JD Drake on his WWE tryout, being inspired by Arn Anderson and The Great Muta

JD Drake was interviewed on the latest "AEW Unrestricted" podcast. He talked about spending his time away from AEW working at a bowling lane, the WorkHorsemen, teaming with Anthony Henry, his journey to AEW, The Wing Men, Eddie Kingston, Darby Allin, and more.

JD Drake on getting the call to come to AEW:

"The pandemic happened, and when the pandemic happened, we thought it was done. Then we got a phone call about a tryout elsewhere. I wasn't going to do it because I was like, 'Eh, I don't know.' Anthony (Henry) calls me and says, 'Hey, did you get the same phone call I just got?' I was like, 'Maybe.' He said, 'Are we going to do this or not because I'm not going without you'. I wasn't going to take an opportunity away from him, So I said, 'Hell yeah. Let's go.' We were going as a team, but that was also when they went through and did their medical, they said that I wasn't fit to compete, that I had too many issues on my knees, and this, that, and the other. For lack of getting into everything that I said, because it got really bad at points, I basically flipped them the bird and said, 'Hold my beer and watch.' Mr. Regal was there. He said, 'What the doctors are about to tell you is for your own good. I don't agree with him 100% because I've seen you work, but what they're going to tell you is for your own good.' So instead of sending them MRI results when they said, 'Hey, we need to send an email', the first email I sent was to QT and QT said, 'Yeah, come on. Are you available on this day', and that was Valentine's Day or Valentine's Day weekend in 2021, and I've been there ever since."

On Arn Anderson and Great Muta being his inspirations for becoming a wrestler:

“Arn and Great Muta are the two. That's the two that inspired me to be a wrestler. I was a Hulk Hogan fan as a kid, but when I started understanding it, Arn 100% That's why it's always fun being in the ring with Brock who is basically Arn in '83. Muta was just something different. You didn't see anybody with their face painted and blowing mist all over the place and doing a moonsault when I was my age, when I was 9 or 10 years old. So he just really caught my eye. I was a huge fan of the WCW Cruiserweight division also. So Rey Mysterio was up there. Him and Eddie and La Parka, they were some of my favorites to watch too."

If you use any portion of the quotes from this article please credit AEW Unrestricted with a h/t to WrestlingNews.co for the transcription