SPW returns to
SPW returns to
A look at raven
If Raven hasn’t already reached legendary status it is only a matter of time before he does. Breaking into the wrestling business at the end of territory era he spent his early years working in the Portland and Memphis territories. In Portland he received a great deal of mentoring by such greats as The Grappler and Roddy Piper.
Eventually his career took him to WCW where he won the Light Heavyweight Title and then to New York signing with the World Wrestling Federation. His stint with the then WWF saw him take on the roles of manager, wrestler and creative writer behind the scenes. As his time in the WWF came to an end his career would take a drastic turn.
Reinventing himself as Raven he debuted in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Alongside Paul Heyman they created a character never before seen. As the depressed and tormented Raven he went on to have creative success feuding with Tommy Dreamer and Sandman, becoming the ECW World Champion. Terry Funk would defeat Raven for the ECW title in the main event of their first ever PPV, Barely Legal in 1997.
His career continued to progress and he soon found himself back in World Championship Wrestling. In WCW Raven would have a stable of misfits called the Flock that included Billy Kidman and Saturn. Before long Raven became the WCW United States Champion but would lose it shortly after to the undefeated Goldberg. He would also become WCW World Tag Team Champion. Growing increasingly disgruntled Raven left WCW abruptly.
Returning to ECW he revived his feud win Tommy Dreamer appearing on the second episode of ECW on TNN aiding Dreamer to defeat the Dudley Boyz and become ECW World Tag Team Champions. He spent several months in ECW working with Tommy Dreamer, Sandman, Francine, Lance Storm and Justin Credible. His journey would eventually take him back to the WWF.
Back in the WWF, Raven would become an integral part of the “Hardcore” division winning the title more 20 different times. He would also serve as a member of the Alliance compromised of former ECW and WCW wrestlers that “invaded” the WWF after Vince McMahon purchased both WCW and ECW.
With WCW and ECW no longer in operation a new company was created called Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. When Raven and the WWF parted ways it wasn’t long before he made his TNA Wrestling debut immediately feuding with Jeff Jarrett over the NWA World’s Heavyweight Title. Claiming it was his destiny he would eventually become NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion adding yet another title to an already lengthy list of accomplishments. During this time period he was also a part of Ring of Honor. His most notable moments with that company saw him feud with CM Punk helping put Punk on the map as a star on the rise. CM Punk would go on to be a WWE World Champion. Today Raven still makes occasional appearances for TNA Wrestling.
Raven makes his Steeltown Pro debut on Saturday April 17th at SPW’s Second Anniversary Show. In the main event Raven will team with Chi Chi Cruz to take on SPW Heavyweight Champion Marius and his mentor “Really Crazy” Rob Stardom!