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THE RAVEN INTERVIEW - PART 2
By Mike Samuda & Rick Scaia
Wrestleline/WrestleManiacs
MIKE: We heard you had dinner with Page where he tried to convince you to stay, is that true?
RAVEN: Actually Page was quite happy with my decision to leave. He thinks I did the best thing. Page has been a long time close friend of mine, and Page is very happy, he's very proud of me for walking out. I mean, that took a lot of balls to walk out, and I thought he actually was going to be mad at me for walking out, and he came over and gave me a big hug and said he was proud of me and stuff.
Eric and I talked three or four times since then - that night, and the next day ... and he's like, "Look, I really think you're making a mistake. I think you ought to stay." And I'm like, "I don't know, let me think about it." The more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed to go. I needed to go to ECW, because I was never happy there. I was never going to get to crack the big ten. The big ten - Nash, Sting, Lex, Hulk, Savage ... whatever. Maybe it's nine, maybe it's eleven, you know it changes ... but everyone knows who the big ten are. And I've been number eleven for two years, and I was never going to be in the big ten, and to me, as I explained to Eric, I can't stay. If I'm not going to be a part of the main event, or at least given a shot to be a part of the main event, then I don't want to play. I'll take my football and go home. I fully believe I can be a main-eventer any place I go, and let's say I can't, I at least want the opportunity to go for it, which I never would have gotten there. So, no there is no way I was staying. I just couldn't do it.
RICK: You said that Eric and Page had new found respect for you, did Eric --?
RAVEN: They aren't the only guys respecting me. Page is like a proud older brother. Page has always been like an older brother to me. Eric had always liked me. I guess Eric never really saw me as the kind of guy that would .... as a ballsy kind of guy like that. Eric always liked me, and he had respect for me, but now he had a whole new ... total new respect for me.
RICK: Did you or anybody else gain respect for Eric after that?
RAVEN: I can't talk about the company, but as a person, I will say this, as a person, I like Eric very much. I think he's a great guy as a person, and I wish him good luck in whatever position they stick him in. We never hung out or nothing. Every so often, we would talk in the bar for an hour, very rarely, but we always got along personally, and I think Eric always respected my intelligence ... he always respected my wrestling savvy, my wrestling knowledge, and I always thought he was very intelligent as well. I liked the fact that he was always honest. At least, to me he was. There's a lot of guys where he wasn't. At least that's what they say. I can't go into anybody's life story, because I don't know it. But I know he was quite honest with me, with his intentions anyway.
MIKE: What has the reaction been among wrestlers? Can you give us an idea?
RAVEN: Reaction about what?
MIKE: Bischoff's demotion or ...
RAVEN: It's too soon to say, it just happened today I guess. I haven't really talked to anybody about it. I haven't talked to anybody in WCW about it, and ECW, they don't give a rat's ass one way or the other, it doesn't affect their lives. The only people it would affect are my WCW friends, and if they had anything negative to say, I couldn't report on it anyway, because like I said, I can't speak negatively about the company. So there's really nothing I can say.
MIKE: Did you try to broker a deal to get Konnan into ECW?
RAVEN: I would like to see Konnan in ECW. Konnan is a good friend of mine, and I think he's a hell of a talent. Paul E. just feels he can't afford him. Konnan is on a different contract. You see I was on the third year. When I signed my deal, it was very lucrative at the time, but now the business has changed, and now what I'm making ... I probably would have doubled, if not tripled what I made in ten months when my contract expires. But I'm the third leg, so what I make ... basically I'm going to make the same amount that I was going to make in WCW this one year. Next year, my stock would be worth two to three times more.
Konnan is already on that financial level because he just re-signed his deal. If I had just re-signed my deal, it would have been a whole different matter, because then I would have to go take a half a salary cut. As it stands, what the sheets are reporting of what Paul E. is paying me is not even close. That's my downside based. There are so many perks and incentives and stuff involved in my contract that I'll probably make the same thing I made in WCW. Beside the fact that I have a maximum amount of dates I'm allowed to work, I cannot work more than 12 dates per month ... which I made sure Paul E. had no problems with ... I made sure I asked for it, because with this style, I don't want to do it, and after 12 years, my body is beat up. Granted, I just had shoulder surgery ... my body's beat up ... even though I took time off earlier in the year when I was doing the vignettes and they had me not working, it's still a three-month vacation. I mean, I spent 12 years working 7 nights per week. My first 6, 7 years in the business, I worked every night. Literally, I was working 300 plus nights per year, and I was driving 2000 miles, 3000 miles to do it.
I wrestled in Memphis and Portland, and all these small territories, it takes a horrible beating on your body, and I think right now, my body is going to need ... I don't want to work more than 12 dates per month. I think my body needs that kind of rest. I don't want to work any less either. I think if I work less, I won't be as ring fresh as I need to be. So I think 12 is a good amount. Three times a week is plenty. I think it's plenty for anybody. Maybe four times per week at the most, but I don't think we should be working more than 16 times per month. Nobody's body needs that.
RICK: But now that you're back in ECW, you're right back into a situation with Tommy Dreamer and -
RAVEN: It's tremendous! It's tremendous!
RICK: As much as you're proud to be a part of the national cable thing, you were a big part of just leading into that first PPV, which was...
RAVEN: That's why I wanted to come back. Paul E. gave me an opportunity to reinvent myself, which as it turns out was not a reinvention. I finally just decided to portray myself on TV, warts and all and all my emotional baggage, scars and everything for everyone to see. The Raven is not a work, it's a shoot. Everyone who knows me will tell you that I'm a miserable moody bastard. I'm manic-depressive. Sometimes you see Scotty the Body running around all happy go lucky, and the other half of the time you see the moody bastard Raven. It's a shoot, and after exploring the manic side of my character for seven years, it's time to explore the moody side, and I find I'm much happier. It's therapy. I mean I've seen enough shrinks to know what works for me and it's very cathartic being that character on camera.
Being in the thing with Tommy, it's great, we're picking up where we left off. Let's face it ... the feud with me and Tommy ... we were best friends when we went to summer camp, and now we hate each other, and here he is stuck with me as a tag team partner ... the last person he ever wanted to come save him, and now he's stuck with 'em. And Tommy as a shoot needs back surgery, so of course we're making it a part of the story line, and I'm like Tommy ... which I think he's an idiot for not taking the time off, but he won't do it, so that's his baggage, but his back's beat to shit. So it's all a part of the storyline, here it is Tommy finally wins his first belt he ever wins in his career, and his back's about to go and he needs surgery, and the man he's stuck with is the man he hates the most on planet earth. It's great. It's as good a soap opera as you're going to get, especially with all the back history.
MIKE: I heard you came up with the name the Dead Pool, what's going on there?
RAVEN: It's an inside rib on myself. There are a few jokes around the locker room ... in any sport or in any thing there's always a dead pool, who you think is going to die first blah blah blah, and I used to be quite the heavy drinker. I was a legit alcoholic. I would drink from the time I woke up to the time I went to bed, and eventually I quit drinking, but I was always at the top of everybody's list of the dead pool along with Mongo McMichael, Scott Hall, Louie Spicolli, Brian Pillman ... you know ... and I always just like the name the Dead Pool. I think it was a cool name. So I figured I would make it an inside rib on myself, and name my group the Dead Pool. By the way, I haven't drank in ... it will be almost two years now since I drank. That's why it's such a great rib.
RICK: Congratulations.
RAVEN: It's pancreatitis. It's either drink and get pancreatitis or done drinking. And if you read your medical journal, pancreatitis is one of the most painful things known to mankind. So there wasn't really much of a choice.
MIKE: No booking for you in ECW this time around?
RAVEN: Hell no. I never wanted to book anywhere. No that's not true. I used to want to book when I was younger until I realized how much work it was. I'm not interested in it. I'm interested in having input in my own stuff and that's it, and if anybody wants me to help them - sure. I'll help anybody. You know, I'll give my two cents. I love talking about the business, but I have no interest in booking. People don't get it. Anybody can book one angle, or maybe two, but to book an entire company, that's impossible. It's so hard. I don't want to do that. I come because this is like play time for me. They pay me to do something I love. If I had to work, I wouldn't love it anymore ... I wouldn't want to do it.
MIKE: So you're saying that the partying side of your character is now down.
RAVEN: Not entirely, but I just don't drink anymore. I'll still go out all night. It's my lifestyle. I've been going to be at 5 or 6 in the morning for 20 years since I was in college. I took all my college courses in the afternoon or evenings. I've just never been a morning person, and I've always been around that late night lifestyle, so it doesn't matter to me that I'm drinking, I'm still up all night.
MIKE: So you don't see yourself settling down anytime soon?
RAVEN: If I find the right girl, I'd definitely settle down. But I don't have a girlfriend at this time, so who am I going to settle down with? I'm not just gonna date somebody and get serious with her just to do it. I have to truly care, and have deep feelings.
RICK: You mentioned before that the story between you and Dreamer was great soap opera. Did you ever think - you guys basically feuded for two years - that there was another twist and turn that could keep it this interesting and this fresh?
RAVEN: Yeah, I knew we could. In fact, I knew I would be back someday. So I never wanted to lose to Tommy that last night. Tommy didn't want me to lose either. Tommy didn't want to win, because the whole thing was he never pinned me. So I never wanted to lose because I knew I'd be back someday, and Tommy didn't want me to lose because he wanted to keep the feud, but Paul E. thought it was right for business. I completely disagreed and he was right though. It was the right thing to do at the time. So I'm glad I did it, and I think it was one of the best matches we ever had.
RICK: Yeah, I remember that. It was an excellent match.
RAVEN: I think it was one of the best matches I ever had. Period.
MIKE: What's the deal with Taz? We hear that he has not signed his contract yet.
RAVEN: I don't know, that's Taz's business. You guys are the stooge guys. You guys should know all that information.
MIKE: [laughs] But you know, do you have any idea how he feels about your return to the company? I mean, is there any heat between the two of you? Does he think you might take his spot?
RAVEN: Taz thinks I'm a prima donna, and he thinks I'm just showing up now when there's glory to be had, but I think that's a bunch of f*cking malarkey. Let's face it, I put my two and a half years in here. I was only scheduled to stay for four months when I came. I was coming in for four months to get Tommy over, and develop my Raven character. So it was going to be a symbiotic relationship with me and Paul. I would get his right hand man over (Tommy), and he would allow me to get my character over, and then I just stayed for two and a half years, I never wanted to leave.
RICK: Before you were Raven, you were a ton of other things -
RAVEN: That's right. As I said before, they were all a part of my manic depressive personality. My entire family has a history of insanity.
MIKE: [laughs] Are you serious?
RAVEN: No I'm not joking. It's very serious. My entire family has been on medication for years and it dates back ... my grandfather's sister, her other sister and her mom made a triple suicide pact and they all drank poison. Then one of them ... vomited hers back up, the other two died. So she was now involved in a manslaughter charge. So you got this 85 year-old lady running around on house arrest with an ankle brace. I mean the whole family is nuts. My grandmother's brother was the greatest playwright in American history, Clifford Odets, and he was ... allegedly, one of the things he done was drove the actress Francis Farmer insane. I heard she was a big time star, and he drove her insane, and he was insane. Yeah, it runs in the family. I mean what you saw before was the manic side. Now you're seeing the depressive side. What you're probably going to see in the future is a combination of the two, which is kind of where I settled now.
RICK: This is just from reading the magazines when I was a kid, was Scotty the Body in the Pacific Northwest your first big time exposure?
RAVEN: No, I worked in Memphis before that, but I was just a job guy there. And then I went to Florida ... I was a strong midcarder in Florida ... then I went to Vancouver to work for Al Tomko. What a schmuck he was. That lasted a month, and then I went to Portland, and that's where I got my first big break. So yeah in a way ... in Florida I had a good spot. I think Florida is where I really learned to do my craft because I was doing seven nights a week. Literally seven nights a week. Literally 25 plus nights per month.
RICK: WOW! The first time I remember seeing you on TV I think was the GWF thing.
RAVEN: I've been in every promotion. I'm the last of the old timers ... you know that's been to every damn territory. Me and Scott Hall were the last two people who have really been to more than two or three territories ... the last of the old timers to make it the show. He made it before I did, but other than me and him ... there's no one in the business now that hasn't either made it to the show or been to four or five, six, seven territories. So I'm kind of like the last of the old timers.
MIKE AND RICK: Thanks for the interview.
RAVEN: It was quite interesting talking to you. Thank you.
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