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Spike TV and TNA held a media conference call this afternoon with former NWA and ECW World champion Raven to promote TNA Impact and this Sunday's Sacrifice PPV special.
When asked about his time off from TNA, Raven said he had some health issues that he needed to take care of and at the same time, he never had a chance to take a vacation because of the way the business works, so it was nice to have 10 weeks off.
Raven said that the timeslot move shows that Spike TV is nurturing the company and it's vote of confidence so TNA isn't rushed too fast.
Raven said that he's looking forward to get back into the ring and working off the ring rust against A-1 at the Sacrifice PPV this weekend. He said that he hates Canada. When the NWA title change was brought up, the storyline with Jackie Gayda that was seemingly dropped was mentioned. Raven said that you don't know where the storyline is at this point because the business is so episodic. He said that sometimes people make judgments before they know where things are going, which is either poor journalism or people trying to cut others down to feel stronger.
When asked about hardcore wrestling, Raven said that most people don't understand it and it's all lumped into one category. He said that his Backlash match with Rhino several years ago at Backlash had a plot and drama, as opposed to matches where people just beat each other with plunder. He said that some critics will lump all horror movies together, when there have been some great and bad movies. He said that hardcore wrestling is treated similar because some people think it's all about hitting people with weapons. He said the X-Division is the same thing where some guys like AJ Styles and Samoa Joe have great matches and others just do flipping around and it's all lumped together.
When asked about future stars, Raven said that he's a big fan of Samoa Joe and then poked fun at Joe's weight.
The return of ECW: Raven said it's a touchy subject because everyone lumps ECW in as one thing. He said that the business had become very plain with nothing new. Wrestlers was in the same business for years and there was no influx of freshness. Before ECW, wrestling had lost it's sense of style. Raven said that ECW made wrestling cutting edge and hip, like the Matrix did for action movies. He said that people irritate him when they don't understand that ECW was a revolution that changed wrestling. He said that there are very few people that have the creativity and understand the trends and styles of 2006. He said that Paul Heyman keeps his fingers on America's pulse, like Raven tries to. He said that for WWE to make it successful, they need to use the older names to establish it, then have a whole new roster of ECW stars. He said that he thinks Heyman is smart enough to know that and putting together a whole bunch of new acts that spark another revolution.
Raven said that he loves TNA and has no interest in working for the new ECW. He said that everything in the business has been done and has to find ways to do new things. He says that TNA tries to do that now and ECW will have to compete with TNA. He said that it isn't easy to recreate wrestling because everyone would do it. He said that he was really impressed by some of the packages Jeremy Borash produced for him and others. He said he loves the six sided ring and the X-Division because it makes the product stand out. ECW is a good idea because WWE has gotten dull. He notes that WWE had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the Steve Austin era and if something can spark there business, it's going to be better for everyone. He then joked we should be talking about his company, TNA.
Raven said he's going to "beat the crap" against Larry Zbyszko. He said that he's beaten Zbyszko once before in WCW and it won't be a contest.
Raven said he's feeling better now. He abused his health for a long time and he pays the price for it now. He said that his body has rebelled against him and was a top draft choice for a death pool. He said he's proud for surviving. He has thyroid and blood sugar issues. He had put on 30 lbs. and was tired all the time. Once they figured out what the issues were, he was able to drop 10 lbs. over several days. He's still not where they want him to be, but it's a situation that he has to learn to manage and he'll be back with a clean bill of health soon. He said he's still able to compete at the level he was at, and he's hoping his health will stay good and he'll continue to wrestle into his 50s. His doctor wants him to get his weight down gradually, and while he's not where he wants to be, he's getting there. He said that he's worn a t-shirt for most of his career, which is good because he was always based on talent and personality, not bodybuilding.
TNA needing more TV time: Raven said they absolutely do, but thinks the audience is into the shows now. He doesn't think more time will draw a larger audience. He said it would give them more time to get into the stories, but 2 hours tends to drag. He said that he stopped watching Raw when he was in WWE and unless the business is at their apex, you start to get tired watching something late because you have to get something done. He said it all depends on formatting and 90 minutes would be better then 2 hours. He said that ECW and Bill Watts both had 60 minute shows and were formatted great. He said 90 minutes would be perfect, and while he likes long movies, that's the average time of a good movie.
Raven's Secrets of the Ring DVD series was brought up. He said that there's a lot of the business that people don't know. He was lucky enough to study and pick the brains of veterans, while today people don't do the same. He said some don't want to pester people while others think they know it all. He said he cut a flat fee with Gabe Sapolsky, which allows him to tell people to buy it because they can learn from it, not because he's motivated to make a larger cut. He said that if anyone else made the DVDs, he'd be as motivated at pushing people to see them. He said that highspots are the new short cuts in the ring, where guys don't act like they are hurt after a big sequence, and matches become a blur. He said that today's workers become self conscious and hopefully they can learn how to make things mean something, instead of just doing a bunch of sequences and highspots. He said he doesn't want fans to just pop for spots, he wants them to be involved in the match the entire time. He said he never wants to hear a quiet crowd and that's the difference between a good worker and an average worker. He said when Buff Bagwell first broke into WCW, he couldn't grasp the business. When Raven returned to WCW after ECW, he saw Bagwell had learned from the business and was able to follow the fans, after learning working against Terry Taylor. Raven said that sometimes, the younger guys don't even listen to the crowds, which is mind-boggling, because you have to let the snowball build. Raven said he doesn't condemn guys who don't get it, but you have to work with veterans. He said that he's impressed that Samoa Joe is as good as he is considering he's only worked with one veteran, a short run with Mick Foley.
When his health was brought back up, Raven said he wasn't worried about taking the medications with his past abusive lifestyle because it's not narcotics he is taking.
Contractual Status: Raven said that he's not allowed to discuss it but he's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Jim Cornette Coming to TNA: Raven said that he thinks Cornette is a brilliant guy and when you add a new intelligent person with other intelligent people, it adds to the overall company. He said that there's a whole audience today that doesn't know who Cornette is since they didn't grow up watching him. Raven says that he thinks Cornette probably would like to prove to fans today and himself that what he did in the 1980s would work today. Raven doesn't know if he'd be a good fit for the current creative regime, but thinks they would all get along well since Cornette and Jeff Jarrett have a long history and have a shared liking for a particular style of wrestling.
Raven said that he thinks TNA hits all the elements and has a little bit of everything for fans - action, veterans, comedy and more. When asked if TNA needs controversy like ECW did. Raven said that ECW had already been to a certain level when the Sandman crucifixion happened. Raven said that he went to rehab and wanted to have a big impact coming back, but it didn't pop the territory. He said that what popped it was people catching it and wanting to watch it again. He said that TNA has the same thing and it's a matter of fans tuning in and staying.
Raven praised opening up with Samoa Joe vs. Christopher Daniels as something you wouldn't expect. Raven said that fans need to understand that fans needs to understand that you just can't do anything with booking because you need to have something for everyone and nothing can overlap and you don't want to be repetitive. He said you have to tune everything until it comes out perfectly, but the tuning never stops as you have to change it up every time you change timeslots and add new characters, while finding a cultural touchtone at the same time. He said that things like UFC will continue to influence the business and you'll see a lot more holds added to the business.
When asked about his outlook on wrestling changing over the years, he said that when he broke in, he couldn't go to bed because he was coming up with so many things and didn't know how to put it all together. He said that he learned that from the Grappler. He said that there were a lot of lean years for him. He said that when he was let go by Watts and working in Memphis and Global thinking he would never make it. He said in that era you had to be huge and gassed up, unlike today. He said he was made a producer by WWF and was miserable and quit. He found his love for the business again in ECW. He said he loved WCW for awhile but instead of enjoying the ride, he was angry about not being in the top mix. He said he quit and when he went back to WWE, he was put in the gutter and not used, which was good because he was able to get himself together mentally.
Raven said that you get jaded along the way. He said that he and Jeff Jarrett think similarly but they sometimes don't get along and end up on the outs. He said that the best thing that could have happened to him was being sent home, because it allowed him to deal with his health and revitalize his love for wrestling again. He said that sometimes others know better then you do, because he was saying it wasn't what he needed, but he did.
He said the problem is that he was trained from day one that you can't take time off because you'll lose your spot. He said everyone needs time off to recharge after a few years and knowing that they'll come back to the same spot. He said that he knew they would work everything out and most of the things that were screwed up were because of him. He said that they have butted heads but in the end it works out. He says that the business is like a marriage, where sometimes you love your wife and sometimes you hate her. It's a complicated business and it's a job like no other in the world. He said that he's taken every drug there is and there's nothing better then having the fans in the palm of their hands.
Backstage Responsibilities: Raven said that there are a number of people he helps out backstage but he's not very tactful so a lot of talents don't take it in the way he means when he gives advice.
Writing a Book: He'd like to write one eventually, "when somebody offers me enough money" to make it worth his time. He said that he'd like to do radio too, but he's got his health issues and he's back in love with his mistress again. He said that he wants to headline a PPV with outrageous Wrestlemania numbers but in TNA.
When asked who's the one guy who stands out in TNA, Raven said Samoa Joe. He said Joe is a hell of a talent and joked again about his weight.
A Wrestling Union Forming: "God I hope so."
When asked about working with CM Punk, Raven said he enjoyed it but he can't believe Punk doesn't think it did something for Punk's career. Raven said that he likes working for Gabe Sapolsky since he studies the business and they've known each other forever. He said that sometimes they disagree because there are times when Raven and Gabe each think they are right.
When asked which ECW documentary he liked, he said that the WWE DVD focused on things that weren't really a major part of ECW. He didn't watch Forever Hardcore since he was interviewed for it. He said that the WWE DVD ignored the fact that the influence of the company was before the PPV, and was gone after it. He said that WWE missed the boat of the influence of the company during Raven's run. He said WWE focused on those that worked for WWE when it was released, which was what you would expect them to do, but he'll always put Raven vs. Dreamer and Raven vs. Sandman up against any other feud.
When asked about Kurt Angle, Raven said that with the exception of Finlay, there isn't anyone in the business that could "take" Angle
