HARDCORE HOMECOMING
Founded: 2005
Defunct: 2005
Style: Hardcore Wrestling
Headquarters: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Founder(s): Shane Douglas and Jeremy Borash
Predecessor: Extreme Championship Wrestling (unofficially)
Hardcore Homecoming was a series of professional wrestling events which were advertised as a reunion of talent from the now-defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion. The tour was booked and promoted by Cody Michaels, Shane Douglas (a former ECW World Heavyweight Champion) and Jeremy Borash in 2005. The event footage was released on a DVD with a companion documentary of ECW's history called Forever Hardcore.
HISTORY:
The inaugural Hardcore Homecoming event was held from 8 PM til 11:55 PM on June 10th, 2005, at the Alhambra Arena (formerly known as the ECW Arena) in South Philadelphia; this was 2 days before the WWE promoted/produced ECW One Night Stand 2005 pay-per-view event in New York City. The show was preceded by a fan tailgate party in front of the former ECW Arena, with several wrestlers in attendance. This was reminiscent of the territorial wrestling in the 1980s, when many independent promotions would hold a barbeque before and after the event.
No former ECW performers under contract with WWE appeared at the event (nor would they appear at any of the other 3 Hardcore Homecoming events which soon followed. However, Mick Foley, a retired worker who wasn't under a WWE contract at the time, made an unannounced appearance. Former ECW ring announcers Bob Artese (referred to in the DVDs on-screen graphics as "Bob Ortiz") and Stephen DeAngelis worked the event, as did former ECW referees John Finnegan, Mike Kehner and John "Pee Wee" Moore and former ECW timekeeper Rocco Musciano.
Following the success of the inaugural event, Hardcore Homecoming launched an "Extreme Reunion Tour" in the month of September. Originally, the tour was to consist of 3 shows, but the September 17th show in Buffalo, New York was cancelled just days before the tour began, it is believed that the promoter was unaware that he needed a promoter's liscense to run a show in New York. However, the tour did continue on with two shows, and it would return to Philly on November 5th (billed as November Reign) for what Tod Gordon has said will stand as the final Hardcore Homecoming show. However, at an ECW reunion convention, Douglas announced that Hardcore Homecoming would return, with a "November to Remember" card in 2009 which would later be renamed to Legends of the Arena and took place on June 27th, 2009.
RESULTS FROM THE HARDCORE HOMECOMING EVENTS:
HARDCORE HOMECOMING: AN EXTREME REUNION
June 10th, 2005 at the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Results:
- Mikey Whipwreck and Chris Chetti def. Simon Diamond and CW Anderson
- Tracy Smothers def. The Blue Meanie
- 2 Cold Scorpio def. Kid Kash
- The Gangstanators (New Jack and John Kronus) vs. The Bad Breed (Axl Rotten and Ian Rotten) went to a no-contest*
- Jerry Lynn def. Justin Credible
- Raven def. The Sandman
- Barbed Wire 3-Way Dance Match with Mick Foley as Special Guest Referee: Sabu def. Shane Douglas and Terry Funk
*Note: There was no referee. The match was originally scheduled to be The Eliminators (Perry Saturn and John Kronus) vs. The Bad Breed (Axl Rotten and Ian Rotten), but Perry Saturn no-showed the event.
*Additional notes: At the beginning of the event, Tod Gordon and The Hat Guy were introduced to the crowd, then an intro by Joey Styles and Joel Gertner along with Cyrus The Virus. Later in the card, a Tribute to the Fallen Heroes of Hardcore segment took place with Johnny Grunge (former tag team partner of Rocco Rock as The Public Enemy), Pitbull #1 (former tag team partner of Pitbull #2 as The Pitbulls) and Tammy Lynn Sytch (widow of Chris Candido) delivered a eulogy. They were interrupted by Danny Doring and Roadkill, who then got chokeslammed by a returning 911.
HARDCORE HOMECOMING: EXTREME REUNION TOUR: NIGHT ONE
September 16th, 2005 from the Agora Theater in Cleveland, Ohio
Results:
- The Blue Meanie def. Tracy Smothers
- Danny Doring def. Chris Chetti
- New Jack def. Roadkill
- Raven def. Rhino
- 3-Way Dance: Shane Douglas def. Jerry Lynn and Sabu
- Tables Match: Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) def. Balls Mahoney and Ian Rotten
- Singapore Cane Match: The Sandman def. Justin Credible
HARDCORE HOMECOMING: EXTREME REUNION TOUR: NIGHT TWO
September 17th, 2005 from the Golden Dome in Monaca, Pennsylvania
Results:
- Smasher LeBlanc def. Jermaine Jubilee
- Tracy Smothers def. The Blue Meanie
- Danny Doring and Roadkill def. Chris Chetti and CW Anderson
- 3-Way Dance: New Jack def. Balls Mahoney and Ian Rotten
- Jerry Lynn def. Justin Credible
- Dog Collar Match: Pitbull #1 def. Shane Douglas
- Stairway To Hell Ladder Match: Sabu def. The Sandman
HARDCORE HOMECOMING: NOVEMBER REIGN
November 5th, 2005 from the former ECW Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Results:
- The Blue Meanie def. Danny Doring
- Balls Mahoney def. John Kronus
- Matt Hyson (fka Spike Dudley) def. CW Anderson
- Taipei Death Match: Axl Rotten def. Ian Rotten
- Dog Collar Match: Pitbull #1 def. Shane Douglas
- Team 3D (Brother Ray and Brother Devon) def. Sabu and Terry Funk*
- Steel Cage Match: Justin Credible def. Jerry Lynn
*Note: This match was not featured on DVD due to copyright reasons due to Team 3D joining TNA.
*Additional notes: ECW Founder Tod Gordon inducted Terry Funk into the Hardcore Hall of Fame
FOREVER HARDCORE DOCUMENTARY:
Forever Hardcore was a professional wrestling documentary that interviewed wrestlers who participated in the June 10, 2005 Hardcore Homecoming show. It was produced by Big Vision Entertainment and former TNA booker Jeremy Borash, and was released on June 10th, 2005 to coincide with the show. The documentary was designed to be a counterpart to the WWE produced documentary The Rise and Fall of ECW.
The documentary featured interviews with ECW alumni such as Shane Douglas, The Sandman, Raven and Jerry Lynn, wrestlers who contributed to the history of ECW but were not featured on The Rise and Fall of ECW DVD because they weren't under contract with WWE. It also featured ECW alumnus Sabu in what was at the time a rare speaking role as well as former WWF and WCW writer Vince Russo who gave an outside perspective. The documentary featured New Jack admitting to attempting to kill Vic Grimes in the rematch to their notorious match in ECW.
The two-disc set also included bonus matches from former ECW wrestlers who competed in the now-defunct XPW. It was also released on April 30th, 2007 for sale in Europe on region 2 DVD.
HOME VIDEO:
Unlike ECW One Night Stand 2005, the June 10th, 2005 Hardcore Homecoming event was not broadcast on pay-per-view. A 2-disc DVD set of the show was released in August 2005 through the promotion's website and Big Vision Entertainment later released a "Platinum Edition" of the event commercially, coinciding with the commercial release of Forever Hardcore. The broadcast was released in Europe on Region 2 DVD on April 30th, 2007. Joey Styles was present at the event and provided play-by-play commentary for the DVD release.
The second (and final) Philadelphia event from November 2005 was released in early 2006, with a "Platinum Edition" of it released by Big Vision Entertainment in May 2006. Buck Woodward and Eric Gargiulo were both present at the November 5th, 2005 event and provided play-by-play and color commentary for the show's webcast and DVD release. The "Platinum Edition" does not feature Sabu/Funk vs. Team 3D match, as Team 3D's contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) prohibits them from appearing on any non-TNA video releases. However, the "Platinum Edition" does feature many bonus matches from independent shows in the early 1990s, XPW and matches from the 2nd show on the Hardcore Homecoming Extreme Reunion tour. A bootleg edition of this event featuring the Sabu/Funk vs. Team 3D match can be purchased from RF Video and Highspots.com
Footage of both shows from the Reunion tour were released in late 2005, as the entire Cleveland show was released through the promotion's website, as well as through former ECW videographer RF Video. Despite being advertised for future release, the Monaca show was never released in its entirety. However, 4 of the 6 matches from the show were later released as bonus features on the commercially released "November Reign" DVD, with the Dog Collar and Stairway to Hell matches being omitted from the release.
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