Scott Levy
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Scott Levy, better known as Raven (born September 8 1962 [1] (http://university.imdb.com/name/nm0506610/)) is an American professional wrestler. He has wrestled for every major wrestling group in the United States since 1991. He will probably be better remembered for his days in Extreme Championship Wrestling.
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Career
Scott started wrestling as Scotty the Body in the NWA's "Pacific Northwest" territory in 1988. He was the main heel for three years there, winning all of the titles and feuding heavily with Steve Doll.
He next spent a little time in Memphis' "Mid-Southern Wrestling" where he was the boy-toy of Missy Hyatt, who used him to her and Eddie Gilbert's advantage.
His first national TV exposure was in the Global Wrestling Federation as Scotty Anthony. He was a member of "The Cartel" with Cactus Jack, Rip Rogers and Makhan Singh. GWF was aired on ESPN.
He got his first major exposure as a wrestler in 1991 in World Championship Wrestling under the name Scotty Flamingo, and won the short lived WCW Light Heavyweight Title in 1992. He had feuds with Brian Pillman, Brad Armstrong and Johnny B. Badd. He won a "boxing" match over the former Golden Gloves champion Badd at the Clash of Champions on November 18, 1992 when his ring corner men, Diamond Dallas Page and Vinnie Vegas, loaded his gloves with water so he could KO Badd. He left later that year.
In early 1993, Levy joined the then-World Wrestling Federation but was made into a manager and dubbed Johnny Polo and was placed with the Quebecers tag team. He led them to a few reigns as WWF World Tag Team Champions before leaving in 1994. He would then start to make his impact in professional wrestling.
In 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 characters, Levy began portraying a depressed, nihilistic misanthrope. Levy enjoyed two reigns as ECW World Heavyweight Champion during his tenure in ECW. He started a legendary feud with Tommy Dreamer that lasted for the next two years, before Dreamer finally defeated him at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in June 1997.
Levy then left ECW and rejoined WCW soon after that, leading "The Flock". He would enjoy some moderate success in WCW, but never reaching main event status like he did in ECW. He won the WCW Tag Team Championship and the WCW U.S Heavyweight Championship before leaving WCW in 1999. He rejoined the ECW and teamed up with his old enemy, Tommy Dreamer.
A reluctant tag team, Raven and Dreamer reigned as ECW World Tag Team Champions for several months. When they lost those belts, they feuded once again before Levy left for the WWF in the summer of 2000.
Levy's WWF/WWE run was not a success. Despite a large reaction from fans to his early appearances, the WWF showed little interest in pushing him beyond the Hardcore division. 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. Raven made the latter change on his own initiative, hoping that this would win the WWEs attention. However, the WWE continued to little utilise Raven, to the point where he became something of a joke (Color commentator Jerry Lawler would point out that Raven spent most of his time on Sunday Night HEAT). Raven could not advance beyond midcard status and was used mainly on the "B" shows or in the Hardcore division. He won the WWE Hardcore Championship a total of 27 times before being released in early 2003. Levy's main exposure since then has been for Total Nonstop Action, and in Europe for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, where he reverted to his original grunge image.
On September 17, 2003, Raven lost his trademark long hair after he was defeated by Shane Douglas in a hair versus hair match. He later regrew it.
On June 19, 2005, Raven won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at the TNA Slammiversary PPV, defeating A.J. Styles in a five way King of the Mountain match. This concluded a long-running "destiny" storyline.
The Flock
The Flock was Raven's faction of professional wrestlers that was founded soon after his debut in WCW. All wrestlers in the faction adopted Raven's grunge gimmick, complete with similar ring attire. Each member of the Flock was a social outcast for one reason or another - Reese was abnormally tall, Riggs had lost the use of one eye, and Kidman had been homeless before meeting Raven - and sought acceptance within the Flock.
Unlike other factions in WCW at the time, the group, though popular, met with limited success. They lost most of their matches, including a match with nWo Wolfpac members that lasted well under two minutes. The group disbanded after former member Perry Saturn won their freedom from Raven on September 13, 1998 at Fall Brawl. The Flock is best remembered for hanging around in the crowd, usually at ringside, and then pouncing on any given wrestler.
Flock members
- Billy Kidman
- Horace Boulder
- Lodi
- Reese
- Stevie Richards
- Scotty Riggs
- Perry Saturn
- Sick Boy
- Van Hammer
The Gathering
The Gathering was a NWA:TNA professional wrestling stable based around Raven. The original members were Julio Dinero and Alexis Laree, with CM Punk joining the group soon after its inception. Punk and Dinero played 'adoring Raven fanboy' gimmicks, and as such, Raven was always the main focus of the group. The stable can be likened to The Flock. At one point, Raven disbanded the Gathering claiming the group had achieved everything he set out to do, leaving Punk and Dinero as the sole remaining members (Laree having previously been signed to a contract by the WWE). CM Punk finally left TNA after an altercation with Teddy Hart, and feuded with Raven in the independent federations Major League Wrestling and Ring of Honor. Julio Dinero was also eventually released. Raven is the only former Gathering member left in TNA.
Profile
- Height: 6'0" (183 cm)
- Weight: 225lbs (102.1 kg) [2] (http://www.tnawrestling.com/raven/bio/bio.html)
- Birthday: September 8, 1962
- Hometown: Short Hills, New Jersey
- Trained By: Larry Sharpe, Jake "The Snake" Roberts
- Professional Debut: February 20, 1988
- Previous Identities: Johnny Polo, Scott Anthony, Scotty Flamingo, Scotty The Body
Quotes
- "Quoth the Raven, Nevermore!"
- "What about me? What about Raven?"
- "So it shall be written, so it shall come to pass."
- "I think you hear me knocking, I think I'm coming in!"
- "Welcome to Raven's Clockwork Orange House of Fun."
Previous Managers
- Diamond Dallas Page
- Beulah McGillicutty
- Kimona Wana-Laya
- Chastity
- Francine
- Tori
- Terri Runnels
- Lucy
- Alexis Laree
- Lori Fullington
- James Mitchell
- Veronica Lane
- Missy Hyatt
- Jonathan Boyd
- Nanny Simpson
- Max Andrews
- Simply Luscious
- Ginger
- Angel Williams
- Mike Samples
- Reggie Bennett
- Stevie Richards
- The Blue Meanie
- The Flock
- The Musketeer
Finishing/Signature Moves
- Raven Effect DDT / Evenflow DDT
- Bulldog
- Drop Toe Hold onto Chair
- Side Russian Legsweep into a Wall/Barrier
Trivia
- Levy has an IQ of 143.
Championships/Accomplishments
World Wrestling Entertainment
- 27-time WWE Hardcore Champion
World Championship Wrestling
- 1-time WCW United States Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time WCW World Light Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time WCW World Tag Team Champion (with Perry Saturn)
Extreme Championship Wrestling
- 2-time ECW World Heavyweight Champion
- 4-time ECW World Tag Team Champion (with Tommy Dreamer once, Mike Awesome once and Stevie Richards twice)
National Wrestling Alliance
NWA Pacific Northwest
- 3-time NWA Pacific Northwest Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time NWA Pacific Northwest Television Champion
- 3-time NWA Pacific Northwest Tag Team Champion (with Top Gun, The Grappler (Len Denton) and Steve Doll)
Other Titles
- 1-time USWA Tag Team Champion (with Brian Christopher)
- 1-time MEWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time HWA Tag Team Champion (with Bill DeMott)
- 1-time NWF Heavyweight Champion
- 2-time USA Pro Heavyweight Champion
- 1-time 3PW Heavyweight Champion
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated (PWI) ranked him # 168 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003.
Job titles
- WWE Sunday Night Heat commentator
- WWE Manager
References
- [1] - http://university.imdb.com/name/nm0506610/ - IMDB biography
- [2] - http://www.tnawrestling.com/raven/bio/bio.html - TNA biography
- [3] - http://www.100megsfree4.com/wiawrestling/wiamain.htm - Wrestling Information Archive
External Links
- Official site (http://www.theraveneffect.com)
- TNA website (http://www.tnawrestling.com/raven/index.html)
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