10 Things Fans Should Know About ECW One Night Stand 2006

WWE's ECW reboot is mostly remembered as a flop. It lasted less than four years and was replaced by NXT in 2010. Although the revival failed for many reasons, the build-up to the relaunch of ECW was great.

ECW One Night Stand (2005) was such a resounding success it led to a second event, ECW One Night Stand (2006). Whereas the 2005 version was mostly an homage to the company that went defunct in 2001, ECW One Night Stand 2006 was a major WWE event featuring a ton of ECW superstars. It's also often regarded as one of the best pay-per-views of its entire era. This list will examine 10 things fans should know about the event that brought ECW back to life.

10 The ECW Crowd Hated John Cena

John Cena was always one of the most polarizing superstars when he was champion. At ECW One Night Stand 2006, he was public enemy number one. ECW fans have always been known to be on the "hardcore" side and Cena represented everything they weren't.

He was a pretty boy who often felt shoved in the faces of wrestling audiences. From the second he arrived in the ring, he was booed. The crowd chanted "overrated" and "You can't wrestle" multiple times. They even kept throwing his shirt back when Cena tossed it to the crowd before his match with Rob Van Dam.

9 Featured Sabu's Only WWE World Title Match

Despite being extremely talented, Sabu never became a huge star outside of ECW. McMahon thought highly of Sabu, even putting him against John Cena at Vengeance 2006.

In the WWE, Sabu only competed for one WWE world title and that happened at ECW One Night Stand 2006. He and fellow ECW alumni, Rey Mysterio, wrestled for the World Heavyweight Championship. The match was contested under extreme rules. Both men were "hurt" during a DDT into a table spot at ringside that led to a no-contest finish.

8 The Main Event Was RVD's Cash In

Instead of cashing in the Money in the Bank contract out of nowhere, as many have done to earn an easy world title match, Rob Van Dam went a completely different route. On an episode of Raw, Van Dam told John Cena he would be cashing in his contract at a place where the odds "worked extremely well" in his favor.

He was the second person to ever earn a Money in the Bank contract and his choice helped add depth to what the holder could do.

7 Featured Kurt Angle's First ECW Match

In 1996, before Kurt Angle signed with WWE, Shane Douglas convinced Angle that ECW was more "amateur-wrestling" than WWE. Instead, ECW was much more hardcore. Angle even appeared at an ECW event that featured a crucifixion angle between Raven and The Sandman.

Angle was so appalled he told Paul Heyman that he better not air his face in the same taping as the event. At ECW One Night Stand 2006, Angle finally wrestled for the brand and defeated Randy Orton in his debut bout.

6 Tazz Never Wrestled Again

One of the biggest stars ECW ever established was Tazz. When he left the company in 1999 to join the WWE, expectations for him were sky high. His career mostly ended up being a flop. He spent most of his career in the WWE on commentary after he wrestled his last televised match in 2002.

At ECW One Night Stand 2006, Tazz returned to the ring and defeated fellow commentator, Jerry Lawler, by submission. It was the last official match of his career.

5 The Crowd In Attendance Was Wild

Fans at home could tell from the beginning of this major WWE event that the fans were not the usual "WWE audience." If the event aired on cable it would have been bleeped out multiple times since it featured heavy usage of the "f" word and a ton of homophobic slurs aimed at John Cena and Randy Orton. They also inferred that Lita had herpes.

There was even the now infamous "if Cena wins we riot" sign in the crowd. Without a doubt, if Cena would have won, the place would have been destroyed.

4 Lita's Return To ECW

Many don't know that Lita wrestled at ECW a short while before her WWE debut. Her ring name was at one point "Miss Congeniality" and she did very little to stand out at the company.

At One Night Stand, Edge, Mick Foley, and Lita defeated Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer, and Beulah McGillicutty in a hardcore match. It was the first time she wrestled at an ECW event since her last match at the company in October of 1999.

3 Featured Terry Funk's Last WWE & ECW Match

Terry Funk reinvigorated his career at ECW in the '90s. Funk had been a wrestling world champion since the '70s but never caught on at WCW or WWE. He started wrestling for the company in the early nineties and became well known for his insanely hardcore matches.

Funk made his last WWE and ECW appearances ever competing with Tommy Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty against Edge, Mick Foley, and Lita. He turned Mick Foley on fire and was a bloody mess in this match. Not bad for a 63-year-old.

2 It Perfomered Below Expectations Despite The Huge Star Power

Although it was an "ECW" event, it featured all the big names from the WWE like John Cena, Randy Orton, and Edge. Everyone expected that the mix of WWE stars and old ECW originals would drive numbers through the roof. They didn't. The event actually performed worse that the first ECW One Night Stand. It drew 325,000 fewer orders than the 2005 show.

1 The Ending Was Perfect

RVD and John Cena competed in an Extreme Rules match for the WWE Championship. In all honesty, no one was sure where the title would land. At that point, John Cena was running through the roster and RVD had always fallen short in his WWE world title matches.

Edge interfered by spearing John Cena. Van Dam hit a Five Star Frog Splash on Cena after the spear. There was no ref in sight and Paul Heyman ran in and counted to 3 and help RVD win the title. It was a "no rules" mess that was perfect for ECW and perfect for establishing an identity for the relaunch of the company.