In 2003 & 2004, a young CM Punk had many matches – both tag team matches and singles matches – with ECW/WCW/WWF Veteran Raven for several promotions, including Total Nonstop Action! (TNA), Ring of Honor (ROH), and various other independent companies.
In 2021, Punk said the following about working with Raven on the ‘AEW Unfiltered’ podcast:
“Raven is a guy that I don’t think I’ve really ever mentioned him, but he needs the credit to be the first guy that I worked with that would sit me down and he would literally be like ‘okay, you’re sh*t’.
He was a little harsh at times and he helped me grasp having stuff make sense.
He would help me when I was just a dude doing matches and I would try to do a New Japan super juniors match because they do cool moves and he was a guy that would say to slow down and try to make things make more sense.”
In a 2023 online interview, Raven said:
“I never realized I helped [CM Punk] that much. Maybe he was listening when I thought he was arguing with me.
I thought he would’ve looked back with less than fondness on me because we butted heads quite a bit, but I’m glad he didn’t.”
Raven then continued to talk about their old rivalry in a Fightful interview:
“I know I did the feud with him in Ring of Honor, but I don’t know whether my thing with him in MLW was before, after or during.
It all jumbles together. But after 35 years in the business, the linear timeline isn’t fresh, exactly, in my mind.
Especially with the independents. I know my territory lineage, where I went from one company to the next.
But the independents, I don’t even know which period it was, if it was before TNA or after TNA.
You know what’s funny? At the time Punk thought he was the greatest worker in the world and he wasn’t.
But then rather tremendously became the greatest worker in the business. I don’t follow that any more.
I don’t watch the shows, but seen enough stuff like at watch parties with guests that when Punk was in his WWE run, I saw some of that and he was the best worker in the business.
I don’t know if he still is, but I’ve always loved the fact he really thought he was—which you have to, you have to have an ego to push yourself—and then he actually fulfilled it.
A lot of guys thought they were the best worker in the business and you never hear from them again. So I always thought that was cool.”
Scott Levy first wrestled for a major promotion, when he joined Ted Turner’s World Championship Wrestling in 1992 as Scotty Flamingo, but left in February 1993 and by May 1993 he was in the World Wrestling Federation as Johnny Polo, manager of Adam Bomb & The Quebecers.
By 1995, he wrestled for Paul E. Dangerously’s (Paul Heyman’s) Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he appeared as a new darker character named Raven and founded a faction, called The Raven’s Nest.
In June 1997, Levy returned to WCW and also had his own stable right away, which was this time named The Raven’s Flock.
In August 1999, Raven returned to ECW again, right in time to have his surprise return featured on the debut episode of the company’s brand new weekly show ‘ECW on TNN’.
He then re-joined The World Wrestling Federation with his by far most successful gimmick (Raven) and wrestled there from September 2000 until January 2003, but joined Total Nonstop Action! (TNA) right away and stayed with the promotion till 2010.
Raven was inducted into the IMPACT Wrestling (fka TNA) Hall of Fame in 2022 by his former long-term ECW storyline rival Tommy Dreamer.
