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Kevin’s Random Reviews: ECW One Night Stand 2005
Image Credit: WWE/Peacock
Loading...ECW One Night Stand
June 12th, 2005 | Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, New York | Attendance: 2,500
When the original ECW closed down, it left many of us sad. Though I was young, I had already grown very attached to the company. So, when WWE announced a one night revival for the company in the arena I saw them live at, I was stoked. I remember this show being an incredible nostalgia trip, while also very enjoyable from an in-ring perspective. Though originally intended as a one time thing, the show was so successful, they ran it again and reopened their own version of ECW. The show exclusively featured former ECW wrestlers in action.
The show opened with shots of the RABID fans in the Hammerstein Ballroom. Joey Styles was introduced and walked out to the old ECW theme. He’s basically in tears at the moment. BUT HE WASN’T GOOD ENOUGH TO CALL BACKLASH? He let out a hearty, “OH MY GOD” before introducing his broadcast partner for the evening, Mick Foley. Foley played up to the evening, wearing a Cactus Jack shirt and coming out to that theme.
Chris Jericho vs. Lance Storm w/ Dawn Marie
Like Foley, Jericho played up to his ECW roots, wearing the Lionheart jacket. This opened in perfect fashion, as they exchanged quick offense and had a classic ECW standoff. You literally couldn’t ask for a more ECW start for these two. “SHE’S A CRACKWHORE” chants for Dawn. Oh, ECW fans. Great offense from Storm, including a beautiful dropkick and stalling vertical suplex. He also showed off athleticism with a leap to the top, only to get hit with a dropkick to the back of the head. Mick’s call of “ENZIGURI” a bit later on always gets me. Storm caught Jericho with a sweet superkick for a great near fall. They began trading their signature submissions until Jason and Justin Credible ran in. Jericho stopped them and rolled up Storm. The kick out sent Jericho right into a cane shot from Credible that gave Storm the win in 7:22. This is one of my favorite openers ever. Great action and stuff that perfectly fit the wrestlers and characters in front of the right crowd. Plus, we got an Impact Players moment and I always really liked them. [***½]
Pitbull Gary Wolfe introduced a video package for those ECW alum who passed away. Included were Rocco Rock, Terry Gordy, Mike Lockwood (Crash Holly), The Original Sheik, Mike Lozansky, Pitbull Anthony Durante, Big Dick Dudley, and Chris Candido. The fans continued to chant for Candido, who had only passed away a little over a month earlier, at the young age of 33.
Little Guido w/ The FBI vs. Super Crazy vs. Yoshihiro Tajiri w/ Mikey Whipwreck and The Sinister Minister
I miss Tajiri and Whipwreck. They were one of those things that ECW made work even though it seemingly made no sense. I love that Guido got to come out with Tony Mamaluke, Tracy Smothers, JT Smith, and Big Guido. This match was worked at the absurd pace you’d expect. Just when it seemed like we’d get Crazy doing a dive, he was tripped by Mamaluke. That set up a fight outside, where I spotted VLAD! Crazy and Guido fought in the crowd, where Crazy nailed a moonsault off the balcony onto the entire FBI. “OH DIOS MIO!” Back inside, we got more action until Whipwreck eliminated Guido with a second rope WHIPPERSNAPPER! That left it down to Tajiri and Crazy, who had an insane rivalry in ECW. Crazy had his triple moonsaults cut off by Whipwreck, but still fought back enough to win with a moonsault in 6:12. It was super rushed, yet still a lot of fun. The action was crazy fast and that kind of fit them. [***]
Time for a video package of some early ECW memories.
Psychosis vs. Rey Mysterio Jr.
Rey got the “Jr.” treatment. Psychosis removed his mask during his entrance, which drew boos. According to Styles, they guys wrestled over 500 times in their career. Despite this, they didn’t seem to have that much chemistry between them. Psychosis got “put your mask on” chants. He was in control for most of the match, forcing Mysterio to fight from behind. Luckily, that typically works for Rey. The highlight of this came from a Psychosis guillotine leg drop onto the guardrail. Rey retaliated with a senton into the crowd. He added the 619, a WWE move, to boos, before winning with the West Coast Pop in 6:22. That was nowhere near the level of their classics from the 90s. It had some fun spots, though it never clicked the way it could have. [**¾]
While Rey Mysterio celebrated, the Smackdown invaders arrived. Kurt Angle, JBL, and mostly a bunch of midcarders walked to the balcony to take their seats. Loud “Fuck you Smackdown” chants.
To get off the “Crusaders” for a moment, a video package of some classic ECW moments were shown.
Back to the arena, Joel Gertner appeared in the balcony with the Smackdown guys for a promo. Kurt Angle took the microphone from him and JBL shoved him to the ground. Angle called the fans scum, but was showered with “You suck dick” chants. His response? “Your mother taught me how.” Amazing. He didn’t speak for long, as JBL took over and bragged that his name on the marquee at Madison Square Garden means it would sell out, while ECW can barely fill up a bingo hall. That’s kind of a stretch, buddy. It was all basic stuff you’d expect from JBL and those people who consider wrestling fans to be lowlifes who sit in their mom’s basements. JBL said nobody in that ring tonight would ever reach his level and took credit for whatever success this PPV would have. The heat was insane for him.
JBL was interrupted by “One of a Kind” as Rob Van Dam and Bill Alfonso stepped out and made their way to the ring. RVD had an injured leg and was unable to compete. RVD cut a scathing promo, saying that the Smackdown guys needed to shut up because none of this show had anything to do with them. He said fans were tired of having guys like them shoved down their throats when they want to see wrestling. RVD noted how there were no “creative geniuses” writing his promo tonight and remembered a time before RVD’s vocabulary was more than “whatever” and “cool.” He and Fonzie put over RVD’s TV Title reign, the “I just smoked your ass” line, and how RVD asked Vince McMahon to do this show. He said they didn’t even need a storyline and glared directly at the Smackdown guys. RVD mentioned his injury, saying missing this show sucked more than missing Booker T’s wedding, the overseas tour, and even WRESTLEMANIA. BUT THAT’S THE SHOW OF SHOWS! He was interrupted by Rhyno, who hit him with a Gore. The attack was stopped when the lights went out. They came back on and SABU was in the ring! I absolutely love this segment. The heat for the Smackdown guys was insane, RVD’s promo is one of my favorites ever, and the Rhyno/Sabu stuff was fantastic.
Rhyno vs. Sabu w/ Bill Alfonso and Rob Van Dam
This is probably the best shape Rhyno was ever in outside of his original ECW run. Sabu got an assist from Alfonso and a chair to take control. He tried putting Rhyno through a table but had it cut off. Rhyno beat on Sabu, keeping the upper hand for a bit. He set up for the Gore, but Sabu pulled the referee in front to take the brunt of it. That brought in RVD to throw a chair at Rhyno and skateboard another into his face. With help from RVD and Fonzie, Sabu destroyed Rhyno with an Arabian Skull Crusher through a table to win at 6:30. It was short and featured interference, but it was exactly what it needed to be. The crowd ate every piece of the match up and it fit both guys. RVD helping Sabu and getting to do some offensive moves was great. [***¼]
Backstage, Al Snow spoke with Head about how this show was for the people who made ECW special, not a bunch of Smackdown assholes. They reminisced about great ECW moments, kicking off another video package.
Now, the Raw “Crusaders” arrived, led by Eric Bischoff. Their roster was highlighted by Edge and Christian.
Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero
Such an eerie match to look back on. Benoit was announced as “The Crippler” and not the “Rabid Wolverine.” Unlike many others on the show, Eddie didn’t play up his ECW past too much and remained completely in heel character. While Eddie and Benoit traded some basic holds, fans chanted derogatory things at Edge, including “You fucked Lita” and “She’s got herpes.” Classic ECW. This progressed to something more physical, as Eddie ended up slightly busted open. The more aggressive style was right up Eddie’s alley and he took it to Benoit. However, he missed the Frog Splash. That was a turning point. As Benoit hit the headbutt, Styles called it a “suicide headbutt.” Yikes. Benoit slapped on the Crippler Crossface to win in 10:37. It was an odd finish because Eddie just kind of laid there without fighting the hold. The finish was abrupt, while the in-ring action was strong. [***¼]
Joel Gertner came up to the “Crusaders” again, but this time it was to ask Eric Bischoff for a job. Bischoff yelled at him and bragged about being the guy running Raw, which is the top wrestling show. I wonder why the Smackdown guys didn’t take umbrage with that.
Masato Tanaka vs. Mike Awesome
The rivalry between these two was intense and one of the best in ECW history. Styles spent Awesome’s entrance running him down for leaving for WCW while still being the ECW Champion. These two brawled right from the opening bell. Awesome hit a suicide dive, causing Styles to say, “It’s a damn shame he didn’t succeed in taking his own life.” Double yikes. Things got taken to the next level with an Awesome Bomb off the apron through a table popped up on a guardrail. When that wasn’t enough, chairs were brought into play. Awesome dented one on Tanaka’s head, but he just powered up. The WWE guys were laughing at the stuff happening in the ring. They continued with the wild chair shots and took things up another notch with a tornado DDT through a table. Then, another Awesome Bomb, falling back off the top and onto the broken table. I didn’t want to do play-by-play, but I feel you have to mention the big spots in this one. The final spot came on an Awesome Bomb through a table outside, followed by a dive, giving us the three count in 9:52. The match of the night. It was pure insanity and another perfectly booked match for this event. They kind of played to their greatest hits, which was fine. A great outing. [****]
The ECW theme hit and out came a very emotional Paul Heyman. However, he said he wasn’t crying, but was instead fresh off smoking a joint with RVD. “Thank you Paul” chants. He thanked a bunch of people, including the fans, but then turned to the WWE guys. He addressed Eric Bischoff, noting that he wasn’t going to a WCW Pay-Per-View with his tail between his legs. His next target was “Hide Your Wives, It’s Edge”, telling him “MATT FREAKING HARDY.” Even though he said it was only going to be two words, it still got a huge pop and a lot of “you screwed Matt” and “we want Edge” chants. Edge’s spit take is classic. Before leaving, Heyman targeted JBL. “The only reason you were WWE Champion for a year, is because Triple H didn’t wanna work Tuesdays.” Ouch. Heyman ended with a “This ain’t WCW, this ain’t Monday Night Raw, this ain’t Smackdown, this ain’t even WWE, this my friends, is EC fucking W.” Great Heyman promo that is one of the most memorable things to come from this show.
It’s time for the main event. The Dudley Boyz came out to their old ECW style tie-dye gear. Tommy Dreamer, one half of their opponents, was next and he was clearly emotional. His partner, The Sandman, came out “Enter Sandman” in one of the craziest entrances ever. It’s incredible. If you watch on the WWE Network, with the dubbed music, you’ll never understand this entrance. Every single fan and even the Dudley Boyz, sang every lyric to the song. Fans drank beer with Sandman and some hit themselves with his cane.
As we prepared for the match to officially begin, the men showed respect by bumping fists. Before the bell, the music of the bWo hit to a big pop. Out came Big Stevie Cool, Hollywood Nova, and The Blue Guy. Joey Styles’ over the top laughing at it was lame. Eric Bischoff’s reaction to it was far more hilarious. Forget the “Crusaders,” they were here to take over! Stevie Kick to Sandman ignited a brawl. That brought out Kid Kash for a spot, but he got thrown out quickly so it was kind of a waste. Then came Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney for the “Balls” chant punching spot. Nova took a ridiculous unprotected chair shot. As everyone fought in the aisle, Kash delivered a springboard somersault senton onto everyone, which was a trademark of his ECW run. A great segment to shoehorn everyone who didn’t get on the official card. It fit in with the chaotic style of ECW.
The Dudley Boyz vs. The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer
Finally, we got an official opening bell. It’s all weapons and violence in this one. Tommy got busted open within a minute or so thanks to a cheese grater. He got to bust out the Terry Funk ladder spot from Barely Legal, which was a perfect tribute for this kind of show. Watching Sandman hit the Rolling Rock senton onto a ladder will always be funny. The Impact Players made a run-in, continuing their long standing feud with Dreamer and Sandman. They held Tommy in place for Francine to run in and kick him in the nuts. That signaled Beulah McGillicutty to come out and CATFIGHT with Francine. She’s Tommy’s real life wife and got to have a reunion with him on screen for the first time since she took a 3D in the late 90s. The Dudleys got back in control and brought out Little Spike Dudley to help them set a table on fire. Tommy got powerbombed through it to give us the finish in 10:52. I’m probably the high man on this, but it was exactly what it needed to be. A violent war that hit all the right nostalgia points. [***½]
The Dudleys went after Beulah until Sandman saved her. He began shouting for a beer and the glass shattered, signaling the arrival of “Stone Cold” Steve Austin. JBL’s face at the sight of Austin was priceless. Austin wearing an XFL jersey was also amazing. He called everyone representing ECW to have a beer. Before drinking, Austin called down the WWE guys for a fight. As the teams stood across the ring from each other, Taz’s old ECW theme hit and the place blew up. He went right after Angle and it started the fight. You could see JBL go after Blue Meanie because he’s a shitty person and a bully. The ECW guys won out and sent the “Crusaders” packing. Austin stole JBL’s hat and asked Mick Foley to bring Eric Bischoff, who had jointed commentary, to the ring. Austin directed traffic as he asked WWE guys to beat up Bischoff with a 3D, Benoit diving headbutt (as Austin yelled, “KILL THIS SON OF A BITCH!” Triple yikes!), and 619. Austin capped it with a Stone Cold Stunner and the celebration continued as the Dudleys carried Bischoff out.
