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THE UNOFFICIAL FAN'S GUIDE TO ECW ONE NIGHT STAND WEEKEND IN NYC

FRIDAY JUNE 10TH: HARDCORE HOMECOMING

When Shane Douglas and Jeremy Borash announced plans for Hardcore Homecoming, it was to give fans exactly what ECW was when it was born, an alternative to the national wrestling product. The irony is that in 2005, it’s a show made up of former ECW stars that is being used as an alternative to an ECW-themed PPV. Only in wrestling.

Being held at Viking Hall/ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA (about 90 minutes-two hours South of NYC), Hardcore Homecoming will feature a live event followed by a Q & A Session/Autograph session. Most of the tickets are sold out, but a few may be left at www.HardcoreHomecoming.com.

The building is located on the corner of Swanson and Rittner Streets. If you need an address to Mapquest, you can use:

22 East Wolf Street
Philadelphia, PA 19148

The above address is Forman Mills, a clothing store next store to the ECW Arena located on the corner of Wolf & Swanson. The Arena is located right down Swanson on the next corner. Once you get in the general vicinity, it will be more than obvious where the building is.

The show looks to be a fun one, where nostalgia will be the key, as opposed to in-ring performances. From talking to most who intend to attend the show, it seems that the thing fans are looking forward to the most is being back among the ambiance of the hardcore fan base in that venue one more time. A number of fans have requested and received their old Club seats in the venue, hoping to make it almost like a High School reunion of sorts. It’s a chance to get back to the intimate feel of that lovely dilapidated Bingo Hall, or a chance to hopefully feel what that vibe was all about if you missed ECW during its historic rise.

Although there won’t be a Paul Heyman or a Tommy Dreamer in the house, many members of the band will be, including ECW founder Tod Gordon and Joey Styles. The lineup for Hardcore Homecoming features:

*Shane Douglas (with Francine) vs Sabu (with Bill Alfonso) vs Terry Funk in a recreation of “The Night The Line Was Crossed” which put ECW on the map with a one hour draw. It is highly unlikely that we’ll see a repeat performance of that night as time has caught up to all three given it’s a decade later. That said, with it being the only appearance by Terry Funk the entire weekend, in Philadelphia no less, you can pretty much bet the Funker is going to pull something insane out.

*Sandman vs Raven in a recreation of their 1995-1997 ECW championship feud.

*Jerry Lynn vs Justin Credible in Lynn’s first match back in the ring since a rotator cuff surgery last year. These two have always traditionally had really good matches, so hopefully we’ll see the same magic.

*Kid Kash vs CW Anderson – There was talk of this match getting changed but they are still advertising it. These two have worked a ton of times over the years and have yet to have a bad match that I have seen. Anderson is one of the most underrated guys out there today while Kash is looking to prove TNA wrong. The sleeper match of the show.

*The Eliminators, reuniting for the first time since August 1997, have issued “an open invitation” for anyone to face them. It will be interesting to see what the Eliminators look like as neither has been seen in some time.

*Also scheduled to appear are Joey Styles, 2 Cold Scorpio, Francine, Pitbull Gary Wolfe, Axl Rotten, Bill Alfonso, Don "Cyrus" Callis, Joel Gertner, Tommy Rich, Tracy Smothers, Roadkill, Danny Doring, Chris Chetti, JT Smith, and Mikey Whipwreck as well as a few surprises. There will likely be additional matches announced, or possibly even changed.

When the show is over, tables will be set up for an impromptu autograph session with the talent as well as Q & A Sessions from inside the ring. There are plans for a ton of original merchandise spanning from T-shirts, to the Forever Hardcore DVD, to limited edition signed artwork prints of the show’s logo. It’s going to be a full evening for all involved.

There are still seats left on the New York and New Jersey bus trip to the event, which already has fans from Japan, England, Scotland, and a number of states converging for the ride. The trip is $150 which includes a general admission bleacher ticket to the show, admission before anyone else, admission to the post-show festivities, round trip on a coach bus with bathroom and video monitors playing the documentary “Forever Hardcore” which would be the first screening of it anywhere. There are about 7 seats left on the bus. There will also be some surprises for those on the trip. Email AGENTCLPT@aol.com for details.

If you aren’t interested in taking the bus trip, your best bet is to rent a car or check the schedules for Greyhound or Amtrak. You can also take a New Jersey Transit train from Penn Station to Philadelphia, although the timing involved will be quite the investment. Be aware that if you use any of these methods you’ll need to make your way down to South Philly once you arrive in Center City, Philadelphia. If you do that, make sure you have the # for a cab company handy for the return back as the cabs don’t run in that part of town, you’d have to call and request one.

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