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Drake Maverick Keeps Career Alive, Will Have a 3-Way Next Week
Drake Maverick's career is still alive following an upset victory against Kushida on last night's episode of NXT. Maverick's victory puts the standings of the NXT Interim Cruiserweight Tournament into a three-way tie, with Maverick, Kushida, and Jake Atlas all sporting 2-1 records. The three will meet in a triple threat match next week to decide the winner of the tournament and the fate of Maverick's career.
Drake Maverick's Career Is on the Line
Drake Maverick was one of dozens of wrestlers and backstage talent laid off or furloughed by WWE as cost-cutting measures during the pandemic last month, even though WWE is on track for record profits even if they didn't cut those costs. Maverick posted a teary-eyed video immediately after the firing, which went viral. "I'm very fortunate that WWE is still allowing me to compete in the NXT Interim Cruiserweight Title Tournament, but it's very likely that those will be the last matches I ever have," Maverick said in the video. "There's a lot of people I'm not gonna get the chance to say goodbye to that I really loved, that I really cared about, that make me a better person. Again, I'm very fortunate that I still get that. Other people won't get that. But if these are the last three matches I have, I just want everybody at home to know that you'll have my all. You'll have everything. It's not about the title anymore. It's about my life."
Wait, Is His Career on the Line or Not?
Soon after, WWE turned the firing into an angle, with Drake Maverick's only chance to remain employed winning this tournament. It's unclear if that was the plan all along, which would be pretty soulless, or if WWE changed direction after seeing the reaction to Maverick's video. Lauren will be here later today with a full review of last night's episode of AEW Dynamite, and of course, we'll have the ratings in this afternoon as well to see how it did against NXT.