ECW One Night Stand (2006) - Background

Background

The build-up for One Night Stand occurred on both Raw and SmackDown heading into the PPV, but build-up behind the scenes began several months earlier, as WWE was bringing back ECW full-time. The news that WWE was planning to bring back ECW was leaked in the middle of April as Vince McMahon decided to revive ECW as a full-time brand. Reports beforehand stated that WWE was prepared to bring back ECW immediately after WrestleMania 22. WWE opted to cancel its webcast Velocity and replace it with the new ECW program. The new brand was officially confirmed by WWE on May 25, 2006, with its debut show airing on June 13, 2006 on the Sci Fi Channel.

The main feud heading into One Night Stand was between John Cena and Rob Van Dam over the WWE Championship. At WrestleMania, Van Dam competed in a six man Money in the Bank ladder match, in which Van Dam won and earned the right to face the champion of his choice anytime he wanted to in 12 months. On the May 22 episode of Raw, Cena defeated Chris Masters. After the match, Van Dam came out to the ring and announced that he was cashing in his opportunity for the WWE Championship at One Night Stand. The two exchanged lefts and rights, with Masters getting involved. The distraction allowed Van Dam to toss his briefcase into Cena's face and then hit him with the Van Daminator. The two had a contract signing for their match at the PPV on the June 5, 2006 episode of Raw. Before signing the contract, Van Dam told Cena that he would win the WWE Championship at One Night Stand and rename it the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. ECW representative Paul Heyman told Cena that the ECW fans can’t wait to boo him out of the Hammerstein Ballroom. Cena signed the contract and wished Van Dam luck. Heyman, however, told Cena that he had brought some people from ECW and at that point, Balls Mahoney, Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer and the Sandman came to the ring. Cena attempted to fight them off, but Sandman hit Cena with his Singapore cane. ECW's Sabu then came out and sent Cena through the table with his Atomic Arabian Facebuster move. Several Raw superstars ran out to attempt to fight off the ECW Originals. Because of this, a match was booked for the WWE vs. ECW Head to Head special that aired on the USA Network on June 7, 2006 between Cena and Sabu. The match ended in a no contest after ECW's newest wrestler, The Big Show attacked Cena, sparking a brawl between WWE and ECW superstars.

The other main match on the card was a Hardcore Intergender match, as Edge and Mick Foley faced Terry Funk and Tommy Dreamer. The rivalry started between Edge and Foley, when the two faced in a Hardcore match at WrestleMania 22. Edge won the match after a spear off the apron and through a flaming table on the outside. Foley was a guest on the Cutting Edge on the May 1, 2006 episode of Raw, and the two agreed to a WrestleMania Hardcore rematch the following week. Before the match began on the May 8, 2006 edition of Raw, Foley announced that the match was now a triple threat match, with Tommy Dreamer added as the third person. During the match, however, Foley turned heel for the first time in over eight years and attacked Dreamer with a barbed wire baseball bat. Foley handed Edge the bat and Edge hit Dreamer with it, busting him open. Foley hit the Mandible claw on Dreamer and Edge simultaneously speared Dreamer, with Foley getting the pinfall. The two, along with Lita celebrated up the entrance ramp. On the May 15, 2006 episode of Raw, Foley wanted to apologize to Dreamer for what happened the previous week; however, Dreamer was not in the arena, so Foley brought out Terry Funk. Funk asked Foley to apologize for what happened to Dreamer. Instead, Foley started bashing ECW. In an attempt to get into a fight with Foley, Funk made comments about Foley's family, calling his wife a whore and his kids bastards. When the two exchanged punches, Edge and Lita came out, with Lita low-blowing Funk. Edge and Foley double-teamed Funk, with Edge hitting Funk with a barbed wire baseball bat. A week later, on the May 22, 2006 edition of Raw, Edge and Foley announced themselves as co-holders of the WWE Hardcore Championship. Paul Heyman came out and made a challenge to Edge and Foley to face Funk and Dreamer at One Night Stand, which Edge accepted. The two, along with Lita, went after Heyman up the ramp, before Dreamer and Funk attacked them with several weapons, sending the trio out of the arena. On the WWE vs. ECW Head to Head special that aired on June 7, 2006, Edge faced Dreamer in an Extreme Rules match. Dreamer hit Edge with a Dreamer Driver through the table. Lita interfered, and hit Dreamer repeatedly with a cane. Dreamer was not hurt by the shots, and he got Lita up for a powerbomb, before Edge speared Dreamer. Edge got the pinfall and won the match. During the match, Foley and Funk were fighting outside the ring, with Funk busting Foley open. After the match, Foley sat in the middle of the ring and stated his kayfabe thoughts on ECW.

Where the hell do any of you get off, telling me I sold out? Where do you get off? Where do you find the nerve, to call me a whore? You think I hate ECW? I love that place. I love that place! But ECW simply didn't love me back. She was like the girl I can't let go off, but the one who makes me sick, upon seeing her. She wanted too much blood, too much of my heart, too much of my life! So I left, and I found fame and fortune in WWE. And Paul Heyman was right. There's only one real difference between me and Tommy Dreamer. I'm a whore, and he's not. You see, seven years ago, I pulled the sock out of my pants, and made Vince McMahon laugh, and the doors of opportunity open wide for Mick Foley, but not for Tommy Dreamer. All he's got is his heart, his pride and the initials ECW. And I wanted to tell Edge that I went back and I watched our WrestleMania match, the greatest hardcore match of all time, i said. Well the truth is, maybe it wasn't quite as good as I thought. Maybe Edge, you and I are gonna have to be tougher than ever, hungrier than ever, sicker than ever, to walk into that steaming cesspool that is the Hammerstein Ballroom. 2,500 sickening, twisted fans, screaming for our blood, because Tommy Dreamer can do everything I can, and maybe with more passion. He's gonna beat us up, all over New York City. He's gonna bludgeon us. Terry Funk, the greatest wrestler I ever saw. You look at Terry Funk and you see an old man, you're not seeing the real Terry Funk. His slaps are worse than most men's punches. His punches dole out concussions, and when he picks up a weapon, he can use it like no man ever has. He has an excruciating pain waking up every single day, looking for one more chance to have one great last match. I blew the son of a bitch up in Japan, and he came back and hugged me. I set him up on fire in Philadelphia, and he put his arm around me. He doesn't put his arm around me anymore. I don't want your arm around me, Terry Funk. Tommy Dreamer, the only difference between me and you, is I have the guts to go to WWE. No, you shut your mouth! (pointing out to a fan) Because when I go to Hammerstein Ballroom, Edge and I are prepared to take the beatings of our lives, and I will do that to exorcise the sick, twisted whore that is ECW. I want her out of my life. You’ve seen me thrown off cells, you've seen me slammed in tacks, you've seen me go through a burning table at WrestleMania; it is nothing compared to the horrors I will unleash on Dreamer and Funk at (goddamn you) ECW. 'Cause I'm gonna stake the hearts of your heroes, and I'm gonna shove them down their throats for making me fall in love with you to begin with. You stepped on my heart, you stepped on my soul, you took everything I've had faith in, and you just throw it away. And then when I walk to that ring at the Hammerstein Ballroom as a WWE Legend, you Terry Funk and you Tommy Dreamer will learn about loss...Have a nice day. —Mick Foley on his kayfabe thoughts on ECW

One of the main undercard matches on the card was between Rey Mysterio and Sabu for the World Heavyweight Championship. ECW representative Paul Heyman announced that Mysterio had accepted the challenge for One Night Stand on the June 2, 2006 edition of SmackDown. Before the June 9, 2006 edition of SmackDown, Heyman kayfabe revealed to WWE's official website that he was trying to get Mysterio to join the new ECW brand. Mysterio turned down Heyman's offer on the June 9, 2006 edition of SmackDown. In the main event on that edition of SmackDown, Mysterio faced Finlay. Mysterio was about to 619 Finlay, when Sabu, who was holding a steel chair, climbed onto the ring apron. Mysterio dropkicked the chair into Sabu, which distracted the referee. This allowed Finlay to hit Mysterio with his shillelagh, and the Celtic Cross for the victory. After the contest, Sabu set up a table on the outside of the ring, and hit Mysterio with a springboard legdrop that sent Mysterio through the table.