An Extreme History Lesson: ECW One Night Stand 2005

On June 12, 2005, “E-C-W” chants echoed throughout Hammerstein Ballroom for Extreme Championship Wrestling’s intensified reunion show, One Night Stand.

This event did not completely fit the typical idea of an ECW pay-per-view, but it surely was as extreme as both the wrestlers and fans had always been.  

As shown on prior episodes of Raw and SmackDown!, WWE Superstars would feud with the ECW Originals. For example, SmackDown! was home to Kurt Angle’s vicious assault on Tazz, foreshadowing Tazz’s redemption at One Night Stand.

ECW followed its typical trend of having outside involvement in matches, but this time was different because WWE wrestlers were the ones interfering. Kurt Angle, JBL, Carlito, and Matt Morgan invaded the show, leading to very derogatory chants toward SmackDown! It was no surprise that ECW fans would chant nasty sayings, especially toward wrestlers from a different promotion.

The beginning of One Night Stand consisted of good matches but boring promos from WWE wrestlers. However, the pace picked up when Sabu faced Rhino, ending with a broken table, of course.

Chris Benoit and Eddie Guerrero then displayed their old-school wrestling styles in a singles match, followed by Mike Awesome vs. Masato Tanaka.

Next up was one of the most remarkable ovations in ECW history. Paul Heyman entered the ring, and “Thank you Paul” chants filled the arena. After all, he was the one who made ECW the phenomenon it was.

Tommy Dreamer and The Sandman fought The Dudley Boyz in the main event, which included street signs, cheese graters, and trash cans. Shortly after the fiery lighting of a flaming table, the match was over, but One Night Stand wasn’t.

Right as The Sandman called for beer, there was an electrifying appearance from another notorious beer drinker: Stone Cold Steve Austin. He addressed the crowd and he then asked for the invading Raw and SmackDown! wrestlers to come to the ring. There was a huge brawl between the WWE Superstars and the ECW Originals, which ended with Eric Bischoff receiving Austin’s signature Stone Cold Stunner.

Moments after the event went off-air, Tommy Dreamer took a bow, while the crowd chanted, “Thank you Tommy”. The Dudley Boyz re-entered the ring to hug Dreamer, and Buh Buh said to him, “This is all for you.”

Although ECW One Night Stand was full of twists and turns, it met its expectations to reunite one of the greatest promotions of all-time.