Every so often in wrestling, the audience becomes a part of the show in a way that goes beyond the normal performer-audience dynamic. This was the case at One Night Stand 2006, the second installment promoted under WWE's version of ECW. The show's highlight was an unlikely WWE Championship win for Rob Van Dam, who triumphed over WWE poster boy John Cena, much to the delight of the rabid anti-Cena crowd.
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On his "One of a Kind" podcast, Van Dam reminisced about the unique atmosphere at the Hammerstein Ballroom.
"I felt indestructible," Van Dam said. "There's never been a crowd exactly like that. The fans were so great, and why it was so awesome is it was vindication for me sticking to my guns and following my own beliefs, sticking to my own values through [15 years] of people trying to change me."
Van Dam's time with the title was short-lived, however, as he was arrested for drug possession along with fellow ECW alum Sabu. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon decided to strip Van Dam of the WWE Championship, and the Hall of Famer soon found himself sliding further down the card. He admitted that his enthusiasm tended to wax and wane during his WWE tenure, pointing to elements of creative that the company would try, only to later rescind.
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"As soon as ECW was brought back, my vibration changed so much," Van Dam said. "I didn't want to go to WWE when I did in 2001 [but] there was nothing else left. And then I had no idea I'd be representing ECW. Like Tommy Dreamer was there, threw me an ECW shirt. We're coming in representing ourselves. Now we're adding depth to our past instead of erasing it. And then that lasted so long and then it was gone, and pretty soon I'm unmotivated again."
