10 Times WWE Pleasantly Surprised Their Audience
3. ECW One Night Stand 2005
It's not uncommon in an industry fuelled by hyperbole for wrestlers and promoters to talk up situations in an act of profiteering rather than profundity, but One Night Stand 2005 survives reviews and rewatches with such power that if one of the performers on the card called it the greatest night of their life, it'd be easy to believe.
Paul Heyman's the biggest worker of the bunch, but his tears felt real enough for him to have to banter them off during his impassioned speech midway through the show. Tommy Dreamer wears his ECW heart on his sleeve so visibly it's a wonder he hasn't died from blading it during every reunion show - but nothing ever appeared as pure a reminder of his happiest time than this June recreation of a once-beloved spectacle.
WWE smartly monetised ECW in the best way (before settling on the dirt worst a year and a bit later...), and predictably, it's because Vince McMahon gave Paul Heyman virtual autonomy for one night only. Even the show-closing sequence in which Tazz topples Kurt Angle to kick