Raven reflects on his time at IMPACT Hard To Kill and highlights some of the matches.
Raven and James were connected early on in Mickie's career. In 2003, when James was competing in TNA under the name Alexis Laree, she joined his stable, The Gathering, and she had a prominent run with the group. Years later, James is a renowned wrestler, as she has won titles in multiple promotions. At IMPACT Wrestling Hard To Kill, the four-time IMPACT Knockouts Champion put her career on the line when she challenged Jordynne Grace for the title. Ahead of the match, the two stars appeared in a segment together. James ultimately emerged victorious in the main event.
Speaking on The Raven Effect, the veteran discussed his experience at the pay-per-view. He noted that he was involved with James' match, given their history together as members of The Gathering. Raven also praised James' match with Grace and stated that it was one of the best matches on the show.
"It was a fucking great show. Notes that he doesn’t watch a lot of wrestling So I’m watching the show. First of all, I was in a segment with Mickie James, putting her over because she started out as Alexis Laree. and I brought her into TNA, which was the forerunner of IMPACT. I did a little thing where I came because she was in a match where if she lost, then she would have to retire, but if she won, she won the title. It was against Jordynne Grace, and it was a hell of a fucking match. There were like four matches I saw that were on the pay-per-view Friday night that I thought were tremendous. I don’t want to put stars to them....The Mickie James and Jordynne Grace [match] was amazing," Raven said.
The IMPACT Hall of Famer then described how he joined the commentary team for the Falls Count Anywhere Match between Steve Maclin and Rich Swann. He also shared his pitch for an idea where the pinfall would have been made on the Marietta line, as the match was meant to be limited to the city of Atlanta.
"Then I did some commentary on a falls count anywhere match in Atlanta match. I wanted to do a spot where they fight to the Marietta line, and one guy, they get the three count, and the guy’s halfway over the Marietta line, and it’s called off because he’s outside of Atlanta, because it was only good in the city of Atlanta. Then the angle would continue because he would say it’s Metro Atlanta, because Marietta is in the Metro Atlanta area. I’d be like, I don’t know about that, and we’d have to have a lawyer, and it’d be a big scrum and a big legal fiasco… They had a hell of a match. Fucking Maclin's talented. Rich Swann is really fucking talented," Raven said.
The day after the pay-per-view, IMPACT Wrestling held a set of television tapings, and Raven noted that he was also present there. He recalled how he offered his advice to Taylor Wilde and Killer Kelly after their match, as he pointed out that, while it was a good match, they don't have a lot of experience yet. Raven emphasized that it takes time to become a smooth worker.
"I was talking with Killer Kelly and Taylor Wilde. This was on Saturday’s show, they worked each other, and I was throwing my two cents in. I wasn’t the agent for their match, but I threw in my two cents. I asked then if they minded. I told them after the match, I said, ‘Yeah, you guys worked really hard, it was a really good match. But how long you been in the business?’ They each said about five years. I’m like, that’s not that much. Five years, you work twice a week, at the most you work twice a week, that’s only a hundred matches in a year. That’s 500 matches. My second year, I had 300 matches in one year. It takes a while until you’re just smooth like butter," Raven said.
Santino Marella recently discussed his decision to sign with IMPACT. Check out his comments here.
Mickie James will kick off the January 19 episode of IMPACT Wrestling. Click here to check out the card.
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