Nick Aldis talks turning down AEW, building the NWA brand, and more!

DDT: After a ton of speculation from fans that he was either WWE or AEW bound, it was announced at Best in the World that Eli Drake would not only be your partner for your match with The Briscoes but also that he was the newest member of the NWA roster. What do you think Drake brings to the table in the NWA?

Aldis: I had a big hand in bringing him into the NWA. He had at least two other offers, one from one of the companies you mentioned, and one from Ring of Honor. Dave made his pitch and Dave asked me to call him and basically tell him my experience because Eli saw what we had done with me and said, “I want that.” Why wouldn’t you? I called him and we had a good talk and I told him what I thought this could be for him long-term.

He’s a few years older than me, he’s 36 and I’m 32 and I’ve always had one eye on the future post-wrestling and I’m sure he kind of has that too because he’s a creative guy, he’s a smart guy with a good business brain and I’m sure he wants to have an option or at least the opportunity to work in behind-the-scenes role going forward if he wants to do that and it’s a seat at the table.

I think we offer more than anyone else right now and we truly offer guys to tell their story the way they want it to be told. We have the least amount of cooks, the least amount of agendas, and I’m a partner in NWA. I’m not just the world champion. We’re very judicious with who we bring in as far as contracts go. We want guys who look good, who can talk, who can go and deliver the big moments and I think that Eli is that guy.