In PWMania’s latest exclusive interview, Scott Mitchell (@scott44mitchell) sits down with The Most Successful Professional Wrestler in the NWA,” Carson Drake (@CarsonDrake00). Drake talks about his upcoming NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship match against Silas Mason at NWA 78, his NWA World Television Championship reign, the Federation of Champions, Aron Stevens, Nattie Neidhart, Comet TV, Tubi, The Carson Drake Experience podcast, his match with PB Smooth at Hard Times, and much more. Watch the interview in its entirety down below.
Let’s jump right into it. You demanded an NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship match at NWA 78, and it was accepted. Thrillbilly Silas Mason will put his NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship on the line against you at the big show. What’s your mindset heading into this one?
“So first off, it’s not a somehow. I have been undefeated in the NWA for the prior two years. I’m the only guy in the NWA who has that. So me, going after the NWA World Heavyweight Title, is just a bracket order. So yeah, NWA 78, the main event, myself and Silas Mason. It’s an honor for him, for the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship. Which I should have won last time I wrestled for it with Thom Latimer, but he cheated, so that’s fine. Silas Mason is no Thom Latimer.”
You have not been pinned in roughly two and a half years in the NWA. So, something is going to have to give. Does that add any flair for you entering this match?
“Confidence booster, I suppose. I remember the last time Silas got beaten. I don’t remember who beat him, but I remember when it happened because I was happy about it. But, of course, it adds confidence and flair to it. You have a man who’s undefeated going up against the current NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion. Now, granted, I understand that although I don’t like him and don’t agree with the way he carries himself or lives his life, personally, I can admit the fact that he’s a great wrestler. He’s a phenomenal wrestler. But a successful man he is not. This man can carry a belt but can’t keep his own house from burning down. That’s insane.”
This match will be in one of the best hotbeds for professional wrestling in the country, Philadelphia. What is your mindset on competing in the historic 2300 Arena?
“I said it last year, and I think I’m the most consistent person on this. I don’t like Philadelphia. I don’t like Chicago, I don’t like Los Angeles. I hate going into any of these cities. But Philadelphia is disgusting, and it’s dirty. Granted, I get paid a lot of money to go there and wrestle. Come to find out it’s at the 2300 Arena, a phenomenal venue. Some people call it the ECW Arena… Ew, I hate that. But it’s fine. After I win the title, hopefully, we can start working towards not calling it the ECW Arena. We can start calling it the NWA Arena, Carson B. Drake Arena, or the Carson Drake Arena in general. You can take the B out of it, I don’t care. But, I love it, because it’s almost establishing that ECW, as terrible as it was, is now going by the wayside and being replaced with proper wrestling, me. But you know, I think winning the NWA Title in a city like Philadelphia will mean a lot for the status quo of wrestling. Right now, there are so many people out there. They don’t know what they’re doing. They’re hitting each other with light tubes; they’re killing each other. Somebody like me, who I will be the first to say, I don’t call myself a wrestler, I am a TV star, and I happen to wrestle. I think it’s time we need to start having a change of tides.”
Silas Mason has grown into a tremendous talent in the NWA. What has it been like to see his growth and now get to face him one-on-one for that title?
“It’s been an abhorrent process. He is, how do I phrase this, he’s not media trained. You look at him, his beard’s unkept, his hair’s unkept, he smells awful, that’s real. He’s exactly the person that you think he is. The problem with that is that people look up to him. I don’t get it. I walk out, I get boo’d. I understand why. There’s this weird process of, ‘Oh, he’s rich, he’s the bad guy. I have no money, so I hate this guy.’ But that shouldn’t be how it is. People should be aspiring to look up to Aron and me, and essentially try to improve themselves, but instead, they see a guy like Silas. They resonate with that guy. You know why they resonate with him? They’re buying tickets. Here’s the problem. Silas sells shirts and draws government checks. I sell tickets and draw viewers. That’s the fundamental difference. Is he a great wrestler? Yes, but a successful man he is not.”
You’re also no stranger to gold in the NWA. You’re a former NWA World Television Champion, holding that title for 147 days, defeating Max The Impaler to win it back in October of 2024. What was this reign like for you?
“I hate to say I told you so, but at the time, I remember the first thing I did when I came back through the curtain was say I told you so. So many people thought Carson couldn’t beat Max. He can’t get in there with Max and beat Max. But I did. Then, I went on what was most likely the best NWA World Television Title reign of all time. I defended the belt, like 73 times, across the country. I have it written down somewhere, I think 20-something states. Won all seven of my matches that I had to do on television. Now, granted, I cashed it in against Thom; again, he cheated. Which I didn’t plan for because Thom doesn’t seem like that kind of guy, but he did anyway. That’s besides the point. But being NWA World Television champion was amazing. You have guys like Tully Blanchard, Arn Anderson, and Barry Windham who used to have it. All phenomenal wrestlers. Granted, had I been around at the time, they wouldn’t have been the TV champion; I would have been. But that’s fine.”
Alongside Mike Mondo, Spencer Slade, Lockjaw Drake, The Slimeballz, and Aron Stevens, you are a proud member of the Federation of Champions. What does this group mean to you?
“It is like-minded individuals who all understand what our role is in the group. I had people try to stir controversy. They’ll go to Mike Mondo and say, ‘Why aren’t you going for the World Title?’ They’ll go to Slade and say, ‘Why aren’t you going for the World Title?’ They’ll go to the Slimeballz and ask each of them, ‘Why aren’t you going for the World Title?’ They can. They can if they want to. Here’s the thing: Aron (Stevens) is one of the most intelligent minds in professional wrestling today. He has set a structure where we are doing as a group, not what is best for each of us, but what is best for all of us. What is best for all of us is for Mondo to have the National title, Spencer Slade to be Junior Heavyweight Champion, the Slimeballz to continue holding the US Tag Titles, soon to have the NWA World Titles, Lockjaw, we need to freshen him up a little bit, it’s fine, and for me to be NWA World Champion. We all understand that is what is best for FOC. You got a guy like Mike Mondo. Absolute genius. He’s improved my in-ring work, incredibly. You have guys like Slade, who push all of us to work out better. I look amazing. I won’t take my shirt off right now, I’m saving that for 78. You have guys like the Slimeballz, they’re there. Aron, genius. Lockjaw, he’s my cousin, so it’s fine.”
You brought your cousin in, Lockjaw Drake. What does it mean to work with him in the NWA, and how did that come about?
“So, he is from my mother’s side of the family. I live in California, he lives in Wisconsin. Southern California, we don’t get a lot of snow; it’s kind of summertime all the time. Right now it’s like a UV of 11. The problem is, during the wintertime, what do we do? My mother’s side of the family in Wisconsin owns a couple of cabins up there, so we always go up there. Lockjaw likes wrestling. He’s not bad at it. He’s actually pretty good at it. He just doesn’t talk much. My aunt called me and said, ‘Listen, you can keep coming up here, but we need you to help your cousin get into wrestling.’ I don’t dislike him. I like him well enough. He’s a cool dude if you get to know him. But that’s the gist of it. I love him. He’s great. He’s a good guy. But he’s weird. But, you know, getting to travel and wrestle with family, what else could you want?”
Recently, Stevens really took you under his wing as a protégé. What has it been like to work with him on this level and see all that he’s accomplished?
“When you have a guy like Aron Stevens, to those not aware, has done pretty much everything you can do. He’s been a champion in the NWA. Talk back to his WWE days, Money In The Bank holder, Mania, he’s done literally everything you’d want to do as a wrestler. So, he comes to the NWA, takes over the NWA, and wins titles in the NWA. Now, he’s getting to a point where he’s making money to the point where he doesn’t need to wrestle. What does he do? He finds the next up-and-coming thing. He picks me. I can admit, at first, he was probably using me. But so was I. We can both acknowledge that. Through that, we build a bond, we build a friendship, we build a mentorship. If there’s someone to look up to, it’s someone whose bank account legitimately has six zeroes. Mine, also, sometimes we but heads about who makes more money and who doesn’t, so that’s fine. But you have a guy like that who’s done it all. He’s able to teach you the proper way to do this. As I said, I’m not a wrestler. I will never claim to be a wrestler. I am a TV star who has learned how to wrestle and absolutely excels at it. Before I even got into professional wrestling, I had an incredible amateur background. Not only could I tie people into a pretzel, but I could look really good doing it… With Aron, he reminds me, a lot of people say it’s about the journey, it’s not about the finish, right? Aron and I both agree that that is the dumbest thing we’ve ever heard. I have never gotten on a plane to Boca Raton and said that the plane ride is the fun part. The journey doesn’t matter. It’s about where you’re trying to get to. We are going to get to NWA 78. We are going to win the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship, and I am going to blow up the professional wrestling space, and I am going to clean it up.”
This may be one of the coolest eras of professional wrestling in general. We’re seeing WWE and NWA develop a fun partnership, which will continue as Nattie Neidhart competes at NWA 78. What’s your mindset just being a part of this era and representing the NWA?
“I can’t talk on a partnership level. But what I can talk about is someone like Nattie Neidhart, I’d go as far as to say the best women’s wrestler WWE has ever had. When somebody like that can crossover to NWA, it not only makes our women’s division better, which I think our women’s division is better than any wrestling women’s division ever has been, and I think that’s always been the focus of NWA, which is women’s wrestling. When you have someone like that, it makes them better, and it makes the men better. Someone like Nattie Neidhart is a genius in in-ring wrestling. Last time she was there, I even picked up some things from her. When you have someone like that coming in, and essentially being allowed to come over, not only does it draw more eyes to the NWA, but it makes the NWA better.”
NWA made its debut on Comet TV and is now also on Tubi. What does it mean to continue to see this growth of the NWA to you?
“I think it means that I’m doing my job. I’m killing it because I think it’s no surprise that I’m at the peak of my career so far, and we get the Comet TV deal. I’m at the peak of my career so far, and we got the Tubi deal. I’m made for television. I’m not going to say I’m the entire reason, but I’m definitely a major reason why we’re getting all these TV deals. Also, NWA is the biggest it’s ever been. We got a proper TV, we got Tubi. There’s no reason, no person who can’t watch the NWA. Let’s go back to cost, the affordability, wrestling is more expensive than ever to watch. Do you know how expensive the NWA is to watch? It’s free. People whose houses could roll away if I moved the brick away from the tire could watch the NWA. That’s what makes it great.”
One of my favorite parts of NWA Powerrr has been your podcast, “The Carson Drake Experience.” How did this come about?
“I just wanted to do a podcast. I was talking to Chris Van Vliet, I was watching guys like Joe Rogan, and my immediate thought was I could do that, but way better. So, I just started doing it. If you notice, it’s a highlight. It’s a hotspot every single week for the NWA. I won’t say I’m the reason that the Southern Six split up, but I’m a part of it. I won’t say I’m the reason that Kylie and Kenzie are mad at each other, but I’m kind of the reason for it. We had Gretta on, but she didn’t talk. We had Kerry Morton on, a genius of a guy. I had Alex Taylor on, don’t like him. I had Richard Adoniss on last week, alright. Wrecking Ball Legursky is probably my least favorite guest, but the prior week, I beat him. In the podcast, you get to see more of me. So, what else could you want?”
Why should fans, who may have been on the fence, tune in and check out the NWA?
“It’s a phenomenal time, by the way. I don’t care what kind of wrestling fan you are. I like wrestling because I make money doing it. If you’re the type of person who likes watching technical wrestling, which I think is stupid, we have an abundance of it. If you’re a person who likes hard-hitting wrestling, that’s kind of our whole thing. Trevor Murdoch beats people within an inch of their lives. I’m glad I haven’t gotten in the ring with him. There’s nothing that you could like about wrestling that the NWA does not have. If you’re not at least giving it a shot, you’re a child not eating vegetables because they look gross. We have the best of both worlds. Hannah Montana. 2012.”
At Hard Times in June, you worked with PB Smooth in a singles match. What was this one like for you? What can fans expect when it finally airs?
“What can fans expect? Have you ever seen Hogan versus Andre? Imagine that, but better. No, PB Smooth, again, phenomenal wrestler. I think he’s the biggest guy we have. He’s a good-looking guy, too. I like him. He’s so close. He’s so close. But, he’s still too focused on what the crowd thinks of him, and what the fans think of him, than what’s best for your pockets. That’s okay. He’ll see. Maybe I’ll teach him a lesson on how wrestling is really done. I seem to be doing that quite a bit over the past couple of years. If there’s one thing I know how to do, it’s how to teach people that you can’t beat me.”
Looking ahead, do you have any future goals you want to accomplish?
“Yeah. There’s an extension in my house. I want to put a garage. I can probably do that whenever. A little extra money from the NWA won’t hurt. Here’s the thing. When it comes to wrestling in the NWA, I do enjoy wrestling. I don’t need to wrestle. I didn’t need to have a job since I was 18 years old. My parents are doing great. I’m not ashamed to admit that my parents are doing great. They are. Therefore, I’m doing great. I started wrestling because I thought it looked, I don’t want to say easy, but I started wrestling because I knew I could do it better than a lot of the people I saw doing it. My goal for this year and 2027 is that I’m going to be the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion. Silas can’t beat me. I’m going to beat him. My goal for 2026 and 2027 as an NWA World Champion is to finally establish a bar. I’ve been setting the bar in wrestling so high that if you wanted to get over it, you’d have to have a world record pole vault. Once I have the NWA World title, and people finally see, ‘Oh, that’s what the top of the chain looks like,’ hopefully, a bunch of these people in wrestling, who frankly shouldn’t be in wrestling, and these people who think they’re wrestlers but they’re really not, hopefully they come to a conclusion and finally say, ‘Oh, maybe I should find something else to do’ or ‘Oh, maybe I should just keep working at McDonalds.’ But for those of you out there who are good and do have the goods, once I’m NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, you know where to find me. Every Saturday, at 4 pm, I’m on Comet. Every Thursday, I’m on Tubi.”
Do you have any future opponents you’d like to square off with?
“Gosh, who’s there that I haven’t already beaten? Personally, not a big fan of Eric Smalls. Emphasis on big. I don’t want to wrestle anyone. Everyone wants to wrestle me. That’s a part of the problem. If I could, if I had anyone right now that I could wrestle, you know what, when I’m NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion, I’ll wrestle Thom Latimer. I’ll beat Thom Latimer. He got lucky once. He cheated, that’s fine. But anyone can get lucky one time. You can’t get lucky twice. Not on me. Probably Thom Latimer. Just so I can put him in his place.”
