One Of The Most Emotional Feuds In ECW History
Mia Lopez
Published Mar 28, 2026
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Looking back at Paul Heyman's legendary Extreme Championship Wrestling, many fans will immediately think of certain wrestlers. For someb names such as Tommy Dreamer, Rob Van Dam, or Sabu will stick out. Others may think of the BWO, Taz, or Beulah. For many longtime fans, however, two names will remain ingrained in the front of their minds; The Sandman and Raven. Thanks to a legendary, fondly-remembered feud between the two, ECW would reach new heights in terms of its name value and popularity, while also delivering on the edgy, violent goodness that fans came to know and love from Heyman's extreme playground.
RELATED: Raven - The Biggest Attitude Era Star That Never Was
Raven Debuted With ECW In 1995 And Quickly Made A Name For Himself
Making his debut for ECW in 1995, Raven would arrive on the scene after months of teasing from Stevie Richards. Upon his arrival, the Raven's Nest faction would slowly be established, with Richards as the first member. Immediately targeting Tommy Dreamer out of the gates, their legendary feud would begin with Raven spending months cultivating Raven’s Nest and the group of players that would all play a role throughout his own ECW career. Johnny Hotbody, Tony Stetson, and The Pitbulls would be early members, with the biggest reveal being the introduction of Beulah as Raven's on-screen girlfriend.
Raven would serve as the foil for Tommy Dreamer throughout their feud in ECW, a feud that would last until 1996. Culminating in one of ECW's most iconic moments in which Beulah revealed that she was pregnant with Dreamer’s baby, leading to her turning on Raven and aligning with Dreamer, Raven would shift gears from taking on the heart and soul of ECW in Tommy Dreamer to targeting the ECW World Champion, The Sandman.
RELATED: Raven Vs Tommy Dreamer: 10 Things Most Fans Forget About ECW's Biggest Rivalry
Raven Beat The Sandman To Become ECW Champion
Failing to defeat The Sandman in his first outing for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship in 1995, Raven would regroup following the conclusion of his feud with Dreamer and the loss of Beulah, opting to replace her with Kimona Wanalaya as the newest addition to his faction. From there, at Hardcore Heaven 1996, Raven would defeat The Sandman thanks to interference from The Nest, becoming ECW Champion in the process. Despite dethroning The Sandman, the two would not face off again until months later.
Becoming a dominant heel champion, Raven would defend and retain against a wide variety of names in ECW, with the likes of Shane Douglas, Chris Jericho, 2 Cold Scorpio, and Terry Gordy all failing to take the belt off of Raven. Five months after defeating The Sandman, their feud would begin to take shape following the shocking reveal that Raven had brainwashed Sandman's ex-wife and his son to join Raven's Nest. It would begin a highly personal, emotional, and one of the most iconic storylines in the history of Extreme Championship Wrestling.
RELATED: 10 Members Of Raven's Nest: Where Are They Now?
Their Feud Was So Controversial That Kurt Angle Wouldn't Sign With ECW
While some may think that brainwashing a man's ex-wife and child may be the pinnacle of crazy angles for a wrestling storyline, Raven and The Sandman's feud would go even further. In one of ECW's most infamous angles, The Sandman would be crucified in front of a live audience, including his son and a pre-WWE Kurt Angle. The Olympian was backstage as he was in talks to work with ECW, though this angle offended him so much that it ended talks between the two and would hurt ECW's arrival onto PPV. Even with that controversy, the imagery involved remained incredibly powerful and a key moment in the feud between Sandman and Raven.
The two men would continue their feud afterwards, with Sandman winning back the ECW World Championship through a tag-team match that saw Stevie Richards and Raven's relationship begin to sour. Raven would regain the belt at Holiday Hell 1996 during a Barbed Wire Match against The Sandman, with it serving as the blow-off to their extended feud. Raven would end up holding the belt into the following Spring before leaving ECW during the Summer of 1997 after being pinned by Tommy Dreamer for the first time in his career. Raven wound up in WCW for some time before leaving, returning to ECW to win the ECW Tag Team Titles with Tommy Dreamer, before leaving the company again for a three-year stint in WWE.
