Raven On Why He Recently Sued WWE, Drinking With Shane McMahon, Impressing Vince McMahon, More
- A recent episode of Chris Jericho's "Talk Is Jericho" featured former WWE, WCW, ECW and TNA star Raven's return to the podcast. You can hear the full interview at this link.
Raven briefly spoke about his proposed "Seven Deadly Sins" storyline in 2002 and said WWE officials wouldn't let him get it off the ground. He continued to have heat with Bruce Prichard, stemming from Raven's brief stint working at WWE headquarters. Raven also never got over as a talent in the eyes of Vince McMahon, who reportedly asked, "Who hired Johnny Polo?" when Raven returned to the company. Raven said if he could come in to WWE now and do what he wants to do, he would take the opportunity in a heartbeat, but the chances of him receiving a call from WWE is far-fetched. Jericho asked what prompted WWE management to take a chance on Johnny Polo as a booker in the first place. Raven said he was filling in for Jerry Lawler on commentary and impressed Vince McMahon with his preparation practices. This led to him being promoted to Associate Producer.
Jericho asked Raven how he came to leave his booking job with WWE. Raven said it was difficult, as he was making north of six figures a year, and he didn't have a plan going forward. He said there were a variety of reasons for his departure, including him being unaware of the inner-office dating policy. Jericho laughed and asked which girl Raven was involved with and he replied, "It was a few of them." He was also drinking buddies with a young Shane McMahon at the time, which didn't go over well with Vince. Raven said that he wanted to pursue an in-ring career, which would've been impossible had he stayed with WWE. He said his position in the office would have pigeonholed him and the best he could've hoped for was a run as an enhancement talent.
Raven later said he's currently "persona non grata" in WWE because he recently sued the company based on the language in his contract. Raven and all WWE Superstars are classified as "independent contractors," which means they shouldn't be held to the same standards as regular employees. WWE still treats its talent as though they're regular employees – except without issuing healthcare or benefits. Raven said he was really trying to change the business by instituting healthcare in WWE, hoping that it would cause a ripple effect throughout the industry. Raven wasn't able to get enough people onboard with the class action lawsuit and fell victim to the statute of limitations. He said he feels "the judge was in Vince's pocket" as Vince would've been liable for around $225 million dollars if he lost the case.
Raven also talked about going to ECW, working for TNA, the psychology behind his character and more in the full interview.
Source: Talk Is Jericho