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| Raven's Nest | |
|---|---|
 Raven led the original Raven's Nest faction and its various incarnations | |
| Stable | |
| Members | Raven (leader) See other members below |
| Name(s) | Raven's Cult Raven's Nest The Dead Pool The Flock The Gathering The New Movement[1] Serotonin[1] The Calling[1] |
| Debut | January 7, 1995 |
Raven's Nest was aprofessional wrestlingstable led byRaven that was present inExtreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1995 and 1997.
Later, Raven created other incarnations of the group inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW) such asThe Flock andThe Dead Pool, and inTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) such asThe Gathering andSerotonin. A new incarnation of the group was formed inMajor League Wrestling asThe Calling.
Raven's Nest was formed inExtreme Championship Wrestling on the January 10, 1995 episode ofHardcore TV whenStevie Richards introduced the former Johnny Polo to ECW as Raven, who proclaimed himself as the leader ofGeneration X. Raven helped Richards defeatHack Meyers in a match.[2] Raven immediately began feuding withTommy Dreamer after his debut and cutpromos on weekly television to show his hatred for Dreamer and instilled the hatred into Richards.[3][4][5] Richards would then compete against Dreamer in a match atDouble Tables, which Richards lost, ending his winning streak.[6] Raven's faction began expanding atReturn of the Funker when Richards introduced The Broad Street Bullies (Johnny Hotbody andTony Stetson) as the newest member of the group and the four brawled with Dreamer. AtExtreme Warfare, Raven, Richards and the Bullies defeated Dreamer in aGeneration X gauntlet match after Dreamer beat Richards, Stetson and Hotbody but failed to beat Raven afterTerry Funk severed Raven's handcuffs.
AtThree Way Dance, Richards gave an ultimatum to Bullies to win their match againstThe Pitbulls (Pitbull #1 andPitbull #2) or else they would be fired from Raven's Nest. Pitbulls defeated the Bullies, thus ousting them from the group and replacing them in Raven's Nest. The following match was the first singles encounter between Raven and Dreamer, during which Raven introducedBeulah McGillicutty, an overweight girl whom Raven and Dreamer met in a summer camp and Dreamer had abandoned her. She had by then become aPenthouse model and she seconded Raven to the ring. During the match, Richards tried to kiss McGillicutty, who slapped him, leading Dreamer to intervene. It turned out to be a ruse as McGillicutty blinded him with a hair spray and Richards attacked her, allowing Raven to defeat him. The following week, atHostile City Showdown, Richards took onMikey Whipwreck, who defeated Richards after Hack Meyers prevented Raven from interfering in the match. Later that night, Raven and Dreamer competed in a rematch, which ended after Dreamer notably delivered apiledriver to McGillicutty. Pitbulls would also compete at the event, challengingPublic Enemy (Johnny Grunge andRocco Rock) for theWorld Tag Team Championship in a losing effort.
AtEnter the Sandman, Whipwreck and Dreamer took on Raven and Richards in a tag team match, which Raven and Richards won by disqualification after Dreamer hit Raven with a clenched fist. Later at the event, Pitbulls received a rematch for the World Tag Team Championship against Public Enemy in adog collar match but failed to win the titles. As a result of a pre-match stipulation, Public Enemy got five minutes with Richards but Raven saved him and a brawl ensued which culminated with Dreamer making the save. Beulah McGillicutty andLuna Vachon also got involved and Dreamer delivered a piledriver to McGillicutty to close the show. AtBarbed Wire, Hoodies & Chokeslams,Vampire Warrior made his ECW debut as Raven's Nest's newest member, who arrived in ECW to fight Dreamer to get Dreamer's hands off hisreal wife Vachon. Warrior would then lose a match to Dreamer. Later that night, Richards helped McGillicutty defeat Vachon in a match by hitting the latter with a chair. The match was followed by a brutal moment where Raven handcuffed Vachon in a crucifixion position and tried to hit her with a chair but Dreamer stepped in to receive the chair shot. Due to the assault, Dreamer was unable to team with2 Cold Scorpio andTaz in a six-man tag team match against Pitbulls and Richards, making it ahandicap match. Richards would get distracted by flirting with the debutingFrancine and McGillicutty at ringside, which prompted Raven to scold Richards and push him back to the locker room. The distraction caused Pitbulls to lose to Scorpio and Taz. This incident would bow the seeds for dissension between Pitbulls and Raven's Nest.
AtMountain Top Madness, Pitbulls defeatedlocal wrestlers Dino Sandoff andDon E. Allen, while Raven and Richards got championship success by defeating Public Enemy to win theECW World Tag Team Championship. AtHardcore Heaven, Pitbulls took on the debutingDudley Brothers (Dudley Dudley andSnot Dudley) in the opening match. During the match, Francine kissed Richards, leading to McGillicutty brawling with her. Raven broke up the fight by taking them backstage, distracting Pitbulls and causing them to lose once again in similar fashion. Later at the event, Raven and Richards defended the World Tag Team Championship against Dreamer and Vachon. They retained the titles after Beulah threw powder in Vachon's face. Pitbulls would appear after the match and Raven ordered them to deliver asuperbomb to Vachon. Pitbulls refused to oblige, prompting Richards and Raven to humiliate them by shoving apple pie in their face. Pitbulls eventually attacked Raven and Richards, thus leaving Raven's Nest and turning intofaces. They tried to nail a superbomb to Richards but Dudley Brothers saved Richards, thus confirming their allegiance to Raven's Nest.
AtHeat Wave, Raven and Richards retained the World Tag Team Championship against Don E. Allen and Tony Stetson by getting counted out after leaving the ring to break up a brawl between Francine and Beulah. Later at the event, Raven and Dudley Brothers lost to Dreamer and Pitbulls in a six-man tag team match, and Richards lost asteel cage match to Vachon. A post-match brawl occurred after the steel cage match, in which Dreamer handcuffed Raven to the ring and hit him with a chair, which infamously became known in the wrestling industry as "The ChairShot Heard Around The World". AtWrestlepalooza, the four-man Raven's Nest consisting of Raven, Richards and Dudley Brothers (Big Dick Dudley and Dudley Dudley) defeated Dreamer,Cactus Jack and Pitbulls in an eight-man tag team match after Jack turned on Dreamer by hitting him with adouble arm DDT and put Raven on top of him for the pinfall. As a result of the incident, Jack joined Raven's Nest and began feuding with Dreamer. On August 26, a match took place between Beulah McGillicutty and Francine after months of catfights between the two. Stevie Richards served as the guest referee for the match. Richards turned on Francine by hitting her with aStevie Kick and McGillicutty pinned her for the win. After the match, Raven and Richards assisted McGillicutty in delivering aspike piledriver to Francine. Following that, Francine joined The Pitbulls in feuding with Raven's Nest.
During this time, Snot Dudley got injured and eventually left ECW, and was replaced byDances with Dudley as Dudley Dudley's new tag team partner in Dudley Brothers. AtGangstas Paradise, Dudleys defeatedChad Austin and Don E. Allen. Later at the event, Raven and Richards lost the World Tag Team Championship to The Pitbulls in atwo out of three falls match after Dreamer and9-1-1 thwarted interferences by Dudley Brothers and attacked crooked refereeBill Alfonso, leading CommissionerTod Gordon to count the pinfall. AtSouth Philly Jam, Cactus Jack defeated the debutingEl Puerto Riqueño after the latter refused to forfeit the match. Raven and Jack attacked Riqueño after the match but Dreamer made the save only to get double teamed by Raven and Jack, leading to Pitbulls making the save. Later at the event, Raven and Richards defeated Pitbulls to regain the titles. However, at the same event, Raven and Richards lost the titles to Public Enemy in a three-way match, also involvingThe Gangstas (Mustafa Saed andNew Jack). On the October 17 episode ofHardcore TV, Raven's Nest gained a new member whenBuh Buh Ray Dudley debuted in ECW as the newest member of Dudley Brothers.
AtNovember to Remember, Buh Buh served as the guest ring announced for a match between Broad Street Bully and Don E. Allen but got frustrated due to his stuttering and attacked both competitors. Buh Buh then went on to defeat the Bully in a match. Later at the event, Richards introduced the debutingThe Blue Meanie as his sidekick and defeated Riqueño, while Raven and Jack lost a match to Dreamer andTerry Funk. AtDecember to Dismember, Buh Buh and Dances with Dudley defeatedBad Crew (Dog and Rose) in the opening match. Later at the event, a grudge match took place between Raven and Dreamer, which Raven won after hitting him with a beer bottle. Later in the night, Raven and Richards teamed withThe Heavenly Bodies (Jimmy Del Ray andTom Prichard) andThe Eliminators (Kronus andSaturn) to take on Dreamer, Pitbulls and Public Enemy in anUltimate Jeopardy match, where a stipulation would be applied on the participant who was pinned or submitted. Richards was pinned and was locked in the cage with the five members of the opposing team as a result of a pre-match stipulation. Dreamer attacked Richards but was assaulted by Raven's team as Public Enemy and Pitbulls had been handcuffed to the ring apron during the match.The Sandman eventually made the save by attacking Raven and his allies with aSingapore cane, forcing them to retreat.
AtHoliday Hell, Cactus Jack proclaimed himself to be Mikey Whipwreck's tag team partner for the ECW World Tag Team Championship after Whipwreck defeated2 Cold Scorpio to win the latter'sECW World Television Championship and the World Tag Team Championship. Also at the event, Dreamer and Raven were supposed to compete in a match to determine the #1 contender for theECW World Heavyweight Championship later in the show but Richards claimed that Raven had a broken leg and was unable to compete. This distracted Dreamer enough for Blue Meanie to attack him and an immediate match took place between the two, which Dreamerquickly won. Richards then attacked Dreamer and Dreamer quickly defeated him as well. Dreamer then attempted to nail a piledriver to Beulah but Raven attacked him, leading to their match, which Raven won after assistance by Richards and Meanie. Later at the event, a confrontation took place within Raven's Nest when Meanie and Richards made fun of Buh Buh's dancing skills and Richards told Buh Buh that Raven would be enraged. This led to Buh Buh defeating Meanie and walking out of Richards, which led to Dudley Brothers quitting Raven's Nest. Also at the event, Raven failed to win the World Heavyweight Championship from The Sandman despite interference by Cactus Jack, and Jack lost toSabu in the main event.
AtHouse Party on January 5, 1996, Raven interfered in Mikey Whipwreck's World Television Championship title defense against 2 Cold Scorpio, costing Whipwreck, the match. Later at the event, a segment occurred where Beulah McGillicutty revealed that she was pregnant but Raven was not the father's child. This enraged Raven, who attacked Stevie Richards but McGillicutty revealed that the father was Tommy Dreamer. Dreamer then made the save for McGillicutty by attacking Raven's Nest and embraced McGillicutty, thus marking her exit from Raven's Nest. On the January 30 episode ofHardcore TV, Raven introducedKimona Wanalaya as his newvalet to replace McGillicutty and defeated The Sandman to win the World Heavyweight Championship after interference by Raven's Nest. AtBig Apple Blizzard Blast, Jack and Whipwreck lost the World Tag Team Championship to The Eliminators after a miscommunication occurred between the two as Whipwreck prevented Jack from using a beer bottle. Jack turned on Whipwreck by attacking him after the match. Later at the event, Raven and Richards lost a tag team match to Dreamer andShane Douglas.
AtCyberSlam, the debutingBruise Brothers (Don Bruise and Ron Bruise) joined Raven's Nest by attacking Dreamer and shoving his testicles repeatedly into the ringpost. Later at the event, Richards teamed with The Eliminators against Francine and The Pitbulls in a dog collar match, which Francine and Pitbulls won after Francine pinned Richards. Also at the event, Jack lost to Douglas after Whipwreck hit Jack with a chair and Raven's Nest helped Raven in retaining the World Heavyweight Championship against Sandman. AtJust Another Night, Richards and Meanie lost a match to The Pitbulls while Jack lost toBam Bam Bigelow and Raven retained the title against Douglas after assistance by Raven's Nest. Douglas then aided Sandman in attacking and chasing away members of Raven's Nest and the two formed an alliance to take the title from Raven. On the first night ofBig Ass Extreme Bash, Jack lost a match toChris Jericho while Raven retained the title against Sandman. On the second night, Jack wrestled his farewell match in ECW, defeating Whipwreck, and then hugged Whipwreck and cut a farewell promo, and then left ECW to joinWorld Wrestling Federation. Later that night, Raven retained the title against Douglas.
AtMassacre on Queen's Boulevard, Raven retained the title againstDamián 666 whileBrian Lee joined Raven's Nest later at the event to feud with Dreamer. Lee subsequently teamed with Bruise Brothers to defeat Dreamer and Pitbulls.
The Flock was Raven's faction founded in August 1997 soon after his debut inWorld Championship Wrestling (WCW).[7] All wrestlers in the faction adopted Raven'sgrunge gimmick, complete with similar ring attire.
Unlike other factions in WCW at the time, the group (though popular) met with limited success and lost most of their matches. The group disbanded after former memberSaturn won the rest of the members' freedom from Raven on September 13, 1998, atFall Brawl. The Flock is best remembered for hanging around in the crowd (usually at ringside) and then pouncing on any given wrestler, usually without provocation. Each member of the Flock was a social outcast for one reason or another and sought acceptance within the Flock:
The Dead Pool (originally called the Necro Ward) was another stable centered on Raven. It was first put together in August 1999 while Raven was in WCW and saw him teaming up withVampiro and theInsane Clown Posse (ICP) (Violent J andShaggy 2 Dope). When Raven quit WCW and went back to ECW a month after the group's inception, Vampiro and ICP stayed together under the moniker the Dark Carnival and continued without him.
The group has since resurfaced numerous times, including in ICP'sJuggalo Championship Wrestling (JCW) where ICP formed another version of the group, the Dead Pool 2000, with the addition ofBalls Mahoney as well as variousindependent promotions where Raven and ICP team together. Members included:
When Raven joinedTotal Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), he formed a new version of the Flock, this time calling them The Gathering. The original Gathering members wereJulio Dinero andAlexis Laree, withCM Punk joining the group soon after its inception. Punk and Dinero played 'adoring Ravenfanboy' gimmicks, making Raven the main focus of the group. Alexis left both the group and TNA after being signed to a contract byWorld Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). On December 17, 2003, Punk and Dinero turned on Raven during a six-mansteel cage match. Raven disappeared from TNA, while Punk and Dinero joined up with longtime Raven-enemyJames Mitchell and continued to wrestle under the Gathering tag team name.
The team came to an abrupt end when Punk left TNA to remain inRing of Honor (ROH). Dinero was eventually released. Mitchell disappeared for over a year before returning in July 2005 as the manager ofAbyss.
On the November 16, 2006 episode ofImpact!,Kazarian,Maverick Matt, andJohnny Devine appeared with drastically changed appearances, calling themselves The New Movement.[1] Later, through a series ofvignettes, they revealed their name to be Serotonin, referencing the brain chemical ofthe same name that regulates, among other things,aggression,moodiness, anddepression – things the Raven character has been linked to since its inception.
Raven's involvement with Serotonin began differently than with other incarnations of The Flock. Instead of speaking for the group duringpromos and being around at ringside during matches, Raven was only seen after matches, when he would come to the ring to hit the members with akendo stick, regardless of the result of the match, as part of a program referred to as "torture builds success". The members would drop to their knees and took their licks without complaint, for the most part. The only dissension of being hit was that of Kazarian on occasion, but this was defused by the other members instead of Raven. Serotonin wrestled mostly ondark matches beforepay-per-views and lost the majority of them. When wrestling in singles competition, members often took the role of jobbers to more established stars such asKurt Angle,Sting orJerry Lynn. Serotonin picked up their first official win atAgainst All Odds, defeating the team ofSonjay Dutt andJay Lethal following interference from Maverick Matt. On the March 8, 2007 episode ofImpact!, it was announced that Raven had changed their names: renaming Kazarian to Kaz, Maverick Matt to Martyr, and Johnny Devine to Havok. Dissension on the part of Kaz became more apparent during theLockdown pre-show, in which Kaz refused to allowChristy Hemme to be attacked by Raven after Serotonin's loss toVoodoo Kin Mafia. Serotonin retaliated to this, distracting and therefore costing Kaz in a match againstChris Sabin on the March 31, 2007 episode ofImpact!. On the June 21, 2007 episode ofImpact!, Kaz turned on Serotonin by costing Raven a match againstChris Harris. On the July 12, 2007 episode ofImpact!, Kaz defeated Martyr and Havok in a three-way match to earn a spot in theUltimate X match atVictory Road. Kaz was subsequently attacked by Raven and the remaining members of Serotonin. Kaz defeated Raven in a match atHard Justice. Bentley was later released by TNA, leaving only Havok and Raven as Serotonin members. Raven made few appearances in the succeeding months, some of which involved Raven and Havok aligning withBlack Reign and James Mitchell, who were attempting to destroy Mitchell's longtime enemy and kayfabe son Abyss. On the November 15 episode ofImpact!, Havok was revealed to beTeam 3D'sX Division traitor and reverting to his Johnny Devine ring name, effectively ending Serotonin.
In the summer of 2022, segments would air showing various members of the MLW roster laid out with a calling card on their body. After several months of attacks backstage, men in gasmasks attackedLince Dorado,Microman and Mister Saint Laurent after a tag match on the February 28th edition ofMLW Underground TV. The following week, it was revealed that the group was led by Raven includingRickey Shane Page andAkira. On March 7, 2023, Raven announced himself in a video to be the group's leader.
At the2024 Intimidation Games, Raven formed a new stable in MLW called The Response after Rickey Shane Page stole The Calling name from him and then raged a war against The Calling.
Other members:
The Gathering
Serotonin
| Affiliate | Members | Tenure | Type | Promotion(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blue World Order | Da Blue Guy / The Blue Meanie Hollywood Nova Stevie Richards / Big Stevie Cool | 1996–1997 | Stable | ECW |
| The Bruise Brothers | Don Bruise Ron Bruise | 1996 | Tag team | ECW |
| The Dudley Brothers | Big Dick Dudley Buh Buh Ray Dudley Chubby Dudley Dances with Dudley Dudley Dudley Sign Guy Dudley Snot Dudley | 1995 | Stable | ECW |
| Insane Clown Posse | Shaggy 2 Dope Violent J | 1999 | Tag team | WCW |
| The Pitbulls | Pitbull #1 Pitbull #2 | 1995 | Tag team | ECW |
