Raven reflects on working with Goldberg: ‘I was the first good match he had’
When Raven looks back on his career, one of his proudest moments is the United States title match he had with Goldberg in 1998.
Goldberg won his first pro wrestling title when he defeated Raven for the United States Championship on the April 20, 1998 episode of WCW Nitro. Raven remembers it as a “really good” match and the first good match that Goldberg ever had.
“Goldberg match, just because Goldberg had never had a good match before that,” Raven responded on Insight with Chris Van Vliet when asked about his proudest wrestling moments.
“And it’s one of his, I don’t know, Goldberg might have had good matches in this run he’s had recently. I don’t know, I haven’t watched any of it, as I said. But back in the day, I was the first good match he had. And the first really good match, let alone good match. I was really proud of that, that I was able to get that out of him.”
Goldberg made his pro wrestling debut in 1997 and went on to become one of the biggest stars in the industry. He retired from the ring last year in a loss to Gunther at WWE Saturday Night’s Main Event.
Along with the Goldberg bout, Raven named an ECW match against Terry Gordy and WWE match against Rhyno as some of his favorites. In the Gordy match, Raven feels like he was able to bring the old Gordy back one last time after Gordy had suffered from brain damage. Raven said he considers the Backlash 2001 bout against Rhyno the best hardcore match in history up to that point.
“Nevermore: The Raven Effect” — a documentary on Raven — is now available. Real name Scott Levy, the 61-year-old Raven is believed to be suffering from early onset Parkinson’s disease. He describes his overall health as good, though he has a sleep disorder that he attributes to his years of drug abuse and taking chair shots to the head. He is now sober and told Insight that he’s embarrassed by his past drug use.
Joseph Currier is the lead editor of F4WOnline.com, directing daily news coverage and writing articles on professional wrestling. He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, obtaining a journalism degree in 2016. Joseph joined F4W during his time at UMass and has now been writing about the industry for nearly a decade.
In addition to his work with F4W, Joseph has previously contributed to Sports Illustrated's wrestling coverage. He lives in Massachusetts and is a diehard fan of the Boston sports teams and Liverpool Football Club.