Author: Scott Levy performed under various aliases over his long wrestling career: Scotty the Body, Scotty Flamingo, and Johnny Polo are but a few. Though, by far, his most successful run in wrestling came under the guise of Raven. After success in ECW and WCW, Raven re-signed with the then WWF, and the fans were elated. It should have marked Raven’s greatest run, but Vince McMahon had other plans!
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Raven: From His WWE Debut to Downfall
Debuting at Unforgiven 2000, Raven came to Tazz’s aid, who defeated Jerry “The King” Lawler in a strap match. There was no build for his arrival. There weren’t any vignettes. Raven just appeared, gave Lawler a DDT, and then left.
He would start teaming with Tazz after this encounter, ditching the “Quote the Raven, nevermore” catchphrase for “What about me? What about Raven?” which, to be fair, did get a reaction from the live crowds.
His pairing with Tazz would be short-lived, and they would go their separate ways by the end of 2000 when Raven would move on to the Hardcore Division.
Watch: Raven Makes His WWE Debut in 2000
Raven and the Hardcore Title
Making his entrance to the ring with a trolley full of weapons, Raven was quite successful, winning the Hardcore Title a record 27 times. Although this is the number reported by WWE, Scott Levy alleges he won the Hardcore Title 39 times.
Despite an appearance as Johnny Polo, the manager of The Quebecers at WrestleMania X, Levy got his first in-ring experience on “The Grandest Stage of Them All” at WrestleMania X-Seven.
He would defend the Hardcore Title against Kane and Big Show in a triple threat match. Kane would capture the victory in this encounter.
Did you know? During the triple threat match between Kane, Big Show, and Raven at WrestleMania X-Seven, the show came close to disaster after Raven drove a golf cart into the electric feed box, almost cutting the broadcast feed!
Joining The Alliance
After WrestleMania X-Seven, Raven would become a member of the WCW/ECW alliance to try and take over the WWF during the infamous Invasion angle. Other than his turn, he wouldn’t do much of significance while with this group.
Just before the Invasion pay-per-view in 2001, he was the victim of a squash match against Kurt Angle. Kurt Angle is undoubtedly one of the greatest wrestlers ever, and there is no shame in losing to him.
That said, this was a Hardcore Match — supposedly the very kind of match Raven specialized in — and he got run over in two minutes, followed by Angle continuing the assault after the match. How could Raven be taken seriously after this?
Feud with Perry Saturn
During this time, Perry Saturn had Terri Runnels as his on-air manager/girlfriend.
Saturn was in the middle of a storyline where after taking a knock to the head, he fell in love with a mop named “Moppy,” which he believed was alive, similar to Wilson the volleyball in the film Cast Away.
This storyline went over well with the fans, and it led to a face turn for Saturn.
Terri Runnels, clearly not happy that Saturn was spending more of his attention on an inanimate object, told Saturn to choose between Moppy and her.
When Saturn chose the mop, it infuriated her. She would leave Saturn for Raven, who helped her enact vengeance on Saturn by stealing Moppy and feeding it to a woodchipper.
As Raven was feeding the mop into the woodchipper, the chipper didn’t work immediately, making for a few moments of awkwardness on television.
You could also hear Raven making a squealing noise as he pretended that the sound was coming from Moppy. This would be Raven’s only meaningful feud during his run in WWE.
Watch: Raven and Terri Kills Perry Saturn’s Beloved “Moppy”
The Invasion angle ended after The Alliance was defeated at Survivor Series 2001.
At this point, Raven was sparsely getting used on television. In March of 2002, he got drafted to Raw as a part of the first brand extension. He would have another short Hardcore Title run while also doing commentary from time to time on Sunday Night Heat.
He then had a “Loser Leaves Raw” match against Tommy Dreamer, where the stipulation was that the loser would have to spend a year on Sunday Night Heat. Raven would lose this match, and it was off to Sunday Night Heat for him.
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A Year on Sunday Night Heat
As bad as being banished to Sunday Night Heat may sound, this became an opportunity for Raven. He was given creative control on a storyline inspired by the film Se7en, where he would show examples of people’s weaknesses and compare them to the seven deadly sins. He was the “puppet master” using Sunday Night Heat as his “personal playground.”
During this stretch, Raven’s most notable segment was when he was in catering and offered a man $500 to eat a sandwich that he had just stood on. The guy, named Mike, accepted Raven’s challenge and ate the sandwich. Raven proclaimed that this showed “greed.”
It wasn’t long before this storyline got aborted as WWE management felt that it hadn’t gotten over well enough.
Raven Returns to Raw and Eventual Release from WWE
Although he had won his way back onto the Raw roster, Raven would lose to Jeff Hardy in a Royal Rumble qualifier match in what would be his final match in the WWE. Raven was released from the promotion the following week on January 20, 2003.
Following his departure from WWE, Raven joined TNA, where he found much success. He won the NWA Heavyweight Championship, formed a faction called The Gathering, which included CM Punk, and he had feuds with many of TNA’s top stars, including Jeff Jarrett, Abyss, and Rhino.
He was also a part of the EV 2.0 stable consisting of former ECW wrestlers Rob Van Dam, Tommy Dreamer, Mick Foley, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Brother Devon, Pat Kenney, and Al Snow. He is now semi-retired, working only a handful of matches per year.
Raven: Where Did It All Go Wrong in WWE?
When Scott Levy returned to the WWE as Raven in 2000, it was his opportunity to break into the company’s top echelon. His momentum, creative juices, and passion were flowing, but ultimately none of that mattered.
Speaking with Title Match Wrestling, Raven reflected on this time of his career. “I was plenty sober when I got back [to the WWE], and I thought it was my time — but it wasn’t.”
Levy continued, “The locker room was so set that if you’re not a WWE guy, you haven’t done anything.” In other words, none of Raven’s accolades in ECW and WCW mattered. “I think they didn’t want to use me [in a prominent role].”
After talking to Michael Hayes in private, he realized Vince McMahon’s true feelings about having him back in the WWE.
“Michael Hayes said that he was in a booking meeting when Vince said, ‘Who the fuck hired Johnny Polo?’
“The way Hayes intimated it was that Vince was like, ‘What the fuck are we hiring him for?'”
It was a kick to the stomach for Raven for sure, but it didn’t shake him.
“Nothing shook my confidence,” he admits. “I was too arrogant – look, I knew I had the goods. I really believed that. But my heart was already broken when I realized I wasn’t going to be used right.”
What made the Raven character so successful in ECW was Raven’s ability to play mind games with his opponents, such as when he brainwashed The Sandman‘s son against him.
His feud with Tommy Dreamer was incredibly emotional, too, which was mainly down to him being allowed to have time on the mic.
He is considered one of the best talkers in the industry for a reason. He was incredible at using words to get the crowd to feel something, whether it be hating him and getting them behind his opponent or loving him as a “good guy.”
WWE seemed to ignore all that. They threw him into a team with Tazz simply because they are former ECW guys, despite them hardly interacting during their time together in ECW.
Then he was put in the Hardcore division, again, because of Vince McMahon’s view of ECW wrestlers all being hardcore guys.
Although this was quite entertaining at times, he didn’t have any meaningful feuds. He was then deemed a joke when put in the storyline with Perry Saturn and “Moppy.”
And just when things started to look up with his 7 Deadly Sins gimmick, that was dropped.
Raven’s run in WWE was a flop simply because he wasn’t used correctly. He wasn’t given the same creative control of his character that helped him flourish in ECW.
As with many other wrestlers brought to the WWE around this time, Raven’s run with the company was a huge missed opportunity.
These stories may also interest you:
- The Time A WWF Worker Beat a WCW Worker in ECW
- PERRY SATURN: How His Life Went Tragically Downhill After An Act of Bravery
- Women of ECW – Beautifully Extreme
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"Evan Ginzburg’s stories are a love letter to wrestling, filled with heart, humor, and history. A must-read for any true fan." — Keith Elliot Greenberg
Wrestling Rings, Blackboards, and Movie Sets is the latest book from Pro Wrestling Stories Senior Editor Evan Ginzburg. 100 unforgettable stories—from sharing a flight on 9/11 with a WWE Hall of Famer to untold moments in wrestling history. A page-turner for fans of the ring and beyond. Grab your copy today! For signed editions, click here.
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