On most nights, an average crowd is split right down the middle for John Cena, but theres never been a predominantly anti-Cena crowd quite like One Night Stand 2006. Heading into the event, John Cena was WWE Champion, and Rob Van Dam was Mr. Money in the Bank. RVD broke the mold by announcing in advance when he was going to cash in his title shot at the main event of the ECW revival show One Night Stand, in front of 2,500 rabid ECW fans and rename the title the ECW Championship. John Cena walked into the match knowing exactly what to expect. Instead of his usual high-energy entrance, he simply put his head down and his WWE Championship up. Every time he tried to throw his shirt into the audience, it was right back at him. All night, the crowd let Cena know how they felt about him, with chants of You cant wrestle! Same old s****! and F*** you Cena! echoing throughout the Manhattan Center. It gave Cena an opportunity to really cut loose and play the bad guy in a way he hasnt been able to before or since, and he really ran with it. He mocks the crowd, taunting with his title belt and busting out Fishermans Suplexs when they claim he cant wrestle. He even tried to cheat to win, using the ropes for leverage in a pin attempt, and later in the match he clotheslined the ECW referee for forcing him to break a submission. The match has a happy ending when Rob Van Dam wins the match with the help of Edge, and Paul Heyman counts the three to declare RVD the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion. The real show-stealer however was John Cena, who accepted his fate going into it and gave one of the best heel performances of the past decade in front of one of the most hostile crowds in wrestling history.
