How a reunion show helped revive a defunct wrestling brand
In short: In 2006, WWE transformed the Hammerstein Ballroom into a battleground for hardcore wrestling. Following the success of a previous reunion, the ECW One Night Stand event marked the first time the revived ECW brand appeared on a pay-per-view, blending former legends with current superstars in a high-stakes spectacle.
The 2006 ECW One Night Stand was the second annual reunion event for the former Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion, whose assets WWE had acquired in 2003. Held on June 11, 2006, at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, the event served as a bridge between the old ECW identity and the newly established ECW brand, which WWE had officially confirmed on May 25, 2006.
The event featured a mix of hardcore-based matches and high-profile championship bouts. The main event saw Rob Van Dam defeat John Cena for the WWE Championship in a Money in the Bank cash-in match, aided by interference from Edge. Earlier in the card, a SmackDown World Championship match between Rey Mysterio and Sabu ended in a no contest after Sabu sent Mysterio through a table with a Triple Jump DDT.
The build-up to the event was intense, involving both Raw and SmackDown! storylines. For instance, Mick Foley and Edge engaged in a heated rivalry that led to a Hardcore mixed tag team match against Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer, and Beulah McGillicutty. The event also marked significant career milestones, such as the final match for ECW Original Tazz, who defeated Jerry Lawler in just 35 seconds.
The atmosphere in the Manhattan venue was famously volatile. During a match between Kurt Angle and Randy Orton, the crowd directed derogatory chants at Orton, including 'Orton's a homo.' This energy was part of a larger effort by WWE to integrate the ECW brand into its roster, replacing the webcast Velocity with a new ECW program that debuted on the Sci Fi Channel on June 13, 2006.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: ECW One Night Stand (2006)
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