20 Most Underrated WWE Stars Of The Past 20 Years

Scott Levy bounced around from character to character, gimmick to gimmick until hitting on the idea of a sociopathic, nihilistic misanthrope who would, like grunge frontmen Kurt Cobain and Eddie Vedder (and others before them) be named ‘the voice of a generation’... that generation being Generation X.

Persuading Paul Heyman to take a chance on him in his newly revamped Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion in Philadelphia, Raven was born, and quickly attracted followers, something that would characterise the character throughout almost every run he had for the next couple of decades.

But ‘Raven’ was never just about being the head of a stable, and was never just a grunge rip-off. Levy was a quality worker, playing a uniquely charismatic, literate, loquacious iconoclast - take the slow-burning magnetism of Jake ‘The Snake’ Roberts and marry it to the megalomaniacal demagoguery of Bray Wyatt, and you’re getting the idea.

Despite barnstorming programmes with Tommy Dreamer, CM Punk and others over the years, Raven never seemed to properly gel as a performer in any promotion after he left ECW, which would lead to a lack of investment from crowd and company alike, followed by his jumping ship and starting the trend all over again.

It’s a shame he never caught on properly in WCW, the WWF or TNA, because the potential of both Levy and the character he’d created were huge. That’s not all the promotions’ fault, however: with mental health and substance abuse issues to deal with, Levy could also be his own worst enemy. To the above list, you can add the self-destructive tendencies of Jeff Hardy.

Had that perfect storm of angle, push and personal drive materialised in his prime, there’s no doubt in my mind that Raven could have become a significant star. Whether Levy could have handled it if he had is another matter entirely.