Fans of the “WWECW” era of WWE, when the company brought back the iconic ECW brand, will get a late holiday gift on December 28, when the WWE Vault YouTube channel streams a “lost” house show from back in June 2006, set in ECW’s home of the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The house show was the only event that the brand’s revival held in the venue. The YouTube stream will start at 8PM EST.
According to PWInsider, the event featured Rob Van Dam versus Kurt Angle, with Dean Malenko as the special guest referee, as the main event. Other matches included Sabu taking on CW Anderson, Big Show versus Tommy Dreamer, a face-off between CM Punk and Stevie Richards, an “Extreme Bikini Contest” featuring Francine, Kelly Kelly, and Trinity, and more. Former ECW executive and recent WWE Hall of Fame inductee Paul Heyman addressed fans at the show, as well.
WWE purchased ECW back in January 2003, and held a pay-per-view titled ECW One Night Stand in June 2005. The first event was so successful, WWE brought it back again in 2006, attempting to establish ECW One Night Stand as an annual event. The company eventually decided to revive ECW as a third brand, in addition to “WWE Raw” and “WWE SmackDown,” though the revamped “extreme” program was not well received by fans without consistent appearances by veteran ECW talent. ECW ran on Syfy for around four years, airing its final show in February 2010. WWE has attempted to recreate ECW-themed magic, most recently running an episode of “WWE NXT” in the 2300 Arena, complete with a main event appearance by Bubba Ray Dudley.
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