Vince McMahon "hated" 26-time champion, ex-WWE star says

Vince McMahon relinquished WWE creative duties in 2022 after overseeing the company's storylines for four decades. Stevie Richards, a WWE talent from 1999 to 2008, recently recalled how his former boss allegedly disliked Raven.

Raven initially worked for WWE as a wrestler and behind-the-scenes producer in 1993 and 1994. The 60-year-old went on to make his name as an in-ring performer with ECW and WCW before returning for another WWE spell between 2000 and 2003.

Richards said on The Stevie Richards Show that Raven pitched an idea to McMahon revolving around the seven deadly sins. However, the 26-time Hardcore Champion allegedly received backstage heat after suggesting the storyline at the wrong time.

"The problem was, and I know this for a fact, he kept pitching it to Vince, and he was catching Vince at the wrong time, which is a cr*pshoot," Richards said. "He could have caught Vince on the best day, and then that seven deadly sins would be him and The Undertaker, him and [Steve] Austin, you know what I mean? He just kept catching Vince at the wrong time, and that made Vince absolutely hate Raven." [1:17 – 1:46]

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Raven pitched the angle in 2002 after Tommy Dreamer beat him in a Loser Leaves RAW match. The former ECW star wrestled on Sunday Night Heat for six months after the defeat.

Stevie Richards questions logic behind Vince McMahon "hating" Raven

Although WWE had a large creative team in 2002, Vince McMahon was responsible for deciding which wrestlers featured prominently on his television shows.

Using Raven's situation as an example, Stevie Richards thinks the former WWE Chairman sometimes failed to capitalize on wrestlers' good ideas:

"Why would you [Vince McMahon] hate a wrestler for bringing you an idea that you can punch up and make money off of the said wrestler? I don't fault Raven for that. I fault Vince. And, obviously, the writers, he can't pitch to the writers because it'll never get anywhere, so he took the chance of pitching it directly to the owner of the company." [1:48 – 2:12]

Raven is widely viewed as one of the most creative wrestlers of his generation. He won several titles outside of WWE, including the ECW World Heavyweight Championship and the WCW United States Heavyweight Championship.

Please credit The Stevie Richards Show and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.

About the author

Danny Hart is a journalist who has been reporting on pro wrestling (WWE) at Sportskeeda since 2017. He grew up as a massive fan of football/soccer and wrestling, leading him to pursue a career in sports journalism.

Before assuming his current role, Hart worked as a football writer at Goal.com between 2009 and 2016. He prides himself on writing original content that is fact-based and highly accurate. Hart thoroughly proofreads his work before submitting it and relies only on credible sources for information.

Hart’s favorite pro wrestler is The Undertaker. He admires the 2022 WWE Hall of Famer’s ability to reinvent his character and remain relevant across his decades-long career. If given the keys to WWE’s creative department, he would bring back The Phenom for a farewell bout against AJ Styles in a stadium full of fans. Not only that, but he would love to have the multi-time world champion’s greatest rivals seated at ringside for the spectacle.

When not watching and covering sports, Hart enjoys long-distance running, playing video games, and listening to audiobooks and podcasts.

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Edited by Danny Hart