Impact Wrestling’s Jake Crist wants to prove himself as X-Division Champ

Ahead of his X-Division Title defense tonight in Impact Wrestling, we spoke exclusively to oVe’s own Jake Crist about proving himself as champion, oVe and LAX’s bitter rivalry, and more.

Reigning Impact Wrestling X-Division Champion Jake Crist likes to call himself “The Golden Draw,” but it took years of work to become the competitor he is today. The Ohio native debuted in 2003 alongside his brother Dave Crist, gaining initial success while known as The Irish Airborne.

One of the first companies they competed in, as far back as 2004, was Heartland Wrestling Association in Cincinnati, Ohio. When I spoke to Crist, he remembered a fan that has been following both him and his brother since their years in HWA.

“I’ve talked to this guy named Jordan Feltner. He’s been a fan of my brother and I since the beginnings of our career when we started in HWA, all the way down in Cincinnati, Ohio,” he said. “Now he’s like 20-something years old [and] still coming to shows. [We] still talk to him to this day. It’s pretty cool.”

Since their days as HWA Tag Team Champions, it’s been a wild ride for Dave and Jake Crist. They continued to grow on the independent scene, making marks in ROH, CZW, and even appearing with Big Japan Pro Wrestling in 2013.

Just over two years ago, Dave and Jake Crist debuted in Impact Wrestling under the name Ohio Versus Everything, shortened usually to oVe. Just three days after their debut, they got their first taste of Impact Wrestling gold by defeating LAX for the Impact Tag Team Titles. It sparked a violent rivalry that helped mold the careers of LAX and oVe.

“When you have a rivalry so strong as oVe and LAX to where it ends in a Barbed Wire Massacre Match, I think that kinda just speaks volumes for itself,” he said. “Obviously, everyone grew together. The company. The teams. I think we all just made something very, very special. Very magical, if you will.”

I told Crist that I felt the rivalry did a lot for both teams and drew eyes to something not everybody was paying as close attention to as they should’ve been. Without missing a beat, Crist agreed wholeheartedly.

“Absolutely, I completely agree with that. I wouldn’t change a word of that statement,” he said. “We’ve grown tremendously. If you look back, now we’re not putting face paint all over our eyes anymore. We were able to get our own flavors and finally [be] able to say, ‘hey, we’re here to stay for a long time.'”

In the two years since their arrival in Impact Wrestling, oVe grew first with the addition of Sami Callihan, who went on to win Impact Wrestling Wrestler of the Year, Moment of the Year, and Match of the Year in 2018.

In March of 2019, they grew into a four-man faction with the addition of Madman Fulton, who made his mark as a member of SAnitY in NXT. When asked about his favorite moments with oVe, Jake Crist knew exactly which ones stood out.

“Our eight-man tag that we just had with the oVe Rules where I give [Rich] Swann the cutter off the ladder,” he said. “That’s one of my favorite oVe moments. Also, when Sami [Callihan] joined Dave and I, that was also a huge moment for oVe.”

Lately, Sami Callihan has been involved in a bitter rivalry with Tessa Blanchard, and oVe has been a part of that rivalry by proxy. When I asked Crist about intergender wrestling, he was clear in his support of it becoming more prevalent within the industry.

“Yeah. ‘Cause this is the way I look at wrestling,” he began. “If you’re picking up a comic book in a store, and you’re reading, there’s no boundaries. Every wrestler has their special power, whether it be agility or knowledge in the ring, so on and so forth. I look at wrestling as a comic book, and Tessa [Blanchard], her special power is she’s very, very strong.”

We took a brief detour in the conversation from wrestling by covering some of the other things going on in Jake Crist’s life, including his two children who are now 15 years old and 3 years old. When asked how he survived having a teenager and a “terrible two” at the same time, Crist started laughing and immediately brought up his wife.

“A lot of help from Nevaeah. If it wasn’t for her, I probably would be pulling my hair out,” he said, going on to explain where his teenage daughter’s focus has gone as of late. “She’s more looking at her phone and paying attention to that than anything. Common 15-year-old.”

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Crist has also mentioned before that he was a fan of Parks and Recreation and was still going through the series a few years ago, giving me a chance to see what his opinion was of the series finale.

“I was a fan. It was obviously sad because I knew it was over, but then again I automatically thought to myself [that] I can start rewatching it. I actually started rewatching it for like the third time [recently], I can’t get enough.”

As for what kind of music he likes to listen to on the road, Jake Crist was all over the map. He talked about his love for eighties rock ‘n’ roll, rap, and his recent dive into outlaw country music.

“I think I have the most well diverse phone that you can have,” he said of his musical tastes.

With the mentality of “Ohio Versus Everything” in mind, I brought up the recent announcement of the XFL’s eight teams. I asked him if it was a mistake to not have one of the teams be in Ohio.

“I think it was a mistake to have the XFL come back to begin with,” he said. “So, yeah I would have to say it was a mistake for them to not give a team to Ohio.”

“Eddie Guerrero,” was Jake Crist’s pick when asked who he would choose if he could wrestle anyone in wrestling history. “Absolutely, Eddie Guerrero or Dynamite [Kid] in his prime. Those are the two that I would love to have had a match with.”

Today, after a career largely defined by teaming with his brother Dave Crist or being a part of the faction that is Ohio Versus Everything, Jake Crist has to focus more on himself. He explained the origin of the nickname “The Golden Draw” (a play on Sami Callihan calling himself “The Draw”) and how this version of Jake Crist will stand out from the rest of his career.

“This version of Jake Crist is automatically gonna stand out because he is the X-Division Champion. He’s obviously gonna stand out with the gold hair and [by being] the only one in oVe with the gold,” he said. “That’s why I call myself The Golden Draw. I have to promote myself through the ranks. From The Mini Draw to The Medium Draw. Now, I’m The Golden Draw.”

As proud as he is to be X-Division Champion and the only man in oVe currently holding a title, Crist wasn’t shy about what winning the title meant to him.

“It was the moment of my career,” he said. “I can’t top that at this point. I remember looking at that championship as a teenager growing up in high school and thinking how awesome that title looked.”

Thinking back to the original design of the title, a gold belt with a vibrant red ‘X’ indicating the X-Division, he said it was “the most beautiful belt [he’s] ever seen.”

“Now, years later to be able to hold it,” he said. “I’m still pinching myself right now.”

When he won the title, Jake Crist did so by hitting Rich Swann with a version of The Dudley Dog. It’s a move which ECW and WWE legend Spike Dudley is remembered for using during his career, and Crist talked about the way Spike Dudley’s career inspired him.

“Obviously, I looked up to Spike, being an ECW kid growing up,” he said. “If anything, he teaches size doesn’t matter at all in our business. So growing up and looking up to Spike, for sure. Being a small guy, [he’s] a total inspiration. To be able to pull off a maneuver like that to win a major championship is surreal to me, and kinda makes it all full circle.”

For those that might not have seen everything Jake Crist has done in his 16-year career, he suggested they “google Jake Crist or type in Jake Crist in YouTube. You’ll see all the crazy, crazy stuff I did in like CZW and all that. I’m pretty sure that they would become an even bigger fan.”

As for his title defense tonight against Rich Swann, Jake Crist was clear about what we can expect from their rematch.

“That it’s not a fluke,” he said of his becoming champion. “That’s what you can expect. It is not a fluke. I’m gonna prove myself.”

Impact Wrestling presents Cali Combat tonight, which will air on the Pursuit Network and the Impact Wrestling Twitch channel from 10pm ET to 12am ET. The show has a packed card, including Havok vs. Alisha Edwards, The North defending their Impact Tag Team Titles against Reno Scum, Sami Callihan vs. Tommy Dreamer, Jake Crist defending his X-Division Championship against Rich Swann, and more.