Quote the Raven never more.

[seabs]

In this thread we pay homage to one of the greatest psychological wrestlers of all time, his grunge look managed to blend into the chaos of ECW. His cold interviews are stuff of wrestling legend, no one captured a dark character with the exception of Jake the Snake IMO. Sure he was never a wrestler I'd chase to see wrestle but he was good enough and when given the correct gimmick he showed he could have been a top heel, see his early run with his flock in WCW as an example, sadly he was misused but still he showed promise.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xfx9D0nMC8[/video]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvAgH4zOr-s[/video]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cRJFSFwdCTk[/video]

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qF9l-u5c3rE[/video]

finally a great moment during his failed WWF run, his debut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2fQPNwfz5f8&feature=player_detailpage#t=355s

I think that'll drop it in at the correct time.

Now onto the discussion questions we all ignore but I like to add cos it gives my rambling a purpose.

Could he have made it in one of the big two?

How would you have booked his WCW run?

Would he have been better jumped to the WWF in 1997 rather than WCW, if so how would you have liked him to be booked, notable feud etc.

I personally would have used him to put over Jeff Hardy as a singles talent in 2001, pre invasion. Have Raven manipulate Matt and Lita as he proclaims himself the real Xtreme one, this leads to Jeff fighting it out with Raven on a personal level. They're similar with their presentation and Raven would have helped Jeff alot on the mic.

 

[Lockard 23]

Never was a fan, to be honest. I haven't seen much of his stuff in ECW (hated the old ECW) but I enjoyed The Flock and his feud with Goldberg. The night he lost the US Title (I think), it was a cool spot when he tried to run off from Goldberg through the crowd but the fans (plants, obviously, just like those who got Edge dumped on top of them by Cena at Backlash 2009) grabbed him and threw him back across the guardrail. That's my biggest memory of him. That, and switching over to ECW one night for the hell of it, and seeing Raven return. That just summarized how bad WCW was, when you leave a Turner-guaranteed contract making big bucks to ECW where you won't even get paid most of the time.

Even if WWE had handled him right, I don't see him as anything above upper-midcard.

 

[BEST_inthe_World]

It is actually quoth the raven nevermore i think. Not to correct you (even though i am) it comes from the Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven. If i remember correctly he was actually really smart. lol

 

[seabs]

Probably is :

 

[Stopspot]

It is actually quoth the raven nevermore i think. Not to correct you (even though i am) it comes from the Edgar Allen Poe poem The Raven. If i remember correctly he was actually really smart. lol

Raven has a IQ of over 140 and is a member of Mensa. So yes, he is pretty smart :

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I am a big Raven fan. I was talking the other day about his epic ECW feud with Sandman that spanned multiple years and eventually became IMO one of the most emotional storylines in wrestling history. I really wish I could find some vids of the promos between those two and when his son was involved. Gripping stuff.

As for his WCW run.. idk man. I thought his booking was fine, but in the WCW at that time there was just too much fucking talent and too much going on. Even though most of what he was doing could have worked, he was always going to be overshadowed in that company at that point in time.

Now, WWF in 1997 is a different ball game. Their product was actually pretty stale for most of '97 until the Bret/HBK stuff heated up. SCSA was starting to rise up, which was good, but the Vince stuff hadn't begun yet and his character was just finding it's traction. I think Raven would have actually gotten a better push in WWF at that point. I debuting feud with a guy like Vader in early '97 could have been a nice springboard for his career in one of the major companies.

 

[AnnaLove]

i didn't see much from him. i remember the last time i've seen him wrestle was at the 2001 WrestleMania. he seemed to be a great hardcore wrestler.

 

[Senhor Perfect]

I was a mark for the flock back in it's heyday. Raven, if he had been booked properly, could have a been a fantastic cerebral heel. Always thought a mind games feud with Sting would have been fantastic. Too bad they buried him time and time again. Unfortunatly, Vince didn't do much with him either.

 

[AnnaLove]

I was a mark for the flock back in it's heyday. Raven, if he had been booked properly, could have a been a fantastic cerebral heel. Always thought a mind games feud with Sting would have been fantastic. Too bad they buried him time and time again. Unfortunatly, Vince didn't do much with him either.

i think that only Rob Van Dam and Tajiri gained something from coming to the WWE. other ECW talents were mainly used as a joke... i.e. Taz

 

[seabs]

I'd have been keen to see Raven vs Mankind in 97, plus vs Taker they would have all meshed incredibly well imo.

As for the Tax comment I think injuries were a bigger issue than WWEs booking, after all he ended Kurts winning streak and look forward how heavily they invested in him..

 

[Dolph'sZiggler]

I'd have been keen to see Raven vs Mankind in 97, plus vs Taker they would have all meshed incredibly well imo.

As for the Tax comment I think injuries were a bigger issue than WWEs booking, after all he ended Kurts winning streak and look forward how heavily they invested in him..

I was thinking Mankind as well but I am pretty sure he was a heel throughout most of '97. Not that it makes a huge difference, I was just overthinking it.