Quoth the Raven: The Raven interview
Conducted By JOHN POWELL -- SLAM! Sports
He is as dark and mysterious as his feathered namesake. An unpredictable
figure perched at ringside, flexing his talons and ready to strike. Who
knows the thoughts he is thinking or the plans he is hatching? His words
reveal deeper truths to those irresistibly drawn to his presence like moths
to the flame. His thoughts, the bizarre visions of an unstable madman to the
non-believers. Made up of World Championship Wrestling's outcasts and lost
souls whom he has taken under his wing, Raven's Nest grows unchecked while
the struggle between the New World Order and WCW forces rages on.
SLAM! Wrestling caged Raven long enough to conduct this revealing one-on-one
interview with the squared circle prophet enhanced by e-mail questions sent
to us by our readers.
Q: I know that Raven is your creation, how about the others? Did you
try to have a hand in their creation?
- Stuart Kemp.
A: All the other personalities are friends of mine or mutants,
misfits or freaks I found along the way and have given them a chance to
stand beside me. Creating Raven was solely my idea. It comes from a very
tormented past and tortured childhood. Paul E. gave me a forum to express my
views and now the WCW is giving me an even wider forum.
Q: Do you write you own poetry for the spots? If so.. other than the
obvious Poe, who are your favorites and/or influences in the literary
world?
- Chris Todd.
A: I write everything myself. Frankly, I don't have very much
interest in poetry. I tend to think of my words as more along the lines of
rock lyrics. Basically my influences are Curt Cobain, Fleetwood Mac, Led
Zeppelin, Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam. I think if you can't understand the
past then the present isn't as meaningful.
Q: So, what groups or discs have you been spinning a lot
recently?
- SLAM! Wrestling (John Powell).
A: I still listen to The Offspring quite a bit, the Alice In Chains
unplugged album, The Stone Temple Pilots and anything by Zeppelin. Led
Zeppelin was the progenitor of all these other groups. I am sure if you
asked any of the new bands, they would tell you Led Zep was a major
influence.
Q: Do you ever wake up in the evening, feel a pulsating heart beat
beneath your bedroom floor and hear, in the shrieking wind, the voice of
Edgar Allan Poe pleadingly speak, "Please, enough of the 'Quotith the Raven,
Nevermore' stuff. Stop or I'll send a wild baboon to your quarters and he'll
rip your hair right out for infringing copyright!"
- Jeffrey Ferrier.
A: Absolutely not. I am not infringing on anything. Poe was an
alcoholic-psychotic and I was fascinated more by him than his works. His
works are rather obtuse and oblique. He, as a person, was an interesting
prospect for me to examine. I have spend most of my life in Philly. I was
born, grew up and lived there. The Edgar Allen Poe Historical Society is
located in Philly but I have yet to find any interest in going there.
Q: Poe used his works as sort of a catharsis for his tortured
existence. Does your character allow you to do that also?
- SLAM! Wrestling (John Powell).
Yeah. But you know what? It doesn't get out as much as you think. It is
cleansing for the moment but it doesn't alleviate the pain.
Q: What caused the transition form a high-flying, mat wrestling,
"pretty boy" like Scotty The Body/Flamingo to the hardcore brawling,
blading, Raven?
- Robert O'Keefe.
A: Well, I really didn't like being that "high-flying" character.
That was something that was forced upon me by promoters because that's what
THEY wanted. There is an aspect of me when I am not being moody that is
jovial but those moments are few and far between. It wasn't something that I
wanted to do. I wanted to explore my darker half and I just had to find that
opening but I had to pay the bills prior to that. I just want to be myself.
I won't be a corporate whore.
Q: What made you change your managing career as Johnny Polo into
Raven?
- Richard Millan.
A: I NEVER wanted to be that. That was something they gave me. At the
time I was stuck with nuthin' and I had nuthin' so I took what I could get.
Then, I realized I don't want to be this and I am not happy. I wasn't being
true to me. I wasn't being real. I thought I was putting on sham or an act.
I didn't want to be perpetrating a hoax. Being Johnny Polo was a childhood
mistake. I was a lost soul looking for answers. So, I up and quit. I called
Vince (McMahon) one day and that was it. They actually gave me an office job
at that point. They made me an associate producer of all their television
shows.
Q: How did that job go?
- SLAM! Wrestling (John Powell).
A: It went great because I am an extremely creative person. I hated
it but that's what they gave me. They were even grooming me to become part
of the booking committee. They were putting me in outfits I didn't want to
be in. As soon as I'd leave the office, I'd be back in leather and ripped up
jeans. I just didn't feel right as part of the corporate world.
I wanted to wrestle. I wanted to hit people in the head with a frying pan
and a steel chair. They were shocked and mortified when I quit. They thought
they had a long-term career plan for me as a behind-the-scenes kind of cat.
That wasn't for me. I'm an in-your-face person. So, I moved on and walked
away from a six figure income. I had absolutely nothing. I realized then
what I wanted to become. The look of my character was what I had been
wearing for years anyway. It was just a matter of leaving my street clothes
on. The name was just a name that struck me in a vision.
Q: How are you going to be able to keep your ECW style in WCW since
WCW doesn't condone the violence that ECW does?
- Hitman316.
A: As long as I can wield a chair, I can find fifty creative ways to
hit somebody with it.
Q: What did you think of your time in the Pacific Northwest as Scotty
"The Body"? Any interesting stories?
- Denver Deseranno.
A: It was funny. I'd walk into the building wearing a leather jacket
and jeans, then have to put on this act. I felt like a lie and a hoax. I
felt like a trained seal. Whatever talents I possessed allowed me to excel
to the level that I held the Pacific Northwest title longer than anybody but
the fact was that I didn't feel happy about it. I never truly felt
comfortable until I finally stepped into the ECW ring as myself.
Q: How much money would it take to become Johnny Polo again?
- Vinnie Bartilucci.
A: There isn't enough money. They couldn't pay me enough to do that.
I couldn't do that. Ultimately, you have to live with yourself. You can't
find happiness in other people. True happiness comes from inside.
Q: I wonder how you feel about the WWF, especially after your
painful-to-watch existence as "Johnny Polo", and whether you would ever
consider going back to work for Vince McMahon after all of the stuff we've
seen on RAW, and his handling of Bret Hart?
- Dave Valenzuela.
A: There's a couple different paths in life. Sometimes we make our
own choices. Sometimes the choice is made for us. Sometimes there isn't a
choice at all. In this particular case, I choose not to answer.
Q: Did you choose your Nest, if so, what does each member bring to
the group?
- SrRey258.
A: Yes, I did choose my Nest. I picked them all out myself,
individually. This was due to the special talents they might possess, mental
deficiencies or needs or wants I could fulfill for them so they could be
loyal in a place where loyalty alone isn't a popular motivation. As far as
anybody else joining...you'll have to wait and see.
Q: When are they officially gonna start calling you guys Raven's Nest
instead of The Flock and Raven's Group?
- Buff33333.
A: The names are interchangeable. They call it "The Flock". I call it
"The Nest".I guess it's six and one half dozen of the other.
Q: What was the most insane shot you have ever taken or have been
asked to take?
- BOBBY S BARR.
A: The most insane shot is the one that still plays at the beginning
of the ECW show. I was handcuffed crucifix-style to a steel cage and hit
with a steel chair so hard that the chair doubled around my head. That or a
match in Baltimore where they put up barbed wire all around the ropes. At
one point, a piece of the wire came off and I was on all fours being whipped
across the back with the wire by The Sandman.
Q: What are the main differences (aside from pay) between the ECW and
the WCW and WWF?
- James T. Paterson.
A: Bischoff. He's got a long-term creative vision. He's got a good
sense of what's good and bad, what works and what doesn't. When something
isn't going over, he's the first one to say..let's move on. He's has this
uncanny sense. It's a gift. Also, he's a straight-up and fair guy.
Paul E.? The guy's a genius when it comes to booking storylines.
Vince? Vince is Vince.
Q: Why did you kick the living crap out of your Flock or Nest
members?
- SLAM! Wrestling (John Powell).
A: I really don't quite frankly. I haven't kicked the crap out of any
of them. I have slapped Stevie Richards around because he's a clueless putz.
He deserved it and he's a complete idiot. And when he walks away from the
cameras, Stevie is even a bigger idiot. Most people become more idiotic when
they're on television. He becomes more idiotic when he leaves television and
God knows what a fool he is in front of the cameras.
I just smacked Kidman around a little bit to get him see things my way. And
Scotty Riggs - whom I have known for years - just didn't want to let the
dark side loose. So, I had to beat it out of him. Everyone has a dark side.
There are two sides to everybody.
Q: What did you do to make Scotty Riggs join The Flock?
- Brad Querruel.
A: We sat with him. We talked with him. Finally, he understood about
all the friends he's lost. He was a popular guy. Bagwell leaving him was the
beginning of the downward spiral. He realized that we, unlike Marcus, are
going to be there for him. It's a family of misfits but nevertheless we're
still a family.
I exude power. I have a hypnotic sway. I back it up in the ring because I
will take more of a beating than anyone. My Nest knows that. They've seen
that. They know what I speak is the truth. I speak from the heart. A
blackened, hardened heart. Honesty is always the best policy. My twisted
vision is one of mangled car wrecks and massacred people. My Nest knows I am
fighting right out front so they will fight right behind me.
Q: What was the nature of your falling out with Stevie Richards?
- Jason Trent.
A: We never were friends. He was a lackey and a hanger-on. He was a
wannabe who followed me around and was my errand boy. Stevie Richards
thought we were best friends but I wasn't friends with him. I was surprised
he was at ECW's November To Remember. He never called no one. He never said
he was going to do it. It's just bad business. Your word is your bond.
He thinks Paul E. will use him in a more outstanding role. But if he had any
more talent than I would have certainly put that to use. Frankly, I thought
he was the best lackey in the business. It just wasn't good enough for his
ego. Well, hopefully his talent will allow him to reach the levels he thinks
he should achieve. That's putting it tactfully as I possibly can.
Q: Do you think he will ever achieve that desired status?
- SLAM! Sports (John Powell).
A: No. He's a mid-card guy. He's not a top guy. Stevie just doesn't
have the look, the size or the mental strength. That's what it comes down
to. That's what allows me to take all the beatings I take. It's not a
physical strength. It's a mental strength to stand there while your hands
are cuffed to a steel cage and you can't move while a steel chair is coming
at you fifty miles an hour.
Q: Here's some SLAM! Wrestling quick word association for you. I'll
say a word or phrase and you tell me what pops into your head.
Q: The icon.
A: Randy "Macho Man" Savage.
Q: Hall and Nash.
A: Future icons.
Q: nWo.
A: Fascinating.
Q: The Nitro Girls.
A: Seeexy!
Q: Chris Benoit.
A: The most physical, brutal athlete in WCW. It doesn't get any more
rugged than him even in ECW. That's why I am glad he's found the interest in
me and my Nest. We're going to play him like a violin. If he wants a piece
of me...he's going to have to go through everyone.
Q: Are you saying you'd like Benoit to join The Nest?
- SLAM! Wrestling (John Powell).
A: No. I don't think he's that kind of guy. He's more of a loner and
I don't think he has the stability for what I am creating. But his brutality
intrigues and amazes me.
Q: If you were to retire tomorrow at a final match, who would you
like that match to be against?
- SLAM! Sports (John Powell).
A: If I could chose, it would be Tommy Dreamer. I'd like to have a
barbed wire match with Dreamer. Within the realm of WCW, obviously I'd like
to face Hollywood Hogan. Win, lose or draw that's who I'd like to face.
Q: Any message for your fans?
- SLAM! Sports (John Powell).
A: Listen to my messages much more deeply. Don't just take them in
surface value. Use your brain. Think, learn and listen. There's much more to
what I am saying than what's there on the surface.
