Holy god that was freakin awesome. I miss Beluah a lot. She is still totally hot. Seriously, this is one of the best PPV's I have ever seen. Everything was awesome. And the best part was Joey Style's shitting all over WCW, Bischoff, Awesome, etc. He completely made that PPV. I loved the jabs by Heyman and RVD at JBL and Edge too. Classic stuff.
This wasnt really like a typical ECW PPV, it was BETTER. The only thing I could have down without is the promos by JBL and Angle. And, I would have liked to see Gertner cut a classic promo like he always does.
And, I hope the DVD of this is uncensored, cause that kind of sucked with all the bleeping. But otherwise, a really awesome PPV. Aweosome-Tanaka stole the show. They put on the stiffest match I may have ever seen!
Holy shit, Awesome/Tanaka was hilariously insane. That and Tajiri/Little Guido/Super Crazy were the highlights of the night, though Sabu/Rhyno was pretty great too. Guerrerro/Benoit had potential, but was too short to really make an impact for me. Same with Mysterio/Psicosis, though I think part of my disappointment with that match was due to the fact that I've seen them wrestle much better matches.
Steve Austin orchestrating the "fight" at the end kind of left a weird taste in my mouth, since I (and I think most people) associate him with WWE, not ECW, and so it was almost like "hey these ECW guys are okay, but they need a WWE guy to lead them."
WOW. What a friggen awesome show. Quote of the night goes to Heyman ''JBL, the only reason you were WWE Champion for so long was because Triple H didn't want to work Tuesdays''. The whole show just rocked. Fav matches were Tanaka v. Awesome which was brutal and the Tag Match ME. Yup, great to see Beulah too. Words cannot describe this show. Styles and Foley were awesome, RVD was awesome, Heyman was awesome with his shoots. Will he get fired? What helped alot too was the WWE production that is obviously better then past ECW production really helped the action. I totally hope this is not the last we see of ECW.
The opening with Joey Styles almost bursting into tears was so incredible.
Lance Storm d. Chris Jericho -- Good match, but rushed (which would be a theme tonight). Both guys were on their games and could have used another 5-10 minutes. Finish was suprising, with Justin doing the run-in.
Nice tribute video to the guys who have since passed away.
Super Crazy d. Yoshihiro Tajiri and Little Guido-- Good, but rushed, again. Nice to see the FBI out there. I just wish Sal E. made the trip. Super Crazy doing the moonsault off the balcony was a definite highlight.
Rey Mysterio d. Psicosis-- Fans did NOT want an unmasked Psicosis. Okay, but nothing spectacular. Psicosis just doesn't seem to have a whole lot of lucha left in him.
Man, that JBL promo just went on and on didn't it? I've never been so glad to see Rob Van Dam. Rob cut an amazing promo, definitley the best of his career. Loved the "back when I had a vocabulary and didn't just say 'whatever' and 'cool'" and "The show doesn't need STORYLINES" (looks directly at the SmackDown guys) comments.
Sabu d. Rhino-- Not great, but fun.
"I'm glad I didn't bring my wife tonight." -- Joey Styles in remarks to Edge.
Chris Benoit d. Eddie Guerrero-- Very dissapointing. Rushed and slow. Guerrero, imo, just didn't seem to be into it, for whatever reason.
Mike Awesome d. Masato Tanaka-- In the suprise of the night, these two STOLE THE SHOW~! A tremendous match with sick shots and bumps, tremendous near-falls, and overall they did a TREMENDOUS job in following their past matches. My hats off to both men.
Paul Heyman's promo was amazing, and could get him fired. "I'm not crying, my eyes are red because I was in the back smoking a joint with Van Dam." "Edge, I'm gonna' dare say what those with scripted promos won't. I got two words for you: Matt freakin' Hardy!" "JBL, the only reason you're title reign lasted a whole year is because Triple H doesn't work Tuesdays" God, I love Paul Heyman.
Dudley Boyz d. Tommy Dreamer & Sandman-- Thank god they used 'Enter Sandman' because I miss Sandman's entrance. Match was exactly as it should have been. bWo, Balls & Axl, Justin Credible, Lance Storm, Francine, Beulah all make cameos. Tons of weapons. Ends with flaming table.
"That's got to hurt worse than playing Simon Dean on national television!" How can you NOT love Joey Styles?
Steve Austin comes down, they do the big brawl, Taz chokes out Angle, Joey Styles tells Eric Bischoff he was a horrible announcer, Bischoff gets his ass kicked, ECW guys do a beer-bash, end of show.
The show had some dissapointments (first several matches come to mind) and way too much WWE, but it was totally fun overall.
The answer to WWE's financial problems...
Never 'Wiener of the Day', and is actually quite bitter about it.
This was a really fun PPV with a little bit of everything and a hot crowd. From a pure wrestling standpoint, a lot of the matches were let downs if you were expecting them to go 20 minutes but I didn't so I wasn't let down. However, this was much better than your average filler WWE RAW/Smackdown Only PPV.
I think my favourite part was Rob Van Dam's promo. "I have a vocabulary, I can say more than whatever and dude."
"When did they pass a law that says the people who make my sandwich have to be wearing gloves? I'm not comfortable with this. I don't want glove residue all over my food; it's not sanitary. Who knows where these gloves have been?" - George Carlin
It was however the most fun I've had watching a PPV in years.
Kudos to Messrs. McMahon, Heyman, Laughlin & all the talent involved.
There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened. - The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
ECW every week would probably get tired and watered down if WWE are in charge. You'd get nonsensical stuff like Tomko joining them and stupid storylines. But I don't care. I loved One Night Stand and I want more.
Hi, I'm Justin. I've been registered almost a year and haven't posted once. I'll keep this short and sweet:
I'm a casual fan. If the WWE would take some lessons from this PPV, I'll come back. It was so refreshing to see some real emotion, incredible matches, and not have to sit watered down soap opera scripted tripe. I've never seen an ECW PPV before in my life and this one blew me the hell away.
ECW every week would probably get tired and watered down if WWE are in charge. You'd get nonsensical stuff like Tomko joining them and stupid storylines. But I don't care. I loved One Night Stand and I want more.
I agree. In fact, I was half-expecting all these weird turns tonight. I was waiting for Austin to stun Sandman. I thought Taz would turn on ECW. Thankfully though, they stuck to their guns and didn't set up any further angles. This is how I wanted to remember ECW, and I got it.
I think Guerrero was disappointed the crowd was more interested in insulting Edge. As for lack of soap opera, storylines, scripts, that's what most of us would want, but not the mainstream fan.
Originally posted by Has-beenI think Guerrero was disappointed the crowd was more interested in insulting Edge. As for lack of soap opera, storylines, scripts, that's what most of us would want, but not the mainstream fan.
At first, I was actually a bit weirded out by the lack of storylines, but as the night went on, and the wrestlers put on quick exciting matches, I stopped caring.
I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who found Guerrero-Benoit a letdown. Other than that, though, great show. Awesome-Tanaka was amazing, Storm-Jericho was a blast, and the three-way dance was fun, although I wish I could've seen more of Little Guido.
Edge doing the V.1 hand sign? Pure evil.
I would have liked the finale if a) Austin hadn't been involved and b) there hadn't been so many bodies in the ring it was impossible to tell who was who.
Ling-Ling into battle go Fulfill destiny of the soul Sever skull of adversary Shove it in the poo-poo hole
All the children sing: Kill kill kill kill die die die Kill kill kill kill die die die....
-13 years of watching wrestling and I can safely say that was the most fun I've ever had watching it. NOT the best WRESTLING show, but the most fun.
-For fans obsessed with nostalgia (like myself) this night was definitely heaven. Little things like "Lionheart" Chris Jericho, head, and everyone singing the lyrics to "Enter Sandman" made it perfect.
-I was the only one marking out when Masato Tanaka came out, but by the end of the match the entire bar was applauding him and Awesome. I knew they would steal the show after seeing their feuds in ECW.
-When Austin first came out "leading" ECW, I was a bit indifferent...But if there's any man that can change my mind in an instance it's Austin. He was absolutely gold on the mic. Seeing him wearing JBL's hat and giving orders was gold.
-The only complain out of the night would be the camera turning to JBL every 2 seconds during the Tanaka/Awesome fight.
-Styles did absolutely great. "In all honesty, I'd like to thank WWE for making this all happen." I'm really wondering if he was fed that line.\
-Having the WWE wrestlers had it's pros and cons. I didn't enjoy seeing them on camera at all times, but it made for some memorable entertainment with Heyman and other.
-Bar was as packed as WrestleMania so I'm expecting Vince to get a big buyrate out of this.
In the immortal words of Joey Styles, OHMYGOD~! That was such an awesome show. The matches may not have been the greatest and off the charts, but they wanted to squeeze alot of stuff out there too. The Awesome/Tanaka match was unbelievably sick! JBL couldn't evne help but enjoy that one. Plus Joey's shoot-rant on Awesome at the start was just surreal too. That pretty much sums up this show, "surreal". Everything you thought they wouldn't be able to do under "WWE control"...they did, and they didn't hold back. That's E-C-f'n-W for ya.
"What good is mining nose gold if you can't share it with the Townspeople?!"
Very good PPV. Like some have said, I don't know if ECW could hold up over the long-term, but for a one shot deal, it worked.
Storm/Jericho was a good way to start the night. As expected, the crowd was amped. First thing I noticed- no hat guy in the front row. Justin and Jason were the first surprises of the night. Overall, a good match, but a little short.
Styles was great through the PPV. If only they'd trash Michael Cole and have Styles and Tazz do Smackdown.
Nice "ECW Remembers" segment. Was this just for guys that died after ECW or not? I couldn't tell.
The three way dance was fun, if only because of the FBI and Sinister Minister being there. Again, a criminally short match (just over 6 minutes according to the Torch). Super Crazy's jump was the first real big spot of the night.
I like the ECW highlight packages spliced in throughout the night.
Psicosis/Rey was disappointing (and short- I'm sensing a pattern), and the crowd let them know. I like how they booed the 619, since its his "WWE move."
THE line of the night was unintentionally captured by the camera- JBL saying something like, "I paid for this ticket you little mexican!" As with most, I could've done w/o JBL and Angle's long promos. RVD's promo was from the heart (and could get him in trouble), but there's something about his interview style that just doesn't click.
Sabu/Rhyno was the trademark "impromptu match of the night." Man, I don't know how Sabu can still do some of the shit he does.
I don't get all the bleeping- aren't they on PPV?
Benoit/Eddie was good, but its too bad the crowd was too interested in making hilarious chants to the WWE wrestlers.
Gertner begging for a job seemed out of place.
Awesome/Tanaka stole the show. So many times during the match, I thought it was over, only to be tricked by near falls.
Heyman's interview was interesting. Only one dig at Triple H though?
The main event match was what it had to be- a violent bloodbath. And good job getting others involved too (BWO, Axl and Ballz, Francine and Beulah). The thing I wondered most throughout the night was if WWE was gonna use "Enter Sandman." I'm happy they did. The post-match shennigans were interesting, if only because the WWE guys got whooped. Overall, a strong one-time PPV. The quality of wrestling was good enough, but the nostalgia just added to it. And I wasn't even a big ECW fan to begin with.
I couldn't disagree more, Gertner is the Bobby Heenan of ECW, he's the hilarious slime ball who'd turn on his own mother. I thought it was great.
Fantastic PPV, I would have preferred a little less of a WWE ending, but overall, fantastic! Oh and longer matches, and more Stevie, and Al Snow wrestling, and CW wrestling and no lame JBL promo... I understand the idea of the JBL promo was to make the fans go "shut up already" and then mark out when RVD comes out and interrupts and shuts him out. Hello, WWE, it takes about 1 minute or less of his promo to make an ECW type fan want him to shut up. Spare me a soliloquy!
I am scissors. Paper is fine. Rock needs to be nerfed.
i had a smile on my face for 2 and a half hours. Great show. tons and tons of shooting.
some thoughts:
-JBL was stiff on gertner and say what you want about him, cut a killer heel promo. I was impressed, he works the stick well in a high pressure situation...
-Joey Style's shoots got to an awkward point at times, seemed as if Foley was getting annoyed. It's the shoot stuff that adds to the experience of ECW stuff.
-Can't believe heyman, hes got balls. The triple H line WAS one of the best "zings" of all time. The Hardy stuff is getting redundant, but it was ok i guess. A little obvious though.
-Loved the crowd. ECW has always had the best audiences of smart fans. I put them ahead of even MSG or Toronto fans. Very funny. But clearly it bothered Eddie when the focus was not on his match with benoit.
-Apparently Foley has some gripes with Bubba? Called him a poor mans cactus jack?
Great show, worth the money, i would think that ECW is not dead...yet.
This was just a fun night out, plain and simple. In the theater we were watching the show at, we sat right behind WWE Canada President Carl DeMarco, whom we were trying to infuriate with comments like "You Screwed Bret!" and "De Marco Sucks!". Unfortunately, he didn't sell our catcalls at all.
In any event, I found that the matches were almost secondary to the nostalgia factor, which was fine. I think that's how you have present something like this; you can't pretend that the company has been in business all this time.
Briefly, the Mike Awesome-Masato Tanaka match was EASILY match of the night, and I can't help but think Mike's performance will land him a spot on the WWE roster again (perhaps in the Cabinet?). The Dudleyz-Tommy Dreamer/Sandman came in second for me; it was so ridiculously overbooked that it worked. Eddie Guerrero-Chris Benoit was fine, but they almost have to outdo themselves to get a higher rating these days. The two cruiserweight matches were fast-paced and fun, but nothing overly compelling over similar bouts. Nice to see Sabu back in action and as crazy as ever. And while Chris Jericho-Lance Storm was a tad underwhelming, I was at least happy Storm got the nod in what might be his final match.
Paul Heyman and Rob Van Dam's shoots were surreal, in that they both said what everyone was thinking, but what no one ever thought would appear on a WWE PPV. Joel Gertner was hilarious in his two brief appearances. On commentary, I wasn't crazy about the teaming of Joey Styles and Mick Foley, but I suppose it could have been far worse.
As far the invasion angle went.... it was well done. You could tell the ECW faithful to kick the shit out of Bradshaw, Bischoff, Angle & company, so having them appear numerous times was a given. Should they have had Austin as the guy who eventually orchestrated the attack on the invaders? Oh hell yeah! It's not as though Stone Cold was never with ECW or anything, and his appearance gave the show a nice push without seemingly overly "corporate".
So yeah, this one of the most anticipated PPV's in a number of years, and it delivered as advertised.
Aren't Mark Henry and Big Show signed to guaranteed large ass multi year contracts? I'm pretty sure Henry signed a ten year in the summer of 96, which means you got two more years of sexual chocolate.