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ECW Offers Raven His Walking Papers - IGN Wrestling - May 22, 2000
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ECW Offers Raven His Walking Papers
Either the WWF or WCW could be in his future
By Chris Sabga
Editor, IGN Wrestling
Raven made a stunning return to ECW last August after the disgruntled WCW employee was offered his walking papers in a showdown with Eric Bischoff. An almost identical situation has now taken place in ECW, though most analysts believe that Raven himself is at fault this time, not the promoter.
Since returning to ECW, Raven (Scott Levy) had failed to make the significant impact that was forecast for him. Before joining WCW in '97, he had become a huge star in ECW. It's there that Levy started the "Raven" character, and there he won his first major heavyweight championship; the ECW World title. However, his second run in ECW didn't go nearly as smoothly as his first.
There were problems right from the getgo. Levy wanted to jump from WCW to the WWF, who were more than likely interested in him, but because of the agreement he came to upon leaving Bischoff's company before his contract was up he was unable to accept offers from them. As a result, he bolted back to ECW, where he signed a one year deal. He was less than thrilled with being back in a smaller promotion, and this time out often talked publicly about how he was only using ECW for a paycheck before jumping to the WWF when his time there was done. He had several noted run-ins with ECW head honcho, Paul Heyman, in regards to his character and matches, not to mention his attitude towards the company. Eventually, Heyman shot back at Raven online, criticizing him for his attitude and for letting himself get noticably out of shape during in the last few months. In the last month, it had become clear that Paul Heyman has decided to substantially reduce Raven's role in the company. At Cyberslam in March, he put an end to Raven's successful feud to Tommy Dreamer, and just last weekend decided not to use him in any capacity for ECW's "Hardcore Heaven" Pay Per View.
Now the rocky relationship between Raven and ECW seems have broken down completely. WrestlingObserver.com reports that Heyman has offered Levy an unconditional release from his contract. There's currently no word on whether he will accept it. If he does, he can immediately jump back to WCW, but wouldn't be able to sign with the WWF until his WCW no-complete clause (which stands from back when he split from Eric Bischoff in August) runs out in late June.
Raven would more than likely be a good fit for either of the "big two" promotions. It's uncertain if he'd risk another WCW run after having a less than stellar experience with them before. The WWF (mainly Jim Ross) has openly complimented Levy in the past. While Levy, four years from 40, would appear out of place in an environment such as the WWF where the emphasis is on youth, his gimmick could be considered young enough to get away with it. It remains to be seen if Raven's sour experience with ECW will change how the WWF feels about him.
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