wrestling / Columns

ZeeWI: When the Gravy Train Derails

May 24, 2018 | Posted by Dino Zee
Eli Drake’s Eli Drake Gravy Ring Warriors wish

When the Gravy Train Derails

Permit me to speak with you.

It doesn’t take a dummy to see that things aren’t going well for ZeeWI favorite E_Li_Drake right now, and that’s not intended to be an affront – it’s simply a truth of being!

It was only a couple months ago that Drake, still slightly reeling from having his Impact World Championship stolen by the deadly combination of Impact Management and Austin Aries, managed to leave the Feast or Fired match with one of the briefcases. Even better, it wasn’t the one that gets you automatically fired. It was a silly gamble, but it paid off.

When it was revealed to be the briefcase containing a shot at the Tag Team Championship, there was a slight sting of being too little, too late. Drake had a tag partner in Chris Adonis, and they seemed to be a formidable duo. Of course, Adonis had ditched Drake – and Impact Wrestling as a whole – the day of Feast or Fired, and now Drake was stuck with a briefcase that would have made sense a few weeks earlier, but at that moment in time, seemed more like a hinderance than anything.

The man wanted the World Championship back. His World Championship. So, he baited Moose into a “Case vs. Case” match, since Moose had the one that granted a shot at the World Title.

Drake would win after a Greco-Roman baseball bat shot led to Moose taking a ride on the Gravy Train. Moose, whose reckless attitude towards championships was a frustrating feature during his reign as Impact Grand Champion, once again let a golden opportunity slip by because he wanted to shut Drake up. It was another poorly planned move in a string of them for Mr. Impact Wrestling.

With that win, it seemed like Drake had a clear course of action, and he was going to stick to it. But, as he tends to do, Drake asked himself “Why can’t I have it all?” With the Redemption pay per view approaching, Drake would enlist “Big Poppa Pump” Scott Steiner to fill the spot left open by Adonis’ desertion.

The duo would shockingly defeat LAX at Redemption, and Drake was now feeling himself, and rightfully so. The win, however, didn’t satisfy him completely, and so he made it known that he still planned on challenging for the Grand Championship.

On May 10, Drake would get his opportunity against World Champion Pentagon Jr. Shortly before the match, Drake would be overcome by the kavorka, and he’d insist to Steiner that he go out and win the match alone, so that he could prove without a shadow of a doubt that he’s the number one man in all of Impact Wrestling.

It was a spirited, closely fought contest, but Drake always seemed to be just a bit behind the personification of Cero Miedo. Pentagon would be ready to counter an attempt at the Gravy Train, which would cause a bit of a panic in Drake. Sensing that time was running out, Drake would reach for the sky with his incredible springboard moonsault off the top rope – known in some circles as the DRAKEDUST PRESS~!!! – only to crash and burn as, again, Pentagon was ready, and rolled out of the way. A stumbling Drake would be easy pickings for the Pentagon Driver, and the demonic luchador would retain the championship.

See? Just like I said it happened.

While a huge letdown, it wasn’t to be the end of the world. Drake knew that with a few wins, he could easily make another run at a championship match, and his status as a former champion (and a recent one at that) would make things a bit easier. Plus, he still had the Tag Team Championship with Steiner, and that ain’t too bad a spot. I mean, he was still, at the very least, a World Champion, even if he wasn’t the World Champion.

And hell, even with the announced defense last week against the upstart team of Andrew Everett and DJZ (known as Z & E), Drake wasn’t too worried. Sure, the challengers are both extremely agile, incredible high flyers, but there was no way that their game was going to overcome the masterful skill with which Drake and Steiner operate. Even now in 2018, Steiner was showing that not only can he still go, but he can still do the things that made him successful in the first place.

What he did not account for, however, was mistakes. In a terrible bit of miscommunication, Drake would fall victim to a chairshot from a slightly blinded Scott Steiner, allowing Everett to hit the less effective Standing Shooting Star for the pin. The top rope was RIGHT THERE!

Again, just like I told you.

Just like that, in the span of a couple weeks, Drake fell from the top of the mountain back down to the cold, hard ground.

His options would appear to be limited now, too. One has to assume that there’s a bit of trouble with Steiner due to the manner in which they lost the belts, and with Drake already being only half-committed to the tag division anyways, he’s probably happy to not have to really worry about it anymore.

Still, if Scott Steiner harbors any ill-will, history tells us that Drake isn’t going to be able to simply move on without a violent encounter or two against the Big Bad Booty Daddy. If Drake can survive those encounters – should those encounters occur, of course – then he can finally focus on regaining the World Title.

Even then, though, we already know the story. Impact has had it out for the man for over a solid year now. He’s had to nearly steal every achievement he’s earned from their bitter, angry grasp. He had to defeat the entire roster to become champion, and to lose it, he simply had to watch as a guy not contracted to the company said he wanted a shot, and it was somehow considered a legitimate match.

The fact is, Impact Wrestling is not going to do him any favors.

So, if I may, allow me to try and extend one to the man himself.

It’s quite clear that, whether he likes it or not, Drake has attracted a fanbase that is not afraid to shout out their approval and support for him. Perhaps the time has come for him to acknowledge them. It might not feel natural at first – the disdain he carries for many of the Impact faithful is palpable – but if he can continue to get them to cheer for him, he can try to force Impact Wrestling’s hand. It won’t be Drake that’s making demands – it’ll be the fans! If the fans can demand, over and over again, that Drake get another shot at the World Championship, and Drake can do his part by stringing the wins together, then not even a group as shady as Impact Management will be able to ignore them.

Hell, if it goes well enough, Drake might even find himself in that select group of Impact wrestlers who are allowed to do whatever they want since they create headlines and hashtags that trend.

Drake doesn’t want to kiss ass and glad-hand, and that makes sense. But if he can just find a way to not rage against the support, and find a way to use it for his benefit, then the world is his.

For now, though, he’s at the bottom, looking up. And it’s a long way to the top. If you want to rock and roll, that is.

article topics :

Eli Drake, Impact Wrestling, Dino Zee