20 Years Ago Was The First Hardcore Homecoming At The ECW Arena

(image credit to IMDB.com)

On June 10, 2005 the first Hardcore Homecoming event took place, and it was held that night at the ECW Arena in Philadelphia, PA. This was two days before the first ECW One Night Stand pay per view event which took place at the Hammerstein Ballroom in Manhattan, New York - the venue for ECW's two final pay per view events.

There was a significant amount of controversy over the use of the "ECW" name, as the event was co-run by Jeremy Borash & ECW multi-time champion Shane Douglas. Four shows ultimately ended up running under this promotion, including those called "Extreme Reunion" which took place in the Fall of 2005. Those three shows ran in Cleveland, Monaca PA at the Golden Dome (venue for the November to Remember 1997 ECW PPV event), and the final "November Reign" show back at the ECW Arena.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardcore_Homecoming

A documentary titled "Forever Hardcore" came out of the first reunion show 20 years ago. Here are some fan recaps, and the full video can be found on YouTube -- but it won't be uploaded here to protect the copyright owners.

Note that this documentary is different than the "Barbed Wire City" documentary about ECW, with clips & trailers on the official YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@barbedwirecity/videos

That documentary had interviews from the era of the original ECW, but the documentary wasn't completed and released to the public (also at the ECW Arena) in 2013.

This post gives a solid recap of the June 10, 2005 first Hardcore Homecoming show:

https://slamwrestling.net/index.php/2005/06/11/hardcore-homecoming-a-memorable-night/

The post-show recap from the above article reads:

After the event, fans were treated to an autograph session with the stars, and an open Q&A session with the participants. Douglas was frank as usual in condemning WWE for their planned participation of non-former-ECW talent at their show “ECW: One Night Stand”, and openly challenged Vince McMahon and his company to out-do Hardcore Homecoming, though he doubted they could. Other highlights of this session, which hopefully will also be included on the DVD to give people some more insight into what ECW meant to these performers, included Francine (just because she’s Francine), Terry Funk’s sentimental comments on ECW fans, and Tammy Lynn Sytch’s genuine appreciation for the well wishes she has received from fans in lights of Candido’s tragic death. She even rewarded a lucky fan with a look at the puppies after he won a bid to buy the original ECW Arena sign that adorned the wall of the Alhambra Centre in an impromptu auction to raise funds for Candido’s memorial scholarship fund. The gratitude of the wrestlers to the fans who welcomed them back home was evident, and many times the crowd was openly thanked. Other news of note that came about was that Douglas is in preliminary dialogue to host another such event at some point in the future. And though any such future events may be hard-pressed to top this one, it’s clear that everyone associated with Hardcore Homecoming would welcome the opportunity.

According to the Wikipedia link listed earlier:

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 territorial wrestling in the 1980s, when many independent promotions would hold barbecues before and after the event.

No former ECW performers under contract to WWE appeared at the event (nor would they appear at any of the other three Hardcore Homecoming events which soon followed). However, Mick Foley, a retired worker who wasn't under contract to WWE at the time, made an unannounced appearance. Former ECW ring announcers Bob Artese (referred to in the DVD's 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.

(photo credit to eBay: https://www.ebay.com/p/46701103)