An analysis of Raven's moves

Raven during his time at promotions such as ECW and TNA was violently ruthless. He knows what needs to be done no matter the sacrifice and pain. He's willing to go to great lengths to make sure his opponents are defeated. He is disposed to various weapons at his arsenal. Despite his power based moves, he is a clever strategist. He focuses on outsmarting his opponents than simply overpowering them as others prefer. He has quick reflexes and unpredictability. For example, watch the match between Raven and Rhino at TNA unbreakable. While watching, notice how Raven avoids facing Rhino head on. He realizes with a man Rhino's size and ability, he would get demolished with a power bomb. What does Raven do instead? Wear him down with vicious tools, the ankle lock, not allowing Rhino any room to breathe. He avoids Rhino's dangerous attacks which performing some of his own. He uses the environment to his advantage and seizes the opportunity to inflict pain on his opponents.

Raven was a creative genius when it came to signature moves because he didn't stick to the traditional usage of them. Most notably, he popularized his own variant of the DDT. The standard DDT is performed when a wrestler puts an opponent's head in a facelock then falls backwards or forwards to drive his or her head to the mat. Raven hit his opponent in the gut with a kick but would drop his weight, swinging his legs forward, and forcefully bending an opponent's head down. This can result in severe brain damage. This signature move was as he dubbed: "The Raven Effect." He gives a few jabs before executing his discus clothesline and sets his opponent against a guardrail before delivering the Russian legsweep. He also performs the drop toe-hold on a chair for more damage. This is a mark of a talented performer.


Raven is a legend for more than just his championship titles, but his entertaining abilities and creativity. He deserves to be in the hall of fame for accomplishing what few wrestlers could. Whether you love or hate him, you cannot deny his success as a pro-wrestler.