TNA Releases Raven

[Jack-Hammer]

PWInsider.com is reporting that TNA & Raven have parted ways. According to the site, Raven has been written out of future TNA storylines. It looks as though that EV2.0 is on life support and that the plug is just waiting to be pulled, thank Christ.

TNA has released several wrestlers in a short span of time and I'm wondering how much, if any, weight Dixie Carter's mother carries in these releases. I don't remember all the details but isn't she, for all intents and purposes, in charge of TNA's finances at this point?

Moderators Note: While this report isn't in and of itself a spoiler, posting why/how Raven was released is. Don't make the mistake of being the one to do it — you will be banned for it.

 

[Y 2 Jake]

TNA does this. Raven is released and re-hired yearly. The only surprise is that he didn't get a title before he was fired.

Raven is pretty worthless these days anyway, at least TNA seem to have realised it. Eric Young though, worth keeping.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

I'm a Raven mark, and have been for years since his heyday in WCW, but I can understand why he was let go of in terms of story — I'm just not sure why he was let go of entirely. Raven would make for a fantastic backstage guy. He's got a great mind for the business and would have made a great addition to any team he would have been involved in backstage as far as I'm concerned.

Old and out-of-shape or not, I hope it's not the last time we see him in TNA.

 

[hatehabsforever]

I think this is what you call "trimming the fat." Which is a particularly relevant expression when talking about the EV2.0 guys. Eric Young, Sabu, and Raven, all gone in a relatively short period of time (not to include Young in EV2.0, I realize this isn't the case). Now all they have to do is get rid of about another 2-3 guys (minimum) and minimize the involvement of another handful of guys, and TNA may be moving in the right direction. Slowly. Actually really slowly. Almost imperceptible. But moving nontheless.

 

[a0161613]

Funny you say that IDR. I agree with you about Raven's mind. He is smart for the business and I think in the "old" TNA, then he would have found himself a job backstage.

Nowadays TNA seems to cut guys laisez-faire and not put much thought into their potential backstage uses.

Eric Young gets fired but Orlando Jordan gets a contract? Bruce Pritchard gets hired, Tommy Dreamer gets the book for a PPV and then brings in a load of his old buddies for a nostalgia trip. The guys behind the important decisions such as recruitment and booking clearly dont have their heads on straight at the moment.

 

[Joe's Gonna Kill You]

I'm a HUGE fan of Raven so it sucks to see that he is gone but right now he is not on the roster so it makes sense. I would Love to see Raven in Backstage role mentoring young wrestlers and think Raven can also helpful on the creative team. Sucks to see him go and I hope that he'll be back in TNA in the Future.

 

[Terminal Sledgehammer]

I'm going to say that that Raven is well past his prime, and it's a good thing that he is gone from the ring. But as put by IDR I don't think he should be totally gone from TNA. While EV2 shouldn't be inside the ring as it is rather boring and really dangerous to themselves and others, most of them could still be used backstage. I still think keeping them off the tube is a step in the right direction.

 

[klunderbunker]

Yeah I'm not seeing the issue here either. Raven hasn't meant much of anything at all since ECW with his time in WCW being the closest thing to mattering otherwise. I've always found him overrated other than the ECW time and this was no exception. This is probably a good release as he's only really there for nostalgia value rather than anything else. I have zero problem with this as he's simply not worth keeping around.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

Yeah I'm not seeing the issue here either. Raven hasn't meant much of anything at all since ECW with his time in WCW being the closest thing to mattering otherwise. I've always found him overrated other than the ECW time and this was no exception. This is probably a good release as he's only really there for nostalgia value rather than anything else. I have zero problem with this as he's simply not worth keeping around.

Not true at all. Raven was one of the biggest acquisitions in the early days of TNA. His match against AJ and Jarrett back in June of 2003 is widely considered one of the better matches in company histroy.

From 2003-2004 he ran the biggest story in the company after stealing Jarrett's title during his debut (talking about how it was his "destiny" to win the gold).

He also employed "The Gathering", the TNA version of "The Flock" which gave CM Punk and Mickie James their starts in the company and which ran as the face stable against Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme heel stable — which was the biggest stable in the company at the time.

You may not be a fan of the guy, but I'm not gonna let you sit here and talk about him like he's inconsequential flotsam who did nothing but cruise on his ass for his entire time with TNA, because it's not the case at all. Old and out of shape? Yes. Didn't matter? Not even close.

 

[Fallen Angel 21.3]

I am going to miss Raven, he was one of the few guys that could speak very well on the mike and get a crowd to hate him and love him at the same time. This is the same guy who got the Japanese style of heat back in the old ECW for his fued with the sandman. Out of all of the guys in the EV 2.0 group Raven is the last person i would release, you could take him off t.v. or put him in a manager role but even though Raven can't go in the ring like he used to his mouth or his mind still could help TNA out.

 

[flocker]

Sometimes I think these releases are more like vacations. Nash, Raven, you guys are "released" have a good time on the islands. We'll call you in about a month. By the way, that gives you enough time to *grow your hair, *get a really big tattoo, * go on a major steroid cycle, *visit Scott in rehab.

You know, business stuff.

Raven could be used. Manager, road agent. Creative. Mr Bischoff, if you're reading this (and I know you are )there's your next tv show. Raven and Russo locked in a room on camera planning a wrestling book. Sell it to HBO or something!

 

[Kenny Powers]

I wouldn't doubt that we will see all the EV 2 members gone sooner or later. RVD and Dreamer will probably be the only ones left. The guys put on a good show and had their reunion, but there isn't really anything left for them. Its cool to see Raven every now and then. I am just tired of seeing EV 2 and Fortune feud together. At least Raven's return was more memorable this time around then his brief time back feuding against Abyss with Dr. Stevie.

 

[TheBWO]

To get an endorsement from Heyman himself would be enough I would think on a resume'.....watch the Rise and Fall of ECW...and Heyman himself says that Raven/Scott Levy is someone who gets the business, gets what he has to do to make a promo effective, and how to work an angle. I think TNA can add this to the list of blunders that they .....or better yet......had Bishoff oversee ~~~ whether this be a "Janice doing" or not. He could be 400 pounds for all I care.....wrestling minds that help carve out a niche' in this "sport" come few and far between. Watch ECW at it's height, and I can assure you that Raven had something to do with some of it behind the scenes to some degree. I swear.....that hole that TNA is digging is probably close to China at this moment.....if you see Bishoff come to the ring with some won-ton soup....you know he's visited the other side of it.

 

[Serious Mozzarella]

I agree with KB. There's no reason for Raven to be around, considering the fact that Dixie's mother had to limit her allowance on TNA in order to keep the company from going bankrupt. If the company is so desperate, they need to begin trimming the fat, and Raven was, unfortunately, someone they had no use for.

 

[wushady]

I'm not surprised at all by his release. There's no doubt he has contributed a lot in the wrestling business especially in ECW and the early days in TNA. However I feel it's time or him to go to make room for the younger guys. I wouldn't be surprised if he stays on in a backstage role. He has a lot of wrestling knowledge that could help TNA, he's not anywhere near the wrestler he once was. I didn't read the spoilers, but hopefully he gets a descent sendoff.

 

[klunderbunker]

Not true at all. Raven was one of the biggest acquisitions in the early days of TNA. His match against AJ and Jarrett back in June of 2003 is widely considered one of the better matches in company histroy.

From 2003-2004 he ran the biggest story in the company after stealing Jarrett's title during his debut (talking about how it was his "destiny" to win the gold).

He also employed "The Gathering", the TNA version of "The Flock" which gave CM Punk and Mickie James their starts in the company and which ran as the face stable against Russo's Sports Entertainment Xtreme heel stable — which was the biggest stable in the company at the time.

You may not be a fan of the guy, but I'm not gonna let you sit here and talk about him like he's inconsequential flotsam who did nothing but cruise on his ass for his entire time with TNA, because it's not the case at all. Old and out of shape? Yes. Didn't matter? Not even close.

See the thing is, none of that meant a thing for the company. He was around for some solid stuff back then when the company was worthless. Raven has been bordering on self-parody for years now and he was back then too. He didn't get the title until about a year later which is when the company was off television so it's not like his time means anything at all in TNA, even when he was at the top of his time in the company.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

I'm a Raven mark, and have been for years since his heyday in WCW, but I can understand why he was let go of in terms of story — I'm just not sure why he was let go of entirely. Raven would make for a fantastic backstage guy. He's got a great mind for the business and would have made a great addition to any team he would have been involved in backstage as far as I'm concerned.

Old and out-of-shape or not, I hope it's not the last time we see him in TNA.

Yeah I agree, Raven is way past his best in the ring, but as a guy backstage or a mentor to Jeff Hardy in Immortal, Raven would be awesome. He could wrestle occasionally, when required as part of a storyline.

I hope some wrestling company decides to make use of Ravens great mind for the business after he retires as an active wrestler, his creativity and promo skills could really benefit the storylines and up-and-coming talents in any wrestling company. I would love to see him on the creative team in TNA or WWE, maybe even ROH

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I'm a huge fan of Raven. If any guy, other than Paul Heyman, deserves credit for ECW its this guy. He carried Tommy Dreamer and Sandman to great feuds in ECW. One of them is a boring dude and the other has a great entrance...thats about it.

That being said TNA made the right decision by letting him go. He did not have anything going for him presently and TNA has a bigger roster than it should have. So some cuts were neccesary. I don't think TNA can afford to keep him even as a road agent.

So what does this mean for Raven? The last I heard WWE was interested in opening up promo classes to help improve the mic skills of their wrestlers. Raven would be a great teacher as he is one of the best promo cutters of all time. So I think he should approach Vince. He would welcome him with open arms.

 

[It's Damn Real!]

See the thing is, none of that meant a thing for the company. He was around for some solid stuff back then when the company was worthless. Raven has been bordering on self-parody for years now and he was back then too. He didn't get the title until about a year later which is when the company was off television so it's not like his time means anything at all in TNA, even when he was at the top of his time in the company.

Sure it did — it meant plenty, because at the time he was one of the biggest reasons for their weekly PPV draw. People still paid to see him perform, and TNA's live attendance at the Asylum was actually much larger on average than what they manage to pull in at the iMPACT! Zone now.

In the sense of being a nationally televised character, yes, he meant little, because he wasn't nationally broadcast, but he was still on television — albeit the type you had to pay for exclusively.

He, Styles, Daniels, AJ, Shane Douglas, Nash, etc. were the biggest pieces in the company at the time, no matter how insignificant you chalk them up (or down) to be, so he still mattered no matter how you look at it.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

So what does this mean for Raven? The last I heard WWE was interested in opening up promo classes to help improve the mic skills of their wrestlers. Raven would be a great teacher as he is one of the best promo cutters of all time. So I think he should approach Vince. He would welcome him with open arms.

That is great news! While the WWE training schools or whatever they are, keep churning out good athletes, they are all mostly bland and boring due to the lack of charisma and promo skills. As WWE basically script most of the promos for their talent now- in contrast to the Attitude era where talent had more of a free reign to be creative- the young wrestlers are not learning how to create a character in their promos, and push storylines. This is where Raven would be of great use to Vince

If he no longer wants to be in the ring, a role in this promo school would keep Raven involved in the business and allow him to pass on his considerable experience and ability to the next generation of up-and-coming wrestlers.

Great idea

 

[Dizzy]

I agree with KB. There's no reason for Raven to be around, considering the fact that Dixie's mother had to limit her allowance on TNA in order to keep the company from going bankrupt. If the company is so desperate, they need to begin trimming the fat, and Raven was, unfortunately, someone they had no use for.

Lol, You really believe that foolishness? Come on now. How the hell can money be so tight they sign Mickie James, Katie Lea and re-sign Team 3D? It's not about trimming the fat, more so on getting rid of guys that won't be used going forward.

EV2 ran it's course.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Lol, You really believe that foolishness? Come on now. How the hell can money be so tight they sign Mickie James, Katie Lea and re-sign Team 3D? It's not about trimming the fat, more so on getting rid of guys that won't be used going forward.

EV2 ran it's course.

The Team 3D re-signing was fucking ******ed. What purpose could it have to re-sign after they've announced their retirement as a tag team? They're not exactly the most useful as singles wrestlers and I'm pretty sure even they know it, considering how long they've stuck together.

 

[klunderbunker]

Sure it did — it meant plenty, because at the time he was one of the biggest reasons for their weekly PPV draw. People still paid to see him perform, and TNA's live attendance at the Asylum was actually much larger on average than what they manage to pull in at the iMPACT! Zone now.

In the sense of being a nationally televised character, yes, he meant little, because he wasn't nationally broadcast, but he was still on television — albeit the type you had to pay for exclusively.

He, Styles, Daniels, AJ, Shane Douglas, Nash, etc. were the biggest pieces in the company at the time, no matter how insignificant you chalk them up (or down) to be, so he still mattered no matter how you look at it.

Drawing a live audience to a glorified indy company back then means very little, at least back then. OVW gets a weekly house that's about the same. It doesn't mean one guy is causing it, but that's a different story.

I'm not thinking he matters as much as you think he does. The company was next to nothing until they got on Fox and Raven was a minor player by that point, or at least at the beginning. I think it was more the wrestling itself rather than any single character back in that era.

 

[gd]

Ya, this is pretty much a non event. It's not like Raven's really done anyting during his latest run besides have a shit match with Dreamer and stand around and look creepy.

He'll probably be back in a few months to be apart of some other stable storyline that is completely overbooked and draws absolutely not interest. Great.

 

[INDYjon22]

He'll be back eventually. Like Jake said, Raven gets released and rehired yearly. His purpose os to come in for short amounts of time and help get guys over, which I think he does well. However, at this point there is no long term pluses of keeping him around. Outside of the EV2 vs. Fortune feud he wasn't going to do anything besides job to other guys. I like Raven, but cutting him was the correct move. He will be back soon enough.