 At the MEWF's "Winter Wars" supercard, Shrader wrestled Chris Candido.He also won back the IPWA Light Heavyweight Championship from Earl the Pearl, Shrader having previously surrendered the belt after his MEWF Heavyweight victory, and held it for five months until his defeat by Julio Sanchez in Lenoir, North Carolina on March 22, 1997.Earlier that month, Shrader was paired with Devon Storm to wrestle the team of Rockin' Rebel and Thomas "The Inchworm" Rodman for the vacant MEWF Tag Team Championship.