"It actually killed my career" - 27-time Champion says close friendship with Shane McMahon hurt his WWE career
Former WWE Superstar Raven recently opened up about his friendship with Shane McMahon. The 27-time WWE Hardcore Champion said that his close friendship with Shane McMahon back in the day ended up hurting his WWE career.
Raven had two runs in WWE. His first run came as Johnny Polo in 1993-94 following which he went to ECW and reinvented himself as the brooding Raven character. Raven returned to WWE in 2000 and was mostly used in the Hardcore division until his release in early 2003.
During a recent interview with Scheduled For Two Falls, former WWE and ECW star Raven was asked about the Johnny Polo gimmick he had in his first run in WWE. Raven said that the Johnny Polo gimmick did not suit him at all and it would have suited Shane McMahon a lot better.
In a follow up question, Raven was asked about his close friendship with Shane McMahon behind the scenes. The former WWE Superstar said that although he had been close to Shane at one point, they had drifted apart over time. Raven said that his friendship with Shane drew heat from Vince McMahon and Linda McMahon. He added that in the end, his friendship with Shane McMahon actually hurt his WWE career:
"Yeah that's true. Me and Shane used to be really tight but we drifted apart. He'd go out with me every night. Big heat with Linda and Vince. The boys thought I was kissing a** for my career but it actually killed my career, giving me heat." H/T: WrestlingINC
Former WWE Superstar Raven opened up about his friendship with Brian Pillman
Raven wrestled in WCW in the early 90s under the ring name Scotty Flamingo. Raven used to ride together with Brian Pillman and Steve Austin back in the day, and gave fans an insight into Pillman's incredible vocabulary.
"He [Pillman] was so funny. Him, me and [Steve] Austin used to ride together and we called ourselves the comedy trio. Pillman had the most amazing working vocabulary. He could pull words out of his ass. I knew what the word meant but couldn't use them in daily life." H/T: WrestlingINC
Raven said that Brian Pillman was "verbose, witty and clever" and spoke about how his vocabulary helped add to his incredible promo ability.