{"id":113958,"date":"2021-02-24T11:35:46","date_gmt":"2021-02-24T17:35:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=113958"},"modified":"2021-02-24T14:46:52","modified_gmt":"2021-02-24T20:46:52","slug":"radicans-one-to-watch-a-look-at-j-d-drakes-journey-from-evolve-to-aew-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/02\/24\/radicans-one-to-watch-a-look-at-j-d-drakes-journey-from-evolve-to-aew-dark\/","title":{"rendered":"Radican&#8217;s One To Watch: A look at J.D. Drake&#8217;s journey from Evolve to AEW Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-836352326\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><em>This is the debut of a weekly series of articles called One to Watch. I will be writing an article each week that takes a look at a rising independent talent or a talent from a major company like AEW, NJPW, ROH, or WWE that has been overlooked in any promotion, has been making waves, but might not have gotten their just due quite yet. My first column looks at J.D. Drake\u2019s journey to AEW and his <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=mZZXG-JPlmU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">debut<\/a> on AEW Dark this week against Eddie Kingston.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Although Evolve wrestling shut its doors for good last year when WWE purchased the company in July, it appeared that J.D. Drake was ready to take the next step in his career and transition from the main roster to the Evolve roster. Drake won a match on a NXT house show early last year and his performances in Evolve over the previous year seemed to indicate he would get an opportunity in WWE sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<p>Evolve was trending downward from their heights in 2014-2015 when they were the best independent promotion in the country and had become a place where NXT wrestlers got some reps under the watch of Evolve booker and WWE consultant Gabe Sapolsky before being put on TV.<\/p>\n<p>Despite Evolve trending downward, Drake\u2019s stock was on the rise late in 2019 heading into 2020. He had debuted in PWG, held the WWN World Championship for 258 days, and was ready to do what so many others had done before him and make the step to the next level.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n<p>The COVID-19 pandemic hit and Evolve initially announced it was going on hiatus before closing its doors for good a short time later when it was announced that WWE had purchased the company. Several wrestlers from the Evolve roster signed with WWE after Evolve closed its doors.<\/p>\n<p>Drake announced he was a free agent on July 3 and it looked like despite the pandemic, he would find a way to continue to make noise in wrestling. Drake wrestled some matches after the pandemic hit, but did not appear in any high profile independent promotions.<\/p>\n<p>I wondered what happened. I still don\u2019t have answers. Most of Drake\u2019s contemporaries in Evolve got signed in the wake of the company shutting down. Timothy Thatcher, Leon Ruff, Curt Stallion, Austin Grey (Antony Greene), and Brandi Lauren all signed WWE contracts. Drake did not.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-2603838779\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>Drake was also part of The WorkHorsemen tag team with Anthony Henry. They held the Evolve World Tag Team Championships together and grew as performers while wrestling not only in Evolve, but in multiple independent promotions. It was announced that Henry had signed with WWE last month.<\/p>\n<p>I continued to wonder what had happened to Drake, but hadn\u2019t asked him directly about it or reaching out to others to find out. Regardless, WWE didn\u2019t seem to be an option anymore.<\/p>\n<p>Drake\u2019s big opportunity came last week. News began to circulate that he had been spotted at ringside during AEW\u2019s tapings. AEW announced the AEW Dark matches for this week a couple days later and a dream matchup for independent wrestling fans was booked on a big stage. Drake vs. Eddie Kingston.<\/p>\n<p>You see, Drake doesn\u2019t have the traditional WWE body type. He\u2019s an old school heavyweight with his trunks pulled up above his belly. He is a southern brawler out of North Carolina and wears cowboy boots.<\/p>\n<p>So, what\u2019s the catch? Despite being a massive man, Drake can not only brawl and go strike-for-strike with the best of them, but he can also fly a little bit. I have never seen a man his size be able to do a moonsault with the grace with which Drake executes his version of the maneuver.<\/p>\n<p>AEW Dark has been a springboard for many independent wrestlers and veteran wrestlers and serves as an avenue to show what they can do in front of AEW booker Tony Khan\u2019s influential eye. I don\u2019t think it was a coincidence that Drake was matched up with Eddie Kingston. Kingston\u2019s style was a perfect match for Drake to shine on AEW Dark with.<\/p>\n<p>AEW uploaded this week&#8217;s episode of AEW Dark tonight and I immediately went to Drake vs. Kingston and they did not disappoint. They went right to war trading hard chops and headbutts. Drake\u2019s chest was beaten red within minutes thanks to Kingston\u2019s chops.<\/p>\n<p>Drake missed a moonsault and took the pin in the match, but his performance was memorable. Drake showed he belongs in AEW because his look and hard-hitting style are unlike anyone else on the roster.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-3873894318\" class=\"pwtor-content-1 pwtor-entity-placement\"><!-- Tag ID: pwtorchcom_test_300x600 -->\r\n<div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __300x600\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x600\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>I\u2019m usually the last person to say that AEW should be adding more talent. They have way more talent under contract than they have TV time. Where\u2019s that additional hour of TV by the way?<\/p>\n<p>Back to Drake. He\u2019s the perfect modern brawler. He\u2019s got a lot of old school flavor and would have very much looked at home in the ring with Stan Hanson and Dr. Death Steve Williams. Drake brings that act into the modern era by moving extremely well in the ring while throwing in a little high flying. He would be a perfect fit in AEW\u2019s heavyweight division.<\/p>\n<p>Drake arrived back in the spotlight with his appearance on Dark tonight. The question now is what will happen from here. After watching his peers from Evolve take the next step in their careers, it appears Drake is on the verge of finally making a big step with his and I can\u2019t wait to see his journey unfold.<\/p>\n<p><em>Contact Sean at radicansean@pwtorch.com. Follow him on Twitter @SR_Torch.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"40 Men and Women battle in over 2 Hours of Professional Wrestling Action | AEW Dark\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mZZXG-JPlmU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-618404280\"><div id=\"pwtor-2785168546\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>This is the debut of a weekly series of articles called One to Watch. I will be writing an article each week that takes a look at a rising independent talent or a talent from <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2021\/02\/24\/radicans-one-to-watch-a-look-at-j-d-drakes-journey-from-evolve-to-aew-dark\/\" title=\"Radican&#8217;s One To Watch: A look at J.D. Drake&#8217;s journey from Evolve to AEW Dark\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":113964,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,59,53],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113958","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-take_radican","category-opinion_stafftakes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2021\/02\/IMG_1246.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113958","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113958"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113958\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":114214,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113958\/revisions\/114214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113964"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113958"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113958"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113958"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}