Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) was known for many things, most notably its roster of wrestlers penchant for being, well, extreme. It was a deep roster, too, filled with an incredible mixture of misfits and guys who would go on to become major stars in the two big companies at the time, World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF).
Arguably the greatest feud in the history of the promotion was Tommy Dreamer vs. Raven. They were introduced as childhood friends who broke apart and ended up competing against each other in various ways. When Raven was brought into ECW, he came in with Beulah McGillicutty, a Penthouse Pet who had a childhood crush on Dreamer but was rejected and ended up hooking up with Raven instead.
Their epic feud spanned a number of years and included many, many matches. Each and every time, however, without fail, Raven would emerge victorious. That is until this date in ECW history (June 6, 1997) when Dreamer finally defeated Raven in a Loser Leaves Town match at Wrestlepalooza in Philadelphia.
The reason for the stipulation, of course, was that Raven was headed off to WCW, which prompted early "You sold out" chants just before the match got underway. Once it did, they brawled all throughout the ECW Arena before finally heading back to the ring. It was your typical hardcore style match, with plenty of solid bumps and foreign objects used and more than a few run-ins.
After a ton of near falls, Dreamer hooked Raven for a DDT, shouted out to the crowd "E-C-Fucking-W," before delivering it to get the three count. After years of being unable to defeat his arch nemesis, Dreamer had finally done it.
This match was also memorable for the angle that happened just after it. During this time period, ECW had entered into a working agreement with the WWF, even invading Monday Night Raw in February of that year. Jerry Lawler was the most vocal critic of the "rinky dink" promotion, often referring to it as "Extremely Crappy Wrestling."
Shortly after Dreamer pinned Raven, the lights went out and when they came back up, RVD was in the ring with a steel chair and a "WWF Monday Night Raw" shirt. He attacked Dreamer but just as Tommy was about to get the best of him, the lights went out again. This time Sabu was there when they came up and he also attacked Dreamer. Again, though, Tommy overcame and nailed them both with a DDT at the same time.
But once again, the lights went out. And when they came back up, Lawler was in the ring. The crowd at the ECW Arena went absolutely bonkers while RVD and Sabu fended off all comers. "The King" proceeded to insult the arena ("This bingo hall ought to be built out of toilet paper because there's nothing in it but shit"), the fans and the entire promotion.
Finally, Tazz came out for his match against Shane Douglas and the ring cleared.
Watch the finish of the Dreamer vs. Raven match, as well as Lawler invading ECW: