“Dummy, yeah!”

Eli Drake might be in some trouble with IMPACT Wrestling after rejecting an intergender match at United We Stand event on April 4th, where he was set to face Tessa Blanchard.  The match was set to be part of the Fite TV broadcast, but that now appears off the table after a fan complained about the match breaking “immersion”.  The fan complained that the match screams “this is fake”, and didn’t like the concept of men hitting women.

Many than believe Eli Drake responded in character, yet, I present the fans original words to relay to you that Drake didn’t respond “in character”, but respectably and towards this specific fan’s wording.  Why would a character worry about breaking “immersion”?

 

You couldn’t have hit the nail more directly on the head.

I have amazing respect for @IMPACTWRESTLING and @Tess_Blanchard and can see that she is likely the greatest female talent in wrestling today.

Although that said, I will not participate in a one on one intergender match. https://t.co/Hv5MydU8P6

— Eli Drake (@TheEliDrake) February 22, 2019

As of this writing, IMPACT Wrestling, and top officials Don Callis and Scott D’Amore haven’t responded to Drake’s refusal, nor has Tessa Blanchard at the moment.

The issue is that this isn’t a right/wrong situation.  There are some who believe intergender wrestling should exist; they liken it to a movie where the heroine battles the male villain and showcases just how tough she is.  They also allude it to lightweight vs. heavyweight type of encounters in wrestling . The Rey Mysterio vs. Kevin Nash type matches.  If that can be believable then why can’t this?

The other side of the coin highlights this thought process as well, but rejects it.  That weight classes do matter; which is why boxing and MMA have such strict guidelines.  Beyond the obvious weight, size and strength issues in regards to believability, there’s also the social component.  Despite the term ‘equality’ being used to describe today’s gender-associated times, the fact is a woman hitting a man is far more socially acceptable than a man hitting a woman.

That’s part o the issue, wrestling has always been a microcosm for the real world.  The real world is split on these dynamics already, and the world of pro wrestling even more so.  The fact is that Drake isn’t comfortable with this, and no matter anyone else’s personal opinions he isn’t wrong.  This isn’t a right or wrong issue.  He isn’t comfortable with the match.  If the David Arquette-deathmatch situation shows us anything, it’s that if you aren’t comfortable then don’t do it.

I’ve wrote about the idea of opening up the X-Division Championship to any gender, as a way of bringing the title into modern times.   That idea only works though because the rarest of women, like a Jordynne Grace or Tessa Blanchard, would be going up against Zachary Wentz and Rich Swann.  Men that are barely bigger, and maybe not even as strong as these women.  The likes of Allie would not be considered in my theory, because she lacks the physical intensity to make this believable.

Though a 230 pound man in the prime of his athletic life, taking on a woman a foot shorter, and a good hundred-plus pounds lighter?  I understand his point of view.

In Other News…

In  more IMPACT Wrestling news, Mike Johnson of PWInsider is reporting that there will be four total ppv’s in 2019, a recurring trend.  Besides Homecoming in January, and Rebellion in April, the other two are Slammiversary on July 7th, and Bound for Glory on October 13th.

Pop TV President Bradley Schwartz recently revealed some interesting numbers on IMPACT and the reason for the cancellation.   While speaking to Deadline, Schwartz revealed that the show garnered 400-500 thousand viewers a week, and that the reason for the cancellation had to do with branding, not performance.  He cited that the show was in their ’10 highest-rated shows’, and considering the number of popular shows in syndication they show, that’s a pretty good number to be in.

Quick Hits – WWE released a few names yesterday, Arn Anderson a longtime producer who hadn’t been a free agent since the 80’s, TJ Perkins (TJP), Tye Dillinger, and Hideo Itami.  TJP didn’t want to leave the WWE, yet was cut.  Dillinger and Itami were both demanding their release.  Anderson was let go to make room for younger agents.  Following this reports broke that Steve Corino of ECW, ROH and IMPACT fame was promoted, presumably replacing Anderson.  In more related news, Dustin Rhodes, the former Goldust, appears done with the company as he’s erased all WWE mentions from his social media account.  In more WWE news, Noam Dar has moved back to the UK full time and will be part of the WWE’s NXT UK brand.