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

SUNDAY JUNE 12

Christmas morning is here. The return of Extreme Championship Wrestling. It may not be ECW as you and I remember it, but for all intents and purposes, this is ECW as it will legally exist from this point forward in any legitimate sense. Before you can hit ECW’s PPV however, there are two different events scheduled for Sunday afternoon.

RING OF HONOR

1:30 PM Ring of Honor

Ring of Honor will run a matinee event at the Supper Club on 8th Avenue and West 47th Street, a quick walk from the Hammerstein Ballroom. If you’ve never attended an ROH show, here is your chance to see tomorrow’s stars working in an environment that is set for them to have the best matches possible.

Announced thus far for the show:

*ROH champion Austin Aries vs. Low Ki (non-title) in what will be Ki’s first ROH bout since December as he’s been “suspended” for beating an official. This is a non-title grudge match based of Ki crashing ROH’s segment on the WB Morning show last month, challenging and slapping Aries.

*ROH Pure champion Samoe Joe vs. Nigel McGuiness in what will spotlight some of the hard hitting scientific wrestling ROH has to offer.

*Former ECW World champion Shane Douglas cutting a promo discussing the company

*Homicide vs. James Gibson in a bout that will spotlight two of the best mat wrestlers going on the independent circuit.

*CM Punk vs. Roderick Strong in what could be one of Punk’s final appearances in the house he helped make.

*The Carnage Crew vs. Dunn and Marcos in a New York Streetfight (have to have that violent flavor on this of all days) based off The Crew attacking Dunn & Marcos for revenge after being forced out of the company for 90 days.

*BJ Whitmer vs. Jack Evans vs. Azrieal vs. Izzy vs. Deranged vs. Fast Eddie in a Six Man Mayhem match designed for lots of crazy spots and near falls.

For more information on the promotion and the show, visit ROHWrestling.com.

ECW AUTOGRAPH SESSION: RINGSIDE TICKET HOLDERS

3-4 PM There will be a special autograph session on Sunday 6/12 from 3-4 PM at the Hammerstein Ballroom with Rob Van Dam, Tazz, Spike Dudley, Dawn Marie, Balls Mahoney, and Axl Rotten among others. The signing will only be open for those holding the $400 ringside tickets. Please be aware if you intend to hit the session, it will conflict with the ROH event, so you’ll have to choose between one or the other.

ECW ONE NIGHT STAND PPV

The reason you are here. The return (hopefully authentic) of Extreme Championship Wrestling in the Hammerstein Ballroom, which was the site of the last several ECW PPVs. Although ECW purists, myself included, haven’t been thrilled with the inclusion of WWE stars on the show, we can always hope they will wrap that storyline up on this week’s TV show and leave us with a pure ECW product.

Despite the inclusion of names like Snitsky and Maven, the ECW vibe shouldn’t be tainted too much as long as they won’t be wrestling on the show. If the ECW stars are truly given a chance to go out with proper time and clean finishes to work an ECW style, we are looking at one of the top events of the year, possibly only after Wrestlemania, in terms of entertainment.

In any event, this is what those of you watching on PPV or attending the show have to look forward to:

*Tommy Dreamer & The Sandman vs. The Dudley Boyz – This is a recreation of a feud that raged on for most of 1998 in ECW and drew money for the company after The Dudleys broke the neck of Beulah McGuillicuty. You should probably expect lots of brawling, violence, and a old school ECW asskicking contest. It will also be a coming out party for those involved, with it being the Sandman’s first PPV bout since his TNA run, the Dudleys’ first match in months (beyond OVW) and the first legitimate Tommy Dreamer match on PPV (as opposed to cameos and battle royals) since the death of ECW in January 2001.

*Chris Benoit vs. Eddie Guerrero – A match that never took place in ECW, but certainly makes sense under the auspices of the ECW work ethic. If given time, Benoit and Guerrero will steal the show, no light feat given the theme of the show, and give fans a dream match that would have been WWE champion vs. World champion back in 2004.

*Rey Mysterio vs. Psicosis – A return to “Extreme Lucha Libre” and their classic 1995 feud in ECW, who were the first “mainstream” company to utilize the talents of these two in the United States outside of Lucha promotions. Mysterio is working on a sprained ankle, which may take away somewhat from the bout. This will be Psicosis’ first official match under WWE contract, so expect him to break out all the stops. If he has a chance to break the reputation that his better days are behind him, this is the time and place.

*Little Guido vs. Tajiri vs. Super Crazy – A Three-Way feud that went back and forth in different combinations for much of 1999-the end of the company, expect to see lots of near falls, stiff kicks, high flying moves and more. This will be Crazy’s first time in the ring with Tajiri and Guido in several years, but anyone who has seen his work in ZERO-ONE can tell you that he’s gotten even better since his ECW run. It will be interesting to see what Tajiri pulls out without the handcuffs on and Guido has always been one of the most underappreciated performers in the business, so hopefully all three will get their time.

*Lance Storm vs. Chris Jericho – The two former Thrillseekers partners never faced each other in Extreme Championship Wrestling, so this is another bout that fits under that ECW work ethic theme. Given that it is Storm’s last scheduled bout under WWE contract and the crowd it will take place in front of, expect an emotional final appearance. You can double that as it will likely be the last appearance for Dawn Marie for at least some time and perhaps for good, as she’s expecting her first child. This looks to be a return to the days of the classy ECW exits that stars would see when they departed for other waters.

Also scheduled for the show are Sabu, Rhyno, Kid Kash, and Masato Tanaka with it standing to reason that all four will wrestle in one form or another. Beyond that, expect appearances by Rob Van Dam who has said he’ll be doing a promo at the show, Tazz (based on the build on Smackdown, we’ll be getting the “Taz” of ECW making a cameo). Others booked for the show are CW Anderson, the BWO, Danny Doring, The FBI, The Sinister Minister, Mikey Whipwreck, Danny Doring & Roadkill, Swinger, Balls Mahoney, Bill Alfonso, Spike Dudley, Justin Credible, Al Snow, Joey Styles, and Joel Gertner scheduled, plus surprises.

ENJOY YOUR WEEKEND!

We’ve come to the end of this preview so all I can say in closing is that as an ECW fan, I am happy to see not just one, but two nights celebrating the company that changed professional wrestling. It’s only fitting that there is are alternative shows as well to the official ECW show, because that’s what ECW was, an alternative, a rage against the machine, a chance for those who didn’t fit nicely into the WWF slots to stand out and make their own name. That tradition continues today with the alternatives that are present this weekend and so many other companies.

Finally, pat yourselves all on the back. If it hadn’t been for well over 100,000 of you purchasing the Rise and Fall of ECW DVD, none of us would have this weekend to look forward to, to view, to attend, and one more time, make some extreme memories. Enjoy New York and enjoy ECW.

For PWInsider.com’s special section looking back at Extreme Championship Wrestling, click here.

For Mike Johnson’s review of The Rise and Fall of ECW, click here.

To check out WWE’s official ECW One Night Stand website, click here.

Mike Johnson can be reached at Mike@PWInsider.com.

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