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Chasing Raven - 1wrestling.com - April 6, 2000


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CHASING RAVEN
By Mark Madden
WCW/1wrestling.com
If Eric Bischoff and Vince Russo do the things necessary to get WCW pointed in the right direction, the wrestling war should heat up again come August.

Oh, TNT Monday Nitro won't be challenging WWF RAW in the ratings. But if Nitro is doing a number in the 3.3-3.5 range -- a realistic goal -- then WCW will be building momentum and Vince McMahon will be looking over his shoulder a bit.

At that point, both sides will be looking for an impact player. Both sides will be looking for a recognizable star. Both sides will be chasing Raven.

And you can quoth me on that.

When Raven left WCW last year, he not only started the "ask for your release" fad that lives on to this very day, he put himself in a very good position. Both WCW and the WWF are tying their stars up to long-term contracts, and they're negotiating extensions long before the current contracts expire.

You have to really make a conscious effort to get to free agency. You have to ignore security, you have to ponder the idea of leaving a company where you're probably comfortable personally if not professionally, you have to do what's hard instead of what's easy, and you have to take a risk. You never know what rewards -- or lack thereof -- free agency will bring. Ask Shane Douglas about that.

The last few years really haven't seen many big names switch between WCW and the WWF. Aside from the Radicals -- who got to free agency by chance as much as choice -- Chris Jericho and Jeff Jarrett are the only big names to migrate between New York and Atlanta in recent months.

Like I said, Raven is in a very good position. His ECW contract expires in August. He was on WCW TV less than a year ago. His star factor is high even for those who don't watch ECW.

This ties into one reason why I can't believe WCW hasn't signed Tammy Sytch yet, although that seems imminent. OK, so Tammy didn't look as good as she can when she was in ECW. OK, so she did that ill-advised promo where she confessed to drug abuse. But to the vast majority of wrestling fans, that stuff never happened. The vast majority of wrestling fans don't watch ECW.

If WCW signed Tammy, most fans would think Sunny jumped from the WWF after taking some time off.

So anyway, Raven has high visibility. He has already said that he wants to go to the WWF. I hear they may not want him because of his penchant for livin' la vida loca. He likes the night life, baby.

That said, I think the WWF is just posturing. Vince would be foolish to not want Raven.

Raven, on the other hand, would be foolish to not consider WCW. It would drive the asking price up and increase the frenzy of the promise-making.

Raven, by the way, would be welcome back in WCW under Bischoff. Raven left on good terms personally even if he and Bischoff did disagree professionally.

Come August, Raven has a chance to cash in.

Only one man can stop him.

That man is Scott Levy. The artist formerly known as Scotty Flamingo. Raven has nothing to fear but Raven himself. Only Raven can keep Raven out of the big time. Out of the big money.

Unfortunately, it could happen.

Raven's partying is legend. I would never say he's out of control, because he seems to know exactly what he's doing. That said, Raven is no better or worse than a lot of the wrestlers.

The big thing hurting Raven right now is his appearance, weight and corresponding lack of work ethic. To quote Chad Damiani of WCW.com, Raven looks like Chris Farley playing Jim Morrison. He could stand to lose 30 pounds. (Yeah, I know. I could stand to lose a hundred. Let's stick to what's relevant here.) His gimmick calls for him to look bedraggled, but Raven is overdoing it a bit. His concentration seems minimal. The fire and focus is gone from his promos.

Between now and August, Raven needs to work himself back into the wrestler who was the focus of ECW for so long. Who captivated WCW fans during his initial period in the company.

If he does, he becomes a millionaire.

If he doesn't, well, he'll still end up with one of the big two. Maybe. But he won't get paid what his character's worth in a wrestling war. He may even have to stay with ECW -- assuming ECW wants him.

The Raven gimmick was THE gimmick of the '90s. Raven represented the disenfranchised, nihilistic Generation X kids better than any other wrestler. The gimmick still applies in the year 2000. When Raven was doing his deep interviews in ECW, he really made people think.

Now it's time for Raven to think. To think where his career could end up if he cleans up his act. And to think where his career could end up if he doesn't.

Scotty's my friend. I really hope he gets himself together by August. If he doesn't, he could regret it for the rest of his life. Raven is not only a good performer who gets a lot out of ga-ga, he's one of the finest young minds in the wrestling business, the master of the false finish. He not only deserves to be making big money in WCW or the WWF, he deserves to be on top wherever he goes.

Raven's fate will be determined between now and August.

He'll either be on top forever -- or nevermore.



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