10 Best WWE Ruthless Aggression Era Matches
7. John Cena Vs. Rob Van Dam - ECW One Night Stand 2006
While the WWECW experiment is better left alone, the two One Night Stand events WWE produced after the successful ‘Rise of ECW’ DVD were tremendous achievements during the Ruthless Aggression Era.
Of course, the original is the superior event, but it did miss a true RVD moment (due to injury), so this contest was more than a consolation prize for RVD and for fans of the original One Night Stand show.
This was the match RVD fans had waited years for, and for him to be pitted against the WWE franchise player in a setting which was against all things current WWE was outstanding booking and one of the best matches from the era.
From the raucous reaction to Rob Van Dam to the jeers of a head-down-championship-up Cena (and lest we forget the ‘If Cena Wins We Riot’ fan sign), this was true fan service. It was competitive, contained some vintage ECW high spots, and even ended in controversy.
This moment was career-defining for RVD, as well as one of the first indicators that despite being Superman, John Cena was worthy of respect in the ring.