WCW and ECW did not work together, but Raven showed that an act could make the jump from one promotion to another. The Raven character saw him perfecting it in ECW to completely rebuild his career after weak stints as Scotty Flamingo in WCW and Johnny Polo in WWE. It was a new look and style that fit the grunge era of society.

RELATED: Every Faction Raven Was In, Ranked From Worst To Best

Raven having his own faction in both companies saw the same act with different members and some changes in style. Most fans of the time to still enjoy wrestling today appreciate the work of Raven looking back. Raven’s Nest became a top act for ECW, and The Flock always created interest for WCW. The following tidbits often are forgotten when looking back at Raven’s factions.

UPDATE: 2022/08/23 16:25 EST BY PATRICK MOCELLA

WIth his unbridled villainy and penchant for playing mind games against the heroes, Raven is one of the great psychological heels of all time. A successor to Jake “The Snake” Roberts and a precursor to CM Punk and Bray Wyatt, Raven’s The Nest (in ECW) or The Flock (in WCW) offered a unique variation on the pro wrestling faction — rather than being a bunch of talented guys dominating like the Four Horsemen, Raven’s outfit was a group of misfits. They’re too crucial a group to limit to just 10 entries, so let’s talk a little more about Raven’s infamous factions.

13 * Paul Heyman Kickstarted The Group

Paul Heyman in ECW

While Raven is considered to have one of the great creative minds in pro wrestling, the impetus for The Nest can be credited to ECW boss Paul Heyman. Heyman may not have presented Raven with the concept of the Nest, he did basically plant the seeds with one crucial decision — deciding to group Raven with the aforementioned Stevie Richards. From there, Raven came up with the idea of Richards’ memorable look, with the incredibly short denim shorts and crop tops, creating his goofball persona that made him a perfect punching bag for the villainous Raven.

12 * Abusive To His Followers In WCW

Ravens Flock

Beyond the lineup, if there’s one thing that distinguished ECW’s Nest from WCW’s Flock, it’s the way that Raven treated his followers. While The Nest was something akin to a dysfunctional family, The Flock were strictly Raven’s followers, a fact that its leader took full advantage of. If a member of The Flock screwed up, they’d certainly be punished by Raven. In fact, even if Raven screwed up — like when he lost the United States Championship to Goldberg — the rest of the Flock would be punished for it. This set the stage for some members to inevitably turn babyface and feud with Raven, increasing their popularity. In particular, this happened with Saturn (see below) and Kidman.

11 * Crucifying Sandman

the-sandman-crucified-bw-ecw

In ECW, Raven and The Nest are responsible for one of the most controversial moments in the promotion’s history. In mid-1996, Raven entered an intense feud with The Sandman, indoctrinating his family into The Nest and leading to a segment in October of that year where Raven and his crew staged a crucifixion of Sandman, tying him to a cross with a barbed wire crown.

RELATED: The 10 Worst & Most Evil Things Raven Did In Wrestling

The Nest were crucial in the staging of this incident, as they had to block the crowd’s view while Sandman was tied to the cross. Debatably poor taste aside, the segment reportedly caused an offended Kurt Angle to decline to work with ECW, and Raven was forced to come out and apologize to the crowd, which he did in the most sarcastic tone possible.

10 Stevie Richards Spent Time In Both Groups

Raven's Nest

Raven’s factions saw one wrestler involved in both groups following his lead. Stevie Richards was the lackey of Raven in Raven’s Nest joined together in ECW. WCW actually wanted Stevie as well and had him in a forgotten role.

The move of signing Raven featured WCW slowly showing Raven and referring to him as a free agent. Richards started showing up as the overly excited sidekick to Raven. Unfortunately for Stevie, Raven grew frustrated with him and destroyed him in their first angle. Richards was released and ended his run without getting to stick in The Flock when it gained more momentum.

9 Five Women Joined In ECW Compared To Zero In WCW

Raven with Beulah

ECW had a stronger representation of women on their roster than WCW through most of the ‘90s. Raven’s Nest saw four different women having some sort of a role in the group. Beulah McGillicutty joined the company as someone from Raven and Tommy Dreamer’s past.

The storyline unfolded with Beulah eventually leaving Raven for Dreamer. However, other ladies to join Raven’s Nest saw Francine, Kimona Wanalaya, Chastity and The Sandman’s wife Lori as members or allies. The WCW version of The Flock never added any female members, but Chastity did manage Raven after the group ended.

8 Goldberg Destroyed Entire Flock For First Title Win

Goldberg Entrance

Raven’s heel work was impressive enough to stand out in WCW when the company had an all-time great roster. The United States Championship win of Raven led to Goldberg challenging him for his first title shot as a mid-card belt.

RELATED: 5 Best Raven Matches In ECW (& 5 In WCW)

Goldberg not only defeated Raven on Nitro, but he had to go through each member of The Flock before he won the match. Each member interfered with Goldberg destroying them one by one before getting to Raven and extending his undefeated streak.

7 Blue World Order Started Within Raven's Nest

BWO

One of the cooler twists to come from Raven’s Nest in ECW was that it spawned another successful act. Stevie Richards, The Blue Meanie and Nova were all playing lackeys of Raven, often performing parody acts of bands before their boss made his entrance.

The Blue World Order was meant to be a fun one-night parody since other wrestlers suggested the idea. Fans loved it enough for Richards to move forward leading his own stable completely ripping off WCW’s New World Order for laughs. The face turn led to the BWO still getting love for decades and doing reunions multiple times.

6 WCW Found Wrestling Outcasts To Join Flock

Flock WCW

The WCW version of The Flock was more about Raven finding lost souls on the roster to follow his lead rather than comedic acts to be his lackeys. Each member of The Flock had a difficult past in WCW struggling before joining up with Raven and sporting a darker look.

WCW picked Van Hammer, Scotty Riggs, Van Hammer, Horace Hogan, Reese, Lodi and Sick Boy as the out-casted wrestlers to find new roles. There were even secondary angles like Riggs getting blinded in one eye and having to wrestle in an eye patch when joining The Flock.

5 Raven Won Both WCW & ECW Tag Titles In Groups

Raven Saturn

There was one unique constant for Raven in both Raven’s Nest and The Flock. Raven did manage to win the ECW Championship in ECW and United States Championship in WCW, but there was one form of title to continue his team success.

The ECW Tag Team Championship was won by Raven and Stevie Richards when both were members of Raven’s Nest. Raven accomplished the same feat of winning the WCW Tag Team Championship teaming up with Perry Saturn.

4 The Stable Helped Raven End Dr. Death's Unbeaten Streak In ECW

Steve Williams

An underrated feat in Raven’s career came when defending the ECW World Championship against “Dr Death” Steve Williams. ECW booked Williams after over a decade of going undefeated in the United States.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Forget About Raven's WCW Career

Raven scored the massive victory of being the first wrestler to pin Williams in the United States in such a long time. Williams suffered some defeats in Japan, but it showed a lot that he was willing to lose to Raven for Paul Heyman. Raven’s Nest interfered to protect him in the booking, with Stevie Richards delivering a superkick to set up the DDT finish for Raven to win.

3 Saturn Joined In WCW, But Not ECW

Perry Saturn

The most important member of The Flock in WCW outside of Raven was Perry Saturn. WCW signed Saturn from ECW as well, but they didn’t want to place him in a tag team like Paul Heyman booked him in The Eliminators.

Saturn had no role in Raven’s Nest and did his own thing with John Kronus in ECW. However, the creative team of WCW felt that Saturn would be a good #2 to Raven and become the second in command in The Flock until the end.

2 Was Forced To Disband In WCW Due To Stipulation

Raven Flock

WCW told the story of Perry Saturn helping Raven lead The Flock, but he eventually grew tired of playing second fiddle. Raven’s manipulation and general lack of respect for the other members upset Saturn enough to make a change.

The big matches between the two put the future of The Flock in jeopardy. Saturn wanting to disband the group made it a stipulation when he defeated Raven to officially end The Flock and earn the freedom of the other members. Billy Kidman helped Saturn and received a push in the cruiserweight division as a future breakout star.

1 Raven Pitched Idea To Jim Cornette Before Paul Heyman Or Eric Bischoff

Jim Cornette

An interesting note about Raven’s faction behind the scenes is that he wanted to introduce it in another promotion to ECW or WCW. Raven came up with his gimmick and the idea of leading a cult-like faction when pitching it to Jim Cornette for Smoky Mountain Wrestling.

The idea wasn’t well-received by Cornette, so Raven tried it with Paul Heyman in ECW. Both creative minds of Heyman and Cornette are considered smarter than most in wrestling. The teamwork between the two helped Raven’s Nest become the top act in ECW. Raven used the same character in WCW with a few changes to appease Eric Bischoff in The Flock.