Scott Levy
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Scott Levy | |
---|---|
Statistics | |
Ring name(s) | Johnny Polo Raven Scott Anthony Scotty the Body Scotty Flamingo |
Billed height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
Billed weight | 245 lb (111 kg/17.5 st) |
Born | September 8, 1964 Short Hills, New Jersey[1] [2] |
Resides | Atlanta, Georgia |
Billed from | The Bowery, Palm Beach, Florida |
Trained by | Larry Sharpe Charlie Fulton The Sheik Jake Roberts |
Debut | February 20, 1988 |
Website | TheRavenEffect.com Raven at MySpace |
Scott Anthony Levy (born September 8, 1964 in Short Hills, New Jersey), better known by his ring name Raven, is an American Professional wrestling performer, writer and producer.
He is a former Extreme Championship Wrestling World Heavyweight champion and National Wrestling Alliance World Heavyweight champion, and holds a record for most reigns as WWF/E Hardcore champion. Raven is the only professional wrestler to hold championship gold in each of the major American promotions of the last decade; World Wrestling Entertainment, World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, & Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Levy is also the innovator of numerous types of "gimmick" wrestling matches, such as the Clockwork Orange House of Fun Match, the Raven's Rules Match, and the Hangman's Horror Match.
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
Scott Levy entered the wrestling business in 1988 as Scotty The Body in Memphis' Continental Wrestling Association, where he was the boy-toy of Missy Hyatt, who used him to her and Eddie Gilbert's advantage.
After leaving Memphis, Levy competed in his home state of Florida until he was let go after an argument with part-owners Steve Keirn and Jack Glidden. Levy next competed briefly with Vancouver's All Star Wrestling; he wrestled as a face there and got over with the fans, but ended up leaving due to promoter Al Tomko's preference to push his sons, Todd ("Rick Davis") and Terry ("The Frog") in All Star's top spots, as well as Tomko making false allegations about Levy being in legal trouble. From there, he went to Pacific Northwest Wrestling in Portland. He was one of the main heels for most of his three years there, winning all of the titles and feuding heavily with Steve Doll. His manager in PNW was Taylor Made (who would later work for the World Wrestling Federation as Tori). After taking a brief break from competing, he returned to PNW as a face and began a feud with top heel The Grappler.
[edit] World Championship Wrestling (1992-1993)
He got his first major exposure as a wrestler in 1992 in World Championship Wrestling. Competing in the light-heavyweight division under the name Scotty Flamingo, playing a surfer from Florida and even bringing a surfboard to the ring with him. He was managed by Diamond Dallas Page, and he won the short lived WCW Light Heavyweight Championship (also known as the first incarnation of the WCW Cruiserweight Championship) on June 20, 1992 by defeating Brian Pillman at the WCW Pay Per View Bash At The Beach. After the match, many other wrestlers lined up in the back to praise the quality of the match. On July 5, 1992, Brad Armstrong defeated Levy to win the Light Heavyweight title. He had feuds with Pillman, Armstrong, and Johnny B. Badd. He won a "boxing" match over Badd at Clash of the Champions XXI on November 18, 1992 via knockout. He left WCW in early 1993.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation (1993-1994)
After leaving WCW, Levy joined the World Wrestling Federation as manager Johnny Polo, a spoiled, rich preppie kid, and was placed with Adam Bomb. He was also manager of The Quebecers tag team, whom he led to three reigns as WWF Tag Team Champions. He occasionally wrestled, worked as a color commentator and cohost of Radio WWF, and, behind the scenes, worked as a producer for Monday Night RAW. During this time, Polo briefly starred alongside Roddy Piper, Jim Ross, Richard Kimble, Wolfman Jack, and Of in the short lived "Jim Ross Show". Levy left in 1994.
[edit] Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995-1997)
On January 7, 1995, now bulked up to approximately 230 lb (104 kg), Levy debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling under the name Raven (a reference to the poem by Edgar Allan Poe). In a dramatic departure from his former gimmicks, Levy began portraying a depressed, nihilistic misanthrope with a grunge-inspired wardrobe. Raven had a stoic manner, and delivered eloquent, philosophical promos which included many literary allusions and ended with the catchphrase, "Quote the Raven, 'Nevermore'." He made his debut with Stevie Richards, attacking Tommy Dreamer and claiming Dreamer was his enemy when they were children at summer camp. Richards soon brought Raven a valet, Beulah McGillicutty, a girl from Dreamer & Raven's pasts, who had unrequited feelings for Dreamer as a child, but was now seeking revenge. Raven and Dreamer had a multi-year ongoing feud with a great deal of matches; Dreamer became over as an underdog face showing resilience and tenacity in the spite of Raven coming out victorious almost every time.
Another major ECW feud was with Sandman. Raven "brainwashed" Sandman's real-life son to join his cult-like following and turned him against his father. Raven got at Sandman by having his son deny his relationship with his father and perform Raven's taunt to slowly eat away at Sandman's psyche. This led to many bloody matches, culminating in an October 1996 match in which Sandman's son interfered to help his father. After the match, the two embraced, but Raven came from behind with a Kendo Stick, and brutalized Sandman. Raven's lackeys, Steven Richards and the Blue Meanie, pulled out a giant wooden cross from under the ring, tied Sandman down to it, and lifted it up and "crucified" him.[3] At the same event, Kurt Angle was present as a special guest (he was considering changing pro from amateur wrestling) and the offensive angle caused him to leave and threaten a lawsuit if his name appeared on the same episode as the "crucifixion".[4] Levy came out and gave a questionable apology for his actions. To this day, Levy claims that the angle was not an insult to Jesus Christ, but an insult to The Sandman, by using religious iconography to convey an artistic standpoint.
In a shoot interview for the Forever Hardcore documentary, Levy mentioned that his own religion came into question over the incident, with many ECW wrestlers believing that Levy (who, along with then-ECW owners Paul Heyman and Tod Gordon, is Jewish) deliberately used the crucifixion as an anti-Christian statement. Levy says he was coerced into the apology by Heyman, who feared a backlash, and was angrily confronted by wrestlers who questioned why Raven didn't crucify Sandman on a "Jewish Star". The footage of the "crucifixion" was never used by ECW and was not publicly seen until it appeared on the WWE DVD The Rise and Fall of ECW.
Raven dominated ECW throughout 1995-1996 and enjoyed two reigns as ECW World Heavyweight Champion. His group of followers, Raven's Nest, included many names over his two-year stint in the company: Cactus Jack, Stevie Richards, Tony Stetson, Johnny Hotbody, The Pitbulls, The Dudley Boys, Brian Lee, The Bruise Brothers, Beulah McGillicutty, Kimona Wanalaya, Lori Fullington, The Blue Meanie, Super Nova, Chastity, and Lupus. His feud with Tommy Dreamer began at his debut and lasted for the next two years, before Dreamer finally defeated him at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 7, 1997. Also, during his first stint in ECW, Raven successfully defended the ECW World Heavyweight Title against famous veterans Terry Gordy and "Dr. Death" Steve Williams, among others. He gave Dr. Death his first loss in a singles match in the U.S. in many years. In June 1997, Raven faced Tommy Dreamer in a "Loser Leaves ECW" Match and lost. Raven then moved on to World Championship Wrestling.
[edit] World Championship Wrestling (1997-1999)
On June 30, 1997, Raven was seen sitting in the front row at WCW Monday Nitro, and the commentators acknowledged him as a former champion from a "major independent" organization; Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was never mentioned by name. On August 21, 1997 at Clash of the Champions XXXV, Raven brutally defeated Stevie Richards in an "unsanctioned" match and then took a seat in the front row. The storyline continued that Raven would frequently appear in the front row for the next few months with his lackeys, slowly forming what would be known as the Flock. Raven was an "unsigned free agent", but eventually accepted a contract with WCW Commissioner J.J. Dillon which stipulated that he could wrestle only when he wanted and under his own rules.
The Flock was a stable of misfits in the same vein as the Raven's Nest group in ECW. However, with The Flock, Raven was more openly abusive and controlling, which eventually led to dissention and rebellion. The group's matches were held under Raven's Rules, which meant no disqualifications -- weapon usage, double teaming and outside interference were rampant.
On November 23, 1997 at World War 3, Raven met Scotty Riggs in a match in which Raven dropped Riggs into a chair, "damaging" Riggs' eye. Riggs later joined The Flock, as would Reese, Kidman, Van Hammer, Horace, Lodi, and Sick Boy. With The Flock's help, Raven won the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship as well as the WCW World Tag Team Championship with Perry Saturn. The former reign lasted only a day as Raven defeated Diamond Dallas Page at Spring Stampede 1998 and lost the belt the following night to Bill Goldberg on WCW Monday Nitro.
Raven had a notable feud with Perry Saturn after losing the U.S. title. He blamed the flock and Saturn in particular for his loss. This led to a series of matches, culminating in a match at Fall Brawl 1998 -- if Raven lost, the Flock would be able to disband. Saturn won with the help of Kidman, who also wanted to leave Raven's abuses. Without the Flock, Raven began a series of depressing interviews and walked out on several matches. In October at Halloween Havoc, Raven refused to wrestle Chris Jericho for the WCW Television Championship, but eventually was convinced to return to the ring. He lost the match and wasn't seen until 1999. On his return, a series of vignettes were shown in which a camera crew followed Raven to his supposed childhood home, where he had led a privileged upper class lifestyle. This hearkened back to Levy's pre-Raven characters. He was reunited with his former valet Chastity, who WCW claimed was his sister, and moved into other storylines, creating feuds with Chris Kanyon, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Hak (The Sandman). He later joined with Vampiro and the Insane Clown Posse in a short-lived stable called The Dead Pool.
In a backstage meeting in 1999 which involved every contracted WCW wrestler, Eric Bischoff offered anyone their release right then and there. Levy was the only one to stand up and walk out, as he was dissatisfied with WCW's creative direction. Levy left the company.
[edit] Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999-2000)
As a condition to leaving WCW, Levy was not allowed to directly join the World Wrestling Federation upon leaving the promotion as levied by a no compete clause in his contract. Via a loophole in the contract, Levy rejoined ECW and signed a one-year contract on August 25, 1999. Raven made a surprise return on ECW's debut on TNN and won the tag team titles from the ironically departing Dudley Boyz along with Tommy Dreamer on August 26, 1999. A reluctant tag team, Raven and Dreamer reigned as ECW World Tag Team Champions for several months. When they lost those belts, they feuded briefly. Their short feud on several occasions included The Sandman, Mike Awesome, and Masato Tanaka. Raven and Mike Awesome won the tag team titles from Tanaka and Dreamer on March 4, 2000 only to lose them a week later to The Impact Players at the Living Dangerously pay per view. Raven was left off TV until his eventual departure and return to the WWF.
[edit] World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (2000-2003)
On June 23, 2000, Levy met with WWF officials to discuss a return to the World Wrestling Federation. Raven made his WWF debut at Unforgiven 2000 when he interfered in the Strap Match between Tazz and Jerry Lawler, by DDT-ing Lawler. He then started teaming with Tazz before they went their separate ways. On December 20, 2000 in Chattanooga, TN, he defeated Steve Blackman for the WWE Hardcore Championship, his first of a record 27 title reigns.
The first half of 2001 saw Raven achieve several memorable moments. At the Royal Rumble, he prevented Kane from chokeslamming comedian Drew Carey. At WrestleMania X-Seven, he competed in his only match of the annual event, losing the Hardcore Championship to Kane in a Triple Threat Match that also included The Big Show. At Backlash, he lost to Hardcore Champion Rhyno in a hardcore match. A brief angle had an anonymous Black Ninja, who was later revealed to be Tori, aiding Raven in retaining the Hardcore Championship.
However, the second half wasn't as successful. Raven found himself in small roles for the next few months. When the Invasion storyline began, he found himself in the new WCW/ECW Alliance, but had forgettable feuds against William Regal and Perry Saturn. He was best remembered for being managed by diva Terri Runnels and destroying the love interest of Saturn, his mop called "Moppy." Like many other former ECW wrestlers, Raven lost his ECW look and switched to the more uniform WWF style of dress. This eventually led to him wearing a kilt, and then to a standard pair of trunks and boots. By the end of the year, Raven was off the air, having been fired (kayfabe) after the Alliance lost to the WWF at the Survivor Series.
In March 2002, when the Brand Extension was announced, Raven was drafted to Raw with the 28th pick. On the final SmackDown! before the split began, he defeated Maven to once again win the Hardcore Championship, thus bringing the title to Raw. He lost the title that Monday to Bubba Ray Dudley. At that time, Levy decided to spend some time announcing, and Raven became the new color commentator for Sunday Night HEAT and WWF Excess. This lasted a couple of months, as he later "quit" the show to resume his wrestling career on Raw. This did not last long either, as was banished from RAW after losing a match to Tommy Dreamer on June 24, 2002. Raven was forced to spend the rest of the year on HEAT, the show that he quit from mere weeks earlier.
Levy was given creative control to develop a storyline related to the seven deadly sins a la the film Se7en, with Raven becoming a sort of puppet master using HEAT as his playground. It started to play out; however, it was determined by management that it was not over enough, and the angle was aborted.
Although Raven did win his way back onto the RAW roster, he only had one match (losing to Jeff Hardy in a Royal Rumble qualifier) and was released the following week on January 20, 2003.
[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003-2008)
Levy's main exposure since then has been for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (then NWA-TNA), and in Europe for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, where he reverted to his original grunge image. He also appeared in Ring of Honor that year, battling CM Punk in one of the company's most famous feuds, which was based around Punk's straight-edge lifestyle as opposed to Levy's years of drug and alcohol abuse during the height of his fame in the late nineties.
Raven debuted in TNA Wrestling on January 22, 2003, two days after his release from WWE, attacking Jeff Jarrett and stealing the NWA World Heavyweight Title from him. Raven then embarked upon a long-running storyline in which he claimed it was his "destiny" to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title. Raven began playing mind games with the roster, starting with his former nemesis Sandman, and debuted his trademark Clockwork Orange House of Fun match, which Levy devised himself. On April 30, 2003 Raven got his first shot at Jeff Jarrett's NWA World Heavyweight title. In a bloody match marred with outside interference and weapons, Jeff Jarrett defeated Raven.
[edit] The Gathering
On September 17, 2003, Raven lost his trademark long hair after he was defeated by Shane Douglas in a hair versus hair match, thanks to the surprise interference of Vampiro. He later regrew it. This is notable because when his head was shaved by James Mitchell, Mitchell shaved too deep, cutting into Raven's scalp, and creating a bloody mess. While in TNA, he formed a stable known as The Gathering, which included Punk and Alexis(B.K.A Mickie James), though they would later turn on him. In 2003, Raven feuded with James Mitchell and the Disciples of the New Church. Raven took them all out one by one just like he said, but with help from The Gathering. Raven ended his feud with James Mitchell in a Last Man Standing match, which was won by Raven.
In 2004, Raven teamed up with The Sandman to go against The Gathering. The Gathering won due to interference from James Mitchell, who had aligned himself with The Gathering. Raven then teamed with Terry Funk to defeat the Gathering, even though James Mitchell tried to interfere.
Also in 2004, Raven's old friend Sabu returned to TNA Wrestling. Raven teamed with Sabu to defeat The Gathering one last time. Raven and Sabu would then feud with Abyss and "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown. Abyss and Monty Brown would outnumber Sabu on many occasions, when Raven failed to watch Sabu's back. Raven waged a campaign against Sabu, disrespecting the memory of his uncle and assaulting Sabu's mouthpiece, Sonjay Dutt, until Sabu finally broke and attacked him on July 23. Raven defeated Sabu in a no holds barred match on August 4, and a scheduled return match on August 18 was canceled after Sabu (legit) suffered a back injury. The next year saw Raven falling in various feuds, with names such as Diamond Dallas Page, Erik Watts, Jeff Hardy, Dustin Rhodes, Abyss, Sean Waltman, and Monty Brown. He also competed in the very first Monster's Ball match, with Abyss and Brown.
[edit] NWA Championship
On June 19, 2005, Raven turned face and fulfilled his self-proclaimed destiny when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA Slammiversary (by taking Jeff Jarrett's place after Jarrett attacked a fan from the crowd earlier that night and got arrested), defeating A.J. Styles, Abyss, Sean Waltman, and Monty Brown in a five way King of the Mountain match. He would go on to successfully defend the title in two defenses over the following months against Abyss at No Surrender, and Rhino two months later at Unbreakable.
On September 15, Raven lost the NWA Title to Jeff Jarrett in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada, at a special event of Border City Wrestling. America's Most Wanted ("Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Cowboy" James Storm) came out and interfered on Jarrett's behalf. BCW officials immediately contacted TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko, who declared the title change official.[5] (TNA had briefly gone dark on its national television timeslot prior to jumping to Spike TV, prompting a title change in another NWA based promotion). This led to Raven feuding with Larry Zbyszko, who brought in wrestlers like PJ Palaco (Justin Credible) and Chris K (Kanyon) to wrestle Raven. This culminated in a match at Final Resolution 2006 where Raven wrestled Sean Waltman with the stipulation that if Raven lost he would have to leave TNA. Raven would lose the match, and went on hiatus as a result. The real reason for his leaving was to deal with a thyroid condition.
[edit] Serotonin
Raven would return to TNA on April 23, 2006 at the Lockdown pay-per-view, and reignited his feud with Zbyszko. They would end their feud at Victory Road 2006 in a Hair vs. Hair match which Raven won. He has since continued to wrestle sporadically due to the thyroid condition that he has been dealing with[6]. His last major angle involved a feud between Abyss and Brother Runt. Subsequent to this, his coverage in major televised angles has dropped considerably. While he was off-air, an alliance was teased between Kazarian, Johnny Devine, and Matt Bentley. On the TNA Primetime Special before Genesis 2006, the three came out in goth, addressing a new movement in TNA. After a loss at the pay-per-view, sporting a new look (often with a mask), Raven revealed himself as their leader, caning the loser of the match. This stable became known as Serotonin. The direction of this stable was very hard to place, although they lost the majority of their televised matches. Regardless of the outcome, Raven would hit the Serotonin competitor with a cane. After a long hiatus, Raven returned to the ring, losing to Christopher Daniels in a First Blood Invitational then losing to Chris Harris after interference from Kaz. On one edition of Impact, Raven came out after Kaz's win over Havok and Martyr and hit Kaz in the back with a Kendo Stick, breaking it over Kaz's back. Raven, Havok, and Martyr then attacked Kaz with Kendo Sticks. On the July 19th edition of Impact!, Raven and the rest of Serotonin took on the reuniting Triple X. Raven had very little time in the match and Serotonin lost after Skipper hit a top rope leg drop Daniels hit a BME and Senshi hit the Warrior's Way on Havok.
Raven won a House Of Fun match, on the 9th of August edition of Impact. He teamed with Robert Roode and James Storm against the team of "The Wildcat" Chris Harris, Rhino, & Kazarian. Raven lost to Kaz, who had rebelled against him, at Hard Justice despite having the remaining members of Serotonin involve themselves in the match. Raven has become more involved in the ring in recent months and is said to be getting back into shape. Between Hard Justice and No surrender 07 he wrestled against Samoa Joe, who got the win. He was part of the Tag Team Guantlet along with Havok at No surrender. He was eliminated in 22 seconds by Team 3D. He stated that he was biding his time and waiting for guys like Joe, Christian, and Angle to tear each other apart and then he would be there to reclaim the TNA Championship. He then issued a challenge to Abyss and Rhino at Bound For Glory. Abyss later had Black Reign added to the match and made it a Monsters Ball. Recently, Raven formed a brief alliance with Havok, Black Reign, Judas Mesias, and James Mitchell with the purpose of defeating Abyss. On the November 15 edition of Impact, Havok was revealed to be Team 3D's X Division traitor, effectively ending Serotonin. At Turning Point 2007, Raven substituted for Rhino in the "Match of 10,000 Thumbtacks" and teamed with Abyss to defeat Black Reign and Rellik.
Raven was officially released from TNA. His profile was removed from the roster on March 7, 2008.
[edit] Recent activity
Now that Levy is no longer with TNA, he has decided to open up his own professional wrestling school in Georgia, which will work in conjunction with the promotion, Great Championship Wrestling. He has enlisted the help of Johnny Swinger to assist in training the students. The school is tentatively scheduled to open in the spring of 2008 and he is currently taking resumes for potential students.
Levy is also currently the heavyweight champion of CWA (Champions With Attitudes), an independent professional wrestling promotion based out of Orangeburg, South Carolina. He won the championship when he defeated Timber in Charlotte, North Carolina on March 15, 2008.
Levy was also featured doing shows overseas at Russia's IWF, battling Joe Legend.
Levy is also a regular on AudioWrestling.com where he has done a half dozen interviews on since the mid 90's.
Levy has also done columns for WrestleZone.com, touching on various topics of the wrestling business.
Between Friday 11th April and Friday 18th April 2008, Raven performed at four AWF Events in Australia and New Zealand. He also hosted wrestling seminars in Minto, New South Wales, Blakesview, South Australia and Wellington, New Zealand.
On May 24, Raven and Johnny Webb defeated Homeless Jimmy and Khan Kussion at an XPW live event called Cold day in Hell with special guest referee Terry Funk.
On April the 11th, Levy took part in the AWF Explosion tour, which saw TNT put his Australasian Heavyweight Championship on the line, Raven went on to win the match and the title. He lost this title back to TNT on April 18th, in Palmerston North, New Zealand
[edit] In wrestling
- Finishing and signature moves
- Raven Effect DDT / Evenflow DDT (Flowing snap DDT)
- Drop toe-hold onto an opened steel chair
- Diving knee drop bulldog
- Sleeper hold
- Bulldog
- Piledriver
- Cobra clutch
- Cross armbreaker
- Crossface chickenwing
- Knee lift
- Superkick
- Russian legsweep into a guard rail or wall
- Three or four jabs followed by a discus clothesline
- Fist drop to the opponent's groin
- Slingshot Crossbody
- Managers
- Wrestlers managed
- Entrance themes
- "Come Out and Play" by The Offspring (ECW)
- "Short But Thick" by Jimmy Hart (WCW)
- "Raven Theme" by Jimmy Hart (WCW)
- "What About Me?" by James A. Johnston (WWE)
- "End of Everything" by Jim Johnston and Stereomud (WWE)
- "Offspring" by Dale Oliver (TNA Wrestling)
- "Scream" by Dale Oliver (TNA Wrestling)
[edit] Championships and accomplishments
- Australian Wrestling Federation
- AWF Australasian Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Champions With Attitude
- CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
- Extreme Championship Wrestling
- Extreme Wrestling Federation
- EWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Heartland Wrestling Association
- HWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hugh Morrus [17][18][19]
- Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation
- MEWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[20]
- National Wrestling Federation
- NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[21]
- NWA Midwest
- Pacific Northwest Wrestling
- NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship (3 times)[24][25]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Top Gun (1), The Grappler (1), and Steve Doll (1)[26][27]
- NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship (1 time)[28][29]
- Peach State Wrestling
- PSW Cordele City Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pro-Pain Pro Wrestling
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- United States Extreme Wrestling
- United States Wrestling Association
- World Championship Wrestling
- World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment
[edit] Personal life
Levy has a wife named Selina, whom he married in January 2007.[59]
Levy is a member of Mensa[60] and the Theta Chi Fraternity[61].
He is a lifelong fan of comic books. In Wizard Magazine's May 1999 issue Levy is quoted as saying "I love the Marvel Knights line. I'm a big Kevin Smith fan, and his work on Daredevil is the best on that book since Frank Miller's stuff. Inhumans is also great. It could be the break-out book of the year because they're finally treating them as real characters instead of just freaks and monsters with no personality." The article goes on to say that he is a big fan of Watchmen, Swamp Thing, and especially Sandman and that he has a tattoo of Neil Gaiman's Sandman character (Dream) on his back.
Levy, along with Brian Azzarello, wrote Issue #14 of Spider-Man's Tangled Web, entitled "The Last Shoot". The comic was based around the professional wrestler (named Crusher Hogan) who Peter Parker defeated in the character's first appearance in Amazing Fantasy. He also provided a blurb quote for the back of 100 Bullets.
He claims he has been to the concert of every band whose t-shirt he has worn in-ring.
[edit] In other media/miscellaneous facts
Along with Diamond Dallas Page, he appears in the music video to the song "Rising" by Stuck Mojo.
Diamond Dallas Page, who was being interviewed by Carson Daly along with the Foo Fighters on MTV Live, was seen receiving the Evenflow DDT through a coffee table by Raven.
Raven was a commentator alongside Kid Rock and Jimmy Hart on MTV's Spring Break "Cancun Beach Brawl", which featured various WCW wrestlers competing in a battle royal; and industrial metal band, Fear Factory, performing.
Raven has appeared on the game show, Win Ben Stein's Money.
Raven has also appeared on the Donny & Marie talk show alongside Konnan.
Levy has taped numerous interviews for Ring of Honor's Secrets of the Ring series, as well as two shoot interviews with The Sandman for their Straight Shootin’ series. He also taped a shoot interview for the documentary Forever Hardcore. He's also taped for RF Video for their Behind Closed Doors series, Face Off series along with the Honky Tonk Man and Kevin Sullivan, as well as the On The Road With series. He's also taped for Kayfabe Commentaries and their Guest Booker series.
According to Levy (depicting Raven on the Hardcore Homecoming DVD before his match with The Sandman), he is the only man in the business to have an action figure as a member of WWE, WCW, ECW, and TNA rosters.
Raven is the only professional wrestler to hold championship gold in WWE, WCW, ECW, & TNA. (It should be noted, even though the Dudleys (Team 3D) have held gold for each promotion, their WCW title win was done after the WWE's purchase of WCW, while all of Raven's title reigns were accomplished when all four promotions were independent entities).
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ SLAM! Sports - Wrestling - Raven
- ^ Obsessed With Wrestling
- ^ Loverro, Thom. The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling (p.172)
- ^ Loverro, Thom. The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling (p.173)
- ^ Total Nonstop Action Wrestling On Spike TV! - NEWS
- ^ NEWSBOARD - Raven Talks ECW Return & TNA (HTML). Wrestling-News.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
- ^ ECW World Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Heavyweight Championship History at OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Heavyweight Championship History at WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Tag Team Championship History at OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Tag Team Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ ECW World Tag Team Championship History at WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ HWA Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ HWA Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ HWA Tag Team Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ MEWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWF Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Central States Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA Pacific Northwest Television Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ 3PW Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ 3PW Heavyweight Championship History at Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ 3PW Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA World Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA World Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA World Heavyweight Championship History at OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ NWA World Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ TNA Slammiversary 2005 Pay Per View results at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ TNA Slammiversary 2005 Pay Per View results at Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ USXW Heavyweight Championship History at UXW Wrestling.net. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ USXW Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ USWA Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ USWA Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ USWA Tag Team Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW Light Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW Light Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW Light Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW United States Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW United States Heavyweight Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW United States Heavyweight Championship History at Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW United States Heavyweight Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW World Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW World Tag Team Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW World Tag Team Championship History at Online World of Wrestling. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WCW World Tag Team Championship History at Solie.org. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WWE Hardcore Championship History at Wrestling Information Archive. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WWE Hardcore Championship History at Wrestling-Titles.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ a b WWE Hardcore Championship History at OnlineWorldofWrestling.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ WWE Hardcore Championship History at WWE.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ theraveneffect.com | the official raven website
- ^ Cygy Wrestling Biography of Raven. CygyWrestling. Retrieved on 2007-10-11.
- ^ Alumni - Theta Chi Fraternity (PHP). Rengland.net. Retrieved on 2008-05-10.
[edit] Notes
- Thom Loverro (2006). The Rise & Fall of ECW: Extreme Championship Wrestling. WWE Books, 384. ISBN 1416510583.