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RAVEN INTERVIEW ARCHIVE

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THE RAVEN INTERVIEW
By Mike Samuda & Rick Scaia
Wrestleline/WrestleManiacs

MIKE: Are you ready?

RAVEN: Yeah.

MIKE: You heard what happened to Bischoff today?

RAVEN: Yes, I heard he was downshifted or laterally moved to some other department. They didn't actually fire him, I guess. I heard they just took him out of the wrestling department.

RICK: The guy who took his place, this Bill Busch character, is the guy they say is going to step in for him.

RAVEN: Well, who is Bill Busch?

RICK: He's the guy from Turner Sports. I guess he's stepping in on the business side.

RAVEN: Bischoff was in charge of business and creative. It's too much work for any one person. So what they've done, is they've split it. You've got to have a business side and a creative side. Bill Busch is taking over the business side, so I wouldn't say he's taking over Eric's job, I'd say he's taking half of Eric's job.

RICK: Who is in place right now to handle the creative side?

RAVEN: I wouldn't care to comment. Part of the terms of my release are that I can not talk disparagingly about WCW, so I wouldn't even care to comment.

RICK: OK.

MIKE: I guess most of us are kinda curious about what happened at that infamous meeting Bischoff had.

RAVEN: Basically, I was on Mancow's radio show a couple of weeks prior and I expressed my displeasure with the company, especially the production end of it, and Eric found out about it, and Eric pulled me aside earlier in the night and said, "You bury our company on a radio show?" And so of course I glibly replied, "Well, they were leading me." But he didn't find it to be humorous. And he goes, "If you're not happy with your job ..." blah blah blah. I'm like whatever.

He calls a meeting. I was still like ... I only had about an hour of sleep ... we were in Vegas, I mean I hadn't slept yet. Picked up some girl the night before ... I was still in the same clothes ... actually what happened, I went out. I flew into Vegas, and went to go eat down the restaurant. I brought a magazine to read with me. This woman, my buddies, Chad Damiani, and a couple of other people came and grabbed me from the restaurant and said "C'mon we're going to party."

As I woke up the next morning ... I fell asleep about 12:30, woke up about 1:30, got like an hour of sleep ... left the broad's place - very attractive broad by the way - I went straight to the building, I'm in the same clothes I had on the night before. I have the same magazine in my back pocket, and I got sunglasses on indoors because my eyes hurt so bad, and I never wear sunglasses indoors. Eric called a meeting and so of course as soon as the meeting is called, I went out and laid down on the floor next to Konnan, figuring the meeting would probably concern me ... as well as Konnan who was also a malcontent, and a good friend of mine ... and a hell of a talent ... very charismatic individual.

I'm laying down, and the very first words out of Eric Bischoff's mouth are "Scott Wilkinson our attorney is here. Raven if you're not happy with the company, if anyone's not happy ..." specifically pointing me down saying Raven if you're not happy with the company you can leave right now, and we'll give you a release. I said, "Alright, see ya." Got up and walked out the door.

MIKE: So you think that meeting was called because of you?

RAVEN: Not because of me specifically. Because of me and about half a dozen other people that were very unhappy, and very vocal about their displeasure with the company. So the meeting was called to chew us out and to let us know that that sort of behavior would not be tolerated.

MIKE: You have first hand knowledge, who else took Bischoff up on his offer?

RAVEN: I did.

MIKE: Just you?

RAVEN: I'm the only one who walked out of the meeting.

MIKE: Weren't you surprised that others didn't come forward?

RAVEN: No. It takes a lot of balls to do it. It takes a lot of sac to stand up and say alright goodbye. In fact, to be honest, Bischoff - Eric and I don't always get along, but he gained enormous respect for me. In fact, we're better friends ... I left on phenomenal terms. If Eric was in charge in a year, I could go back in a year, I still could. The point of fact, it has nothing to do with a personal thing. Eric, as a person, respected me a thousand-fold more for having the balls to stand there and walk out. And on a business level, he knew I was unhappy. I don't think he ever expected me to walk out. In fact I know he didn't, because he told me. He said, "I didn't expect you to walk out." I said well you put me in a position. I got too much pride. You humiliate me in front of the locker room, I got to walk out and go.

He basically tried to humiliate me in front of the locker room. It didn't work, and in doing so, he gained much more respect for me. I liked Eric. I also hear he's a great guy ... as a person. So me and Eric still get along personally. There's no animosity whatsoever. Purely a business thing.

MIKE: So did you have any discussions with the WWF?

RAVEN: That was not an option. When Eric said he would give me a release, he meant a conditional release, meaning I could go to ECW, but I could not go to the WWF. So take that for whatever it's worth. There was no choice to go to the WWF.

RICK: That condition expires in 10 months or whatever whenever it is your WCW contract expires?

RAVEN: Exactly.

RICK: Do you have any thoughts on what may happen a year in the future or ten months in the future?

RAVEN: To be honest, part of me is glad I couldn't go to the WWF, because I want to be here for ECW's national TV expansion. I gave my heart and soul to this place for two and a half years, and I wanted to be a part of them going nationally. It meant a lot to me. So part of me is glad I didn't even get the option. What's one more year of my life? It's nothing. People have wrestled into their 70s apparently. I just turned 35 a couple days ago. I'll be 36 when my contract expires with ECW, and I'll be a free agent.

From what I understand, few people's contracts expire ... I think Bagwell's expires in 5 months, but basically nobody's [contract] expires until 2001. I'll be the only guy whose contract expires mid-2000, and I would think that would make me a pretty hot free agent, especially considering how strongly Paul E. is going to use me on the TV show here. I think he's going to build a majority of the show around me and my angles as he did in the past.

MIKE: So you're saying, given the choice -

RAVEN: Let me finish. So in a year, if ECW is hot as a firecracker, I'm staying. If WWF is the hottest place ... if WCW turns around, then I'll go there, but I think I'd be in a very fortuitous [situation] being the only main guy whose contract I know, there may be some I don't know ... of all my buddies I've talked to, I think I'm the only guy who becomes a free agent in mid-2000. I think everybody else is well into 2001 and 2002, or 2003.

RICK: Well, it took a lot of pride to come back for the national cable debut for ECW.

RAVEN: It means a lot to me. I love this place. I think Paul E. is the greatest booker in the history of the business, and I've been around them all. After only five or six years, Vince made me an associate producer on Monday Night Raw, and I also wrote the second run TV shows, and was groomed apparently to be employed on the booking committee - at least that was what I was told. That was after only six years in the business. Vince is a genius. Vince is every bit a genius, but Paul E. is the single greatest booker I've ever met in my life. And the fact that we also click so well together makes it DeNiro and Scorsese. When we work together, it's just brilliant. I love the fact that it's also Paul E. who runs this place like it's a Led Zeppelin tour. It's a big giant party, and everybody's in for the ride. I get to be Robert Plant, so I mean, I'm ecstatic.

MIKE: So you're saying if you were given an unconditional release, ECW would have been you're first choice.

RAVEN: Well, see here's the thing. I wanted to go to ECW, but then there's a part of me that says well with the WWF you're going to make a ton more money. And then also the way the show is in the WWF, it's a hot show man, and they needed a hot heel ... and me and Austin are real good friends. So I don't know. To be honest, I'm glad I wasn't put in that position. You know what it is, I think I probably would have had to go to the WWF, just because it's the bigger show and the bigger money, and because that's instilled in your head ever since you were a little kid. You know more is better ... bigger is better, but I'm glad I wasn't allowed to make that choice because I'd rather be here. I like the intimacy of it. I like the fact we're growing. It's going to be huge. I like the fact of the creativity and the input I'm allowed to have into it. I don't want to be the booker. I never want to book anywhere, I don't want to do that. I just like to have a bit of say in my own thing. I actually can't answer what I would have done, so I'm glad I wasn't put in that position, because I'm really really happy to be here.

MIKE: What would you say is the main reason why you were so frustrated with working for WCW?

RAVEN: I'm not allowed to discuss that. It's part of my release so ... unless you want to take all my legal bills and pay the thing, which I don't think you can afford. I don't think it's worth even going into.

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