Well, I was debating doing a piece on the whole ECW thing overall, and I was debating on doing a One Night Stand preview. And honestly doing that much work isn’t my style, so I thought “hey, just combine them into one column!” And I liked that idea, so here we are.
Before I get to the PPV matches, I just need to comment on the whole “ECW vs. WWE” storyline happening. Personally, I LOVE what they’ve been doing and I’ve really bought into the storyline so far. Even though I know WWE owns everything and all these guys are WWE employees doing a storyline, it feels much bigger than that. I think they’ve done a great job of making it feel like a legit interpromotional feud.
And a big reason for that has been the promo work involved in this whole thing. Paul Heyman especially has been outstanding in hyping up the PPV event and the new brand itself. Mick Foley has done some very solid stuff as a heel to promote his part of the feud. And if anyone has missed it, make sure you go to wwe.com and watch the Big Show’s promo about why he switched brands. I can’t think of any better promo he’s had ever. In this day and age as an internet wrestling fan, it’s harder and harder to really get emotionally involved in a storyline. I think they’ve done a great job of hooking people into this one, whether you like the ECW comeback or not. Either way, it seems everyone is talking about it. And if WWE needs proof the new brand might work, look no further than me! Basically, I’m cheap when it comes to PPV’s. My friends here in Edmonton aren’t big on wrestling for the most part, and those that are aren’t too willing to spend much money to see it. So it’s been a while since I’ve ordered a PPV, even Wrestlemania I skipped out on this year. But I’ve decided there’s no way I’m missing One Night Stand this year. And the last PPV I actually ordered and paid money for? Last year’s One Night Stand. I know it’s still all WWE, but the ECW angle is something fresh.
The one thing I keep thinking of with all this unfolding is flashbacks to the Alliance Invasion angle, which is pretty much universally planned as a failure. Really, this whole ECW thing feels like how the Invasion SHOULD have been done. Having Heyman as the full leader of the group is so much better considering he actually did lead ECW in the first place, and it’s easier to believe he’s going against WWE than it was trying to pretend Shane and Stephanie were (not to mention Heyman promos are among the best in the business these days). A second bonus to this story is there is actually a new show starting up out of it. With WCW simply being fused into Raw and Smackdown, there really was no payoff to the war between companies. It was clear they were both becoming one anyways. With the threat of a WWE title becoming part of an ECW brand show, there’s instant interest built right into the PPV itself. And to top it all off, we even had the very cool WWE vs. ECW show to help everything out. Having the two different entranceways was very cool I thought and added a little extra to this whole story. Everything they are doing just seems to be clicking and it makes for some of the most entertaining TV in some time.
So how about One Night Stand? Let’s take a look at the matches on hand here. I don’t have some fancy rating system for a preview column like other writers do, I’ll just do a quick overview of what we have on hand.
Lawler vs. Tazz
Wow, if one match REALLY benefited from the Wednesday special, it was this one. The two going back and forth on the mic all night was damn entertaining, not to mention the fight they had that looked about as legit as you could get. These two have fought in the past with matches that weren’t overly memorable, but I’m a fan of the story in a match more than anything, and this has an awesome story. I can see this going either way, since both men are announcers and neither really needs a win here for the future or anything like that. However, with so much build being built to Tazz choking people out, I’m thinking he’ll pull it off with that. Tazz was my favorite coming out of the original ECW (even though I didn’t watch much back then) so I’d definitely be a fan of a win by him here.
Predicted Winner: Tazz
Dreamer and Funk vs. Foley and Edge
Well, I’ve got to say I’ve enjoyed Foley’s heel run so far. It’s hard to truly hate a man who’s been such a nice guy for so long, but he’s really done a good job of creating interest in this feud I think. It’s sad to see Funk being barely able to move down stairs in his “run ins” but the man can still bring it with excellent promos, and in a hardcore match like this I think he’ll look great as well. The co-holders story with the hardcore belt is somewhat interesting, and I’ve heard suggestions that maybe this could become the new ECW tag team titles. Could very well be a possibility, and it’s not a bad way to get some instant history in the division (even if the hardcore title history isn’t the greatest ever). Anyways, this could go either way, but as you’ll see with my predictions later on, I think ECW needs to win this title match.
Predicted Winner: Dreamer and Funk
Angle vs. Orton
Well, Orton is back from his suspension, and I’m hoping he actually smartens up his act. I think he’s a great heel to have on either show, so it’s good to have hum around. Obviously the biggest shocker of the new ECW was drafting Angle, which is an excellent way to bring big name recognition right off the bat. This one is a nice addition to the card with the two men having a back story. With Orton back in the fold he may win this one, but I think Angle is going be built up like a beast in ECW and he should take it.
Predicted Winner: Angle
Mahoney vs. Tanaka
I’ll be honest, I’m not too familiar with either guy. My knowledge of Tanaka is about all we saw in last years PPV, and I’ve seen maybe 5 Balls Mahoney matches in total. It’s a good “classic” ECW match that’s bound to bring the hardcore stuff people want to see, and that’s about it. Not too much to say since there’s not much build to this one.
Predicted Winner: Tanaka
FBI vs. Tajiri/Super Crazy
This should be an awesome high flying match. If these guys are allowed to just “go”, this should be a hell of an entertaining bout. It’s going to be great to see Tajiri again, but I think FBI will take it. Looking forward to this for sure though.
Predicted Winner: FBI
Sabu vs. Mysterio
Well, if the past couple shows are any indication, Sabu has not slowed down his suicidal style one bit lately. Again, I think both men will flat out kill themselves in this match (Sabu a little more) and really make a great showing. Only problem is I don’t see much of a chance of Sabu winning at all. The WWE title has been getting ALL the hype as being the future ECW title, and although they’ve mentioned the chance of this becoming the ECW title, it’s not going to happen. Despite that this should be a fun match to see.
Predicted Winner: Mysterio
RVD vs. Cena
Now this match alone sold me into getting the show. There’s two possibilities and both of them will provide with a hell of a memorable match. Either RVD wins the title in front of ECW fans (and perhaps re-names it the ECW title) or Cena retains in what is sure to be the most heat you’ll see a man get in modern wrestling. I almost fear for the mans safety in the arena if he does. It could go either way, and I’m excited for both possibilities. I’m personally hoping for a Cena win (if you want reason, the Oratory’s own Cash Melvile summed it up perfectly in his recent column) but I’m not fully against an RVD win either. And up until a few weeks ago, I fully expected RVD to win the belt. But now that they’ve mentioned the possibility of winning and changing it to the ECW title, I’m thinking that won’t happen. It just seems too obvious.
Predicted Winner: Cena
So there you have it, One Night Stand. This could be one of the most memorable PPV’s of the year if things work out like they should. Last year was going to be a hard show to top, but I think they’ve found a way to potentially do it. Hope you enjoyed reading this, and enjoy the show tomorrow.
mikesawaryn@hotmail.com
