Boo: Nevermore

Raven: ECW Champion
Photo from ECW/WWE

By Kevin Hunsperger
@kevinhunsperger & @my123cents

Raven is one of wrestling's darker characters, especially if you look back to the man who plays the role.  Scott Levy started off in the business as Scotty the Body and evolved into Scotty Flamingo in WCW and Johnny Polo in the WWF.  He was a well dressed, pretty boy in all those gimmicks.

The darker side was exposed when Levy headed to ECW.  Grunge was in, and the Raven character was born.  I really enjoyed him in those early days of ECW.  He and Tommy Dreamer had one of the company's greatest rivalries of all time.  I can still remember Dreamer piledriving his real life wife (who was playing Raven's sidekick) Beulah McGillicutty (no relation to Michael).  That feud lasted an entire year with Raven playing the evil, sadistic role to perfection.

He was the puppet master to Stevie Richards and eventually when he moved on to WCW, Raven gathered a cast of characters around him known as the Flock.  Scotty Riggs, Perry Saturn, and Van Hammer were among those in this group of misfits. At some point during his run, he and Vampiro formed a team too.  I believe that duo was a part of the Insane Clown Posse's group in WCW.  But Raven didn't stay long and flew the coup for ECW again where he and Dreamer would win the tag team titles.

Raven in WWE
Photo by WWE

Eventually, Raven surfaced in the WWE and picked up the hardcore title, dropping it in a three way dance against Kane and the Big Show.  That was probably his most notable time as Raven during his WWE run.  He seemed to get lost in the shuffle of the invasion angle and eventually left the WWE for TNA.

Nearly 20 years after the Raven character took flight, Levy is still playing the part.  The character has been tweaked through the years, but remains a successful one.