"Why would I want a guy like that around?" - Eric Bischoff on former WWE Hardcore Champion's WCW release
Eric Bischoff said that Raven was 'conditionally released' from WCW - in part due to public comments he made disparaging the company.
Raven was released from WCW during a joint meeting where Bischoff told people who wanted to leave the company could do so. The 27-time Hardcore Champion was the first to accept.
On 83 Weeks, Eric Bischoff hinted that the joint meeting was held based on disparaging comments made by Raven in the media.
"It wasn't a very memorable occasion, said Eric Bischoff. Scott Levy was kind of a Malcontent. His character was a malcontent. He lived his character. And everything that Meltzer said was probably true. You had talent mouthing off about the company or expressing their opinions about the company, which is fine, as long as you're not taking a check from that company."
"If you're taking a check from the company and you're out there publicly disparaging it, I got no f***ing time for you, man. Hit the road, especially if you're kind of a non-contributing talent, meaning you're not moving any needles. You're not generating any revenue. You're certainly not a ratings pull."
"You're just another cog in the wheel as Levy was at the time. To have a guy like that on a show as powerful as mancows was at the time as one of the top-rated shows in Chicago, which is a major television market. Why would I want a guy like that around?" said Bischoff.
Eric Bischoff continued that if you were bad-mouthing the company, which was WCW in this case, wouldn't that be grounds for being fired? Raven was eventually released on the condition that he couldn't wrestle for WWE right away and signed with ECW for a year before showing up in Vince McMahon's company in 2000.
Jimmy Baron was supposed to interview Eddie Guerrero on WCW Backstage Blast, but he wasn’t around.
Raven legitimately wanders into the shot impromptu and takes over the segment. The chaos of WCW in 30 seconds.
There’s also some unfortunate wording by Baron at the end. https://t.co/VM14EqdFOr
Raven's time in WCW was a mixed affair, and judging by Eric Bischoff's comments, it wasn't fruitful for either side.
How many titles did Raven win in WCW?
#OnThisDay in 1998: WCW Nitro: @Goldberg defeats Raven for the WCW US Title. The crowd goes insane when Goldberg wins. I love this match. https://t.co/8QNU5GG2i1
While Raven wrestled as Scotty Flamingo in WCW, he won the Light Heavyweight Championship when Bill Watts was in charge. Later, on returning as Raven, he was a WCW Tag Team Champion with fellow Flock member Perry Saturn.
But more significantly, Raven had a one-day reign as WCW US Champion, only to drop on Monday Nitro to Goldberg. The rest is history!
Please give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription should you use the quotes from this article.