Raven Interview

[Guest Cerebus]

(I know he is in NWA now but he mentions a # of things about WWE so I decided to post it here)

 

WRESTLINGOBSERVER.COM INTERVIEW WITH SCOTT “RAVEN” LEVY

By Alex Marvez

E-mail: [email protected]

Scott “Raven” Levy learned there is life beyond World Wrestling Entertainment. After being released by WWE in January, Levy has emerged as the nation’s top independent performer. In the following interview, Levy discusses his WWE firing, his success on the independent circuit and his impending June 20 match against CM Punk on a Major League Wrestling show at the Fort Lauderdale War Memorial.

Q: How happy are you with where your career is at?

Levy: “I’m ecstatic. I thought I was misused and mistreated (in WWE). I thought I had a lot more to offer. They didn’t see it that way. That’s cool. They can do whatever they want to.

“I thought my career basically was over when WWE let me go until I found out about what was going on with the (independent promotions). I’m making double what I made with WWE. Plus, being the top guy on the independent circuit, I command a certain figure per match that is a lot more than what WWE paid. And I don’t have to pay for a hotel or rental car any more like I did with WWE.

“I can’t believe how I stumbled into this because I thought it was over for me and it was time to move onto acting or radio. I thought I would pursue a new career. I wasn’t depressed. It would be ending sooner that I thought, but I do have other plans for my life besides wrestling. It’s work out phenomenally. I go to the indys to make all my money, then I go to pay-per-view on Wednesday nights so I have my own TV show. My favorite thing is performing on TV, especially a live program. It’s such a rush. I love being a key participant in every major storyline. This is the best. If I would have known it was going to work out like this, I would have quit six month earlier. I certainly was not happy in WWE.”

Q: Did they give you a reason for being fired?

Levy: “They said the writers had nothing for me, which is a standard answer for anyone they let go. But it was odd considering I gave them 15 different scenarios that were pretty much better than anything they had on TV. There’s not a character with as much depth as mine with the capability to go in so many different directions. Even the guys who can’t stand me in the locker room agree to that.”

Q: What do you think it is about the Raven character that remains so popular?

Levy: “I think it’s because the character is so real. They don’t see a gimmick or somebody’s hype. They see this real guy who coughed up every ounce of vile and venom he could about his childhood and brought it to life. They can relate to it on a visceral level. It’s kind of like when you hear a great song that came from the depths of a person’s soul, like it was written by someone like Kurt Cobain or Jim Morrison. The first five years of my character were all therapy for me instead of seeing a shrink.”

Q: How bad were things with your parents?

Levy: “They were bad. I don’t want to go on about it at this juncture. Suffice to say, I carry a lot of emotional baggage. I have so much baggage I need a porter.”

Q: Did you think your match with Jeff Jarrett (for NWA/TNA) would do as well as it did on pay-per-view?

Levy: “I knew it would. You could tell people were clamoring for it. He had ruled the roost for a year at that point and I was the uncrowned king. It struck something with people. This was something they wanted to see.”

Q: NWA/TNA hasn’t drawn as well on pay-per-view since. Do you think the finish of you doing the job killed the promotion’s momentum?

Levy: “I think there are a few reasons, but I’d rather not go into them. No matter what I say … If I say things a certain way, it sound like I’m kissing ass and if I say them another way, it sounds like I’m burying them. I’d rather just let it go.”

Q: What direction do you think the company is heading?

Levy: “I like to think it’s going to go up. Let’s face it. A big problem was with me and Jeff and our refusal to get along with each other. Now, we’ve put aside our differences, which were childish to begin with. I think that’s a huge step forward. I was every bit as childish as he was. It takes two to argue. I think things got blown out of proportion and things festered until they became unmanageable.”

Q: Do you know who you’re working yet on the June 20 MLW show?

Levy: “CM Punk. He’s a young up-and-comer. He’s got a ton of potential. He’s a young guy who has a great look and he listens. He wants to learn. He really wants criticism. Most people when they ask what you thought of their match, they want you to put them over. He really wants to hear the bad things. We tore the house down in a tag match at Ring of Honor the other night.”

Q: What are your short-term and long-term plans at this point?

Levy: “I’d like to do what I’m doing for the next three to five years. Long-term, I’d either like to try acting or a radio show like Loveline. I’d love to do a radio show nationally syndicated. I’d like to get a high-paying gig and listen to myself talk for three or four hours and give opinions and advice to people who need it, whether they think they do or not. I think it would be fun. I used to have a radio show with WWE and I loved it. I love the spontaneity and the live aspect of it.”

 

Discuss.

[Guest Kid Kablam]

Well at times he sounds a bit full of himself, but at times he seems very down to earth. Odd. Anyway, I'm happy he's on to better things with TNA and that he's not being pulled under by WWE anymore. I don't think it Raven, both the character Raven and its creator, could exist in WWE's enviroment. It would be like David Cronenberg working with Jerry Bruckhiemer. Also, I think that of all the wrestlers who want to act, Scott Levy is the best choice. Hell if he'd do it, I'd cast him in one of my student films.