So, Eli Drake is GFW Champion

[Psykohurricane55]

First, I've have to say that I'm a fan of eli drake. I think he's a really talented guy and I'm happy that the el patron situation made them look at him as the next champion.

Having said that, this really came out of nowhere. Since anthem bought the company and let the creative to jarrett and his guys, drake was pretty much use as a job guy for the company so seeing this make me think that somehow, they wanted to replicate the jinder mahal out of nowhere title win that wwe did a couple of months ago.

I'm not saying that this what happened, but the situation is strangely similar.

Now let see where this is going but just by reading the spoilers, I'm not optimistic about his title reigns.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I can't compare it to what WWE did with Mahal, but I can agree that this one felt a little out of left field. Then again, why is that a bad thing? Surely the idea of giving someone like Drake, who has been cutting his teeth on IMPACT for the last two years trying to get into the main event scene, is a better choice than hot-shotting "Johnny Impact" or giving it back to someone like Lashley. Frankly, having him win despite being the second entrant (after "negotiating" his way out of the first slot — LOL) also made him look really good.

The beauty of Drake is (a) he's a fresh face, and (b) a hot heel who can verbally carry his way through any possible feud. But most importantly, in the wake of Patron, he's illustrative of rewarding long-term talents, not the "hottest free agent in sports entertainment", which is hopefully a strategy they continue to employ. Less RVD and el Patron. More Eli Drake and others like him who work for their opportunity to run with the ball.

 

[klunderbunker]

The other difference is that Drake was never treated like a loser. Mahal really doesn't have any special abilities or talents to set him apart. His career highlight coming into this year was a loss in the first NXT TItle match. Then all of a sudden he has the same title that Bruno Sammartino held. Drake might not have a great resume but he also hasn't been around long enough to develop a reputation as a nothing talent. He's also a better talker than most of the roster, giving him something to build on. It's a surprise, but not a ridiculous stretch.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Again, I can't speak to Mahal, but that's true of Drake. Even though he did lose a fair number of matches, he was never "jobbed out" for lack of a better term. He lost because he was the heel who ultimately lost in his feud, not because he was weak, or made to look like a joke. In fact, he was never made to look like a joke. Even in the funniest aspects of his feuds where he did a lot with his Fact of Life segment, or behind the desk with Tyrus, he came out looking strong. Always.

 

[Starkist]

I like Eli Drake and glad he won. He's fun to listen to on the mic for sure. He can carry himself and I personally feel he filled avoid that Anderson created when he left a while back. A solid upper card guy who could tip toe into the main event when needed. Drake is talented and can have many good feuds howeve, I see Johnny Impact winning the belt at Bound for Glory.

Btw, didn't Eric Young create the Global Championship belt prior to GFW's creation? Why not cal it a World Title hence the name is already Global? Anyway rant over.

 

[ABMorales787]

He's not the worst choice. Or even a bad one. But this would've been the ONE case where they should've put everything on the shiny new toy in the form of Johnny Mundo. Because at the very least, for that one episode he would've been the AAA Megachampion, Cruiserweight Champion and Latin American Champion. On top of that, he's the current Lucha Underground Champion on TV, I mean, he's by far the biggest name they have. For this one case, I think GFW should've given him the title and build to Eli Drake taking it at BFG. It would've benefitted everyone.

 

[Lowdown]

Eli Drake is one of the best talkers in wrestling. Here's a throwback to his days in CWFH:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ws1qqznH1bE

Aside from this, he's serviceable in the ring. And I don't have a problem with him being the champ. My thing is, who's a face that he can compete with right now? You got guys like Moose and Eddie Edwards, but I really get the feeling that GFW wants to build towards a feud with Johnny Impact (God I hate that name), and as been stated in the past, he's another guy that's better suited as a heel himself. Eli needs to have equally good counterparts to make his reign mean something.

 

[Psykohurricane55]

I kinda have this weird feeling that he just got the title because they didn't want to fans saying that they talked about how they wanted to focus on jome grown talent and not using big name as champion like they did with el patron. So that way, they build him up as a heel champion just so he can drop the belt to johnny impact at bound for glory.

 

[Spencesc11]

EC3 would've been the better choice. If you want to get the promotion restarted and epic feud between him and Morrison would've been the way to go. You can change the name (Global Force) from (TNA) but the product is still terrible. Get back to what made you great. 6 sided ring with great ring action. You can't beat WWE at their game you have to be different.

 

[stingray11214]

Here is a fact of life: Eli Drake like Jinder Mahal? (Dummy! Yeah.) GFW was going to move forward handing ANOTHER castoff the World strap? (Dummy! Yeah.) Drake was a very good, HEEL choice. He can talk, he can wrestle, and he would be able to hold the belt for a while. You CANNOT keep giving the belt to Lashley and say with a straight face that you are building stars. Drake was a great decision for the long term. Will Johnny Mundo win the strap? Eventually. But, for right now, Drake is what the doctor ordered. And that is just a fact of life, Dummy! (Yeah!)

 

[ShinChan]

Well deserved. Eli Drake paid his dues. That's nowhere near what Jinder did. Eli had some memorable moments in and out of the ring which showcased his talent.

I'm happy that Johnny Impact (Dumb name) didn’t get the title on the debut itself. I love him but skyrocketing is bad. Be it anyone. Roman Reigns or Jinder Mahal or Alberto.

Hoping that the focus is actually on the champion. Not too much like Alberto though. But atleast more than others.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Despite being champion only a month or so, I'm thoroughly convinced that he has to retain at Bound For Glory. The entire show needs to be gravitating around this guy. Even if he and Johnny Impact put on a helluva match, taking the title off him this early I feel will only weaken his impact (no pun intended).

This ought to be handled with old-school booking in mind. Cheat to win. Have Adonis interfere if needed. That card is already built in with him playing lackey to Drake the last couple months. But Drake needs to come out on top. Johnny Impact is almost certainly going to win the title at some point in the future, but it ought to be in a rematch where Adonis can be barred from ringside or is ejected backstage toward the match, clearing the path for Impact to pick up the win.

 

[New Hot Fed]

Despite being champion only a month or so, I'm thoroughly convinced that he has to retain at Bound For Glory. The entire show needs to be gravitating around this guy. Even if he and Johnny Impact put on a helluva match, taking the title off him this early I feel will only weaken his impact (no pun intended).

This ought to be handled with old-school booking in mind. Cheat to win. Have Adonis interfere if needed. That card is already built in with him playing lackey to Drake the last couple months. But Drake needs to come out on top. Johnny Impact is almost certainly going to win the title at some point in the future, but it ought to be in a rematch where Adonis can be barred from ringside or is ejected backstage toward the match, clearing the path for Impact to pick up the win.

Agreed. If Johnny wins, it's gonna feel cheap and not deserving anyway cause he's just this new guy that the fans have not yet adopted yet anyway.

My issue with Eli Drake as Champ has been that it should have been a proper build cause the guy deserved to become Champ but with all the bells and whistle. Notice that they did it right with EC3, they knew he was over but they didn't just go and make him Champ right away, there were a lot of teases and when he became Champ, it felt earned.

Secondly it's that Drake's greatest gift has been his promos and since the beginning of the year, since the JJ regime has taken over, he has had next to no opportunity to talk. Which is mind-boggling. Since that's he was entertaining at! No Facts of Life, no Dummy buttons, nothing. Which shows how out touch guys like JJ and Mantel have been.

Finally, I'm not convinced of his partnership with Adonis. Sure it makes sense for a heel to have a valet but I just think it takes too much of the aura away from Drake. He should be a badass on his own, taking care of business on his own, even as a heel. The two together just look like two identical muscle-head bozos. lol