[1995-01-17-ECW-TV] Raven and Stevie Richards

[Loss]

Talk about it here.

[Loss]

Joey Styles hypes up the newly re-designed ECW Arena and brings out Stevie Richards. Stevie is dressed like Scotty Flamingo! The previous week, Stevie promised he'd have Johnny Polo on ECW TV this week, but Joey says he's nowhere to be found. He says the man he is about to bring out had to give up a double date with Eddie Vedder. He brings us the birth of The Raven! Considering how they hyped us his old gimmicks in this, I'm surprised he wasn't laughed out of the building. "The" Raven quickly puts Stevie in his place over his sleeping arrangements the night before, and Stevie bails. I think the point of this is that Raven has had a rough few months and it's changed him, which is why he has a new gimmick.

[El-P]

I like the fact that they didn't pretend Raven was someone other than who he previously was. Raven smacking Stevie around was always fun, and their interactions was always gold during that period. I love the Raven character.

[Johnny Guitar]

I loved the Raven character (maybe because at this point in my life I was a drugged out miserable grunge freak), but I can see why people don't.

 

I think what's kind of gotten lost over time is that whether you liked the gimmick or not. Scott Levy felt that his career had hit a dead end after WCW and the WWF and that he had to totally reinvent himself if he was going to have any kind of long term success in wrestling and I think he managed that.

 

Although like Loss pointed out I'm amazed that at the time the ECW didn't laugh him out of the building. I don't recall him ever getting any "Scotty Flamingo" or "Johnny Polo" chants. (although my mind may have blocked it out). Which contrasts with Justin Credible who was plauged with "Aldo" chants for at least a year when he changed gimmicks.

 

I wonder if its even possible nowadays for a guy to to totally reinvent himself from one company to the next with a different gimmick that gets over. there must be someone who's done it in the last few years.

[Tim Evans]

Stevie dressed as Scotty Flamingo is funny. This is different than what Raven would become in a few months.

[PeteF3]

"Steve" Richards in Scotty Flamingo gear and his fabulous '80s blow-dried mullet is out for the biggest day in the history of ECW. Tremendous heat for him already. He eventually introduces The Raven, in a look that's standard now but was pretty mindblowing at the time. I think it was a smart move to drop all the references to Polo, Flamingo, and Scotty the Body off the bat, letting the crowd work whatever clever comments they had out of their system before debuting the gimmick proper. Same logic Heyman would re-use at Occupy Raw with CM Punk.

[Superstar Sleeze]

I didnt see this thread but I covered my thoughts on this segment in the thread before this. The one thing that I didnt cover thats gets mentioned in this thread is how the ECW mutants took the gimmick immediately. I am surprised the "too cool for school" fans werent chanting "Johnny Polo" or heckling him with "Flamingo" insults. I think its because the look was just so cool, so hip, so spot on and so different they were gobsmacked and shellshocked. I think the entire aesthetic dissuaded that from happening.