The Crucifixion of the Sandman

By October 1996, it appeared that the Raven-Sandman feud was finished. Raven disappeared, without warning, and Stevie Richards defended, and lost, the ECW World Title, in his place. The cane-swinging Sandman was champion again. Following a successful title defense against 2 Cold Scorpio, it seemed that the Sandman was set to move on. His son, Tyler, came to the ring, dressed like his father, and the two embraced. For many, this signaled the end of the feud, as they were tying up loose ends. For Raven fans, in particular, it created concern that he was gone forever.

Just as Sandman was embracing his son and the crowd was lulled into a false sense of security, Raven slid into the ring, grabbed his cane and cracked Sandman in the back of the head. He went on to DDT him on the title belt and the last thing we saw was Raven, standing victorious in the ring. This was a great moment. However, little did most of us know just how great it could have been. Only those in attendance that night really knew. Raven continued the assault, even piledriving Sandman through two tables at ringside. Then, his lackies retrieved the wooden cross that was under the ring and tied Sandman up. No one really knew what was happening until he was hoisted up, crucified for all to see.

This was a major moment in the development of the Raven-Sandman feud. It was the ultimate statement by Raven, who had done similar things to Tommy Dreamer, in 1995. However, due to the presence of Kurt Angle, that night, it was all ruined.

Because Kurt Angle didn't want to be associated with any sort of controversy, he made a big stink and ECW acquiesced. Truth is, he shouldn't have been there in the first place. If he was so concerned with his public image, he should have done a little research and learned what ECW was capable of. If he wasn't entirely comfortable, then the deal should have been called off. As for his claims that he demanded that he not be on the same show as the crucifixion, that was simple. Either air it on a different episode or simply don't bother to use the footage of Kurt Angle.

The bottom line was that someone like Angle didn't belong in ECW. His brief appearance meant nothing for the promotion. On the other hand, the Raven-Sandman feud had been the dominant storyline in the company, throughout 1996. If Heyman would have weighed the drawing power of Raven-Sandman vs. Kurt Angle, he would have realized that the Angle segment was entirely expendable. By refusing to air the crucifixion, Heyman sold out. He also took a lot of the wind out of the sails of the great storyline that had been developing between Raven and Sandman. This doesn't even begin to cover what an atrocity it was to force Raven to go back out and apologize, thus neutering the company in front of its fans.

On a night that should have been one of the most memorable in ECW history, the company began down the path of selling out and censoring themselves to please others. This was against everything that ECW stood for and should be remembered as a dark day in extreme history.