcia for the Limitless Wrestling Championship at #TheGamesWePlay streaming Friday, May 7th at 7PM on @indiewrestling!#SufferNoFools Replay: https://t.co/eDKXru0I0F pic.twitter.com/Q7TaHPsSMh

— Limitless Wrestling (@LWMaine) April 17, 2021