According to reports, there are already said to be plans within WWE about running the second ECW One Night Stand PPV this year on June 10. Early discussions about the location for the show include talks about holding it again at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City or possibly moving it to a new location in Philadelphia. It doesn’t appear that the WWE would be interested in booking the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia (now known as The Arena), especially now that it looks different than it did during the 1990’s.
WWE’s V.P. of Talent Relations John “Johnny Ace” Laurinaitis has reportedly already contacted Terry Funk about working the show, although a deal has yet to be finalized. Funk chose to not work the ECW One Night Stand PPV last year and instead opted to work the Hardcore Homecoming events organized by Shane Douglas. It should be noted that Funk has been canceling all independent appearances since selling his famous Double Cross Ranch, mostly due to the fact that he doesn’t need the money at this point in his career and is only really willing to get back in the ring if it is worth it.
The early word within WWE is that the company is interested in signing outside talent to work the ECW PPV to a much stronger deal this year as opposed to the last event in June of 2005. This move is also being done in order to prevent some talent from appearing at any other ECW-nostaligic type shows (such as Hardcore Homecoming) if those individuals becoming interesting in running more shows in 2006. Both Chris Benoit and Dean Malenko have pitched an idea to have a match against each other in a tribute to Eddie Guerrero. Other names expected to be brought in include former WWE star Tajiri, who would come in from Japan to work the show. The key aspect of the show is how it will end up being booked with many former ECW talent now under contract with TNA since last year’s event. Some of these names include Rhino, the former Dudley Boys, James Mitchell, Sabu and many others. Names available to work the show include Rob Van Dam, Roadkill, Johnny Swinger and Al Snow. We will continue to follow this story as it develops.
