Raven Reveals Exactly How He Created His ECW Character After WWE Told Him He Was Too Small

Raven didn’t just leave WWE in the early ‘90s—he walked away and created a revolution.

After the company told him he wasn’t big enough to succeed, he turned that rejection into one of the most iconic characters in wrestling history. And according to Raven, it all came together in less than a minute. Speaking on Wrestling Observer Radio, Raven revealed that WWE simply didn’t see him as a star due to his size. At the time, they were pushing much larger wrestlers and had no interest in someone with a smaller frame.

“Yeah, they wanted 280. I was 220. And I was the smallest guy on a national stage other than the 1-2-3 Kid, whose gimmick was that he was the smallest guy.”

That rejection lit the fire. Raven wanted something deeper, something dark. So he built his persona around pain, grunge, and psychology—something far removed from WWE’s clean-cut playbook. He credits The Crow for the spark that turned into the character’s identity.

“I needed a name for this character. I thought of the movie The Crow. His name was Eric Draven. Draven… Raven. Quote the Raven, Nevermore. Boom. I had a name and a catchphrase in 30 seconds. It required no work. I was like, this is awesome.”

And that was just the beginning. Raven intentionally rejected the flashy look of a WWE superstar. Instead of reinventing his wardrobe every week, he leaned into a gritty aesthetic that reflected the character’s apathy.

“To be a star, you gotta look like a star. But Raven would never change his leather jacket—he wouldn’t care. So I used concert tees instead. That way I had something new every week without betraying the character.”

In less than a minute, Raven didn’t just create a new wrestling gimmick—he built a movement. That persona went on to define the very soul of ECW and influenced countless performers who didn’t fit the traditional mold. His story proves that size doesn’t define a star—character does.

What’s your take on Raven building one of wrestling’s most iconic personas out of rejection? Can anyone today match that kind of raw creativity and depth? Sound off in the comments and let us know what you think.