ROH News: Former Impact Wrestling World Champion makes surprise PPV appearance, signs with NWA
What's the story?
Back in April of this year, Impact Wrestling made the shocking announcement that the company had fired one of its top stars and former World Champions, Eli Drake.
After months of speculation as to where Drake would end up after his time in Impact Wrestling, the question was finally answered on Friday night when Drake made a surprise appearance at Ring of Honor's Best in the World event.
Drake appeared at the event as the tag team partner of Nick Aldis, replacing Colt Cabana in a tag team match which saw Aldis and Drake face the team of The Briscoes.
In case you didn't know...
Eli Drake was one of Impact Wrestling's top stars when he departed the company earlier this year, and speculation at the time was that Impact officials decided to terminate Drake's contract just days before it expired because the former Champion refused to compete in an inter-gender match against Tessa Blanchard.
Many pro wrestling fans felt the timing of Drake's release meant he could feasibly make an appearance at WrestleMania 35 but that, of course, did not happen, making Drake a free agent for the past few months.
The heart of the matter
Since Eli Drake's surprise debut at Ring of Honor's Best in the World PPV, The National Wrestling Alliance has since officially announced Drake's signing.
"We are proud to announce the signing of this man to the National Wrestling Alliance... ELI DRAKE!", reads the official announcement from the NWA's Twitter account.
While Drake did team up with Nick Aldis at Friday night's ROH PPV, he has yet to score an official victory in the NWA as the bout was stopped by the referee when another former Impact Wrestling Champion, James Storm, made a surprise appearance in the match which led to a brawl between Storm and Drake.
What's next?
Drake was certainly one of Impact Wrestling's top talents when he left the company and is regarded as one of the best personalities in pro wrestling, so his presence should be well felt in the National Wrestling Alliance as the company continues to grow following ROH Best in the World.
How did you feel about Eli Drake's surprise appearance at Best in the World? Do you think Drake's talents will help build the NWA?