During the pre-show for Sunday’s NXT TakeOver: Vengeance Day, former Impact Wrestling Champion Eli Drake returned to the company. He’d trash talk the hosts and set the groundwork for his new gimmick. He’d also reveal that he is going by the name LA Knight which seemingly has come from the random NXT name generator. Later in the show, he was shown in William Regal’s office, signing his contract in the storyline. You watch his debut promo below.
Following the show, Triple H would talk to members of the wrestling media and said he was a fan of Drake’s since he was first in the WWE system, and the time was right for him to come back. Drake had previously been signed to WWE between 2013 and 2014 but left due to clashing with then-head coach Bill Demott.
After his initial time with WWE came to an end, Drake would return to the independent circuit before joining Impact Wrestling. He’d win their World Championship and was also Tag Team Championship with Scott Steiner. However, despite being one of their top stars, he was abruptly fired in 2019. This was due to publicly speaking negatively about his booking and refusing to wrestle an intergender match with Tessa Blanchard despite the match having already been advertised. Later that year, he’d go on to sign an exclusive deal with Billy Corgan’s NWA in 2019, which was his home promotion before signing with WWE.
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