|Date: June 1, 2008
|Venue: San Diego Sports Arena |City: San Diego, California
|Attendance: 9,961 |Buys: 194,000
|Brands: Raw, Smackdown & ECW

|tweet me: @BastionBlogger

The One Night A Year When The WWE Goes Extreme. Every match tonight will have an extreme gimmick to it making One Night Stand a must watch event every year. The WWE Championship is set to be defended and it was decided that if John “Bradshaw” Layfield and Randy Orton could beat Triple H and John Cena in a tag team match then they were get respective rematches against the two men that defeated them at Judgment Day. If Triple H and Cena won the match then they would face each other at One Night Stand. As it turned out, Orton and Layfield won the match. Orton would announce that his rematch against Triple H would be the under the same rules as when he beat Triple H for the title at No Mercy last year, a Last Man Standing match. JBL told Cena that their match would be a first blood match.

The World Heavyweight Championship is also set to be defended. It is the only all-Smackdown match announced for the show which shows the state of the brands at the moment. Vickie Guerrero announced that at One Night Stand it would be The Undertaker vs. Edge again for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship but this time it would be contested as a TLC match. This is of course Edge’s speciality. Another big match set for tonight is between Shawn Michaels and Batista. Both Batista and Chris Jericho wanted a match with Shawn Michaels at One Night Stand so faced off against each other and it was Batista that won. Batista is still furious that Shawn Michaels feigned an injury against him at Backlash and is looking to get revenge tonight.

Also tonight, Jeff Hardy takes on Umaga in a falls count anywhere match. Jeff Hardy returned to Raw a few weeks ago following a suspension and he hooked up with former rival Umaga in a match with no conclusion. So a match was made between the two for One Night Stand and knowing Jeff Hardy, this match could go anywhere. Two girls that have had a falling out as of late are Melina and Beth Phoenix. Neither are Women’s Champion but they will go one on one tonight in an I Quit match. Also tonight there will be a Singapore cane match for the ECW Championship. This match was made by Armando Estrada pitting four former ECW Champions against each other in Tommy Dreamer, John Morrison, CM Punk and Chavo Guerrero but this became a five way when The Big Show would announce his addition to the match.

In a dark match prior to the event Matt Hardy defeated Shelton Benjamin.

A video package kicks us off, first highlighting the first blood match between John Cena and John “Bradshaw” Layfield, The WWE Championship match between Randy Orton and Triple H, the stretcher match between Shawn Michaels and Batista and then the TLC match between Edge and The Undertaker. Jim Ross and Jerry Lawler then welcome us to San Diego.

Jeff Hardy vs. Umaga – Falls Count Anywhere match

Falls Count Anywhere means that Jeff Hardy is free to jump from where he likes so expect that. These two men have met on pay per view once before and that was at The Great American Bash 2007 where Umaga defeated Hardy. Jeff Hardy wrestled at One Night Stand last year, retaining the World Tag Team Championships with his brother Matt. Umaga makes his One Night Stand debut tonight. Umaga takes the early advantage and hits Jeff with a hard Irish whip. Umaga tries a second but Jeff springboard off the top rope with a whisper in the wind for the first near fall of the night. Jeff goes to the top again but Umaga catches him and hits Hardy with a black hole slam for a near fall. Umaga attempts a clothesline but Jeff ducks and pulls the top rope down with him to send Umaga to the outside. Hardy then hits a cross body over the top and gets the first near fall on the outside. Umaga throws Hardy into the barricade and hen into the crowd where Umaga picks up a row of chairs and nails Jeff with it. Hardy picks up a traffic cone and nails Umaga with it but Umaga no-sells it and kicks Hardy in the face for a near fall.

Umaga sets Jeff Hardy up next to a flight case before running at Hardy who gets out of the way. Jeff squirts a fire extinguisher at Umaga who heads through a curtain to the backstage area. Hardy follows and the two men battle up a flight of stairs where Hardy slides down the bannister and lays Umaga out with a clothesline for a near fall. The two battle to where the concessions are and then go outside the arena where Umaga continues to throw Hardy around. Umaga gets a near fall outside and then Jeff manages to fight back. Hardy smashes Umaga into a production truck and then climbs up the truck with Umaga in tow. Hardy kicks Umaga off, into a production area. Hardy then climbs to the top of the truck and hits a swanton bomb to Umaga below! The referee makes the count and gets the 3! Jeff Hardy wins the match after a swanton bomb on the concrete! You could see a crash mat in the background, the shot of the swanton bomb was obstructed. Anyway, fun match to kick off the show!

Rating: 6.75/10

Michael Cole and Mick Foley link to a VT of Mick Foley taking us through a stretcher match.

Mike Adamle and Tazz take us to some footage from ECW two weeks ago when Big Show added himself tot he Singapore Cane match and then ECW last week when he took out all of his competition.

Tommy Dreamer vs. CM Punk vs. The Big Show vs. John Morrison vs. Chavo Guerrero – Singapore Cane match to determine a number one contender to the ECW Championship

All of the Singapore cane’s are put on poles in the corners of the ring. Tommy Dreamer is the only man to have wrestled on the last three One Night Stand events, he has a 1-2 record so far. CM Punk is 1-0 at the event whilst Chavo Guerrero, John Morrison and The Big Show make their debuts at this event. Chavo is joined by his bodyguard Bam Neely. John Morrison is one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions whilst CM Punk is still the Money In The Bank briefcase holder. Big Show comes out laughing, which is quite funny. Big Show then takes down everyone as the bell rings. Big Show slams John Morrison onto Chavo Guerrero and then drops an elbow. Show slams Tommy Dreamer but misses with the elbow drop. CM Punk lays some boots into Big Show, John Morrison kicks Big show too, Tommy Dreamer takes out Big Show with a DDT and Chavo hits Show with a frog splash! All four men then grab Singapore cane’s and nail Big Show with them! Punk and Dreamer clothesline Big Show out of the ring and Chavo and Morrison then lay into Dreamer and Punk.

CM Punk and Chavo Guerrero head to the outside where Chavo accidentally nails a fan with a Singapore cane. Think it was an NFL player. Punk then gives him a Singapore cane and he nails Chavo with it! Big Show smashes John Morrison into the barricade and out comes The Miz but he also gets thrown around by The Big Show. Big Show looks to throw the ring steps at The Miz but Morrison saves his partner, swinging a Singapore cane into The Big Show. CM Punk gets a near fall on Chavo in the ring and John Morrison takes out Punk. Dreamer then takes out Morrison with a suplex. Punk attempts go to sleep on Dreamer but Tommy counters it and locks on a Texas cloverleaf which John Morrison breaks up. CM Punk hits a big knee on Chavo Guerrero who is on the top rope. Punk then superplexes Chavo as Morrison powerbombs CM Punk. Tommy Dreamer looked like he caught some of that too. Big Show gets to his feet and takes out both The Miz and Bam Neely with a Singapore cane.

Big Show then smashes a Singapore cane over John Morrison. There’s an entire trash can full of Singapore cane’s. Big Show takes out Chavo, CM Punk and Tommy Dreamer with cane’s. Big Show then chokeslams Tommy Dreamer before swinging another cane into his face. Big Show then pins Dreamer and gets the three! The Big Show wins the match and will be going to Night Of Champions to battle Kane for the ECW Championship. Another fun match.

Rating: 6.25/10

Todd Grisham is backstage with Vince McMahon who said on Raw last week that he would give away a million dollars. Vince says that he will give all the details away on Raw tomorrow night. Ron Simmons then shows up and we all know how this segment ends.

John Cena vs. John “Bradshaw” Layfield – First Blood match

This is the fourth PPV match between these two men, John Cena has won the first three. JBL makes his One Night Stand debut tonight but Cena has wrestled at the event twice before, winning one (against The Great Khali) and losing once (against Rob Van Dam). Both were defences of the WWE Championship. The bell rings and Layfield takes off one of the top turnbuckles. Cena replies by taking off one of the other turnbuckles. The two men the slug it out and Cena drops Layfield with a clothesline. JBL heads to the outside and Cena follows, bounces JBL off the announce table and then rolls him back into the ring. Bradshaw then throws Cena out of the ring. Cena and Layfield become the first two men to have wrestled on all 6 PPV’s so far in 2008. Back in the ring and Layfield hits a reverse elbow to a cheer. Bradshaw then hits right hands and boots to send Cena to the outside.

Layfield grates Cena’s face on the barricade but Cena retaliates with right hands until JBL slows him down with a thumb to the eye. JBL grabs a chair and sets Cena up at a ringpost before swinging the chair but Cena gets out of the way. Cena fights Layfield off but Bradshaw nails Cena with a microphone. JBL rolls Cena back into the ring and nails him once again with the microphone. Cena fights back with a side suplex and then the five knuckle shuffle. Cena then tries an FU but JBL slips down onto the apron and drops Cena on the top rope. JBL then throws Cena into the ringpost but still no blood from Cena. Layfield throws the ringsteps at Cena but Cena gets out of the way. JBL then tears back some of the protection form the barrier and smashes Cena’s face into it. JBL attempts a DDT onto the ring steps but Cena blocks it. Cena then grabs a microphone and shames it into Layfields head. The referee checks through JBL’s hair to make sure he’s not bleeding.

Cena grates JBL’s face into the ring steps and then rolls Layfield back into the ring. Cena grabs a chair but Layfield dropkicks him in the knees and then smashes Cena into the exposed turnbuckle. Cena ducks a clothesline from hell and then bulldogs Bradshaw into the chair. JBL then pulls a chain out from under his towel and smashes it into Cena’s gut. JBL then wraps the chain around his knuckles but Cena sees him coming and hits him with the FU! Layfield hits a big boot which ties Cena up in the ropes. JBL then grabs a whip from under the ring. Cena manages to hit a low blow and untie himself before locking an STFU on, using the chain! JBL starts bleeding from the mouth and the referee calls for the bell! I wonder if JBL grabbed a blood capsule when he got the chain from under the ring. Cena win the match anyway. A disappointing ending for this match gimmick.

Rating: 6/10

Batista is shown backstage and gets a very mixed response. Randy Orton then shows up, wishes Batista luck and says that Michaels deserves whatever Batista gives him tonight. Orton then reminisces about the Evolution days. Orton says that following the draft they should get back together. Batista doesn’t respond, he walks off.

There’s a poll for who the fans think will win the stretcher match between Batista and Shawn Michaels.

Beth Phoenix vs. Melina – I Quit match

This is a first singles PPV match between these two girls. It’s a One Night Stand debut for Beth Phoenix whilst Melina has a 1-0 record following her loss to Candice Michelle last year. Beth gets in Melina’s face as the bell rings but Melina fires back with a kick and then a front facelock. Beth gets out out of it but Melina hits some knees and then tries a cross body but Beth catches her and hits Melina with a backbreaker. Beth then applies a backbreaker submission but Melina gets out of that with knees. Beth hits an Irish whip and then hits forearms to Melina’s back. Melina fires back with some forearms of her own and then a bulldog off the middle rope. Melina then applies a modified STF but Beth manages to get to the side of the ring and pull Melina out of the ring. Back in the ring and Beth rams Melina into the corner and looks to tie on a tree of woe but it doesn’t work. They might come back to that spot. Beth gets Melina up on her shoulder where she applies another backbreaker.

Melina attempts to fight her way out of the backbreaker so Phoenix slams her into the mat. Beth then applies an armbar and then slams Melina into the canvas by her hair. Melina manages to smash Phoenix into a middle turnbuckle and then kicks Beth into the ringpost. Melina hits an armbar takedown and then a tilt-a-whirl arm bar takedown into an armbar submission. These are two of the most talented women on the roster along with Mickie James and Victoria. Melina applies a cross-arm breaker but Beth forces her up and throws her across the ring. Beth hits an inverted powerbomb and then applies a modified surfboard but Melina won’t quit. Beth then pulls Melina’s head back in what looks like an extremely painful move and finally Melina quits. A great match between these two ladies and a big win for Beth Phoenix.

Rating: 7.25/10

John Cena is backstage in the doctors office when Mickie James shows up. There’s some awkward conversation and then you hear the toilet flush and Mike Adamle walks out of the toilet. Adamle offers Cena and Mickie James out for some drinks tonight but Cena turns it down. Cena then offers to show Mickie a rear naked choke and Mickie suggests a head scissors.

The result of the poll is shown and the fans think Shawn Michaels will win, he gets 59% of the votes.

There’s a video package for Batista and Shawn Michaels next.

Shawn Michaels vs. Batista – Stretcher match

These two men have met on PPV twice before and Shawn Michaels has won both. Batista has fought on a One Night Stand PPV and he lost to Edge. Michaels makes his One Night Stand debut tonight. The bell rings and both men get straight into it with Batista getting the better of it and clotheslining Michaels out of the ring. Batista then picks up HBK and drops him on the stretcher. Michaels manages to reverse an Irish whip, sending Batista into the ring steps. Shawn then shoves Batista into the ring post. Michaels hits an enzeguri on the outside and then sits Batista down on the ring steps before ramming the stretcher into The Animal. Michaels rams the stretcher into Batista again and then lays Batista on the stretcher but Batista quickly fights Michaels off. Batista then sets up for a Batista bomb but Michaels counters it with a front facelock which Michaels keeps locked on until Batista passes out. Michaels then places Batista on the stretcher again but Batista fights him off.

Batista reverses an Irish whip and throws Michaels into the ring post. Batista then smashes Michaels into the ring apron and then into the barricade. Back in the ring and Batista hits a clothesline, an Irish whip and then another clothesline in the corner. Batista then hits a running powerslam and looks to hit a spear but Michaels sidesteps it and Batista spears the ringpost. Michaels then hits a flying forearm and nips up, heads to the top and hits an elbow drop. Shawn looks to hit sweet chin music but Batista nails him with a clothesline. Batista then sets up for a Batista bomb and looks to hit it over the top but Michaels escapes the hold and hits Batista with sweet chin music which sends Batista all the way to the outside and on to the stretcher! Shawn looks to wheel Batista up the ramp but Batista hangs on to the ring apron. Michaels fights Batista’s hand off the apron and then drags Batista way but Batista falls off the stretcher. Batista fights back and Michaels then rams the stretcher into the leg of Batista. Batista manages to block another attempted him with the stretcher and then uses the stretcher himself, smashing it into the face of Shawn Michaels.

Back in the ring and Batista drops Michaels with a spear. Batista then motions for the Batista bomb to boo’s from the crowd. Batista hits the Batista bomb and then drags Shawn Michaels onto the stretcher. Chris Jericho then appears and motivates Shawn Michaels to go after Batista and fight back. Referee’s then take Chris Jericho to the back. That was weird. Batista then decides to roll Michaels back into the ring and Michaels tries to hit sweet chin music but it’s weak, low and has no affect. Batista tells Michaels that he does not love him and he is not sorry. Batista then hits Michaels with a second Batista bomb, drags him onto the stretcher and wheels him up the entrance ramp but out comes Chris Jericho again and he stops the stretcher from going over the line. Jericho tries to get Michaels back up to his feet and instead Michaels falls to the floor. Batista then grabs the ring steps and spinebusters Michaels onto them. He puts Shawn back on the stretch and pushes it across the line to win the match. A great performance from Batista in this match and a big win.

Rating: 7/10

There’s a video package next for Triple H and Randy Orton.

Triple H (c) vs. Randy Orton – Last Man Standing match for the WWE Championship

This is the sixth PPV match between these two men and so far Triple H is 4-1 up. Randy Orton has a 0-2 record at One Night Stand events and Triple H makes his One Night Stand debut tonight. Orton starts the match by throwing Triple H out of the ring and then laying into him with right hands on the outside. Triple H reverses an Irish whip, sending Randy into the ring steps. Triple H then sends Orton into the Smackdown announce table before throwing Orton back into the ring. Triple H lays in some boots and then throws Orton into the ringpost twice. Orton fires back with a dropkick but Triple H throws him out of the ring and smashes Randy into the ring steps. Triple H then takes apart the ECW announce desk and lays Orton on top of it before laying into him with right hands. Triple H then sets up for a pedigree on the announce desk but Orton looks to counter it with an RKO just for Triple H to shove Orton off the desk.

Randy hits Triple H with some right hands and then DDT’s him off the announce desk. Triple H gets counted down for 9 before getting back up to his feet. Randy pulls back some of the protective padding and then sets up for an RKO but Triple H shoves him into the ringpost. Both men get up to their feet and back into the ring where Orton blindsides Triple H and lays in some boots. Randy hits a kneedrop and then grabs the ring steps and throws them into the ring. Orton rams the ring steps into the face of Triple H and that looked stiff. Triple H gets up to his feet on the count of 9 and Randy Orton grabs some cable from under the ring and uses it to choke Triple H. Triple H is the only man defending his title tonight that has defended his title on a pay per view before. In fact, Triple H is the only person tonight defending his title! Orton attempts an RKO but Triple H throws him out of the ring. Orton sells his collarbone but gets back up to his feet at the count of 6.

Triple H grabs his trusty sledgehammer from under the ring and rams it into the face of Orton. The referee makes the count and Orton is down for 10! That seemed like a very sudden ending, I wonder if Orton did hurt his collarbone. You can see him say that he broke his collarbone to the referee. That could be a big injury. Decent enough match from these two. Not the most exciting and it feels like I’ve seen it all before. But not a bad match. Orton leaves on a stretcher.

Rating: 6/10

There’s a video package next for The Undertaker and Edge.

The Undertaker vs. Edge – TLC match for the vacant World Heavyweight Championship

This is the fourth PPV match between these two men, The Undertaker won the first three. Edge is 2-0 at One Night Stand events whilst The Undertaker makes his One Night Stand debut tonight. The bell rings and Undertaker has the early advantage, hitting right hands and a clothesline. Undertaker hits old school which he doesn’t usually hit this early and he follows that up with a big boot. On the outside Undertaker uses a ladder and rams it into the chin of Edge. Edge manages to pull Undertaker into the ring steps and then grabs a ladder and sets it up in the middle of the ring. Edge climbs the ladder but Undertaker gets back in the ring and pulls him down. Undertaker then rams Edge into a ladder in the corner before grabbing another ladder and setting it up in the middle of the ring. Undertaker climbs the ladder but Edge climbs the other side. Undertaker knocks Edge off the ladder but Edge bounces off the ropes and knocks Undertaker off the ladder and both men are down.

Undertaker hits snake eyes onto a ladder before booting the ladder into the face of Edge, knocking him out of the ring. Undertaker grabs a chair and rams it into the middle section of Edge before smashing it over his back. Undertaker then looks to hit his trademark legdrop on the apron but Edge grabs a chair and hits Undertaker with it. Edge sets up a ladder between the ring and the barricade but Undertaker kicks Edge and sets him up for the last ride just for Edge to hit him with a low blow. Edge then swings a chair into Undertaker face twice. Edge sets up a table on the outside and lays Undertaker across it before going up onto the Smackdown announce desk and hitting Undertaker with a splash through the table! Edge gets back into the ring and sets a ladder up in the middle of the ring but Undertaker gets into the ring and Edge takes him out with a spear. Edge then puts Undertaker leg between the ladder and smashes it with a chair before getting a bigger ladder and sliding that into the ring.

Edge sets the huge ladder up in the middle of the ring and then smashes a chair into Undertaker face repeatedly. Edge then sets Undertaker up for a con-chair-to but Undertaker sits up and hits Edge with a low blow! Edge crawls out to the ring apron and Undertaker goes out with him before chokeslamming Edge through the ladder set up on the outside. Undertaker starts to climb the ladder but out come Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins to stop him. Hawkins and Ryder then lay Undertaker down on a table. Hawkins climbs to the top but Undertaker gets to his feet and chokeslams him through a table on the outside. Undertaker then chokeslams Zack Ryder through a table on the outside! Undertaker goes out to the apron where Edge spears him to the outside. Edge then sets up on table on top of another in the ring before climbing up the ladder. Undertaker gets back into the ring and follows Edge up the ladder before hitting him with a last ride through the two tables set up on the outside!

Undertaker climbs the ladder, dragging himself up but Chavo Guerrero and Bam Neely slide into the ring and pull Undertaker off the ladder. Bam and Chavo attempt a con-chair-to but Undertaker ducks and the two men hit each other. Undertaker then lays both men out with chairs. Undertaker climbs the ladder again but it looks off centre and quite far away from the belt. Edge then pushes the ladder over and Undertaker flies to the outside through a mountain of tables set up. Similar to the Wrestlemania 17 spot. Edge climbs up the ladder and grabs the World Heavyweight Championship to win the match and the title! Great match between these two men. Edge celebrates with Curt Hawking, Zack Ryder, Chavo Guerrero, Bam Neely and then Vickie Guerrero. Apparently that is the last we will ever see of The Undertaker.

Rating: 8/10

And that was One Night Stand 2008. Overall it felt like a great show. Seven good matches with nothing average or worse. The show started well with Jeff Hardy and Umaga going out into the car park and Hardy predictably finding the highest possible surface and diving off it. It was a good finish but very easy to see how they did the spot when you can see the crash mat in the background. This gave Hardy a big return and I’m sure it won’t be long until he’s in a big spot again. Umaga has spent most of the last year putting people over whether it be Bobby Lashley, Jeff Hardy, Triple H or John Cena and his career definitely looks like it’s on the decline. Big Show then beat four other ECW guys to earn himself a shot at the ECW title. His match with Kane will be at Night Of Champions next week. I think there needs to be more challengers on ECW. This was a fun match.

John Cena beat John “Bradshaw” Layfield, again a good match. The finish was a bit disappointing then. Maybe I’m just too blood-thirsty and wanted to see some real blood and not a blood capsule. The whip that JBL pulled out from under the ring did scare me a bit, that thing looked brutal. I’m glad that wasn’t used. The match was good between these two men but I honestly hope that’s the end of it. Move both men on to different things. Beth Phoenix then beat Melina in a great match. The two girls had ten minutes to really show off their skills and they put on one of the best women’s matches in PPV history. And one of the best matches this year full stop. It was nice that they were given the time and it was a big win for Beth Phoenix who will probably be in the Women’s title hunt sooner rather than later.

Batista beat Shawn Michaels in a match that Batista really dominated. I’ve really enjoyed this three way feud between Shawn Michaels, Batista and Chris Jericho. I thought Jericho’s involvement in this match was a bit weird though. And Batista just seemed to ignore it. I liked this side of Batista though, he almost came across as a heel and dominated Michaels. More of this please! Triple H then beat Randy Orton and this match was clearly cut short because of Orton’s injury. Randy knew straight away that he’d broken his collarbone and the match ended shortly after. Triple H just had to get his sledgehammer shot in. That seemed a bit pointless. This was a good match but maybe it would have been a lot better if it had continued. Orton could be out for a while. Then in the main event, Edge beat The Undertaker to win the World Heavyweight Championship. This surprised me a bit but I like it. I’m an Edgehead. It took a lot of interference from all of La Familia but he got the job done in a really good match.

Overall Rating: 67.5/100 (ranked joint 18th out of 225)

Match Of The Night: The Undertaker vs. Edge
Worst Match Of The Night: John Cena vs. JBL / Triple H vs. Randy Orton
Surprise Of The Night: Edge becomes World Heavyweight Champion
Worst Booking Of The Night: JBL’s blood capsule
Superstar Of The Night: Edge
One Night stand 2008 Will Be Remembered For: Randy Orton getting injured, Jeff Hardy’s spot and Edge becoming World Heavyweight Champion