2. Raven Crucifies Sandman
In October 1996, Raven and The Sandman had been engaged in nearly a year long feud that got as personal as it could get when Raven had turned Sandman's own son Tyler against him. During The Sandman's match against 2 Cold Scorpio at High Incident, Tyler interfered to help his father win the match. As they embraced, Raven attacked Sandman with a singapore cane, and with the help of Stevie Richards and Blue Meanie, proceeded to tie him to a wooden cross and place a crown of barbed wire thorns on his head. At this time, Kurt Angle was considering entering the pro wrestling industry, and he was a hot commodity as his Olympic success was only months old at that point. He had been invited to the ECW show by Shane Douglas, but when he saw the Raven/Sandman segment, he stormed out demanding that his likeness never appear on the same show. While pretty much everyone believes Paul Heyman knew about the angle, he swore that he didn't. On the same show, he made Raven go out to the ring and apologise to the fans and wrestlers that he may have offended with his use of religious iconography. Further controversy arose between Raven and other roster members, as Raven is Jewish making his use of Christian symbols even more charged. Raven however claims he was merely "using religious iconography to convey an artistic standpoint." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEwyLIiSlAs