ECW One Night Stand 2006
June 11, 2006
New York, NY
Reviewed on March 4, 2014

Background: I don’t remember when it was decided that WWE would add a third brand, the ECW brand, but I remember being shocked about it. This was a huge deal. The revival of ECW! And it’s going to have all of the classic ECW guys like RVD and Sabu! And you know what, it really looked like WWE wasn’t going to mess this one up. The Rise and Fall of ECW was a great documentary. One Night Stand 2005 was one of the greatest PPVs ever (or…at least a great PPV) and actually sold quite well. The money would practically print itself. Sigh.

One Night Stand 2006 was the launching pad for the ECW brand. This show was more of a new start than a reunion show. Some storylines focused on ECW stealing some RAW and Smackdown talent. Kurt Angle and The Big Show would both become ECW talents. Also, both Sabu and RVD had shots at the World Heavyweight and WWE titles respectively. Anything could happen at this PPV…and surely, anything will. People were legitimately excited for this prospect.

The Card

The crowd is electric early on! ECW! ECW! ECW!

Yeah, that was the first line of the ONS2005 review. Well, that’s just what ECW fans do!

“If Cena Wins, We Riot.” The classic sign.

Paul Heyman’s out first. This ain’t Raw. This ain’t Smackdown…this ain’t even WWE!

Heyman thanks the fans. I’m sure he means it.

It’s a pretty awesome promo. Paul Heyman is one of the best promo men in wrestling history.

Taz vs. Jerry Lawler

This began with the Joey Styles worked shoot and Lawler slapping him in the fact. Lawler was the perfect ECW heel, he basically just played it like he did in 1997.

Taz makes Jerry Lawler pass out in 0:35. Lawler slaps Styles on the way to the ring. Styles jumps on his back. When Lawler fends him off and sets him up for the piledriver, Taz locks him in the Tazmission for the win. Fun way to start the show, good way for Lawler to get his comeuppance.

Taz joins Styles on commentary. Sorry, but Taz is not as good as Mick Foley.

WWE vs. ECW recap video. Highlights Big Show’s ECW turn. And the John Cena vs. Sabu match.

Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton

There’s history here. These two were part of the World Heavyweight Title match at Mania 22, and Angle snapped Orton’s ankle later (or, wellness strike #1).

One of the best things Orton has ever done is use pyro as heel heat.

Kurt Angle’s theme is a bit remixed to drown out any YOU SUCK chants.

What a difference a year makes. Fans are all for Angle here. This time last year they were telling him that he sucked dick.

Great chants here. “Angle’s gonna kill you” and a break his ankle chant.

This match is purely used to put Angle over as a shoot wrestling killer. Just like the original Taz.

This match can be described as Kurt Angle making Randy Orton his bitch. There’s a beautiful spot where Angle traps Orton with his legs then just slaps the back of his head a few times.

Orton finally gets some offense in…but you just know he’s getting killed soon.

Pretty sure Angle stole the triple German from Benoit.

Kurt Angle makes Randy Orton submit in 15:07. Orton goes for a RKO but Angle counters by just shoving Orton hard to the mat. Angle goes for the Angle Lock, but Orton rolls him up for 2. Angle gets the Angle Lock and grapevines the leg for the win. Good match to make Angle look like a bad ass. It’s a shame his WWE days were numbered. I do think Orton gets a little too much offense in at the end, but it works. Don’t worry Orton fans, he gets his return win at Vengeance.

The FBI (Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke) vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri and Super Crazy

I laughed about this match, simply because it’s basically the same match from last One Night Stand. That match was damn good though.

Big Guido is the only FBI member back from last year.

Tajiri just comes all nonchalant and breaks up a submission by kicking the hell out of Mamaluke.

This is a very different match than last year’s international three way dance. A lot of technical wrestling from Tony Mamaluke.

Admittedly, the commentary taking shots at Smackdown is a little annoying.

Double Tree of Woe! Stereo dropkicks to the face!

Super Crazy hits a springboard Asai Moonsault to the FBI to the outside…and lands on his feet!

Big Guido beats up Crazy.

Super Crazy I think botches a backdrop or a flapjack, that could have been bad but he gets away with it.

Camel Clutch on Crazy and a second rope dropkick from Guido!

Tajiri with an Octopus Hold! Awesome.

Double Tarantula!

They chop down Big Guido!

The FBI win when they pin Tajiri in 12:24. Little Guido hits this brutal dropkick on an inverted Super Crazy to get rid of him, then the FBI hit a double brainbuster for the win. Very fun match. Not quite as good as last year’s, but that’s not fair at all.

Here comes the Big Show! He takes out everyone…and hits Tony Mamaluke with a Cobra Clutch Backbreaker! What happened to that move? It was sick!

It’s JBL!

He shoots on what he did to The Blue Meanie last year. Which was pretty fucked up at the time to be fair.

He points out that RVD, Big Show and Kurt Angle are stars because of Vince McMahon. He’s mostly correct on that.

JBL makes fun of ScyFy. Thanks to Taz leaving Smackdown, JBL is now the voice of Smackdown!

He calls ECW the minor league. To be fair, he’s not wrong.

I like JBL…but that really wasn’t necessary.

World Heavyweight Championship
Rey Mysterio© vs. Sabu

Admittedly don’t understand why Sabu got a shot at the title here. RVD had to use Money in the Bank afterall.

Sabu has weird fuzzy pants.

No baggy pants for Rey this time. He should have swapped attires in regards to his ONS choices.

Dueling chairs to start!

There’s something wrong with Nick Patrick being the referee in an ECW show.

Oh, no dueling chairs afterall.

Dueling chairs!

Air Sabu early!

Air Mysterio! Pretty nice hurricanrana there.

Pretty sure Sabu gave Rey a concussion with that chair throw there.

Perfect top rope moonsault from Rey!

Rey drives Sabu through a table! Sabu looked like he hurt his throat there.

Great sequence of missed flips and stuff. Hard to explain but it works.

Triple Jump Moonsault…I think Sabu legit hurts Rey there though.

My god that had to be a concussion. Holy shit. What a chair to the head.

Sabu and Rey Mysterio wrestle to a no contest in 9:10. Springboard into a DDT through the table! Oddly some guy in a tux who’s a doctor is out and says it’s over, neither can fight anymore. It’s a very weak finish that at the time maybe was creating a no violence NY State Wrestling Commission character, but it didn’t work. But the match up until the actual finish is great.

Mick Foley, Edge and Lita vs. Beulah, Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk

Reading Mick Foley’s Hardcore Diaries really gave a lot of insight into this match and how frustrating it was for Foley specifically. Vince had no hope of this match being any good. It almost became an eight man tag.

Foley turned heel here and went with the “I once was a part of ECW, but I became a bigger star in WWE” route. Mick does the classic “You’re right, I sold out…..I sold out Madison Square Garden etc.” Just classic.

He brings up that he once loved ECW….when it was owned by Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley! Long live the Alliance! What an awesome line that is.

Edge is great here too. “This is their Christmas, only their Santa Claus is Jewish, fat, bald and gives out an endless supply of bullshit”

Lita’s mic skills were never good.

This match is originally just a tag without the women, but Beulah knows about Lita’s fondess for threesomes…so six person tag it is.

Man Terry Funk makes slaps even look good.

It doesn’t take long for the weapons to come out.

Edge gets hip tossed on a ladder!

Spinning ladder!

Edge sends Terry Funk crashing down as he climbed a ladder. Funk was 61 years old here.

Barbed Wire board!

They suplex the board on Dreamer! Dreamer went through so much in these ECW PPVs. Makes you feel worse when you remember he jobbed to Daivari 6 months later.

Fans want fire. Sick bastards.

Foley in the wire! Jeez.

Funk takes the board to the face! They’re all sick.

Foley punches Funk in the face with barbed wire on his arm….then Foley tries to take out the eye!

Funk keeps yelling “My eye! My eye!” Most amazing seller in the business here.

Funk gets taken to the back.

Poor Dreamer. Poor poor Dreamer.

Socko!

Socko to Beulah!

Edge is about to have his way with Beulah….but here comes Funk with a 2×4 with barbed wire on it!

Funk owns them all.

The 2×4 is on fire! Fire to Foley! Foley’s on fire! Foley through the barbed wire board! Oh My God!

Edge sends Funk into Foley….their night is over.

Dreamer accidentally chokes Edge out for real here with the barbed wire, which I think Lita knew. Beulah takes her down…catfight!

Death Valley Driver to Lita!

Educator with the wire to Dreamer!

Edge, Mick Foley and Lita win when Edge pins Beulah in 18:45. Edge spears Beulah! Great facial expression from Beulah. Edge gets the win with the most provocative cover in wrestling history. Violent match. Great match. Watching Funk try to get out of the wire is something else.

There’s John Cena in the back, thinking about the match!
There’s Rob Van Dam in the back thinking about the match!

Masato Tanaka vs. Balls Mahoney

A lot of wrestling early on. Which isn’t the way to go with Mahoney ever.

This match is to put over Balls I guess.

Crowd is into it, which helps.

I did like how Balls would use people’s beers as a weapon.

Balls Mahoney pinned Masato Tanaka in 5:03. Dueling chairs! Tanaka gets the advantage but misses the chair shot. Mahoney nails his chair shot and dents the chair! 1…2…3! The first okay match of all the One Night Stands. It was to put Balls over, and it did.

We get the RVD vs. Cena video. I’ll get to this match in a sec….

Here comes Eugene!

As Eugene’s uncle Eric Bischoff once said, Eugene is as smart as a ECW fan!

Are you saying boo…or U for Eugene! BOOOO! Thanks everybody!

Eugene has a poem for us!

ECW’s the place to be.
I love Terry Funk and RVD.

Stevie Richards makes me cowl.
I take a bath and use Taz’s towel.

ECW is not phony.
I want to hug Balls Mahoney.

I want to hug all of you.
I want to picnic with Sabu!

I have to say….Sandman’s entrance isn’t the same without Enter Sandman.

Sandman is in amazing shape compared to last year.

Eugene goes for the hug…then gets the everliving shit caned out of him.

WWE Championship
John Cena© vs. Rob Van Dam

RVD won the 2nd ever Money in the Bank and decided to cash it in at One Night Stand. Makes perfect sense. For a while, RVD was the only one to cash in the briefcase in an actual match.

This match is actually the Dr. J to Cena vs. Punk at MITB 2011’s Michael Jordan.

I actually have a lot of respect for Cena here. If he had actually won he might have not left alive…and really dealt with the boos well.

Cena tries to throw his gear into the crowd and the crowd keeps throwing it back.

It’s pretty cool how RVD just absolutely owns the arena.

Here comes the toilet paper!

Early on they do a bunch of things to play to the crowd (the boo-yay-boo-yay sequence).

ECW fans are hypocrites. They chant “same old shit” to Cena…but RVD’s been doing the same old shit longer than Cena has.

RVD with a moonsault off the stairs!

RVD’s corkscrew legdrop with his opponent lying on the railing was always a great spot.

Rolling Thunder on a chair!

Split Legged Moonsault on a chair…but Cena gets the chair up!

Cena uses the ropes like a heel, nice!

Cena sends RVD head first into a chair in the corner!

Cena with the Five Knuckle Shuffle! He then plays to the crowd. Cena can be a great heel sometimes.

Pretty sure RVD botches putting Cena on the top rope…but the crowd chants “Cena fucked up”. Nice.

Table propped in the corner!

The STFU!

Love Cena not breaking the hold after RVD got to the ropes.

Cena takes out the ref!

Rob Van Dam wins the WWE…now ECW Title when he pins John Cena in 20:41. Cena sends RVD to the outside. A guy in riot gear comes in and spears Cena through the propped table! I assume that was done to make it seem like it’s Rhyno…but it turns out to be Edge. RVD hits a Five Star and Heyman runs in to make a three count which did feel kinda odd. Taz makes a horrible call on commentary (Ok, I guess!). Match is good. It is clear that RVD isn’t the RVD of old though. RVD celebrates with the new WWECW!

This show was classic ECW’s last great moment. It’s hard to pinpoint the blame of WWECW’s demise. Was it when ScyFy demanded things like The Zombie? Was it the first ECW show that was just in a normal arena? Was it because Kurt Angle was gone a few weeks later? Was it when RVD and Sabu got caught smoking pot and Big Show became champion? Was it when Batista and Big Show headlined an ECW show? What about when Undertaker did one?

Rob Van Dam winning the classic ECW Title is a moment I’ll never forget. It’s too bad that everything went downhill from that point forward. I believe at this point the next year Vince was ECW World Champion. Just wow.

But this show, while not the first One Night Stand, was still a good and fun show. Almost everything hit, and even the things that didn’t weren’t horrible or even bad.

Final Grade: A-