|Date: June 11, 2006
|Venue: Hammerstein Ballroom |City: New York, New York
|Attendance: 2,460 |Buys: 280,000
|Brand: ECW, Raw & Smackdown

|tweet me: @BastionBlogger

ECW returns for the second annual One Night Stand PPV. ECW is due to return this week as a weekly hour-long show and this will be the catalyst heading into it. It’ll be in the same vein as the 2005 show but the 2006 event has far more WWE talent wrestling on it. The main event will be for the WWE Championship. It is the first time in history that the WWE Championship will be defended on an ECW show. Rob Van Dam gave John Cena notice that he will be cashing in his Money In The Bank briefcase at One Night Only, giving Cena a few weeks notice to prepare. Since then the two have signed their contract for the match where Rob Van Dam told Cena when he wins the title he will be renaming it the ECW Heavyweight Championship. Cena was attacked by ECW alumni which led to a match between Cena and Sabu at a WWE vs. ECW special. The match ended in a no-contest when Big Show got involved and a brawl broke out between the ECW and WWE rosters.

The World Heavyweight Championship is also to be defended tonight as Rey Mysterio puts his belt on the line against Sabu. The match was announced by Paul Heyman and since then Heyman has tried to recruit Rey Mysterio to the ECW brand, something that Mysterio politely declined. Sabu went on to cost Rey Mysterio a non-title match against Finlay. One of the biggest builds heading into this show occurred over on Raw. Edge and Mick Foley created an alliance at the expense of Tommy Dreamer before declaring themselves co-Hardcore Champions. Foley and Edge have been outspoken about their hatred of ECW which led to Paul Heyman making a challenge for Edge and foley against two of ECW’s finest superstars in Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk. The four men have been at fisticuffs ever since and this tag team match promises to be a bloody affair.

Two men that have been vocal towards one another are play by play announcers Jerry Lawler and Tazz. Tazz has joined the ECW brand and challenged Jerry Lawler to a match at One Night Only, a challenge that Lawler accepted. Another man that has defected to ECW is Kurt Angle. Kurt made an open challenge to any WWE superstar for a match at One Night Only and the challenge was accepted by a man that Kurt put on the shelf in Randy Orton. Also tonight, The F.B.I. take on former rivals Super Crazy and Tajiri.

Let’s get to it.

A shot of the crowd opens the show with “E-C-Dub” chants filling the arena. The ECW theme hits and out walks Paul Heyman. Heyman says that the tribe of extreme has risen again and it all starts tonight. Paul thanks everyone and says that this is better than Monday Night Raw and claims to be the swinging schlong of the extreme. The titles then hit before Joey Styles welcomes us to the rebirth of ECW.

Tazz vs. Jerry Lawler

This is the third PPV match between these two men. Jerry Lawler beat Tazz back at Summerslam 2000 and then Tazz beat Lawler at Unforgiven 2000. Tazz is out first, Lawler second and Jerry walks over to Joey Styles and slaps him! That gets him plenty more heel heat. The bell rings and Styles jumps on Lawlers back! Jerry shakes him off and sets him up for his trademark piledriver but Tazz grabs Lawler from behind in the Tazzmision! The King taps out and this one is over very quickly! Tazz does have some serious neck injuries so this one wasn’t going to be too physical. A quick win for the human suplex machine!

Rating: N/A

Joey Styles (now back on commentary) takes us back to the ECW special four days ago and we see footage of The Big Show defecting to ECW and then John Cena’s match against Sabu. Back to ringside and Tazz has now joined Joey Styles on commentary.

Kurt Angle vs. Randy Orton

This is a first ever singles match between these two men on pay per view. Like the previous match, neither of these fought at last years One Night Stand PPV. A “fuck him up Angle, fuck him up” chant breaks out as the bell rings. Orton exits the ring to a chorus of boos. Back in the ring and Kurt goes for the ankle early on but Randy does a good job of blocking it before crawling out of the ring. This match has a big fight feel, that’s for sure. Angle hits a headlock takedown which Orton eventually gets out of but Kurt takes Orton back down with more amateur wrestling. Orton gets to the ropes to break the holds and then Angle tells Orton to put him in a headlock. Orton obliges but Kurt is quick to free himself. Kurt offers again and this time hits a side suplex. Angle hits an Irish whip but misses with a shoulder charge. Orton takes advantage, laying into Kurt with stomps, uppercuts and right hands. Kurt hits a takedown out of nowhere but Orton hits a reverse elbow for a one count.

Randy hits a poke to the eye and then a hard Irish whip before hitting a knee drop for the first near fall of the night. Orton hits a snapmare and then applies a chinlock as a “you can’t wrestle” chant breaks out. Kurt counters the chinlock into a front face lock and then a half nelson. Orton elbows his way out of it and then applies another chinlock. Kurt gets out of it and hits a German suplex. The two men exchange uppercuts and Angle then hits a forearm to the back of the head, a clothesline and then three consecutive German suplexes. Angle attempts an Angle slam which Orton counters with an arm drag before hitting a dropkick. Kurt hits a belly to back suplex and then the Angle slam for a near fall. Kurt then applies the ankle lock but Orton rolls out of it. Randy follows it up with his neckbreaker for a two count. Randy heads to the top and hits a high cross body but Angle rolls through it for a near fall. Orton keeps the advantage with a big clothesline. Orton rolls Angle up for a near fall and then Angle picks the ankle, locks the ankle lock on and Orton taps out! Kurt wins and continues to look like an absolute machine! Great match between these two men.

Rating: 7.75/10

Super Crazy & Tajiri vs The Full Blooded Italians (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke)

Little Guido is os course known to WWE fans as Nunzio, it’s a WWE PPV debut for Tony Mamaluke. The F.B.I. are joined by Big Guido. Tajiri gets a nice “welcome back” chant. Super Crazy and Mamaluke start the match and we get a bit of chain wrestling between the two. Tajiri gets involved at one point and lays in some boots to Mamaluke. Crazy applies a head scissors which Mamaluke counters into a headlock. Crazy hits a takedown and a firemans carry into a near fall. Super Crazy hits an arm drag and a dropkick and then a hiptoss. Mamaluke hits a hiptoss of his own and then a short armed scissors. Crazy powers Mamaluke onto his shoulders before dropping him back down to the mat. Crazy hits a big flapjack and then a standing moonsault for a near fall. Mamaluke hits an uppercut and tags in Little Guido who is looking for his first ever WWE PPV victory tonight. Crazy tags in Tajiri who hits some kicks and then tries a tilt-a-whirl backbreaker but Guido counters it into a fujiwara armbar.

Guido twists the arm but Tajiri counters it into a half crab. Tajiri then ties Guido up in a tree of woe. In comes Mamaluke but Super Crazy gets involved and ties Mamaluke up in the other corner. Tajiri and Crazy then hit dropkicks to the Full Blooded Italians faces. Little Guido and Mamaluke take a walk but Super Crazy dives out of them with an asai moonsault. Big Guido then gets involved and pulls Crazy out of the ring allowing Little Guido to get involved and throw Crazy into the barricade. Big Guido then hits a clothesline on Crazy and tosses him back in the ring where Little Guido gets a near fall. Tony Mamaluke tags in but Super Crazy hits him with a flapjack for a near fall. Mamaluke applies a camel clutch and Little Guido comes off the middle rope with a dropkick. Tajiri then gets involved and kicks everyone in sight. Crazy officially tags in Tajiri who hits a spinning heel kick on Little Guido for a near fall. Mamaluke gets involved so Tajiri ties him up with a modified abdominal stretch. Tajiri then takes both men down with a handspring elbow.

Tajiri hits a big kick on Little Guido for a near fall and then all four men are in the ring. Both Super Crazy and Tajiri lock tarantulas on their opponents. Big Guido then gets in the ring but Super Crazy and Tajiri hit him with kicks and a double dropkick to dispose of him. Little Guido and Mamaluke hit clotheslines on Tajiri and Crazy and Little Guido then dropkicks Super Crazy out of the ring. Little Guido and Tony Mamaluke then hit a doubler fishermans buster on Tajiri and that’s enough for the three! The FBI win the match! It’s a first ever WWE victory for Little Guido/Nunzio! The Big Shows music then hits and out comes the big man! He goes toe to toe with Big Guido before taking out Little Guido, Super Crazy, Tajiri and Tony Mamaluke! Big Show cleans house!

Rating: 7.5/10

John “Bradshaw” Layfield shows up with a microphone in a box and lays into the ECW crowd. Layfield remembers how he busted open The Blue Meanie at last years event. JBL says that Rob Van Dam made his name in WWE and is a star because of Smackdown and Vince McMahon. Layfield then lays into Tazz and the Sci-Fi channel. JBL then says that it;’s a good job that Tazz is going because they would have had to fire him before announcing that JBL will be joining commentary on Smackdown. And then says this show sucks.

Rey Mysterio (c) vs. Sabu – Extreme Rules match for the World Heavyweight Championship

This is a first PPV match between these two men. Both Rey Mysterio and Sabu won their match at last years One Night Stand show. Both men grab chairs on their way to the ring. They circle the ring with the chairs before dropping them. There’s a bit of chain wrestling to kick off the match. Mysterio beat Psicosis at last years event, Sabu beat Rhyno. Both men grab chairs and swing them into each other. Sabu hits a back body drop and then sets up a chair and springboards off it into Rey. Mysterio then hits a drop toe hold onto the chair. Mysterio springboards off the chair with a hurricanrana and then attempts the 619 but Sabu ducks and hits a basement dropkick. Sabu throws a chair at Mysterio sending hi out of the ring. Sabu then pulls a table out from under the ring and lays across from the ring to the barricade. Sabu lays Mysterio across the table, gets in the ring, springboards off the chair, onto the top rope but Mysterio rolls off the table and Sabu manages to avoids the table but hits the barricade. Mysterio smashes Sabu into the steps and then rolls him back into the ring and hits him with a moonsault.

Sabu hits a knee to Mysterio’s face and then a guillotine legdrop for a near fall. Sabu applies a camel clutch and a “Sheik” chant breaks out. Sabu hits a legdrop using a chair for a two count. Sabu sets up another table on the outside but Rey springboards off the top rope with a seated senton and puts Sabu through the table! Back in the ring and Mysterio gets a near fall and then hits a springboard legdrop for another near fall. Sabu avoids a springboard moonsault and hits Mysterio with a springboard leg lariat. Sabu then hits the triple jump moonsault and pins Mysterio who kicks out at two. Sabu misses with a facebuster and Mysterio kicks Sabu onto a chair before missing with a springboard seated senton. Sabu then throws the chair at Rey sending him out of the ring again. Sabu balances Mysterio on the table but Mysterio gets up. Sabu then hits a springboard DDT and the table gives way! That looked nasty. Trainers come out from the back to check on both men who could be hurt.

Some bloke makes the decision that both men can’t fight anymore and it’s over. The bell rings and a “bullshit” chant breaks out. It was a nasty fall. Mysterio is carried quickly to the back. Sabu crawls. This one goes down as a draw then which means Mysterio retains his title. It’s a shame it ends this way though. Great match until the finish.

Rating: 7/10

There’s a video package next showing what led to the Edge & Mick Foley v Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk match.

Mick Foley comes out sporting a black eye which Tazz says was the work of Terry Funk. Foley gets on the mic and says that he did sell out, he sold out Madison Square Garden. Foley says there was a time when he loved ECW, a time when it was owned by a visionary and creative genius, Stephanie McMahon. Long live The Alliance! Edge comes out and says that the fans will be pleasuring themselves to pictures of his girlfriend. Lita calls Tommy Dreamer the Innovator Of Silence. Tommy Dreamer and Terry Funk are joined by Beulah McGillicutty. Beulah gets on the mic and says that the trash that comes out Lita’s mouth is more disgusting than the trash that goes into it. Beulah then challenges Lita to make this a 6 person match!

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

So we have a mixed 6 person tag match! Edge and Tommy Dreamer start the match, Dreamer looking for his first ever WWE PPV victory. Dreamer hits a knock down and then a headlock takedown. Dreamer misses with an elbow drop but ducks an enzeguri. Edge tags in Mick Foley and Mick wants Terry Funk. Dreamer tags in Terry Funk who slaps Foley. Foley says that this was a bad idea and that he doesn’t want to be here. He looks to leave but Funk stops him and all four men start going at it. Dreamer lays into Edge whilst Funk lays into Foley. Funk hits Foley with left hands whilst Dreamer smashes Edge with a road sign. The girls just watch on. Funk hits Foley with a headbutt. Dreamer smashes Foley with a sign and then Funk hits Edge with a trash can as the fight goes back into the ring. Funk holds a trash can and Dreamer dropkicks it into Foley’s face. Edge smashes Dreamer with a tray on the outside whilst Foley hits Terry Funk with right hands.

Mick Foley takes Foley up the entrance way, knocking him into the crowd. Edge rams a ladder into Tommy Dreamers face. A “fuck you Edge” chant breaks out. Edge looks to spear Dreamer through the ladder but Dreamer counters it, hiptossing Dreamer into the ladder. Funk smashes Foley into the ring steps. Terry then puts the ladder over his head and swings it into Foley and Edge. Dreamer and Funk set the ladder up in one of the corners and Funk then climbs it but Edge tips over the ladder and Funk falls to the mat. Dreamer sets Edge up for the Dreamer driver but Lita gets involved and kicks Dreamer in the crotch. Foley and Edge then pull out some plywood covered in barb-wire and slide it into the ring and throwing it onto Tommy Dreamer. So far no ECW guy has lost tonight. Funk gets involved again and Dreamer sets up the barb-wire board in the corner. Funk and Dreamer then throw Foley into it and that looked nasty. Edge then pulls Dreamer out and crotches him on the barricade.

Foley throws the barb-wire board at Terry Funk as we see Edge is bleeding from the forehead now. Lita pulls some barb-wire out from under the ring and Foley wraps it around his forearm. Foley lays into Funk with the barb-wire as Edge takes Dreamer out with a baseball slide. Foley then rubs the barb-wire into Funks face and Terry is bleeding all over the shop now. Trainers come out and carry Terry Funk to the back as he complains about his eye. Edge then lays into Dreamer with a trash can lid. Foley pulls out his barb-wire baseball bat and swings it into the back of Tommy Dreamer. Foley holds the bat over Dreamers crotch and Lita hits him with a legdrop. Beulah is yet to do anything. A “we want Sandman” chant breaks out. Mick pulls out two Mr Socko’s, puts one on the top rope and the other onto his hand. Foley then rams Socko down Beulah’s throat! Tommy Dreamer makes the save but Edge takes Dreamer back down. Foley then rams Socko down Dreamers throat before Edge takes Tommy down with a spear!

Edge grabs Beulah and thrusts her into his crotch. Terry Funk then re-emerges through the crowd with a barb-wire 2×4! Dreamer hits Foley and Edge with low blows. Beulah chases Lita off and |Funk hits Foley and Edge with the barb-wire 2×4. Terry then sets fire to the barb-wire 2×4! He swings it into Foley, knocking Mick off the apron right through the barb-wire plywood! Edge then knocks Funk off the apron and into the barb-wire plywood! Dreamer hits a DDT on Edge and then wraps barb-wire around Edge’s throat! Lita punts Dreamer in the face but Beulah attacks Lita from behinds and we have a catfight! Joey Styles squeals! Dreamer hits Lita with a Dreamer driver! Edge attacks Dreamer from behind with the barb-wire and then spears Beulah! Edge pins Beulah and gets the 3! It’s over. Edge, Foley and Lita win but the only person who looks like a winner right now is Edge. This match was brutal. Terry Funk is seriously injured.

Rating: 7.5/10

John Cena is shown backstage with his WWE title belt. Rob Van Dam is shown warming up.

Balls Mahoney vs. Masato Tanaka

These two men lock up for the first time on WWE PPV. It’s a PPV debut for Balls. Tanaka lost to Mike Awesome at One Night Stand last year. He has his right shoulder taped up. Balls hits a hiptoss but Tanaka hits an arm drag. Tanaka hits a high cross body for a near fall. Masato hits a big right hands but Mahoney hits a powerslam for a near fall. Balls hits nine big jabs and winds up for the tenth. Balls runs at Tanaka but Tanaka ducks and Balls falls to the outside. Tanaka then dives out at Balls who catches him and lays into him with some big right hands. Balls then grabs someones beer and smashes it into Tanaka’s face. Tanaka then returns the favour before throwing Balls into the barricade. Tanaka runs at Balls with a chair but Balls gets out of the way. Mahoney throws the chair into the ring and then throws Tanaka into the ring. Mahoney heads to the top but Tanaka meets him up there and hits him with a superplex for a near fall.

Tanaka heads to the top but this time Mahoney meets him up there and it’s Mahoney with a superplex for a near fall. Both men grab chairs and swing them at one another. Mahoney wins the duel and smashes it over Tanaka’s face hard which is enough for the three! Balls Mahoney wins the match tonight! Weakest match of the night so far.

Rating: 3.5/10

There’s a video package showing what led up to tonights main event.

Just as we’re about to head into the main event, Eugene’s music hits and out comes Eugene! I think he’s going to be introduced to The Sandman. Eugene gets on the mic and says that he loves ECW and that he is hardcore. Eugene gets boo’d. Eugene has a poem he wants to read and reads it. The Sandmans music then hits and out he comes. Eugene is happy to see The Sandman but Sandman just lays into Eugene with a Singapore cane.

John Cena (c) vs. Rob Van Dam – WWE Championship match

This is a first time PPV match between these two men. John Cena get’s the biggest heat of the night. “If Cena wins we riot” says on sign. Van Dam is very popular. John Cena throws his t-shirt out into the crowd like he always does but it gets thrown right back. This happens multiple times which tickles me. Some of the fans spit on it and wipe their arse with it before throwing it back. Plastic cups and toilet paper gets thrown in the ring as a “fuck you Cena” chant breaks out. The match finally kicks off and Cena gets the first blows in. Cena hits an Irish whip and a fishermans suplex for a one count. Cena hits a shoulder knockdown but receives a kick to the face from Van Dam. The two men go nose to nose before exchanging right hands. Cena wins the exchange and hits a powerslam for a near fall before clotheslining Cena out of the ring. “Same old shit” chant. Cena responds by going to the top and flying all the way outside with an axe handle.

Cena then smashes RVD into a table set up outside the ring before holding up the WWE Championship. Van Dam gets back into it with a moonsault off the steps. Cena then throws RVD into the barricade. Van Dam looks to hit a moonsault off the barricade but Cena pushes Van Dam into the crowd. Cena goes into the crowd and lays into Van Dam before throwing him back over the barricade. RVD stops Cena from getting over the barricade and hits the champion with his trademark spinning heel kick off the apron. RVD hits Cena with a legdrop on the apron and then grabs a chair before dropkicking it into Cena’s face for a near fall. Van Dam hits a corkscrew legdrop, lays a chair across Cena and then hits him with rolling thunder for a near fall. Van Dam hits a slam, puts the chair back on Cena and then attempts the split-legged moonsault but John gets his knees and the chair up to block it. Cena then DDT’s Van Dam on the chair for a near fall. Cena sets a chair up in the corner and slingshots RVD’s head right through it which earns him a near fall.

Cena hits a spinning back suplex and then motions for the five knuckle shuffle before hitting it in the middle of the ring. Cena salute’s at Van Dam and tries for the FU but Van Dam nips down and hits a spinning heel kick. Van Dam climbs to the top but Cena powerbombs him back down to the mat for a two count. Van Dam looks to set something up but Cena falls to the outside. John then gets back up on the apron and Van Dam dropkicks him down to the barricade. I’m assuming that is what they were trying for previously. Van Dam pulls out a table and slides it in the ring. Cena takes Van Dam down and locks on the STFU but Van Dam gets to the ropes. Cena doesn’t break the hold and the referee breaks the hold himself. Cena doesn’t like that and clotheslines the referee, taking him out. Holy heel turn. Van Dam heads to the top but Cena sees him up there and hits him with a superplex. Cena then grabs the ring steps and tosses them in the ring best smashing them into Van Dams face. Smackdown referee Nick Patrick slides in the ring and counts a near fall for Cena.

Cena FU’s Van Dam out of the ring and suddenly a man in a long trenchcoat and biker helmet spears Cena through the table. Paul Heyman? Nope, it’s Edge! Edge leaves and Rob Van Dam slides into the ring. Van Dam heads to the top and hits the 5 star frog splash! Van Dam tries to wake up Nick Patrick but he’s out. Paul Heyman then runs out, Van Dam pins Cena and Heyman counts the 3! Does that count? The bell rings and the announcement is made that the new ECW Champion is Rob Van Dam! Great match but again I didn’t like the finish. It doesn’t seem legit with Paul Heyman making the count. RVD leaves through the crowd. Big Show is in the ring now. RVD finds his wife and hugs her. There’s a few ECW guys in the ring celebrating now. Van Dam celebrates in the ring with them.

Rating: 8/10

Well that felt like a really good show. I possibly over-rated the matches because of how electric the atmosphere was. The opening match turned out to be very quick, with Tazz choking out Jerry Lawler. This was fine, it was everything it should have been and got the crowd going early. Lawler would have been happy to do this job and because of Tazz’s neck issues it meant that he couldn’t have a competitive match. It made sense to do this one early and then have Tazz join Joey Styles on commentary. Also, Paul Heyman did a great job of hyping up the show at the beginning. Kurt Angle and Randy Orton then put on a really solid outing. One too many chinlocks for my liking but overall a decent match. Kurt picked up the win which gives him a lot of momentum heading into the new ECW. He would be a great opponent for Rob Van Dam on that brand. It’s nice to have Angle and Orton go one on one before they go to their new brands.

The FBI beat Super Crazy and Tajiri in one of the more random matches of the night. There wasn’t any build to this match it was just four talented guys in tag team action. I’ve not seen a lot of Tony Mamaluke but he seemed really good and would be a decent edition to either the new ECW or the Cruiserweight division. It was also nice to have Tajiri back for a match. Rey Mysterio and Sabu put on a good match but I didn’t like the finish. Sabu has been through a lot worse than going through a table and continued on. Reportedly, he wasn’t happy with the finish either. Mysterio leaves with his title though after a no-contest. Edge, Lita and Mick Foley were the only non-ECW wrestlers to pick up a win on this show. They beat Dreamer, Funk and Beulah when Edge pinned Beulah. This was the right result if you ask me. This was a bloody match that you’d come to expect from ECW but with a bit of a WWE touch. Edge has a WWE title match at the next PPV, Vengeance, so he had to be protected in this match.

Balls Mahoney beat Masato Tanaka in an unannounced match. This was pretty terrible and the only reason Balls won is because he has been signed by the WWE for the new ECW brand. It’s this sort of match that gave ECW a bad name at times. Tanaka’s match with Mike Awesome at last years event was spectacular, this was not. The main event was something to behold though. I have never seen such heat towards somebody as John Cena got in this one. It was a great match between he and Rob Van Dam although I wasn’t a big fan of the finish. I get that Paul Heyman somewhat owns ECW but does he have the right to make the count? Apparently so. In any case it’s about time Rob Van Dam became the WWE Champion and this was the perfect setting for it. I don’t understand why Edge cost Cena the match, maybe he sees RVD as an easy opponent at Vengeance? I guess we’ll find out in due time. Great win for RVD in any case. A great show overall, go back and watch it if you can!

Overall Rating: 68.75/100 (ranked joint 12th out of 195)

Match Of The Night: Rob Van Dam vs. John Cena
Worst Match Of The Night: Balls Mahoney vs. Masato Tanaka
Surprise Of The Night: Edge costs John Cena the WWE Championship
Worst Booking Of The Night: Balls Mahoney beats Masato Tanaka
Superstar Of The Night: Rob Van Dam
ECW One Night Stand Will Be Remembered For: Rob Van Dam becoming the WWE Champion