Former NWA Worlds Champion at Impact Wrestling Taping [SPOILERS]

Eli Drake standing in the center of Sam’s Town Live challenged Impact Hall of Famer Abyss to a Monsters Ball Match at Impact’s Homecoming, January 6th 2019.  Drake was interrupted by ECW Legend, Tommy Dreamer.  After attacking Drake, the lights would go out at the Impact Television TV Taping in Las Vegas.  When the lights came back on, former NWA Worlds Heavyweight Champion Raven stood in the ring staring down his old ECW rival.

Raven was an integral part of Total Non-Stop Action Roster from 2003 until right around 2006 and has had brief appearances for the company ever since.  During his initial run with TNA, he was regularly in the main event and threat to the Heavyweight Champion.  He would win the NWA Worlds Champion June 19th 2005, being with the company just under two years.  Raven defeated Abyss, Monty Brown, Sean Waltman, and AJ Styles (who was the champion) at TNA Slammiversary 2005.  Raven held the NWA Worlds Heavyweight Championship for eighty-eight days.  While Champ, he defended the title five times.  Raven defeated; Rainman, in Canton Georgia, Abyss as TNA’s No Surrender 2005, Michael Strider and Steve Fender in a Raven’s Rules Match, against Rhino at TNA’s Unbreakable 2005 and would ultimately lose the title to Jeff Jarrett at BCW’s International Incident in Windsor Ontario.

The stare-down between Dreamer and Raven concluded with both men attacking Eli Drake.   Drake defeated Dreamer earlier in the night.  Initially Drake got himself counted out.  The match would be restarted as a no disqualification match, which oddly enough gave advantage to Drake who scored the victory after hitting Dreamer with a paddle.  Unbeknownst to most Impact Wrestling fans, Dreamer and Raven have teamed together at Future Stars of Wrestling to challenge Drake in March earlier this year.  Dreamer and Raven are former ECW Tag Team Champions but also had the bloodiest of rivals in ECW which highlighted much of the success of the company.