ECW One Night Stand 2005 provided special memories in WWE history, giving fans a reunion for the beloved brand. The show meant to be a one-off event with WWE reaching out to most top ECW legends to put on an attraction PPV in the Hammerstein Ballroom. Diehard fans treated this like the biggest event of the year despite taking place in front of under 2,000 people.
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The stories about the final night to have that true ECW feel are fascinating when watching how things played out. Backstage drama between extreme talents and the WWE elements provided fascinating tidbits about a legendary show that is already 16-years-old. The following stories will shed more light on the backstage element of the One Night Stand2005 PPV.
10 Rob Van Dam Pitched The Idea
The legendary career of Rob Van Dam featured him thriving in both WWE and ECW. Even though the WWE run led to huge success, Van Dam missed the creative freedom and intimate crowd connection that came with ECW.
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The idea of an ECW reunion show was pitched by RVD to Vince McMahon, but it was actually turned down. McMahon initially didn’t believe enough fans would buy a PPV for the ECW talents until something else changed his mind.
9 Success Of ECW DVD Made Vince Consider It
Things have changed so much in two decades that it is now overlooked how important DVDs used to be for the WWE business model. WWE produced dozens of DVDs each year, looking to have fans buy them.
The Rise of Fall of ECW was critically a huge success and the financial results followed it. WWE was surprised at the ECW retrospect becoming the hottest DVD seller. Rob Van Dam’s idea for an ECW reunion show became more viable when Vince McMahon saw the proof that they could draw money with it.
8 Paul Heyman Was Against The Idea At First
Bruce Prichard’s podcast looking back at ECW One Night Stand 2005 featured the most shocking news about the backstage environment. Paul Heyman initially wasn’t looking to use the ECW name for nostalgia.
The WWE career of Heyman had gone well with on-screen roles as a manager, commentator, and authority figure. Heyman also worked backstage on the creative team. The desire to always move forward led to Heyman being hesitant before welcoming the idea once it was confirmed.
7 Vince Banned TNA Wrestlers
The biggest flaw about the ECW One Night Stand 2005 event was a handful of active wrestlers missing the show. Vince McMahon gave most of the input to Paul Heyman, but there was one noticeable rule for the talents being booked.
No one under contract with TNA was allowed to take part in the show. Shane Douglas and Raven were the two biggest names to miss out on the event. Both men were among the best ECW World Champions, which made their absence more important.
6 Vince Laughed At Paul Heyman Shooting On JBL
Vince McMahon running an ECW reunion event seems ridiculous in theory, but it clearly worked for a great night. Paul Heyman was given leeway to book the show he wanted with Vince adding a few things he felt were important for the overall results.
The shoot promo from Heyman running down Eric Bischoff, JBL, and Edge was not shared before he went to the ring. PW Torch reported that McMahon was laughing at Heyman’s most memorable line claiming JBL only was WWE Champion for a year “because Triple H didn’t want to work Tuesdays.”
5 WWE Signed The Blue Meanie Due To JBL Attack
The real tension between some of the ECW and WWE wrestlers led to things escalating at the end of the show. There was a giant brawl won by the ECW wrestlers as Steve Austin made a surprise appearance for a huge drinking celebration.
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JBL had issues with The Blue Meanie when the latter accused him of being a bully in shoot interviews discussing his prior WWE run. The brawl saw JBL cornering Meanie and delivering a few stiff shots to bust him open. WWE ended up hiring Meanie when worried about a lawsuit for JBL breaking character and assaulting Meanie.
4 Terry Funk Picked Shane Douglas' Show Over WWE's
Shane Douglas was livid about the One Night Stand PPV being run under Vince McMahon’s rules and decided to run a rival show. Hardcore Homecoming took place in the old ECW arena with some of the talents appearing at WWE’s show and most of the names not invited.
This event took place two days before WWE’s show and was also a huge success. Terry Funk decided to turn down the One Night Stand offer and opted to work for Hardcore Homecoming. Vince’s rules rubbed a lot of people the wrong way when trying to run an ECW show.
3 Chris Jericho Asked To Put Over Lance Storm
The opening match at One Night Stand 2005 featured Lance Storm and Chris Jericho having a great match. Both men trained together, and Storm was treating this as his retirement match when opening his own school.
Jericho was an upper-carder performer for WWE at the time feuding with John Cena for the WWE Championship. That made it stranger when Storm defeated him at the ECW event. Jericho wanted to put over his close friend since it was Storm’s final appearance in such an environment, even though he did work a few more independent matches.
2 Francine Had Confrontation With Dawn Marie
The prior instances of heat between ECW wrestlers featured one confrontation backstage at One Night Stand 2005. A newly pregnant Dawn Marie was still on the WWE roster and was greeting the familiar faces from ECW when they showed up.
Francine had issues with Dawn in the old ECW, leading to them having a heated exchange. The backstage stories claim that Francine was the aggressor refusing to shake Dawn’s hands. Vince McMahon ran a meeting with all the talent afterwards, asking them to express professionalism if they want to compete on the show.
1 Show Success Helped Paul Heyman Negotiate New Contract
The WWE contract of Paul Heyman was coming to an end in the fall of 2005 after the One Night Stand PPV. Heyman was removed from his SmackDown General Manager spot the prior year and was struggling to find the right on-screen role.
The contributions on the creative team were great, but Heyman also always had backstage heat with important people. One Night Stand being an overwhelming success made it easier for Heyman to negotiate the contract he wanted. Vince McMahon agreed to a deal and unfortunately that led to the failed ECW relaunch the following year.
