Scott Levy

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article refers to the wrestler; for the article on the actor please see Scott Levy (actor).
The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see the discussion on the talk page.
Scott Levy
Statistics
Ring name(s) Johnny Polo
Raven
Scott Anthony
Scotty the Body
Scotty Flamingo
Billed height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Billed weight 225 lb (102 kg)
Born September 8, 1964
Short Hills, New Jersey
Resides Atlanta, Georgia
Billed from The Bowery,
Palm Beach, Florida
Trained by Larry Sharpe,
Charlie Fulton,
The Sheik,
Jake Roberts
Debut February 20, 1988

Scott Levy (born September 8, 1964) is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Raven. He is currently wrestling for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, and is a former NWA and ECW World Heavyweight Champion. He is also the innovator of numerous types of "gimmick" wrestling matches, such as the Clockwork Orange House of Fun match.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] Early career

Scott Levy studied criminal justice at the University of Delaware and originally wanted to be a lawyer. He would break into the wrestling business in 1988 as Scotty The Body in Memphis' Continental Wrestling Association, where he was the boy-toy of Missy Hyatt, who used him to her and Eddie Gilbert's advantage.

After leaving Memphis, Levy competed in his home state of Florida until he was let go after an argument with part owner Steve Keirn. Levy next competed briefly with Vancouver's All Star Wrestling; he wrestled as a face there and got over with the fans, but ended up leaving due to promoter Al Tomko's preference to push his sons, Todd (AKA Rick Davis) and Terry (AKA The Frog) in All Star's top spots, as well as Tomko making false allegations about Levy being in legal trouble. From there, he went to Portland's Pacific Northwest Wrestling. He was one of the main heels for most of his three years there, winning all of the titles and feuding heavily with Steve Doll; after taking a brief break from competing, he returned to PNW as a face and began a feud with top heel The Grappler.

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.

[edit] World Championship Wrestling (1992-1993)

He got his first major exposure as a wrestler in 1992 in World Championship Wrestling in the light-heavyweight division under the name Scotty Flamingo managed by Diamond Dallas Page, and won the short lived WCW Light Heavyweight Title (also known as the first incarnation of the WCW Cruiserweight Championship) on June 20, 1992 by defeating Brian Pillman. After the match, many other wrestlers lined up in the back to praise the quality of the match. Brad Armstrong defeated Levy to win the Light Heavyweight title.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.

[edit] World Wrestling Federation (1993-1994)

In early 1993, Levy joined the World Wrestling Federation as manager Johnny Polo, a spoiled, rich kid, and was placed with Adam Bomb. He was also manager of the Quebecers tag team, whom he led to a few reigns as WWF World Tag Team Champions. He occasionally wrestled, worked as a color commentator, Co Host of Radio WWF, and, behind the scenes, worked as a producer for the WWF's Monday Night RAW TV program. Levy left in 1994 due to not wrestling and at times not even being on the show.

[edit] Extreme Championship Wrestling (1995-1997)

On January 7, 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, sadistic, misanthrope. He made his debut with Stevie Richards, attacking Tommy Dreamer, claiming Dreamer was his enemy when they were children at Summer Camp. He also debuted with the valet,Beulah McGillicutty, a girl who liked Dreamer as a child, but is now seeking revenge. Raven and Dreamer had a great deal of matches with Raven coming out victorious every time.

Another major ECW feud was with Sandman. He "brainwashed" his son to join his cult like following, and turned him against his father. Raven would get at Sandman by having his son deny his relationship with his father, and he would do Raven's taunt to slowly eat away at Sandman. This led to many bloody matches, which Sandman's son interfered to help his father. After the match, the two embraced, but Raven came from behind with a Kendo Stick, and smacked his enemy. Steven Richards and the Blue Meanie came out with a giant wooden cross, and tied Sandman down to it. They then lifted it up, and "crucified" him. The fans gave a negative reaction. At the time, Kurt Angle was backstage, and the offensive angle caused him to leave and threaten a lawsuit if his name appeared on the same episode as the "crucifixion." Raven came out, and gave a questionable apology for his actions. To this day Raven claims that the angle wasn't an insult to Jesus Christ, but an insult to The Sandman, by using religious iconography to convey an artistic standpoint. The footage of the "crucifixion" was never used by ECW, and indeed, was not publicly seen until it appeared on the WWE Home Video DVD The Rise and Fall of ECW.

Raven dominated ECW in 1995-1996 and enjoyed two reigns as ECW World Heavyweight Champion during his tenure in ECW. His group of followers, Raven's Nest, included many names over his two-year stint in the company, including Cactus Jack, Stevie Richards, Tony Stetson, Johnny Hot Body, The Pit Bulls, The Dudley Boys, Brian Lee, The Bruise Brothers, Beulah McGillicutty, Kimona Wanalaya, Lori Fullington, The Blue Meanie, Super Nova, Chastity, and Lupus. 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. Also, during his first stint in ECW, he successfully defended the ECW World Heavyweight Title against Terry Gordy and Steve Williams, among others, giving Dr. Death his first loss in a singles match in the U.S. in many years. In June 1997, Raven faced Tommy Dreamer in a "Loser Leaves ECW" Match in a losing effort. Raven who didn't have all too much left to do in ECW received a huge offer from World Championship Wrestling.

[edit] World Championship Wrestling (1997-1999)

In 1997 Levy left ECW and joined WCW, as an "unsigned free agent" (for storyline purposes). On June 30, 1997, Raven was seen sitting in the front row at WCW Monday Nitro and the announcers recognize him as a champion from an ""major independent" organization (Extreme Championship Wrestling, or ECW, was never mentioned by name). Then on August 21, 1997 at Clash of the Champions Raven brutally defeated Stevie Richards in an "unsanctioned" match then took a seat in the front row. The storyline continued that Raven would frequently appear in the front row for the next few months, slowly forming what would be known as The Flock. Raven eventually signed a (kayfabe) contract with WCW with J.J. Dillon that stipulated that he could wrestle only when he wanted and under his own rules. Thus, Raven's Rules were born.

On November 23, 1997 at World War III Raven met Scotty Riggs in a match in which Raven dropped Riggs into a chair, damaging Riggs' eye. Riggs later joined the Flock, as would Reese, Billy Kidman, Van Hammer, Horace, Lodi, and Sick Boy. Leading the Flock, he enjoyed some moderate success, but nothing on the level of his former ECW main event status. He won the WCW U.S Heavyweight Championship as well as the WCW World Tag Team Championship, with Perry Saturn. The former reign lasted only a day as Raven defeated Diamond Dallas Page at a Pay Per View and lost the belt the following night to Bill Goldberg on WCW Monday Nitro.

Raven had a notable feud with Perry Saturn after losing the U.S Title to Goldberg. He blamed the flock and Saturn in particular for his loss. This led to a series of matches, the last of which happened at WCW Fall Brawl '98. Without the Flock, Raven began a series of depressing interviews and walked out on several matches. In October at WCW Halloween Havoc '98, Raven refused to wrestle Chris Jericho for the Television Title, but eventually was convinced to return to the ring. He lost the match and wasn't seen until 1999. Rumors of a feud with Roddy Piper were in the works, but that was scrapped for an unknown reason. He was reunited with his former valet Chastity, who WCW claimed was his sister, and moved into other storylines, creating feuds with Chris Kanyon, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Hak (The Sandman). He later joined with Vampiro, and the Insane Clown Posse in a short-lived stable called The Dead Pool. In a meeting which involved every contracted WCW wrestler, when Eric Bischoff offered anyone their release right then and there, Raven was the only one to stand up and walk out, as he was dissatisfied with WCW's creative direction. As a final effort to try to get Raven to stay on the WCW roster, Eric Bischoff told Raven about a storyline which involed Raven beating his opponent and "taking their souls". This made Raven interested in staying with the company however, when Raven found out how the storyline would end (Dustin Rhodes a.k.a Goldust being behind the whole thing) he lost interest and asked for his release. Raven left the company in 1999.

[edit] Extreme Championship Wrestling (1999-2000)

Raven rejoined ECW and signed a one-year contract on August 25, 1999. Levy made an electric return on ECW's debut on TNN and won the tag team titles from the Dudley Boyz along with Tommy Dreamer on August 26, 1999. A reluctant tag team, Raven and Dreamer reigned as ECW World Tag Team Champions for several months. When they lost those belts, they feuded briefly. Their short feud on several occasions included The Sandman, Mike Awesome, and Masato Tanaka. Raven and Mike Awesome won the tag team titles from Tanaka and Dreamer on March 4, 2000 only to lose them a week later to The Impact Players at the Living Dangerously pay per view that year. After the pay per view, Raven was used less and less, not even being booked at the Hardcore Heaven pay per view in May of that year. Raven was left off TV until his eventual departure and return to the WWF. Raven left ECW being owed $78,000 by Paul Heyman.

[edit] World Wrestling Federation (2000-2003)

On June 23, 2000 Levy met with WWF officials to discuss a possible move back to the World Wrestling Federation. Raven made his return at Unforgiven 2000 when he interfered in the Strap Match between Tazz and Jerry Lawler, by DDT-ing Lawler. He then started teaming with Tazz before they went their separate ways. Raven's first taste of gold came on December 20, 2000 in Chattanooga, TN, when he defeated Steve Blackman for the WWE Hardcore Championship, his first of a record 27 title reigns.

The first half of 2001 saw Raven achieve several memorable moments. At the Royal Rumble, he prevented Kane from chokeslamming comedian Drew Carey. At WrestleMania X-Seven, he competed in his only match of the annual event, losing the Hardcore Championship to Kane in a Triple Threat Match that also included The Big Show. At Backlash, he lost to Hardcore Champion Rhyno in a widely remembered hardcore match.

However, the second half wasn't as successful. Raven found himself in small roles for the next few months. When the Invasion storyline began, he found himself in the new WCW/ECW Alliance, but had forgettable feuds against William Regal and Perry Saturn. He was best remembered for being managed by diva Terri Runnels and destroying the love interest of Saturn, his mop called "Moppy." 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 WWF's attention. Still, the WWF kept him lower on the card. By the end of the year, Raven was off the air, having been fired after the Alliance lost to the WWF at the Survivor Series.

2002 may have been his worst year professionally. In March, when the Brand Extension was announced, Raven was drafted to Raw with the 28th pick. On the final SmackDown! before the split began, he defeated Maven to once again win the Hardcore Championship, thus bringing the title to Raw. He would lose the title that Monday to Bubba Ray Dudley. At that time, Raven decided to spend some time announcing, as he became the new color commentator for Sunday Night HEAT. This only lasted a couple of months, as he would later "quit" the show and resume his wrestling career on Raw. This would not last long either as was banished from Raw after losing a match to Tommy Dreamer on June 24, 2002. Raven would be forced to spend the rest of the year on HEAT, the show that he quit from mere weeks earlier. Although Raven did win his way back onto the Raw roster, he only had one match (losing to Jeff Hardy in a Royal Rumble qualifier) and was released the following week on January 20, 2003.

Despite a large reaction from fans to his early appearances, the WWF showed little interest in pushing him beyond the Hardcore division. Raven was in line to possibly get a job on a writing team which caused other writers to sway towards Raven getting released.

[edit] Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (2003-present)

Levy's main exposure since then has been for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (then NWA-TNA), and in Europe for the Frontier Wrestling Alliance, where he reverted to his original grunge image. He also appeared in Ring of Honor that year, battling CM Punk in one of the company's most famous feuds, which was based around Punk's straight-edge lifestyle as opposed to Raven's years of drug and alcohol abuse during the height of his fame in the late nineties.

Raven debuted in TNA Wrestling on January 22, 2003, two days after his release from WWE, attacking Jeff Jarrett and stealing the NWA World Heavyweight Title from him. Raven proceeded to start a long-running storyline in which he claimed it was his "destiny" to win the NWA World Heavyweight Title.

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. While in TNA, he formed a stable known as The Gathering, which included Punk, though they would later turn on him. In 2003 Raven feuded with James Mitchell and the Disciples of the New Church. Raven took them all out one by one just like he said, but with help from The Gathering. Raven ended his feud with James Mitchell in a Last Man Standing match, which was won by Raven.

In 2004 Raven teamed up with The Sandman to go against the Gathering. The Gathering would win due to interference from James Mitchell, who had aligned himself with The Gathering. Raven then teamed with Terry Funk to defeat the Gathering, even though James Mitchell tried to interfere.

In 2004, Raven's old friend Sabu returned to TNA Wrestling. Raven teamed with Sabu to defeat The Gathering one last time. Raven and Sabu would then feud with Abyss and "The Alpha Male" Monty Brown. Abyss and Monty Brown would outnumber Sabu on many occasions, when Raven failed to watch Sabu's back.

Eventually Raven challenged Sabu to an empty arena match to be held on June 9, 2004 but Sabu refused to wrestle him, claiming that he had promised his uncle, The Sheik, their trainer, that he would never fight Raven. This caused Raven to wage a campaign against Sabu, disrespecting the memory of his uncle and assaulting Sabu's mouthpiece, Sonjay Dutt, until Sabu finally broke and attacked him on July 23. Raven defeated Sabu in a no holds barred match on August 4, and a scheduled return match on August 18 was cancelled after Sabu (legit) suffered a back injury.

On June 19, 2005, Raven turned face and fulfilled his self-proclaimed destiny when he won the NWA World Heavyweight Championship at TNA Slammiversary 2005, defeating A.J. Styles, Abyss, Sean Waltman, and Monty Brown in a five way King of the Mountain match. On September 15, 2005 Raven lost the NWA Title to Jeff Jarrett in Oldcastle, Ontario, Canada, at a special event of Border City Wrestling. America's Most Wanted ("Wildcat" Chris Harris and "Cowboy" James Storm) came out and made and interfered on Jarrett's behalf. TNA Director of Authority Larry Zbyszko was immediately contacted by BCW officials, who declared the title change official.[1] (TNA had breifly gone dark on it's national television timeslot prior to jumping to Spike TV, prompting a title change in another NWA based promotion)

He has since suffered from a thyroid condition and has only wrestled sporadically.[citation needed] He is being used in a semi-managerial role to Serotonin, currently.

[edit] Wrestling facts

  • Finishing and signature moves

[edit] Championships and accomplishments

  • Extreme Wrestling Federation
  • EWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • HWA Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Hugh Morrus
  • Mid-Eastern Wrestling Federation
  • MEWF Mid-Atlantic Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • National Wrestling Federation
NWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Peach State Wrestling
  • PSW Cordele City Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • PWI ranked Levy # 168 of the 500 best singles wrestlers during the "PWI Years" in 2003
  • United States Extreme Wrestling
  • USXW Heavyweight Championship (4 times)

[edit] Trivia

This article contains a trivia section.
Content in this section should be integrated into other appropriate areas of the article or removed, and the trivia section removed.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../s/c/o/Scott_Levy_e7b9.html"