Discover Top Posts Tagged with #scott levy

Btw here's a Raven + Mick Foley pic I found in the mag too

#mick foley #cactus jack #raven ecw #scott levy

I went to a screening of Raven's documentary, Nevemore: The Raven Effect last night at Kevin Smith's Smodcastle Theater. Some takeaways:

-Raven literally jumpscared me on the way into the theater. I'm hanging a right into the room and he's RIGHT FUCKING THERE behind the snack counter chatting with a fan. I did not get a photo-op because I would rather die than be perceived on camera. I instead flashed him a peace sign and he nodded in my direction.

-The crowd was relatively small. Probably about 25 of us in there.

-Raven thanks everyone for coming and does the intro for the documentary. He says that while he was comfortable filming the documentary, he has a hard time watching it because it brings up a lot of painful memories. He goes outside while the documentary is airing.

-The following people are featured: Raven's sister and some of his old friends from college, his partner Selina Kyle, Billy Corgan from Smashing Pumpkins, Chris Jericho, Sandman, Tyler (Sandman's son), Blue Meanie, Lodi, Tommy Dreamer, Perry Saturn, Bully Ray, RVD, DDP, Brian Myers.

-Stevie Richards ignored multiple requests to be interviewed for the documentary

-The documentary starts by touching on Scott's childhood and early adulthood. He describes his parents as neglectful and distant. His father, who was a journalist for the National Enquirer used to make mean spirited jokes about him which damaged his self esteem.

-He shares a letter that he wrote to his father in his 20s, asking why he never told him he loved him. Sad stuff.

-He used to do backyard wrestling with his fraternity brothers in college

-His first wrestling valet was a crackhead he met at his coke dealer's house

-His first tattoo was a tribute to his Scotty Flamingo character. He admits that his other tattoos dont have any meaning, and he just thought they looked cool.

-Raven left an office job at the WWF with benefits and a pension to go to ECW because he wanted to he a wrestler

-DDP gave Raven the idea to do a grunge character. It took Raven 3 minutes to come up with the look, the name, and the catchphrase.

-The documentary spends a lot of time going over ECW and culture surrounding it. How WWF stole a lot of ECW's angles during the Attitude era

-Raven is given credit for creating The Dudley Boyz, Blue Meanie, etc.

-They discuss the storylines with Tommy Dreamer and Sandman. Sandman was somehow a great father despite his issues.

-The drug culture in ECW was discussed, and how failing a drug test was a point of pride in the lockeroom. They discuss the popularity of somas and oxys which led to countless wrestlers dying via overdose

-They discuss the toll that wrestling has taken on Raven's body and how its impacted his mobility, cognition, etc.

-Did you know that he had a fucking heart attack at one point?

-Selina is a fucking saint for putting up with that man. Also their dog is so fucking cute.

-He can never take another bump in the ring. Like ever. He'd probably die.

-They talk about Raven's WCW run and how frustrated he was for not being able to break into the main event scene.

-Not relevant but RVD has pillows with naked women on them on his couch

-They talk a little about the Flock/Nest and how Raven has a need to constantly surround himself with lackeys to feed his ego.

-Raven describes his relationship with Stevie in ECW as tense. He credits that tension to their great on-screen chemistry.

-Blue Meanie tells a story about how at one point, Stevie was so fed up with Raven's bullshit that he nearly committed vehicular homicide on the Jersey Turnpike. Raven to this day, finds it hilarious.

-Lodi was basically Stevie 2.0 in WCW both on screen and off screen. He was responsible for putting Raven to bed, waking his ass up, cooking him breakfast, and signing his autograph prints. If you received an autographed print from Raven in 1997, it was probably signed by Lodi.

-Perry Saturn is looking rough these days. Poor guy.

-There is a story involving Raven, Perry Saturn, and a Slip n Slide that I will not elaborate on.

-Raven's drug use was at its worst when he returned to ECW in 1999

-He went to rehab once and went out drinking with Sandman the day he got out

-Raven, Sandman, Bill Alfonso, and a young Rhyno were late to an ECW show because Sandman OD'd on oxys, FUCKING DIED, and had to be revived. He wrestled later that night. Pretty sure Rhyno has PTSD from this.

-The death of his father made him realize that he needed to grow up

-He got clean for good after having Francine and Bill Alfonso bring him to a motel where he spent six days detoxing

-It was when he was seeing an addiction specialist that he learned that he was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder and histrionic personality disorder. He also apparently has ADHD. That's so Raven.

-He was initially very excited to return to WWE, thinking he'd finally get his big run. He quickly became disillusioned when he found out they had no interest in pushing him. He attributes this to backstage heat from how he left WWF the first time

-They skip his runs in TNA and ROH entirely. Disappointing.

-They show him working for promotions like Impact and MLW, giving advice fo younger talent.

-He admits that he likes teaching because it feeds his ego. Typical but at least he keeps it real.

-After the documentary, there's a brief Q&A

-He talks a little about his early onset Parkinsons and how the tremor in his right hand bugs him because it makes him look nervous when he in fact is loving the attention.

-He believes that the best wrestling characters are the ones that wrestlers develop themselves as they feel more authentic

-Since we were at Kevin Smith's theater, he was asked about his favorite Kevin Smith movie. He really liked Dogma and Mallrats. He sort of fell off after Yoga Hosers.

-He admits to not watching WWE or modern wrestling in general.

-When was younger he used to hook up his TV and VCR to his car cigarette port and watch wrestling tapes while driving.

-He was asked about being on the cover of the WCW/nWo Revenge video game for the N64. A lot the guys in the back thought he had to suck someone's dick to get on the cover. He confirmed that the game developer was a fan of his and wanted him on the cover.

-Nova's twin brother was there. He tells a story about meeting Raven at a video convention in Atlantic City. He had two Playboy models on his arm and Raven offered to bring him back to his hotel room. He didnt further elaborate as there was a minor in the room.

-At the height of Raven's drug abuse, Nova and his brother gifted him a jacket that could store all his pills.

-I was going to ask a question but my social anxiety kicked in

-He spent some time afterwards doing photos and selling merch. My social anxiety once again kicked in. I flashed him another peace sign on my way out and he smiled and said "thank you." That was enough for me.

Overall, the documentary was well-produced and I enjoyed it. It did feel a bit meandering at times and I wish they spent some time talking about his work in TNA/ROH and the matches he had with Punk.

Raven still has so much more to offer in the business and its a crime that he's not working for WWE or AEW as part of the creative team.