ECW One Night Stand 2006 (2006)

One Night Stand 2006 wasn't as good as the 2005 installment, but it still was a great event in it's own right.Match 1: Taz vs Jerry Lawler - The shortest match of the evening. Lawler portrays himself as a jack*** the entire 35 seconds of this match. He slaps Joey Styles on the way out and then Joey goes for revenge only with a bad ending. Taz then plays off of that and locks in the Tazmission for the submission win.Match 2: Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton - This match was literally not right on this card. Kurt Angle may have been a new ECW talent at this time, but he should have waited for the new show ECW instead of holding an open challenge at the pay per view. This is a great match either way. Orton plays the invading bad guy, even though Angle was an invader last year (strange right?). They go for a good 15 minutes until Angle finally locks the ankle lock for the tap out win. The ECW crowd taunts Orton after his loss.Match 3: The F.B.I. vs Super Crazy & Yoshihiro Tajiri - Tajiri uses his ECW name unlike last year this time around. These guys stole the show again only with Tony Mamaluke added in this time. The match was very fast paced and great for a time filler sort of match. The F.B.I. scores the win in the end. After the contest Big Show comes out and assaults all four men.Match 4: Rey Mysterio (c) vs Sabu for the World Heavyweight Campionship - The greatest dream match to ever come to life. They did not let us down at all. Sabu looks dominate early on, but Mysterio finds his way into countering Sabu's moves. The crowd was behind Sabu the entire time, with select Mysterio chants added in at the right time. The ending was a little to predictable, because Sabu wasn't headed for the World Heavyweight Championship and Rey wasn't ready to drop it. Also the ending was predictable because they wouldn't let a WWE guy beat an ECW fan favorite like Sabu. They would have rioted if Mysterio retained. So they both go through a table and the match is called to a close.Match 5: Mick Foley, Edge & Lita vs Tommy Dreamer, Terry Funk & Beulah McGillicutty - An awesome intergender extreme rules match. Funk and Foley can still entertain as if they were in their prime again. They all take it to the max with a ton of tables, barbed wire covered weapons, chairs, etc. The ending really sucked when Edge speared Beulah for the win. The team of Dreamer, Funk and Beulah should have taken the win in this one. But still a great match.Match 6: Balls Mahoney vs Masato Tanaka - Just a basic simple time filler. Not Mahoney's best and not Tanaka's best either. They both plant each with a few chair shots and then the match is shortly over. So they do a decent job filling the time, but the match wasn't a grade A standard in ECW's hardcore style. Mahoney takes the win after a simple chair shot.Match 7: John Cena (c) vs Rob Van Dam for the WWE Championship - Incredible main event. The fans were on Van Dam's side the whole time. I think it was about time for Cena to drop the belt because he was champion for a little bit close to a whole year, with only a brief stopping portion thanks to Edge. Van Dam dominates the whole time, if they would have given Cena offense it would have made the crowd go crazy. In the end Van Dam hits the five star frog splash. Paul Heyman comes out to fill in for the referee and counts to three. Rob Van Dam is the new WWE Champion.

This years ECW ONS again blows away any other PPV of recent years despite the WWE being more involved in this one. Cool matches, nice segments and the trademark rabid ECW crowd that can even make the worst matches entertaining. I honestly admire the passion of the ECW fans, they know what they want and won't except anything less and they're not afraid to show it either. Totally awesome fans. It's just a shame that the current generation WWE crowd won't learn from this (as shone by Ikepoiyen668894;who proves nothing that WWE fans of the current demographic are nothing but hopeless eletists who don't know any better) instead of just merely excepting the poor state of the current WWE. Anyway, onward with the review(spoilers ahead). Taz vs The King This was bound to be a short match but it served its purpose for the story-line and a match opener;Tazz chokes out the boring Jerry the King with his redundant commentary skills. It was nice seeing Joey Styles get involved. 4/10 Kurt Angle vs Randy Orton This was awfully mediocre for a match featuring Kurt Angle and it had every right to be better, Orton is a terribly inconsistent in-ring performer and an even worse heel as proved by the crowd. And to respond to what another reviewer said about the ECW fans n appreciating old school wrestling;what Orton put on display in that match(and all his matches in general)was not old school wrestling, more like an incompetence to work a steady paced match with one of the finest wrestlers in the world. The fans cheer Angle because they know he's an accomplished superstar with one of the most legitimate wrestling backgrounds in history, and they dump on Orton because they know he's a lousy performer who hardly lives up to this "future superstar" moniker (much like Batista and Cena). And as such, old school wrestling is a thing of the past and too much of a cliché for todays advanced audiences, ECW or WWE. Angle wins with Ankle Lock submission. 7/10 solely on fan reaction and proof that Randy Orton is a dud when it comes to the WWE dealing out mega pushes. Tajiri/Super Crazy vs The FBI It was great seeing these guys back in an ECW arena again and it's great to know the fans still care about these guys despite the poor careers they've had in the WWE. Didn't like the end with Big Show cleaning house, that sucked as does Big Show. 8/10 Sabuvs World Champion Rey Mysterio Match of the night, end of story. Sabu in all his suicidal, homicidal, genocidal glory and Mysterio actually kicking it up a notch and making something actually watchable for the fans, and getting appreciated for it. Of course this is no surprise since Rey had already wrestled in ECW way back when in 1995. But screw that, this match was insane. Chairs, tables and high flying. It couldn't have been any better. And for those of you dissatisfied with the no-contest ending, if you really think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Sabu winning a title along with RVD's impending title win would have been too big of a promotion for ECW making WWE seem awfully inferior and Vince Mcmahon wont have that, and well, Rey beating Sabu would have looked bad for him and ECW. So this gets a 10/10 from me.Terry Funk/Tommy Dreamer and Beulah vs Mick Foley/Edge and Lita This match screamed "successful nostalgia" for me. It just rules to see that Foley, Funk and Dreamer can still dish out the extreme in matches they have been doing for years, and Edge to me epitomizes what a future WWE superstar is supposed to be(not Randy Orton, in this case). Great use of weapons, lots of blood and the addition of a CATFIGHT between Beulah and Lita...AWESOME, another match of the night. 10/10 Mosato Tanaka vs Balls Mahoney This match is one of the few gripes I had with the event, when considering Tanaka's match of the year with Mike Awesome at last years ONS, and the fact that Mahoney and Tanaka have had far better matches under the ECW name, this match left an awfully sour taste in my mouth. At least we get to see Mahoney swing a chair. 5/10Eugene/Sandman segment Long story short, Eugene sucks, Sandman caning the little retard rules but I pretty much share the other fans sentiments on his new entrance music. Oh well, it was cool hearing those cane shots again. 4/10 RVD vs WWE Heavyweight Champion John Cena The main event of this years ECW homage is another interesting sight to behold again due to the participation of the ECW crowd who give Cena a world of crap, and this has to be seen to be believed. The match it's self was mediocre with RVD pretty much carrying Cena who just did the 'same old *beep*' he's been doing all the time. Interestingly, it should be noted that Cena actually does have a wrestling background which means he does really have more ability and talent then what he showcases on TV which leaves one to question A)is Cena really being held back by WWE limitations or B)is Cena just to incompetent to simply walk up to Vince Mcmahon and say 'I can do better'. In any case, the ECW public just don't except Cena for who he is, a lousy WWE product. All that aside, it was damn amusing seeing the fans in this match and the random chants that were heard throughout. RVD wins after a 5*Frogslpash when Edge runs in wearing a motorcycle helmet and spears Cena through a table to which the fans applaud with a "thank you Edge" chant despite Edge being the big heel of the night, simply brilliant. Great ending to a great PPV and once again better then Wrestlemania. 8/10

Held before over 2,500 fans in New York City, One Night Stand mark the return of the most hardcore wrestling promotion in history. ECW. The event was on of the most unique events i have ever witnesses. It entertained from beginning to end, there is no question of that. The crowd was hotter than hot, as only ECW cans be. And the matches booked were heading this event in the direction of a 10 out of 10 rating. So why did I give them only 8? Simple. The endings of both Championship matches.For the first time ever in ECW and WWE history, WWE Championships were being decided on an ECW event. Sabu challenged Rey Mysterio for the World Heavyweight Championship and RVD was going up against the most controversial WWE Champion in recent memory John Cena. History looked as though it was going to be made on June 11th 2006, instead we got two cheap ending to two two wilding, edge of your seat thrilling matches.Sabu and Rey Mysterio held nothing back in their dream match. They pulled of some moves I had never seen before in my life. The story telling was magnificent. The end of this one came after Sabu flew over the top rope, caught Mysterio and drilled him through a table with the most devastating DDT in the history of wrestling. As the crowd went wild and I spilt beer all over myself in shear excitement, some annoying little man came out and deemed both participants unable to compete. The crowd were angry to say the least, as was I. If this had been allowed to continue, you would have had a match of the year candidate.The crowd were on Cena's back like nothing ever seen in wrestling for his main event clash with RVD. The match was back and forth and was, once again, highly entertaining. The ending of this one came when Edge, dressed in leather coat and crash helmet, came out the crowd and speared Cena through a table. RVD hit the frog splash and Paul Heyman made the three count. Surely this will not be able to stand. Why couldn't either Cena or RVD went over without the controversy and make this event seem truly historical. Bad booking, that's why.The rest of the card was top notch action as well. Tazz and the King had more of a segment than an actual match when Tazz choked out Lawler in less than a few minutes. Kurt Angle and Randy Orton had a physical battle. Super Crazy and Tajiri against The F.B.I was an excellent contest filled with wild manoeuvres. Ball Mahoney decked Masato Tanaka with one hell of a chair shot to pick up the win in his match. In another segment, The Sandman beat the holy hell out of Eugene with a Sigapore cane. I have to admit this made me smile.But match of the night for me was the six person tag team match pitting Edge, Mick Foley and Lita against Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer and Beaulah. This was as wild and bloody as we thought it would be. It was totally gripping as well. If you want hardcore then look no further than this match to satisfy your needs.All in all ECW One Night Stand was almost the perfect Pay-Per-View. If only the promoters had the guts to get two of the four men involved in the Championship matches to lay down and take the pinfall. But this is still one event you MUST see and is hopefully a indication of what we are to expect from the new third promotion of Vince McMahons.Long live ECW!!!!!!

A decent night of action with arguably the most vocal crowd to ever grace a WWE sanctioned event.1) Tazz def Jerry 'The King' Lawler - The easiest outcome to predict out of all the matches. It was never going to be about the wrestling was it? It was more of a segment than anything else. Anyway, Tazz chokes out Jerry Lawler thanks to interference from Joey Styles. 3/102) Kurt Angle def Randy Orton - Quite a good WWE wrestling match. The only thing that I don't like about the ECW fans is that they don't appreciate pure old school wrestling matches, e.g Bob Backlund. This was evident when they chanted "BORING" to Randy Orton. The crowd were really into Kurt Angle. Randy Orton played the heel quite well (after the match when he was being helped out by officials, the fans were calling him a pussy. He acted like they were cheering him by smiling and waving at them. Very funny). 6.5/103) FBI def Tajiri & Super Crazy - The crowd showed appreciation for these talented and underrated superstars. Tajiri got a great welcome back reception. A very good cruiser weight match. I'm not sure what the point of the Big Show coming out at the end was though. 7/104) Rey Mysterio & Sabu: No Contest - Many people were expecting a lot more but I guess the WWE has to protect it's champion and can't let him get too banged up. A few high spots leading up to the main high spot which finished the match (the finish to the match was a work by the way). The spot at the end did enough to make this match worth while. 6/10 (I would have given it a higher rating if the match was longer)5) Mic Foley, Edge & Lita def Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer & Beulah - Good hardcore match, Mic Foley stole the show in this one. Even though he played a heel character, the ECW fans had nothing but love for him and were reluctant to boo him. When they did boo him, it was in a pantomime kind of way. Terry Funk did a Ric Flair job (everybody was just happy that he didn't die). Tommy Dreamer did his usually job, nothing out of the ordinary. Edge showed why he's the most improved wrestler of the year as far as ring presence and main event status goes. The females weren't to be out done either. Lita showed that the WWE shouldn't forget that she can actually wrestle and it was nice to see Beulah back in the thick of things again. 7.5/10 (Match of the night)6) Balls Mahoney def Tanaka - Judging by Tanaka's match with Mike Awesome at last years ONS, I expected a show stealer. This match was pretty much garbage. Not because of Tanaka, but because Balls Mahoney is the most out of shape wrestler in the world (apart from the Blue Meanie). 5/107) RVD def John Cena - Like at WM 22, John Cena's match makes headlines because of the crowd, not the wrestling. I have never seen or heard a crowd with so much genuine hatred for a wrestler in my life. It wasn't the good heel heat that a heel sets out to achieve either. It was the heat that The Rock got before he joined the Nation or X-Pac heat as it's more commonly known. Edge even received a "THANK U EDGE" chant for attacking Cena during the match. John Cena & Mr McMahon can keep acting like the boos don't bother them but even if you have no soul, a reaction like what Cena received would f**k your soul up. I felt genuinely sorry for John Cena and I am no John Cena fan. The match was a standard no DQ match never the less. The match 6.5/10. The crowd reaction 10/10.I'll give a special mention to JBL who did a segment showing why he has the best mic work in the WWE.I also can't believe that Vince McMahon had the guts to put Eugene on an ECW show. Even though Sandman beat Eugene up that segment was pretty pointless.Overall a standard ECW PPV which the fans turned into a good ECW PPV. ECW should always have their events in small arenas otherwise the atmosphere will disappear.