Raven's Lament
"Hardcare" says...Raven (Scott Levy) deserves better.
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By "HARDCORE" CHRIS GRAMLICH -- For SLAM! Wrestling
When Scott (The Raven) Levy first debuted in Extreme Championship
Wrestling (then Eastern Championship Wrestling) some three and a half
years ago - brought in by Stevie Richards (as a childhood rival of Tommy
Dreamer's) - he was an instant success. In the span of weeks he was one
of (if not THE) most hated heels and his ready-made feud with Dreamer
was, is and always will be a Hardcore classic. While his feud with
Dreamer lasted his entire tenure, he faced other challenges and soon
became the ECW World Heavyweight Champion on two separate occasions and
was co-holder of the World Tag Team Championship twice with Stevie
Richards. In the process not only cementing his place in pioneering the
ECW style, but as one of the "icons" in the Hardcore/Extreme world.
However, that old cliche about all good things and their inevitable
culmination held true and in June of 1997, Raven found himself out of
ECW and in World Championship Wrestling. While the reasons for his
departure are irrelevant to this article they centered on less abuse,
increased pay and a desire for longevity in the sport.
At first it seemed that Raven's switch to Turner Land was a good one. He was
probably the most over heel (i.e. generating the most fan heat) besides
Hollywood (too old to learn a new move or do my own three properly)
Hogan. He received massive exposure with vignettes and interviews and
was involved in a number of excellent feuds, most notably with Chris
"The Canadian Crippler" Benoit, Diamond Dallas Page and Perry Saturn. He
even won the United States Heavyweight Championship (albeit for a day)
and gave Goldberg his best matches by far, before ultimately doing the
job to the talent-deprived muscle head with no mic skills, no ring
skills and no hair skills.
But without the darkness there can be no light and after jobbing to
Perry Saturn at Fall Brawl, in turn sacrificing the Flock (who were
never utilized correctly anyway), Raven began a downward spiral of
jobbing, revisited angles (Goldberg, Page) and pointless whining. In
reviewing Raven's stay in the WCW so far it's safe to say that he has
gotten himself over in spite of the WCW. WCW has portrayed the Raven as
a self-centered, whining, spoiled brat, who uses whoever is around him
to win his matches and has turned his catch-phrase: "Quote the Raven
nevermore", into "What about me?". The only reason he still has some
credibility remaining is because of the quality of his matches, which
are usually the best or at the top of the card and the amount of
punishment he can withstand and deliver.
It never used to be like this. Raven in ECW was a misanthropic,
nihilistic, psychotic who cared less for his body than he did for his
opponents. Sure he still used people to help him win matches (see the
Nest), but it was used in the classic way of beating a face without that
face losing heat or credibility. Raven was feared, respected and hated
but he was Raven, not a whiner, not a pariah, but an incredible
performer. When ECW played the depression angle, Raven was champ and
lost both Beulah (to Dreamer) and then Kimona to Beulah (see the "lesbian
kiss" angle). However, he still managed to beat Shane Douglas to hold the
belt and deliver outstanding match after outstanding match.
The way WCW
has played the angle it won't be long till Raven is counting the lights
while jobbing to Barry Darsow, if they even let him wrestle. We've seen
him walk out on matches in the last couple of weeks and now he's
refusing to fight altogether, just another example of WCW inadvertently
harming a wrestler's persona by dragging an angle out for far too long.
If one were a constant caller of the WCW Hotline, you would have
heard straight from Mean Gene's mouth, that this whole depression angle
is a precursor to Raven's inevitable push, which will be massive. If one
were a reader of the Internet sheets you would have no doubt come
across numerous rumors that Scott Levy wants out of WCW because the pay
isn't substantially better than other federations, the shows are
substandard and the lessened workload is more than offset by the
constant travel schedule. Unfortunately, Raven has over a year and a half
left on his current contract and no matter how big his push. It has
become painfully obvious that WCW is not the place for Raven.
So what's a distraught misanthrope to do? Well, whether Raven wants out
of WCW or not it's becoming painfully obvious that he should leave,
because he will never be allowed to exhibit what brought him to stardom
as long as he stays in WCW. Going back to ECW is an option but the
reasons why he left will probably render that option untenable and
besides it would almost be a step backwards, since he's done it all in
ECW. So that leaves the WWF. Raven probably should have gone WWF in the
first place, it's more conducive to Hardcore wrestling and just look at
the heights Raven's former disciple Mick (Cactus Jack, Mankind, Dude
Love) Foley has attained in his WWF stint.
Bleeding is acceptable, chairs are used with reckless abandon, the
Spanish announce table has a permanent target painted on it and the
roster isn't as convoluted as the WCW's. Every now and again something
truly death-defying happens (i.e. Hawk getting pushed off the Titan
Tron, Cactus Jack and Terry Funk's dumpster ride or Mankind's flight off
the "Hell in the Cell") and he would have probably been given a major
feud right away (see Mankind/Undertaker). Also, although Raven hasn't
been lacking in airtime, he would have probably been granted even more
than he has already had.
The only real problem with Raven going to the WWF besides the year and
a half left on his current WCW contract, is the past between himself and
Vince McMahon. Raven used to be Johnny Polo, manager of the Quebecer's
and Adam Bomb (now Wrath). Gradually he was phased out of on-air
programs and was granted a full-time office job. In Scott's own word's
he was being groomed for big things in the corporate world of the WWF
and in an act, which defined his character and gave birth to the Raven
persona, he upped and quit. Leaving with nothing and beginning his
journey through the ECW to his present in the WCW.
Will Raven jump when his contract is up?
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While no one knows whether Vince would forgive Scott (although he
might, considering Raven's one of the most over heels in wrestling),
it's all speculation as long as the Raven remains in WCW. One thing is
for sure, unless WCW kills Hogan (execution style, right to the head,
BANG!), teaches Goldberg how to wrestle and focuses more on developing
talent instead of wasting it; Raven will probably never get the past mid
to upper mid-card status, which is a damn shame. Since he's one of the
best workers the WCW has ever had and his penchant for violence and
taking abuse is matched only by Mick Foley and look at where he his now.
RELATED LINK
More on Raven
Chris Gramlich originally hails from "anywhere he damn well pleases"
(a.k.a. Vancouver, BC). His hobbies include:
wrestling, piercing various body parts, aggressive music, Buffy The Vampire
Slayer, Star Trek related programs, good animation, any all
shark programs, video games, wrestling and walking his dog. Gramlich plays in a
jazz/metal/punk/noise band called Association Area, being previous
associated with bands such as Bad Blood and Tchort. Also a respected music writer based out of Toronto, "Hardcore" writes for the Exclaim and Doomhauled magazines.
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