Wrestling Icon Raven Reflects on Being Labeled “Too Small” by Vince McMahon, Early Career Struggles, and His New Documentary
Image: MLW
Tony Schiavone & Conrad Thompson turned their latest What Happened When into a time machine and therapy couch, sitting down with Raven (Scott Levy) for a raw, funny, and sometimes painful look at his journey—from “Scotty the Body” on Global Wrestling Federation on ESPN back in 1991, WWF Manager, and to the tortured poet of ECW, WCW, and TNA. Here’s the best of the conversation, distilled.
The Big Picture
- The doc: Nevermore: The Raven Effect is coming to streaming (Raven plugged early screenings in Philly, Baltimore, Atlanta). He calls it “warts and all,” admitting it’s tough to watch because it confronts his addiction, mental health struggles, and the self-destructive blur between his real life and the Raven character.
- Art ↔ life loop: Raven explains how art first imitated life, then life began imitating art—he felt compelled to live up to Raven’s darkness. He even riffs on clinical labels read in the film (narcissistic traits), using the discomfort to make mental health a candid, public discussion.
- The body toll: Years of travel, bumps, and lifestyle left real damage (even cardiac concerns were mentioned in the trailer). He’s honest about drugs/alcohol magnifying the wear.
Origin Story & Early TV (The “Scotty the Body” Years)
- Monster Factory (NJ), 1987 ICW: We see one of Raven’s earliest televised matches—he barely remembers it, which says a lot about how much he worked in those days.
- ESPN’s Global era (1991): National exposure as “Scott Anthony/Scotty the Body,” complete with neon gear and a wonderfully cheesy ringside rap bit (“not as weak as I thought it would be,” he laughs).
- Iconic angle: Dressed as an old lady, he canes Buff Bagwell’s “Handsome Stranger”—an over-the-top segment that still pops him. He and Buff used to sprint to flights post-match, changing gear in the car—the grind was real.
Portland: Soap-Opera Heat Before the Grunge
- Don Owen’s territory: A time-capsule of late-territory TV. They rewatch the Ginger/Veronica wedding swerve, where Scotty ditches Ginger for Veronica at the “altar,” launching nuclear heat with babyface Steve Doll.
- Pile-driver off the top (!): A nasty angle leaves Doll stretchered out. Even today, top-rope piledrivers are taboo—the spot stunned Tony & Conrad on rewatch.
- Why Portland mattered: Raven credits Portland as where he really learned to wrestle—two of the best years of his life.
“My Heroes Noticed Me”: Michael Hayes Story
- At a nightclub, Michael “PS” Hayes sent his wife to fetch Raven; she said “you’re the guy on Global he always makes me watch.” For a guy who modeled parts of his act on Hayes and Jake Roberts, it was a career-affirming tap on the shoulder.
Media, Memories & The Business
- On kayfabe’s curtain drop: Raven jokes the day Vince admitted wrestling was a work was the “happiest day”—it ended the exhausting charade of insisting it was real while working obviously staged TV.
Raven on His WWF Days
- Associate Producer on Raw
Raven revealed he was brought into WWF in the early ’90s as an associate producer for Monday Night Raw. He said they were actively grooming him for the booking committee, meaning he was being set up to transition into the creative/booking side of the company, not just an on-screen talent. - Too Small to Wrestle in WWF
He explained that despite wanting to wrestle, WWF management considered him too small for Vince McMahon’s product at that time.- He noted he was around 220 pounds, which in today’s wrestling would be considered a solid size, but back then (early-90s) Vince only wanted big guys (280 lbs and up).
- Because of that, he wasn’t pushed as an in-ring talent in WWF.
- Hired as a Manager Instead
Since Vince didn’t see him fitting the wrestler mold, WWF used him in a managerial role instead of as an active competitor. This allowed him to still appear on screen and contribute, while his backstage work leaned toward production and creative involvement. - His Reflection on That Era
Raven admitted that by WWF standards of the early ’90s, being 220 pounds made him one of the smallest guys on the roster, and Vince’s vision of “larger-than-life” characters dictated the decision. He added that in modern wrestling, his size would have been fine, but at that time it limited his in-ring opportunities in WWF.
The Documentary: Why It Matters
- Director: Jordy Day (known for docs on Bob Probert/Charles Manson), combed through old photos and 8mm film; followed Raven to shows; shaped a piece that’s “painful but honest.”
- Mission: Beyond nostalgia, Raven wants fans dealing with mental health issues to feel seen—and to know talking about it is okay.
Wrestling.news | Backstage Take
Raven’s candor is disarming. The doc sounds less like a vanity project and more like an intervention on paper—a reckoning with the choices that built an all-time character and nearly consumed the man behind it. The WHW replays are a crash course in how good Raven always was at television wrestling—from heat-magnet angles to character evolution. If the film sticks the landing the way this interview does, Nevermore could become required viewing for anyone who wants to understand the cost—and genius—behind pro wrestling’s darkest poet.
