Raven's Cageside Evaluation

What you loved:

1. Promos - An artist when it came to cutting promos, he's one of the few who could wax poetic every time he got on the mic.
2. Gimmick - It's a bit dated now, but back then the grungy outsider look was appropriate for the time. Easily connected with younger viewers.
3. Dreamer Feud - A classic feud in ECW that lasted over a year, where Raven won literally every match, until the very last one.
4. ECW Run - His first run lasted about two years, and is probably considered the high point of his career.
5. DDT - Comparable to Jake Roberts, Raven was incredibly smooth at delivering a DDT. Also "even flow" was a great name for the move.

Best comment comes from BrassCitySaint:

"His partnership with Paul Heyman gave birth to the Raven character, and at the time, it was incredibly dynamic. Wrestling often borrows from reality, but the "Big Two" were either reluctant or too blind to develop a character that tapped into the mindset of disenfranchised 90’s youth. (I lean towards the latter.) I first saw Raven when I was 15, and I definitely connected with that outsider mentality. I loved his dark promos, his apathetic body language, and I was enamored with the character’s psychology. It was the first time I had seen a wrestler completely reinvent himself, and I quickly forgot that this was once the obnoxious dork who managed the Quebecers just a few years prior."

___________________________________________________________________

What you loathed:

1. Drugs - Seriously, don't do them. They ruin everything.
2. Post ECW Career - After 1997 things went somewhere between bad and worse for Raven. TNA run was all over, WWE run was mid-card-tastic, and WCW made him look silly. In WCW, he was given a rich spoiled kid history to go with the Raven gimmick, really??? The only good he did was during his ROH run, where he feuded with CM Punk (straight edge vs. drugs/alcohol), highly recommended checking that out.
3. In-Ring - A lot of hardcore spots, somewhat lazy work, especially later in his career.
4. Physique - Never known to be in amazing shape.
5. Not Being Used - It's too bad he isn't being used for his mind, as a booker or road agent. His wrestling IQ is so high, it's a shame more don't learn from him.

Best comment goes to KJ Gould:

"Raven the spoiled rich kid in WCW. Amusing skits with Kanyon aside, it destroyed a lot of the mystique around Raven. Never rose higher in the industry than he could have, partly because of his reputation for being an addict, partly because of his stature and thus his use as a gatekeeper to put over hot new talent. He also seemed to gain momentum several times during his career then self-destructed in some way to undo a lot of goodwill, be it jumping between promotions, butting heads with higher ups in the locker room, or being chastised for being a partying buddy of Shane McMahon back in the day."

On to the poll! With 167 votes, Raven's average score is 3.7

Thanks, Cagesiders! Tomorrow is recap day, with updated poll scores, and best comments of the week.

Until then!