Ranking What Was REALLY The Best Wrestling PPV Every Year 1990-2020

16. 2005 - WWE/ECW One Night Stand

Ecw One Night Stand 2005
WWE.com

WrestleMania 21 was a better in-ring show let down its two lead attractions - John Cena Vs. JBL was a total nothing match, and Triple H Vs. Batista turned into a slog - but WWECW One Night Stand was special.

Impossibly authentic, you weren't allowed to even register that feeling of, well, I've seen better Rey Mysterio Vs. Psicosis matches, because the atmosphere was so electric. It throbbed with feeling, and didn't resonate once like the nostalgia show that it was. That sense that it was somehow happening again carried an undercard that viewed back now is a let-down, not that anything was actively bad or even average; a lesson, perhaps, that feeling counts for more than quality.

The quality intensified as the show peaked: Mike Awesome and Masato Tanaka rocked the Hammerstein in another totally deranged, blood-pumping car crash, and the main event pitting the Dudleys against the Sandman and Tommy Dreamer was a more refined - but not at all diluted - version of the ECW signature brawl.

JBL Vs. Everybody was another tremendous clash on a night where, and this was so intoxicating, that invisible wall never felt closer to tumbling down.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!