Sandman and the ECW Incident That Went Too Far

On October 26th, 1996, ECW went too far. This night, an angle involving The Sandman was so distasteful and confusing that the usually exuberant ECW arena crowd fell silent.

Sandman and the Time Things Went A Little Too Far in ECW

ECW wasn’t a "paint-by-numbers" promotion. They considered themselves innovators and artists.

Raven was a depressed, nihilistic sociopath in grunge-inspired clothing who delivered eloquent, philosophical promos containing literary allusions.

Raven had already toyed with the crucifixion idea when placing Tommy Dreamer in handcuffs or in crucifix fashion (arms outstretched), at least three times.

But Raven wanted to take this concept a step further. So, an imminent collision course with The Sandman, who’d just become a three-time winner of the ECW Championship, was set into motion.

Raven "brainwashed" Tyler and turned him against his father. Tyler, who was now also in grunge-inspired clothing, leather jacket and all, shockingly announced, "Daddy, you’re a drunk!"

A stunned Sandman stood in horror. The crowd roared at the announcement, and, once again, ECW made headlines, but this time for using a child in such a bitter angle.

PAUL HEYMAN: "It’s probably the only night in ECW history where we ever had to apologize for what we did."

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