8 WWE Matches Where The Crowd Was The Star
3. John Cena Vs. Rob Van Dam (ECW One Night Stand 2006)
Once again, here’s a match where WWE fully expected a partisan crowd, as John Cena defended the WWE Championship against RVD, but the difference here is that this was ECW, where not only was the heat intense, it was compact and laser-focused.
Never has the top face of a promotion been met with such concentrated vitriol. The Hammerstein Ballroom crowd loathed John Cena, and they made themselves the star of the match, insulting Cena, making (admittedly homophobic) insinuations about his sexuality, and telling him flat-out to die.
Anyone who wonders where Cena gets the ability he has now to control the crowd and play off their emotions should watch this match, as he got a crash course in dealing with a hostile environment. After this, it’s likely no hostile crowd would ever get to Cena ever again. Perhaps Roman Reigns should go through this kind of ringer (but oh, we’ll get back to him, dear reader).