Raven‘s early 2000s feud with CM Punk is one of the best in Ring of Honor’s history. It was one of the most personal rivalries of the era, but Raven wishes it had been booked a little differently.

In a new interview with Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, Raven spoke about working with Punk as an up-and-coming performer.

“You’ve gotta make younger guys when you’re getting older,” Raven said. “I feel like maybe I helped [Punk‘s rise] a little bit, but he was going to the top anyway.”

“My problem with it was Gabe [Sapolsky] just wanted me to lose and I thought that was stupid. As much heat as we got for the matches, we would’ve had so much more if I would’ve beat him the first couple of times, and then he would’ve had to fight back from underneath and come back and win, but Gabe wanted him winning basically every match that we fought in that time period.”

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Raven also spoke about the provocative spot where he poured beer down the straight edge Punk’s throat at the end of their infamous dog-collar match. “I think we did get some heat when he allowed us to pour beer down his throat, which was a big deal for him. I think that helped a lot, but it still couldn’t make up for the fact that he had beaten me in every match we had.”

Raven‘s new documentary, Nevermore, is scheduled to premiere in Boston to August 23, Chicago on August 29 and in Philadelphia on October 11 and 12. It will receive a digital release in the near future.

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