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The relaunch of ECW: photos& B$ C6 }* v/ F u- }
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John Cena defended his WWE Championship against Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand 2006.. Z r G6 E* S$ E
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The event served as the starting off point for ECW as WWE's third brand.
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$ p E. p S) e# o( g( A: l! L9 OEdge ran in and speared Cena out of his shoes.
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Paul Heyman took advantage of ECW's extreme rules and counted the fall for RVD himself. e' t/ m) F$ l# Z
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Heyman also declared RVD the ECW Champion on the first edition of ECW on Syfy.4 g9 A! D P* f* Y& C3 c+ E u% S
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6 V6 q9 N3 K8 S& _- A5 w- G' eThe ECW Originals celebrated with Rob Van Dam in the ring.
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; S% u( f8 {( @( W7 hTommy Dreamer and Terry Funk teamed up with Beulah to take on Mick Foley, Edge and Lita.0 r6 A5 s, B0 P1 T( o
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5 B. @; I& n3 [* h( y7 b! q& e/ ^! hRob Van Dam's first challenge as ECW Champion came from Big Show, who was drafted to the new brand., t X% \6 L$ @5 H& z
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, B* W' i6 s( v' q% y) @4 j6 ?7 ^Heyman turned his back on Van Dam and helped The World's Largest Athlete capture the title.
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# I/ A1 y9 {: R; `8 {6 LThe Philadelphia crowd of original ECW fans pelted the new champion with garbage as he celebrated.
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Fans were excited when CM Punk made his debut on Aug. 1, 2006, at the Hammerstein Ballroom.# S" _7 G2 u1 M& G9 W2 s
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The ECW faithful chanted The Straight Edge Superstar's name from the moment he stepped into the ring.2 [/ {* I `! u+ ?
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- g* Q4 [+ u' a$ n& w5 ]Punk flustered Justin Credible with hard-hitting strikes and an array of submission holds.( C* q1 V5 R% c* _3 r; S/ T) J5 H7 a
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The main event featuring ECW Champion Big Show taking on Batista wasn't as well-received.
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2 V. _& l, Z) ~: Q* `+ }5 \The match received an extremely negative reaction.
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Fans got back into things when ECW Original Sabu attacked the giant champion.
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ECW got another chance on pay-per-view with December to Dismember 2006.+ C: d0 Q; J! N$ }/ L: g& W
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Fans were a little disheartened by the performance of ECW Originals on the show.
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6 y& u" M. [8 A/ z% }Though Balls Mahoney was victorious in his match against Matt Striker, his compatriots weren't so successful.3 N3 w, _. Y- H6 E7 G5 q
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Tommy Dreamer took on Daivari at the event.
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, @ B9 C& F# j( W) dThe ECW Original had to pay attention to Daivari and The Great Khali, who was at ringside." y, T' s2 f- q7 O( l& Y
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0 m' l6 j" f) W% w* d+ ^( ~Daivari grabbed a handful of tights for the win. The Great Khali followed up by powerbombing Dreamer./ A' o2 g7 @: i1 B
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Kelly Kelly hit the ring with her then-boyfriend, Mike Knox, to take on the frightening duo of Kevin Thorn and Ariel.- c' S5 y: `3 P6 i
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% I* _9 Z7 a6 X2 n j: G5 ^Still fairly new to squared circle competition, Kelly was mismatched against the vampire woman.
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" I: l2 Y- f) o4 K- u7 \Kelly, who wished CM Punk luck in the evening's main event, was ditched by Knox.
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After Knox's abandoning, it was open season on Kelly. Ariel sealed the victory for her team.
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" Z' t V8 v9 f: n4 y7 `* mRob Van Dam sought to regain his ECW Championship in the Extreme Elimination Chamber./ M) m5 B% e! m3 p8 f9 q
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# H5 S! J+ }; T$ G' L8 oMany thought CM Punk was the favorite to emerge with the championship.
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+ M* j% F+ I* v" w. aHardcore Holly, Test, Bobby Lashley and Big Show were also trying to get hold of the ECW Title.
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Despite Punk and RVD's best efforts, Lashley emerged as the champion. Disagreements about the brand's direction after his win led to Paul Heyman's departure from WWE. |
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