ECW ONE NIGHT STAND II
JUNE 11, 2006
NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. AT HAMMERSTEIN BALLROOM
-Paul Heyman opened with a pep talk about the relaunch of ECW. Of course, loud "ECW" chants. Heyman got emotional as he talked about bringing the cult of ECW to Sci Fi. (I got in late, so I'll be adding details at the end of the show when I have a chance to watch it.)
1 -- TAZZ vs. JERRY LAWLER
Because Lawler slapped Joey Styles, Styles ran into the ring and tried to choke Lawler. Lawler reversed it and set him up for his signature piledriver. Tazz, though, intervened and choked him out.
WINNER: Tazz in 30 seconds.
STAR RATING: n/a
2 -- RANDY ORTON vs. KURT ANGLE
Joey Styles and Tazz did commentary. Lots of intense chants from the ECW fans early, including "Break his ankle" and "Angle's gonna kill you!" Angle dominated on the mat in the opening minutes. When Orton tried to ground Angle, Angle reversed it with a half nelson. The crowd chanted "You can't wrestle!" at Orton. Styles acknowledged it. The crowd chanted "Orton swallows." Styles said, "There are some chants from this ECW audience we will not be repeating on the air." When Orton applied a chinlock, the crowd rightfully chanted "boring, boring." Wrestling fans do not under any circumstances want to watch a chinlock in 2006. Ever. They showed upcoming ECW house show dates at the bottom of the screen. Angle hit a series of back suplexes at 13:00. The crowd chanted "F--- you, Orton!" Angle dropped the strap and stalked Orton from behind, then hit an Ankle slam for a near fall. The crowd chanted "Break his ankle!" again. Angle applied an anklelock, but Orton flipped out of it and then gave Angle a neckbreaker for a two count. Orton went for an RKO, but Angle avoided it. Orton went for a crossbody off the ropes, but Angle rolled through for a near fall. When Angle got up, Orton met him with a clothesline. When Orton went for an RKO, Angle switched to an ankle lock. Orton turned it into a roll-up. Angle kicked out. Ankle then reapplied the anklelock and within ten seconds, Orton tapped out. When there was a "pussy" chant, Styles said something about a breed of cat. Orton took a ton of heat from fans afterward. The crowd chanted "Get the f--- out!" as Orton was helped to the back.
WINNER: Angle in 16:00.
STAR RATING: ***1/2 -- The crowd made this match. It was a good match elevated at least a level or two thanks to the intensity of the crowd. Orton can't wrestle his usual Smackdown style with this crowd. Most of the ECW wrestlers won't be scared about the crowd since most don't use chinlocks.
-They showed a clip of New York City outside of the Hammerstein.
2 -- THE FBI (Little Guido & Tony Mamaluke w/Big Wheel) vs. TAJIRI & SUPER CRAZY
Styles noted that Mamaluke has put on some weight since his last stint on TV. The crowd chanted "Welcome back!" at Tajiri. "I know you're not used to having a play-by-play man who knows what a keylock is," said Styles. Tazz said, "Yeah, the play-by-play guy I'm used to working with doesn't know the names of many moves." The crowd chanted "Nacho Libre" at Super Crazy. Styles and Tazz made comments about Tajiri being 5-7, but having a size 13 boot. Styles said, "His wife must be happy." In the end, four-way action broke out. Guido kicked Crazy off the ring apron into the crowd. Tajiri went after both FBI members, but he fell to a double fisherman buster.
WINNERS: The FBI at 13:00.
STAR RATING: ***1/4 -- Lots of good spots and nonstop action.
After the match, Big Show came out to a remake of his WWE intro song. He destroyed The FBI and fended off a dive from Super Crazy. I'm surprised the crowd didn't chant "911" at Show, because that's a replay of the role 911 played in the first ECW years.
-A commercial aired for the ECW debut on Sci Fi this Tuesday night.
-Styles and Tazz began to talk about the rest of the matches when JBL interrupted from the balcony. JBL began ripping on ECW. The crowd chanted "You suck d---." JBL responded: "I see no women out here and you're chanting about a male organ. Now tell me who's the fruit booty." JBL talked about punking out Blue Meanie last year. "Sounds to me like I am the king of hardcore," he said. The crowd chanted, "Shut the f--- up!" JBL said RVD wouldn't have been a star if not for people like him and Vince McMahon. He gave Tazz a hard time about jumping. He made fun of ECW being on Sci Fi, telling the "Star Trek geeks" that they get what they wanted now. JBL congratulated Tazz for jumping to ECW because if he hadn't, he would have been fired. He announced he is the new voice of Smackdown. "You can take your telephone book with you because I can see over the desk," he told Tazz. He told the crowd that they paid to see him. Tazz and Styles pointed out that they actually didn't. He told them their show sucked, called Smackdown the A-show, and then left. Rey Mysterio was behind JBL representing the Smackdown wrestlers in attendance also.
3 -- REY MYSTERIO vs. SABU -- World Hvt. Title match
Tazz said he has had battles with Sabu, and he hopes he wins. Rey and Sabu each held chairs during Steven DiAngeles's ring intros. The crowd booed Rey, but not vociferously. Rey had the letters "ECW" on the back of his mask. They had dueling chairs in the opening minutes and then threw the chairs at each other. Sabu launched off a chair and crashed legs-first into Rey in the corner. That prompted an "ECW" chant. Rey Mysterio vs. Sabu is up next. Mysterio wore an ECW mask. People didn't know what to make of him. Bill Alfonso isn't out with Sabu, so he may cause a surprise at the finish. Sabu's face looked like hell. He looked 60 years old and had a giant bruise on the side of his face. Mysterio was booed, but more half-hearted. There is a tiny 619 chant. The match was crazy, in both good and bad ways. Sabu looked to have hurt his left shoulder or biceps when Mysterio did a springboard Thesz press to the floor through a table. He continued, never sold it and continued to do all his spots. The finish was spectacular. Sabu did a triple jump DDT on a table to the floor. Ugly landing, as designed. The doctor then stopped the match and it was ruled no contest. They acted as if both were hurt, but it was clearly designed as it was. It wouldn't shock me to see them brought back later because they don't have non-finishes, or this was the only way they could protect both sides. No Alfonso at all. They both took a lot of punishment and did dangerous stuff, but Sabu was off on a lot early.
Tommy Dreamer & Terry Funk vs. Edge & Mick Foley are next. Foley's eye looks like hell. Foley is doing a promo. He said it loved and respected by ECW, he's about to put over Tod Gordon to get heel heat. Even better, Foley is chanting "Long Live the Alliance" and said he loved ECW when it was run by a visionary and creative genius Stephanie McMahon.
