{"id":32491,"date":"2018-12-12T22:08:18","date_gmt":"2018-12-13T03:08:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/?p=32491"},"modified":"2018-12-13T19:09:32","modified_gmt":"2018-12-14T00:09:32","slug":"indie-watch-damian-drake","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/2018\/12\/12\/indie-watch-damian-drake\/","title":{"rendered":"Indie Watch: Damian Drake, FSW&#8217;s Hometown Star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at all of the amazing talents working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalizing their careers, some are indie prospects hitting their peaks, while others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at an emerging young star from the West Coast indie scene in &#8220;The New Age Daredevil&#8221; Damian Drake, who has been finding success with Ring Warriors, Future Stars of Wrestling and West Coast Wrestling Connection and heads into 2019 as one of the wild west&#8217;s top prospects.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Vegas born <strong>Damian Drake<\/strong> has an opportunity <a href=\"https:\/\/lwosonprowrestling.ms.lastwordonsports.com\/2018\/12\/10\/preview-fsw-against-all-odds-rumble-12-14-18\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this Friday, December 14th with <strong>Future Stars of Wrestling (FSW)<\/strong> <\/a>to win the No Limits Championship in his hometown, and to take the belt from his bitter enemy, \u201cChief\u201d <strong>Owen Travers<\/strong>. Drake beat Travers earlier in the year inside a steel cage and looks ready as ever to do it again. The 6&#8217;0&#8243;, 155 pounder hit the wrestling scene with a flourish. Drake debuted in 2015 and won the FSW Tag Team Title with <strong>Spyder Warrior<\/strong> (as <strong>Night Warriors<\/strong>) in December against the BFF\u2019s. The tandem would keep the straps until April 2016 dropping the titles (as <strong>Midnight Marvels<\/strong>) to the <strong>Bonus Boyz<\/strong> (Clutch &amp; Sugar Brown). Despite the setback, Damian\u2019s strong year in Vegas Valley was awarded the 2016 FSW Rookie of The Year.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"WCWC: Midnight Marvels Vs Bonus Boyz\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/l2sFkVxGVu8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>2016 saw Drake\u2019s taste for gold continue in Oregon with <strong>West Coast Wrestling Connection (WCWC)<\/strong>. While he may have had early title success in Las Vegas it wasn\u2019t the same in the Pacific Northwest. The former FSW Tag Champ came up short against <strong>Ethan HD<\/strong> for the WCWC Legacy crown, and teamed with Spyder Warrior again trying to get the WCWC Tag Titles from the Bonus Boyz but was unsuccessful. Early 2017 saw Drake get a shot at the WCWC Pacific Northwest TV Title losing to <strong>The Grappler<\/strong>. A change of tag partners early in 2017 meant a change in fortune. Teaming with <strong>Mikey O\u2019Shea<\/strong> (as <strong>Fight and Flight<\/strong>), and after multiple attempts, Damian Drake finally got the gold he sought when Fight and Flight beat the Bonus Boyz to win the WCWC Tag Team Championship. Drake also competed in Southern California with <strong>Championship Wrestling From Hollywood (CWFH)<\/strong> competing in the 2017 Red Carpet Rumble (won by <strong>Tyler Bateman<\/strong>).<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FSW 1st Time Encounter - Damian Drake vs Chris Bey\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0VlJiEifCKA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The Descendant of Bludhaven has one of the best flying knees in wrestling today. Similar to Matt Riddle\u2019s jaw-breaking knee, Drake delivers this weapon with sinister precision, timing, and efficiency. He is adept at connecting the knee in a corner and quickly transitioning into his aerial arsenal. You rarely see Drake get caught napping when going to the top. There isn\u2019t a move in the air that Drake doesn\u2019t have in his toolbox. Oh, and he\u2019s tough as hell. The kid\u2019s willing to fight, so don\u2019t let the aerial game fool you. The Daredevil won a brutal cage match with weapons against Owen Travers in early 2018 and kicked out an astonishing amount of times in October against <strong>Hammerstone<\/strong> before the FSW Champion finally got the three count. Drake\u2019s competitiveness is off the charts. Nobody wants to win more than he does.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FREE MATCH | Hammerstone vs. Damian Drake | FSW Championship Match | October 12, 2018\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lr20xH5US_Y?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Sometimes this same competitiveness and toughness are to his detriment as Drake will turn a match into a fight when maybe a more tactical strategy is better suited. Hopefully, with experience he\u2019ll learn when to mix it up and when to stay away. He needs to because he takes a lot of punishment, and that isn\u2019t the recipe for a long career.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Damian Drake vs Marcus Eriks\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/RgJXSyeYoU8?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>While Drake has had plenty of success in Las Vegas he hasn\u2019t had the same elsewhere. CWFH has been particularly unkind. In his loss recently to <strong>Suede Thompson<\/strong>, the youngster was competitive but was missing the one move to extend the match and possibly get his hand raised. A chop war with <strong>Douglas James<\/strong> left welts across his chest, and a high flying showcase against <strong>Adrian Quest<\/strong> was fun to watch but didn\u2019t lead to wins either. You know what they say about Hollywood?<\/p>\n<p>Young and talented, the Las Vegas native\u2019s career has seen the spotlight expand in a very short time competing also with <strong>IMPACT Wrestling<\/strong> and <strong>Ring Warriors<\/strong>. Beating Travers would close the year out right as 2018 was another year of success, growth, and development for The New Age Daredevil. This athlete has the moxie, talent, and intelligence to make big strides next year. More success outside of Las Vegas is important for him and he needs to show that he doesn\u2019t require home cooking to win. There is only one question for 2019\u2026. Will he live victoriously?<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Catch Up on Previous Indie Watch Articles!<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/12\/11\/indie-watch-red-death-daniel-garcia-videos\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: &#8220;Red Death&#8221; Daniel Garcia<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(USA), December 11, 2019<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/11\/29\/indie-watch-royce-isaac\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Royce Isaac$<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(USA), November 29, 2019<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/11\/16\/indie-watch-a-kid-the-ace-of-spain\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: A-Kid<\/strong>\u00a0<\/a>(Spain), November 16, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/11\/12\/indie-watch-los-ingobernable-rush-is-coming-to-america\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Rush<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Mexico), November 12, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/24\/indie-watch-addy-starr\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Addy Starr<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Canada), October 24, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/11\/indie-watch-the-rise-of-puma-king\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Puma King<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Mexico), October 14, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/11\/indie-watch-kevin-ku-punk-and-southern-wrestlings-not-dead\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Kevin Ku<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(USA), October 11, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/10\/indie-watch-the-filip-brothers\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: The Filip Brothers\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>(Australia), October 10, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/09\/indie-watch-daga-the-technical-luchador\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Daga<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Mexico), October 9, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/10\/05\/indie-watch-salina-de-la-renta\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Salina de la Renta<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Puerto Rico), October 5, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/29\/indie-watch-sheldon-jean\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Sheldon Jean<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Canada), September 29, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/25\/indie-watch-king-khash\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: King Khash<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(USA\/Persia), September 25, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/18\/indie-watch-bants-now-in-session-martina-the-session-moth\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Martina \u2018The Session Moth\u2019\u00a0<\/strong><\/a>(Ireland), September 18, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/09\/indie-watch-too-sick-for-this-world-zachary-wentz\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Zachary Wentz\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>(USA), September 9, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/09\/04\/indie-watch-scotty-davis\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Scotty Davis<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Ireland), September 4, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/21\/indie-watch-the-baddest-man-in-professional-wrestling-schaff\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch:<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/21\/indie-watch-the-baddest-man-in-professional-wrestling-schaff\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u00a0SCHAFF<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(USA), August 21, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/15\/bandido-luchador-mexico\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Bandido<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(Mexico), August 15, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/08\/07\/indie-watch-aiden-prince-takes-flight-in-prince-city\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Aiden Prince<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(Canada), August 7, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/05\/09\/the-business-slex-career-overview-videos\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: \u201cThe Business\u201d Slex<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Australia), May 9, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/05\/01\/robbie-eagles-career-overview-videos\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: Robbie Eagles<\/a>\u00a0<\/strong>(Australia), May 1, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/04\/27\/prospect-watch-jordynne-grace\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: Jordynne Grace<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(USA), April 27, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/04\/13\/prospect-watch-d-l-hurst\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: D.L. Hurst<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(USA), April 13, 2018<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/01\/24\/prospect-watch-maine-state-posse\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Indie Watch: The Maine State Posse\u00a0<\/a><\/strong>(USA), January 24, 2018<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonprowrestling.com\/2018\/01\/20\/prospect-watch-the-progress-women\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>Indie Watch: The Women of PROGRESS<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0(UK), January 20, 2018<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Indie Watch is our regular series that looks at all of the amazing talents working the independent circuits around the world. Some are veterans revitalizing their careers, some are indie prospects hitting their peaks, while others are names to be on the watch for! This edition looks at an emerging young star from the West [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2861,"featured_media":32523,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6],"tags":[4010,3938],"class_list":["post-32491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-north-america","tag-damian-drake","tag-future-stars-of-wrestling"],"modified_by":"Jamie Greer","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2861"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32491\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32523"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/prowrestling\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}