Wrestling Legend Raven Battles Early-Onset Parkinson’s Disease: The Price of Hardcore Wrestling
Wrestling has always been a tough business, but for legendary hardcore icon Scott Levy—better known as Raven—the price of decades in the ring is becoming painfully clear. He opened up about his diagnosis with early-onset Parkinson’s disease. His story is another example of the price of Hardcore wrestling.
The Revelation That Shook Wrestling Fans
During a recent appearance on Ariel Helwani’s show, Raven didn’t dance around the subject. With the kind of brutal honesty that made him a compelling character in ECW and WCW, he laid it all out there. “I got early on-set Parkinson’s,” he said matter-of-factly. “So if you see me tremor, that’s why. It just when I get anxious, the tremor gets worse, or when I’m really tired.”
The man who once thrived in front of thousands of screaming fans now finds himself dealing with something far more challenging than any steel cage match. He admits the condition has changed his relationship with performing, particularly when it comes to holding microphones and speaking to large audiences—activities that used to energize him.
A Career Built on Punishment Takes Its Toll
When Helwani asked the obvious question about whether Raven attributes his health issues to his wrestling career, the response was as direct as a chair shot to the head: “Of course. Absolutely.”
Raven didn’t try to sugarcoat it or blame anyone else. “Look, you got to pay the piper. Sometimes, you know, for all the drugs and alcohol and chair shots I took to the head… you gotta pay for the damage at some point.”
It’s a sobering reminder of what wrestlers from that era went through. This wasn’t the sanitized, heavily regulated WWE product of today. This was ECW in the ’90s, where innovation meant finding new ways to hurt each other for the entertainment of bloodthirsty crowds.
The Physical Breakdown Continues
The Parkinson’s diagnosis is just the latest in a series of health setbacks for the hardcore legend. Raven’s recent medical history reads like a wrestling injury report from hell:
- 2022: Both knees replaced
- 2023: Shoulder replacement surgery
- 2024: Spinal stenosis flare-up
Its just scarry hearing all of the surgeries he has went as a result of the style he wrestled. Despite everything he’s facing, Raven maintains a perspective that’s both realistic and oddly inspiring. “I would rather be happy with who I am at the end of my life than be happy earlier in my life and not happy at the end,” he reflected.
The Brutal Math of Wrestling Fame
The innovations that thrilled audiences came at a very real human cost. The chair shots that looked devastating? The high-risk maneuvers that had crowds on their feet? The risks were very real and there’s a price for it. That’s why I fear about Darby Allin when he takes these crazy bumps and Jon Moxley during these hardcore matches. Its a cautionary tale and wrestlers today need to understand that there is a price to pay for the fame.
Looking Forward While Acknowledging the Past
The wrestling industry has evolved significantly since Raven’s heyday. There’s more awareness of head injuries, better medical protocols, and a growing understanding of the long-term costs of this form of entertainment. But for wrestlers from previous generations, these improvements come too late. The thing that’s amazing about Raven is how open he is about both his conditions and issues both during and after his career. Although, he didn’t come off well in that Dark Side of the Ring episode on The Sandman. He’s not hiding from the reality of his situation, but he’s also not letting it define his present happiness.
