ZeeWI: Breaking Down Aries vs. Drake II

This Thursday night, Impact Wrestling will give us the rematch for the Global Championship between Austin Aries and former champion, E_Li_Drake. While Impact did everything they could to keep Drake away from this match – including holding a fatal fourway for the #1 contendership featuring EC3, Moose, Johnny Impact, and Alberto El Patrón (this columnist told you those two would be back in the Title picture ASAP), with Drake nowhere in sight.

That’s what makes Drake different than some of the other guys that Impact management has tried to bully in the past – he doesn’t just sit back and stew over what he considers to be injustices. No, he instead sets out to confront and make things right. We saw this last summer when he was adamant about being placed in the Gauntlet for the Gold, and we saw it again last week when he was seen crashing Aries’ little backstage press conference.

Referring to Aries repeatedly as “the challenger,” Drake made it clear that he doesn’t accept the results of the “match” that the two originally had for the championship. You know, the one that started with Aries unconscious, as all matches do? Suffice to say, yours truly sides 100% with Drake here. That entire thing was a farce, and not allowing Drake a chance to immediately rectify the situation was a really bad look for Impact.

I’m also in the weird position of having to give The Guy That Eats a Banana some credit here, as Aries could have easily gone along with the (obvious) company plan, and ignored Drake completely. He could have told Drake to get to the back of the line, and to earn his spot all over again. He could have done that, because Impact would have absolutely allowed it to stand. Anything to keep Drake from ever holding that belt again, right?

I may consider Aries to be many things, but a coward isn’t one of them. In fact, he’s usually one to get right in the faces of those telling him “no” or “you can’t” or “you won’t”. He takes a huge amount of joy in shaking things up, and proving everyone wrong. In that sense, he was the absolute worst guy to take out Drake, especially in the manner that he did, because of course he was going to look to prove people like me – people who think his win over Drake was a complete mockery – that he is better than Drake, and that he can beat him in a fair match.

Aries knows that he got lucky with the way things played out. Knowing his competitive nature, it’s gotta eat at him. His grand return was immediately soiled by the less-than-pristine manner in which he won the championship, and he’s looking to rectify that. Fair play to Aries here, honestly. It’s the right move to make.

So, let’s break down this incredible rematch, and see who the odds favor in a head-to-head collision!

Strength

As far as strength goes, one has to give the edge to Drake. He’s simply bigger than Aries, and has the physique of someone that is constantly working out. A body guy, if you will. It’s not that Drake has freakish strength – or even that Aries is some skinny weakling – but Drake will certainly have the advantage in this field, especially considering that Aries is the smaller man.

Drake won’t have to worry about lifting a huge amount of weight, so if he wants to take Aries for a ride on the Gravy Train, it shouldn’t be that hard to get the man a ticket! He may want to dust off some classics, and may want to deal some Blunt Force Trauma to Aries, hitting the current champion with two powerful strikes.

Aries also has an array of dangerous strikes (including a tornado forearm that can take your head off), so he shouldn’t be considered a slouch here, but we here at ZeeWI still feel that Drake’s going to do more damage with his strikes, because he’s just packing more power than is Aries. And, seeing as how Aries isn’t some karate master, I have to assume that, as far as technique goes, that’s a wash.

Advantage: Drake

Quickness/Agility

This category, much like strength before, is pretty cut and dry. Drake is fast, but Aries is faster. Much, much faster. Aries can launch a suicide dive over the top rope, or through the ropes. He can get to the top rope in the blink of an eye. He has lightning fast springboard attacks. Of this there is no doubt: Austin Aries is just faster than Drake.

However, there’s a hidden element here that could have things back in Drake’s favor: familiarity. It’s no secret that Impact is – and always has been – a company where the smaller wrestlers shine. Hell, in his time as champion alone, Drake competed against guys like Eddie Edwards, Petey Williams, and Johnny Impact. All three have an advantage in this category, and all three fell short. Drake may not be able to match them in this category, but if he brings a proper strategy, he has shown that he can negate the advantage.

If Drake can slow this match down, the quickness no longer matters. If he can ground Aries, keep him tied up in holds, and dictate the pace he wants to wrestle, Drake can control the entire match. It’s not an impossible task to ask of him, either.

It’s not the easiest task, either. Aries is well aware of what he brings to the table, and always looks to maximize his strengths once that bell has sounded. He will look to stick and move, to attack from all angles, and to mix it up between quick strikes and heavier attacks, like his corner dropkick.

Yeah, like that.

Aries also packs the gas tank needed to maintain his high output, so counting on him to tire is a sucker’s bet. One has to hope that Drake knows this, or he could end highly disappointed when Aries is still coming at him 15, 20 minutes into the match.

Advantage: Aries

Proving One’s Self

This one is a bit trickier to judge, but that’s why we’re the experts!

For Drake, this match is about proving that he never should have lost the title in the first place. That the match was a farce, and that in a match where he’s actually prepared and ready to compete, there is nobody in Impact Wrestling that can beat him.

Sure, he fell on his ass in front of the world, but in a situation as chaotic as that, something’s bound to go wrong. And really, that’s what Impact was hoping for when they allowed Aries to interrupt Drake’s celebration in the first place. Make no mistake – this was a takedown from the top, a created scene where they knew anything could happen. A win for Drake helps kick sand in the faces of the suits that conspired to stop him, which is a sweet feeling as well.

By defeating Aries, Drake can resume his reign, and can ignore the little hiccup that was brought on by the powers that be. He will prove that, in any one on one setting, there is no one better in Impact than he with the kavorka, E_Li_Drake.

For Aries, however, there is much more to prove. Already a World Champion here before, this is less about showing that he belongs, and more about showing that he is everything he says he is. If Aries truly is The Greatest Man to Ever Live, then he should have no trouble in dispatching Drake in a regular match, with no surprises.

He also needs to prove that he deserved the opportunity that Impact so willingly handed him. After failing to unseat Neville for WWE’s Cruiserweight Championship, Aries’ stock wasn’t exactly at an all-time high. He returned to the indy scene, and has admittedly done well, but at the same time… we all remember him being unable to beat Neville. Repeatedly. If I’m to take Aries seriously as a top Champion, then he needs to cement this reign with a legitimate win over the former champion. If he slides by with yet another questionable victory, then his status as a lame-duck champ is secured. There is much on the line for both, but in my opinion, Aries has much more to prove here than Drake.

Advantage: Drake

So, how do we see this playing out?

Obviously, the company has it out for Drake, and has from the start. The orchestrated hit they put on him to get the belt onto Aries was disgusting, and it’s left Aries in an awkward position of having to legitimize himself thanks to the mess that they made.

Drake is going to have to stifle his emotions, and make no mistake, the man is not happy about what happened to his beautiful reign as champion. If he rushes at Aries and throws caution to the wind, it won’t be long before he’s eating a brainbuster and counting the lights.

For Drake to regain the championship, he needs to be in control. In control of his emotions, and in control of the pacing. He needs to tap into the mindset that he had during the Gauntlet for the Gold: bitter at the world and hoping to make everyone eat their words. He needs to take a me against the world approach, and realize that no one has his back, and that he has to do this himself. He can’t count on Chris Adonis, and he certainly can’t count on anyone loyal to the company. Even the referees will screw him over if they are told to do so.

Aries, on the other hand, needs to tone back his desire to show us all how great he is, and stay focused on the angry bull in front of him. Much like he did when he won the title, Aries needs to lull Drake into a false sense of security, and then strike when it’s least expected. But, as stated, he cannot allow himself to get dragged into a pissing contest with Drake. Not when he’s got the Champion’s Advantage, and not when he knows the company will do anything to keep him on top. There’s no need to play Drake’s game here.

With all of that said, there’s one thing that hasn’t been pointed out yet: this is a match between two high-caliber wrestlers going at it for the grandest prize in the company. Neither need to be told the stakes, and neither needs help to get hyped for it. Both understand that they have a lot on the line, and we’d assume that both will do whatever it takes to win.

However, this columnist has a terrible feeling that, should Aries look like he’s going to fall, Impact will send another soldier out to make sure Drake fails. And who better than recently crowned #1 Contender Johnny Impact? I’d assume he’ll be more than happy to carry out any orders, considering how quickly he was given another chance a title opportunity after losing a cage match that stated he’d never be able to challenge for the belt again (as long as Drake reigned). If Drake wins, Johnny is screwed, and we can’t have that, can we?

One final chance to stick it to Drake? That seems like an offer to good to pass up for the Mayor of Slam Town.

Prediction: Aries retains with a little help from the Thursday Night Delight.