JD Drake Recalls First AEW Match Against Eddie Kingston That Got Him A Job

Since joining AEW in 2021, JD Drake has been associated with many people, such as his former Wingmen compadres Peter Avalon, Cezar Bononi, and Ryan Nemeth, as well as longtime WorkHorsemen tag team partner Anthony Henry. However, AEW/ROH star Eddie Kingston wouldn't be someone that comes to mind instantly when thinking about Drake's run. It should though, as Drake and Kingston's history goes back to their days working in EVOLVE, not to mention that Drake's first-ever AEW match, on "AEW Dark" in February 2021, was against Kingston. And on the most recent "AEW Unrestricted," Drake revealed how that bout came together.

"The way it worked, I showed up for my first "Dark" taping, and Eddie happened to be walking in the same time I was going in to get tested [for COVID]," Drake said. "And he said 'Hey JD! What the hell are you doing here?' I'm like 'I'm coming to work.' He said 'Good! I'm going to Tony right now. Me and you, tonight. We're going to do that s**t.' 'Okay.' So I showed up, and he literally walks up to me and says 'Hey I'm getting you a job tonight.'

"I said 'How's that?' He said 'Because I'm going to show the world who you are.' He gave me the whole match," Drake added. "He literally said 'I'm over. I don't need anything. Go get your s**t in.' I was like 'Eddie, I don't have anything.' He said 'You have the cannonball, you have the moonsault, and you chop. What else do you need?' I said 'Fair I guess.' And we went out and beat the hell out of each other for seven minutes."

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit "AEW Unrestricted" and provide a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.