10 YRS AGO: 10/15 ECW in Phoenix: Punk vs. Knox, Dreamer vs. Striker, RVD & Sabu vs. Thorne & Test

Ten years ago this weekend, the WWE-revived ECW brand ran a house show in Phoenix, Ariz. headlined with “ECW Originals” Rob Van Dam & Sabu in the tag team main event, plus C.M. Punk vs. Mike Knox (remember him?). Also, Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards, Balls Mahoney, and the FBI were among the vintage ECW wrestlers populating the show, with a mix of WWE additions such as Matt Striker, Renee Dupree, Test, and Kevin Thorne. Check out Brian Alston’s detailed report below…

ECW house show
October 15, 2006
Phoenix, Ariz.
Report by Brian Alston of Phoenix, AZ., 15 year PWTorch subscriber

Before entering the arena, there were signs posted saying ECW World Champion Big Show won’t be appearing and refunds would be offered. I informed the strangers sitting next to me that Show had back problems and hasn’t wrestled on weekend programs.

(1) Balls Mahoney pinned the Reject Shannon Moore. Balls got a huge pop. Not sure if it was just because it was the first match or if he is over that big. It was a true ECW crowd with a lot of the usual Balls chants. After selling most of the match, Balls came back with the pin.

(2) The F.B.I. beat Paul Heyman’s Personal Enforcers. Well, that is what they were called. Someone shouted “Bashams” at the P.E. Guido sold for most of the match. After one of the P.E. threw in his helmet and Tony got it, he did an Eddie Guerrero by throwing it back to P.E. and sold like he got hit. That started the only ‘Eddie’ chant of the night. P.E. won with a roll-up on Mamaluke.

(3) Steve Richards beat Eric Perez. I believe his name was Eric Perez. It was only said once. Richards sold a back injury. There were 4 ‘boring’ yells but it never really caught on.

Matt Striker came out. He had the most heat at that point. He introduced Rene Dupree. After Rene and Matt insulted ECW and the fans, Tommy Dreamer came out. As Tommy stuck up for ECW, Rene and Matt attacked him. Sandman came from another entrance and saved Tommy. They asked for a match right now.

(4) Tommy Dreamer & beat Matt Striker & Rene Dupree. Sandman sold for his team. After the hot tag, Tommy cleaned house. After the Russian leg sweep, Sandman pinned Rene. He also gave Matt a good cane shot to the head. Afterwards, Tommy invited about 12 fans into the ring for a beer salute. Tommy did have the guards check everyone’s ID before they entered the ring.

There was a 20 minute intermission. A section away from me was a guy who looked a lot like Mick Foley. Mick Foley with an extra 150 pounds, especially around his gut. A line started forming with people who wanted to take pictures with him. Finally a security guard told the guy to stop because the line was blocking an aisle.

Next was a Diva’s Bikini Contest between Trinity, Rebecca, and Kelly. Trinity has police caution tape wrapped around her top. Rebecca was wearing white. Kelly had flesh colored clothes. Trinity ended up winning, rightfully, but Kelly was a close second. That started a Cat Fight between Trinity and Rebecca. Mike Knox came out and covered up Kelly. CM Punk then came out.

(5) C.M. Punk made Mike Knox submit. It was a good back and forth match with both guys working hard. Punk flirted with Kelly, who took off her robe. Punk won with the Anaconda Vice.

WWE Legend and Phoenix native Ted DiBiase was introduced to polite cheers.

(6) Rob Van Dam & Sabu beat Test & Kevin Thorn in an Extreme Rules match. RVD and Sabu were super over. Test was the total opposite. The crowd was all over him. Between the fans shouting for RVD, giving the Sabu sign, and shouting various homosexual insults at Test, it was at least 10 minutes after the bell rang before the first lockup. Lots of power moves by Test. All four did a great job. Chairs and tables were introduced near the end. RVD pinned Thorn after a combination frog splash and leg drop by Sabu through a table.

Notes: The Celebrity Theater, where the event was held, is known for having a round stage that rotates during concerts so there aren’t any bad seats. There was just enough room for the ring so there wasn’t any out of the ring action. It was close to being full with several areas of empty seats. Tickets were available. No official attendance record.

The audience was hot for most of the event. I heard the typical ECW raunchy shouts regarding sucking and licking. There were a lot of kids there, some of them young. I guess they TiVo ECW and watch it later or their parents let them stay up until 11:00 p.m.

None of the matches that were advertised happened.

Besides ECW t-shirts, I saw a lot of people wearing Rey Mysterio and Steve Austin shirts.

Best sign I saw: Wrestlers Butts Drive Me Nutts.

I talked to a 12 year-old boy who had RVD and Sabu signs. He liked RVD the best. He was yelling during the bikini contest and said ”You Sux Balls/Penis” at least twice. Another kid who was teh was with his dad. He was happy that he got a World Championship belt and a Tazz shirt. He also liked RVD. He never joined in during the chants.