Raven In WWE - What Went Wrong?

His last ditch effort to stay over underscored how and why his run hadn't materialised in the way so many thought it would.

Pivoting to commentary after spending more of 2002 a*sing around in the soon-to-be-defunct Hardcore division, he took up permanent residence on Sunday Night Heat, again amassing a cult around his act. Only this time, it was the audience hanging on his every word. Attempting to work his own "Seven Deadly Sins" angle generated some low level buzz for those who saw it, but a final appearance on Monday Night Raw in early-2003 was most shocking for the sight of him working with short hair, black tights and boots for his loss to Jeff Hardy.

Much like with Vince McMahon years earlier, the actions of Raven had mostly been off the radar. Within weeks, he'd negotiated his own release, with his exit being as enigmatic as his arrival.

Days after leaving, he featured on a TNA weekly pay-per-view, becoming one of the few wrestlers to ever create an illusion of competition between the brands.

Precedent suggests McMahon probably had no idea about that either, but at least nobody could wonder out loud who the f*ck fired Johnny Polo. Levy left with his integrity, and a character beloved enough to buy him another decade and a half in the gimmick WWE never saw more than a few months of.