It's nonsensical, stupid garbage. Let's cover the lead up to this angle.
The Sandman was one of ECW's original top babyfaces. He was, in fact, part of the pre-cursor company Tri-State Wrestling, before Todd Gordon, Eddie Gilbert, or Paul Heyman were involved. When Gordon bought the company and rebranded to ECW, Sandman continued his work with the company, working on the first show and defeating Don Muraco to be the ECW Champion by the end of 1992. At the time, "Sandman" was a tubular surfer gimmick. After forming a tag team with Tommy Cairo, Sandman was blinded in a match and accidentally struck his wife, Peaches. When his vision recovered, he saw Cairo helping his wife, which filled him with anger, so he attacked Cairo. As he became estranged with his wife, Sandman adopted Woman as his manager, and the beer drinking, cane swinging Sandman we all know came to life.
Also in 1993, Tommy Dreamer would arrive in ECW. He was originally portrayed as a "pretty boy", wearing suspenders, glittery jackets, and being a traditional white meat babyface. Of course, the ECW fans didn't take to this, so Tommy Dreamer went out of his way to prove he was hardcore to the audience. When he crossed paths with The Sandman in 1994, a stipulation was given that the loser would receive 10 lashes with a Singapore cane, at the behest of Woman, who thoroughly got off on Sandman caning his opponents. Tommy would take all 10 lashings like a man, finally endearing himself to the ECW audience and transitioning into the innovator of violence gimmick.
So you can see these character changes and storylines came about pretty organically, with multiple months to a year of development before these angles even intersected. Then, in late 1994, low card wrestler Steve Richards began wrestling in the gimmicks of Scott Levy. Johnny Polo, Scotty The Body, and Scotty Flamingo were all referenced, and on the first Hardcore TV of 1995, Scott Levy would debut his new gimmick, "The Raven". Scott Levy was now a nihilistic grungy weirdo (already dated by 1995, tbh) who came to ECW because of a feud with Tommy Dreamer that started at SUMMER CAMP WHEN THEY WERE 12. You see, there was this fat girl named Beulah, and Tommy turned her down, so she spent the summer with Raven. Because of this, Raven hates Dreamer 15 years later and has come to ECW to destroy him.
I'm sure you can see the difference in this angle and the angles that got Dreamer and Sandman into their familiar forms. But it gets better. For the first couple of months, they flip flop on this being an affected gimmick by the wrestler known formerly known as Johnny Polo, or if this is the REAL Scott Levy. The very first music video for Raven is literally him just walking around looking mopey in the suburbs. Tommy Dreamer, who fought so hard to shed his preppy pretty boy image with the ECW crowd, is immediately dragged back into it, as he's now feuding over fukking summer camp with a known rich shyt kid. Raven constantly talks about how neglected he was, yet, again, he's feuding over something that happened at SUMMER CAMP in upstate New York.
What Raven is mad about is that Beulah made his life a living hell that summer, I guess by being annoying or something. Well, Stevie found her and brought her to ECW, which initially makes Raven very angry, until he sees that Beulah is now a hottie, so he got over it. Over the next ten months, these men fight over an issue at SUMMER CAMP WHEN THEY WERE 12, which isn't really even all that explained, but Tommy beats up Beulah every chance he gets, and Raven always wins via fukkery. Beulah really never did anything to Tommy, and Tommy really never did anything to her, there's no reason for them to be involved at all really, and definitely not Tommy going out of his way to try to break her neck on the reg.
During all this, Cactus Jack "falls under the spell" of Raven, after having an epiphany about the hardcore style and hardcore fans of ECW. This leads to a few months of GOAT tier promos from Foley trying to convince Tommy to not make the same mistakes he made, to take the easy money with WCW, and be able to walk when he's an old man. This really has nothing to do with Raven, but it's far more engaging and organic of a storyline. When Raven does solo promos during this time, he makes it sound like he and Cactus have the same goal: Destroying Dreamer. However, Cactus wants to SAVE Tommy, because saving Tommy is, in a way, saving himself. This just kind of fades away like most things in ECW, then Cactus drops this version of the character once he signs with the WWF.
About a year into the feud, Raven reveals what he's REALLY mad at Tommy for: Tommy wasn't there for him enough when his parents got divorced. When he was 18. It's already been said they stopped being friends that summer when they were 12 multiple times. Now, Raven cuts many promos explicitly talking about all the times his dad beat and molested him, so it's pretty weird he'd be so upset about his parents getting a divorce. Around the same time, Beulah reveals that she's pregnant....with Tommy's baby. They've been fukking despite Tommy piledriving her approximately 30 times over the year. Tommy then starts acting like Raven, going so far as to start wearing flannel shirts and cutting those same angsty, shytty emo promos ending them with "Quoth the Dreamer, nevermore". Raven replaces Beulah with Kimona Wanalaya, but treats her like shyt, and despite saying he never needed Beulah, eventually says he loved her since he was 12. Of course, this makes no sense, since he came to ECW because he was so pissed at Dreamer for sticking him with her for a summer. But he was in love with her since that summer so...what the fukk was he mad about? Oh, the divorce thing. Because he was sad his father that beat and molested him and he hated deeply was no longer living with him and Tommy wasn't supportive enough, even though they weren't even friends at that time?
Anyway, Raven and Stevie were going to kick Beulah in the stomach at a show, when Kimona stood in the way. Raven would win the ECW Championship, and Shane Douglas was in line for a title shot. He swore he was going to reveal something that would RIP THE LID OFF OF PRO WRESTLING, and there's no way Raven could win after he let the secret out. That secret? That Beulah was cheating on Tommy AND Raven...with Kimona. And that she wasn't pregnant to begin with. Tommy immediately gets over it, making out with both women, because he's hardcore, and briefly is managed by both before Kimona vanishes. Raven reveals he brought Kimona in BECAUSE HE ALREADY KNEW SHE WAS fukkING BEULAH and knew it would hurt Tommy. Except Tommy didn't give a shyt, Raven didn't give a shyt, and Kimona is gone within a few weeks anyway as Tommy and Raven both move on to new feuds.
From here, the angle pretty much goes dormant, as Dreamer begins a blood feud with Raven's paid hitman Brian Lee that gets far more heated and violent than the Raven angle ever gets, and Raven feuds with Sandman also in a feud that gets far more heated, violent, and personal than the Raven/Dreamer angle: Raven gets Sandman's ex-wife and son involved, apparently brainwashing them just to fukk with Sandman (it should be noted that Lori's promos make it sound like it was all her idea just to get revenge on Sandman) and the feud goes all the way up to a barbed wire match. Tommy vs Lee involves a lot of Tommy getting chokeslammed off the Eagle's Nest and goes to a High Incident scaffold match where the ring is filled with tables.
These angles go on for months with Dreamer and Raven no longer interacting except for a random match in Japan. Brian Lee ends up jumping ship to Shane Douglas (and then double crosses him later, in an angle with Rick Rude that went nowhere because 1. Brian Lee went to the WWF immediately after and 2. Rick Rude couldn't wrestle and it seemed like his entire existence in ECW was making sex jokes). Raven loses the title to Terry Funk at Barely Legal, who got his opportunity because Dreamer gave up his spot, which reignites the feud just in time for Raven to jump to WCW. Dreamer finally gets his win over Raven at Wrestlepalooza 1997, and it is IMMEDIATELY brushed aside. I'm talking seconds after the pin, the lights go out and Sabu/RVD/Jerry Lawler are in the ring beating down the ECW roster. Raven vanishes from the ring during one of the times the lights go out and that's the end of that. What was supposed to be the biggest victory of Tommy's LIFE is immediately thrown in the bushes so he can feud with Raw's announcer.
So, in short, this storyline is fukking trash. It's pure soap opera bullshyt that doesn't fit in at all with literally ANY of the top storylines ECW was doing. All the other angles were organic, and at least somewhat realistic stories with character progression from start to finish. This, on the other hand, is a planned out angle about GUY WHO HAD BEEN ON NATIONAL TV FOR THE PRIOR 3 YEARS AS A RICH PARTY BOY COMING IN WITH AN AFFECTED GRUNGE GIMMICK TO BE TRENDY BECAUSE HE WAS MAD ABOUT SOMETHING FROM SUMMER CAMP WHEN HE WAS 12. And then the real motivation changes two or three times, there's a fake pregnancy, and then it ends and is immediately ignored.
Literally ALL the side angles that come out of this are more interesting. Be it Dreamer vs Brian Lee, or Sandman vs Raven, Stevie Richards standing up to Raven, Cactus trying to save Dreamer, even small shyt that came about during the same time like Tommy starting a feud with Louie Spicolli because he was annoyed that Louie was too sweeting too often (
) was more believable. The promos between these two are absolutely embarrassing trash. It's never explained why Raven gets these followers. You know, like how all cult leader gimmicks have the leader doing promos brainwashing people or promising them stuff and shyt? That never happens with Raven. People just are in his corner and Joey Styles talks about people following him and that's that. He never really even interacts with them, none of them have anything in common with him, and in fact usually have gimmicks and personalities that clash with everything Raven is about. Most of the time he talks while they goof off in the background, or sits in silence while his people goof off in the foreground.
In the end, Tommy gained nothing from the angle besides having to repeatedly save Beulah, a woman he repeatedly beat up in the ring and who lied to him about being pregnant for four months. Raven bounced to WCW where he'd have a much better version of the feud with DDP (and Chris Benoit) and his Flock leader gimmick actually got some explanation and characterization.
In short, fukk Raven vs Dreamer and fukk ECW.
The Sandman was one of ECW's original top babyfaces. He was, in fact, part of the pre-cursor company Tri-State Wrestling, before Todd Gordon, Eddie Gilbert, or Paul Heyman were involved. When Gordon bought the company and rebranded to ECW, Sandman continued his work with the company, working on the first show and defeating Don Muraco to be the ECW Champion by the end of 1992. At the time, "Sandman" was a tubular surfer gimmick. After forming a tag team with Tommy Cairo, Sandman was blinded in a match and accidentally struck his wife, Peaches. When his vision recovered, he saw Cairo helping his wife, which filled him with anger, so he attacked Cairo. As he became estranged with his wife, Sandman adopted Woman as his manager, and the beer drinking, cane swinging Sandman we all know came to life.
Also in 1993, Tommy Dreamer would arrive in ECW. He was originally portrayed as a "pretty boy", wearing suspenders, glittery jackets, and being a traditional white meat babyface. Of course, the ECW fans didn't take to this, so Tommy Dreamer went out of his way to prove he was hardcore to the audience. When he crossed paths with The Sandman in 1994, a stipulation was given that the loser would receive 10 lashes with a Singapore cane, at the behest of Woman, who thoroughly got off on Sandman caning his opponents. Tommy would take all 10 lashings like a man, finally endearing himself to the ECW audience and transitioning into the innovator of violence gimmick.
So you can see these character changes and storylines came about pretty organically, with multiple months to a year of development before these angles even intersected. Then, in late 1994, low card wrestler Steve Richards began wrestling in the gimmicks of Scott Levy. Johnny Polo, Scotty The Body, and Scotty Flamingo were all referenced, and on the first Hardcore TV of 1995, Scott Levy would debut his new gimmick, "The Raven". Scott Levy was now a nihilistic grungy weirdo (already dated by 1995, tbh) who came to ECW because of a feud with Tommy Dreamer that started at SUMMER CAMP WHEN THEY WERE 12. You see, there was this fat girl named Beulah, and Tommy turned her down, so she spent the summer with Raven. Because of this, Raven hates Dreamer 15 years later and has come to ECW to destroy him.
I'm sure you can see the difference in this angle and the angles that got Dreamer and Sandman into their familiar forms. But it gets better. For the first couple of months, they flip flop on this being an affected gimmick by the wrestler known formerly known as Johnny Polo, or if this is the REAL Scott Levy. The very first music video for Raven is literally him just walking around looking mopey in the suburbs. Tommy Dreamer, who fought so hard to shed his preppy pretty boy image with the ECW crowd, is immediately dragged back into it, as he's now feuding over fukking summer camp with a known rich shyt kid. Raven constantly talks about how neglected he was, yet, again, he's feuding over something that happened at SUMMER CAMP in upstate New York.
What Raven is mad about is that Beulah made his life a living hell that summer, I guess by being annoying or something. Well, Stevie found her and brought her to ECW, which initially makes Raven very angry, until he sees that Beulah is now a hottie, so he got over it. Over the next ten months, these men fight over an issue at SUMMER CAMP WHEN THEY WERE 12, which isn't really even all that explained, but Tommy beats up Beulah every chance he gets, and Raven always wins via fukkery. Beulah really never did anything to Tommy, and Tommy really never did anything to her, there's no reason for them to be involved at all really, and definitely not Tommy going out of his way to try to break her neck on the reg.
During all this, Cactus Jack "falls under the spell" of Raven, after having an epiphany about the hardcore style and hardcore fans of ECW. This leads to a few months of GOAT tier promos from Foley trying to convince Tommy to not make the same mistakes he made, to take the easy money with WCW, and be able to walk when he's an old man. This really has nothing to do with Raven, but it's far more engaging and organic of a storyline. When Raven does solo promos during this time, he makes it sound like he and Cactus have the same goal: Destroying Dreamer. However, Cactus wants to SAVE Tommy, because saving Tommy is, in a way, saving himself. This just kind of fades away like most things in ECW, then Cactus drops this version of the character once he signs with the WWF.
About a year into the feud, Raven reveals what he's REALLY mad at Tommy for: Tommy wasn't there for him enough when his parents got divorced. When he was 18. It's already been said they stopped being friends that summer when they were 12 multiple times. Now, Raven cuts many promos explicitly talking about all the times his dad beat and molested him, so it's pretty weird he'd be so upset about his parents getting a divorce. Around the same time, Beulah reveals that she's pregnant....with Tommy's baby. They've been fukking despite Tommy piledriving her approximately 30 times over the year. Tommy then starts acting like Raven, going so far as to start wearing flannel shirts and cutting those same angsty, shytty emo promos ending them with "Quoth the Dreamer, nevermore". Raven replaces Beulah with Kimona Wanalaya, but treats her like shyt, and despite saying he never needed Beulah, eventually says he loved her since he was 12. Of course, this makes no sense, since he came to ECW because he was so pissed at Dreamer for sticking him with her for a summer. But he was in love with her since that summer so...what the fukk was he mad about? Oh, the divorce thing. Because he was sad his father that beat and molested him and he hated deeply was no longer living with him and Tommy wasn't supportive enough, even though they weren't even friends at that time?
Anyway, Raven and Stevie were going to kick Beulah in the stomach at a show, when Kimona stood in the way. Raven would win the ECW Championship, and Shane Douglas was in line for a title shot. He swore he was going to reveal something that would RIP THE LID OFF OF PRO WRESTLING, and there's no way Raven could win after he let the secret out. That secret? That Beulah was cheating on Tommy AND Raven...with Kimona. And that she wasn't pregnant to begin with. Tommy immediately gets over it, making out with both women, because he's hardcore, and briefly is managed by both before Kimona vanishes. Raven reveals he brought Kimona in BECAUSE HE ALREADY KNEW SHE WAS fukkING BEULAH and knew it would hurt Tommy. Except Tommy didn't give a shyt, Raven didn't give a shyt, and Kimona is gone within a few weeks anyway as Tommy and Raven both move on to new feuds.
From here, the angle pretty much goes dormant, as Dreamer begins a blood feud with Raven's paid hitman Brian Lee that gets far more heated and violent than the Raven angle ever gets, and Raven feuds with Sandman also in a feud that gets far more heated, violent, and personal than the Raven/Dreamer angle: Raven gets Sandman's ex-wife and son involved, apparently brainwashing them just to fukk with Sandman (it should be noted that Lori's promos make it sound like it was all her idea just to get revenge on Sandman) and the feud goes all the way up to a barbed wire match. Tommy vs Lee involves a lot of Tommy getting chokeslammed off the Eagle's Nest and goes to a High Incident scaffold match where the ring is filled with tables.
These angles go on for months with Dreamer and Raven no longer interacting except for a random match in Japan. Brian Lee ends up jumping ship to Shane Douglas (and then double crosses him later, in an angle with Rick Rude that went nowhere because 1. Brian Lee went to the WWF immediately after and 2. Rick Rude couldn't wrestle and it seemed like his entire existence in ECW was making sex jokes). Raven loses the title to Terry Funk at Barely Legal, who got his opportunity because Dreamer gave up his spot, which reignites the feud just in time for Raven to jump to WCW. Dreamer finally gets his win over Raven at Wrestlepalooza 1997, and it is IMMEDIATELY brushed aside. I'm talking seconds after the pin, the lights go out and Sabu/RVD/Jerry Lawler are in the ring beating down the ECW roster. Raven vanishes from the ring during one of the times the lights go out and that's the end of that. What was supposed to be the biggest victory of Tommy's LIFE is immediately thrown in the bushes so he can feud with Raw's announcer.
So, in short, this storyline is fukking trash. It's pure soap opera bullshyt that doesn't fit in at all with literally ANY of the top storylines ECW was doing. All the other angles were organic, and at least somewhat realistic stories with character progression from start to finish. This, on the other hand, is a planned out angle about GUY WHO HAD BEEN ON NATIONAL TV FOR THE PRIOR 3 YEARS AS A RICH PARTY BOY COMING IN WITH AN AFFECTED GRUNGE GIMMICK TO BE TRENDY BECAUSE HE WAS MAD ABOUT SOMETHING FROM SUMMER CAMP WHEN HE WAS 12. And then the real motivation changes two or three times, there's a fake pregnancy, and then it ends and is immediately ignored.
Literally ALL the side angles that come out of this are more interesting. Be it Dreamer vs Brian Lee, or Sandman vs Raven, Stevie Richards standing up to Raven, Cactus trying to save Dreamer, even small shyt that came about during the same time like Tommy starting a feud with Louie Spicolli because he was annoyed that Louie was too sweeting too often (
) was more believable. The promos between these two are absolutely embarrassing trash. It's never explained why Raven gets these followers. You know, like how all cult leader gimmicks have the leader doing promos brainwashing people or promising them stuff and shyt? That never happens with Raven. People just are in his corner and Joey Styles talks about people following him and that's that. He never really even interacts with them, none of them have anything in common with him, and in fact usually have gimmicks and personalities that clash with everything Raven is about. Most of the time he talks while they goof off in the background, or sits in silence while his people goof off in the foreground. In the end, Tommy gained nothing from the angle besides having to repeatedly save Beulah, a woman he repeatedly beat up in the ring and who lied to him about being pregnant for four months. Raven bounced to WCW where he'd have a much better version of the feud with DDP (and Chris Benoit) and his Flock leader gimmick actually got some explanation and characterization.
In short, fukk Raven vs Dreamer and fukk ECW.
