John Cena vs. Rob Van Dam

[7.0] "The crowd is amazing but I thought a lot of the match was just a tad boring. That being said, the finishing stretch is amazing and seeing RVD win is so damn cool."

[9.0] "A true classic driven by an absolutely iconic crowd performance. The stakes of ECW One Night Stand are essentially all we need here, as Cena and RVD match up as the manifestations of their companies; clean-cut, physicality-driven, and dominant versus dynamic, creative, and ah, "alternative." It's Goliath versus a pot-smoking masochistic David. And boy do both of them show up. RVD puts on a quintessential ECW performance, hitting on about every way you could land on someone chair-first, while Cena does an impeccable job adapting his (normally clean), deliberate, hard-hitting style to the ECW format, especially with his work outside of the ring. Additionally, we get a wonderful peek into what a faithful John Cena heel run could look like, truly embracing the corporate persona he would only somewhat take on during certain points (e.g., his feud with Punk). Finally, we get the incredible post-match celebration and pure euphoria from RVD and the ECW faithful, which provides perfect closure to the adrenaline-driven show."

"Watching this on the day of Cena's last match. The video package and entrances are top notch. The crowd work is excellent to start off. Nice to see Cena embrace the away team role. Solid rest of the match and finish."

[8.0] "This match is one of those cases where the crowd really enhances the work. I'm not a big RVD fan so maybe that colors things a bit too but if you take the hot crowd away, then I think its a fine match that at times was clunky and uninspired. A finish as well that had nothing to with RVD also hurts it a tad.. but having said that, I don't judge wrestling on mute, the crowd is always a part of a match.. This night, the ECW faithful played their part to create such a unique atmosphere.. Cena was getting split reactions before but there's nothing split here.. the crowd hates him and to Cena's credit, he does play along which is always tricky when you're the top babyface I do think RVD/Cena had a better match in them alone but the atmosphere can't be beat."

[7.0] "Overrated match, atmosphere is great but actual wrestling was nothing special and far from both mens best."

[7.0] "Probably the shining moment of RVD's entire career! In a similar fashion to Rock/Hogan at WM18, the crowd elevates this match further than it might otherwise have gotten. Without such a passionate crowd, this was probably a 6 out of 10 match at best. It is extremely slow paced and favors Cena heavily. Van Dam is really only getting in staple moves. Now, I don't hate Cena controlling a lot of the match because it gets him over and shows a different side of him for the time. It was also smart having Heyman count the 3 at the end. It gets the fans the RVD win they wanted, but if they got cold feet on giving him the title, they could have easily said "Well, Paul isn't a real ref" the next night on Raw and given it back to Cena. Very smart booking. Still, a dynamite crowd combined with RVD's selling, unique offense, and Cena's ability to adapt to the crowd makes this a fantastic watch. Maybe not RVD's best despite it being his crowning moment, but still a highlight."

[8.0] "The crowd carries hard in this rating. Holy shit I haven't seen a crowd so clearly skewed towards one guy in years. As for the match itself, it was fine. Could've done more with the Extreme Rules stip but a single chair and table does enough to make it work for me. Edge was a funny cameo because like sure yeah makes sense but still lol. Definitely not a top tier match by either guys but definitely a match that sends fans home happy."

[7.0] "A nice but not exceptional match concluded with the magnificent victory of RVD who will have worked his entire career to get there!"

[9.0] "Really incredible match, the in-ring action was one thing but the *crowd* takes it to new levels. Watching this now while Cena is a heel on his farewell tour is interesting. He plays into the crowd's hatred here so well, and better than current day. Edge's interference for Paul to be the one to come in to count, snagging that title, really tied a bow on the top of it all."

[9.0] "What a main event. This is the perfect way to kickstart ECW back up with GOAT winning the world title. Hammerstein Ballroom's reaction is famous with the crowd absolutely eating Cena alive. It's a must see match."

[8.0] "One of Cena's best performances daring and answering to the unbelievable atmosphere and crowd heckling here. The chemistry between the two lacked a bit but nevertheless pretty good booking"

[8.0] "Though it's famous for Hammerstein Ballroom's reaction, inside the ropes this is honestly The John Cena Show. He is superb here, playing with the people and embracing their response in a way that effortlessly spotlights the atmosphere. It's a phenomenal performance that reiterates the underrated subtlety of Cena's peak, walking a tight rope by heeling in a fashion that feels true to his character. It's not a natural matchup and inevitably, there is some clunkiness. In addition, I've never loved the finish's execution. None of that is enough to prevent this from being a hit though, closing the lesser One Night Stand entry with an iconic piece of wrestling history. ***3/4"

[8.0] "This match definitely wasn't the greatest it could have been. Cena was extremely stiff-looking the whole match, it was the least extreme I've ever seen an "extreme rules" match, and it would've killed Vince to put RVD over clean so Edge had to be involved. Cena's crowd work, however, made this a spectacle. I've never heard a crowd like this one. RVD was merely the vessel by which ECW's fans captured the title for themselves. While the match was no thriller, it was one of ECW's last hurrahs that must be commended."

[8.0] "The match was John Cena vs. the crowd with RVD as the proxy. It was incredibly entertaining and Cena's choices from a character perspective were genius and effective. He won me over by walking to the ring with his belt over his head and his eyes forward and not engaging with the crowd. At times it's sad to watch grown men look very upset and have genuinely hurt feelings over John Cena. However, without that the match may not be as memorable as it is."

[8.0] "Chaos was everywhere. This was probably the greatest crowd I've ever seen, I always wonder if a riot would ever actually happen had Cena won."

[10.0] "This match was absolutely brilliant with really fantastic in ring action and psychology between both men, the stakes were high as RVD cashed in his MITB in advanced on this match and the crowd was just ballistic from start to finish as they despised Cena for everything he was and other than the overbooking towards the end, this was still such a thrill."

[9.0] "I feel like the in-ring work doesn't get talked about enough mostly because people will really remember this for RVD winning the WWE Championship & the crowd reaction toward John Cena. I mean the crowd hated him that night, he was basically public enemy #1."

[10.0] "A fantastic match, wrestling wise it was pretty good but the crowd made it perfect. The ECW fans have so much hate for Cena that Cena is technically the heel here. The match its filled with memorable moments. A fantastic match"

[9.0] "This was a very good match full of memorable spots and both of these guys took quite a beating. There was good storytelling and John Cena showed that he is competent as a heel. The ending with Edge was unnecessary as it showed that WWE is unwilling to allow their top star to put over an ECW talent clean, but it was still a pretty good match."

[8.0] "Great match between two wrestlers of opposing styles. The storyline going into this was pretty simple, ECW is coming back and RVD is cashing in his MITB against Cena for the WWE Championship. Didn't need a complicated storyline to get people interested. The match delivered, and is without a doubt up there as one of the best matches in their respective careers. The crowd being completely behind RVD and full on hating Cena really added a great dynamic to the match too. My only gripe is Edge coming in and spearing Cena through the table, wish they kept it 1v1 without any outside shenanigans. It's one of those matches you can go back and watch countless times because it's just really a fun watch."

[10.0] "This is an extremely famous match, and yet I'm not sure I ever actually watched it before? Maybe once ages ago but I'm really not sure. It was certainly time to watch it again and it sure lived up to it's reputation. Not to discount RVD, who did a great job here, but this match could probably be more accurately called Cena vs. The Fans, only at MITB '11 did Cena ever face such a unified hostile crowd. Many of the most memorable beats come from his fan interactions. "If Cena Wins We Riot" is one of the hardest and most iconic signs ever, and the way the crowd repeatedly throws Cena's shirt back at him with ever increasing vitriol is just incredible to see. I'm not sure you could get this kind of crowd today no matter how hard you tried, and that's a shame. Hopefully I'll be proven wrong at some point. I have never been the biggest Cena fan but the farther we get from his career, the clearer it becomes that he is one of the best ever at certain key aspects of the wrestling game. The way he plays against this crowd is really just perfect and that's what sends the match up into the stratosphere, it would have been all too easy to be rattled by the crowd or to turn in a half hearted or petty performance, but Cena gives even more effort than usual and shines in every aspect. It's almost strange to think that we all hated him during this time, although I maintain there are plenty of things to criticize about his week to week showing. Still, in crunch time moments like this he truly did shine like a gem. Now I really am discounting RVD too much, who cashed in years of goodwill and fans clamoring for him to succeed in admirable fashion here, giving Cena a tremendous fight and syncing up with the crowd perfectly as both the anti-Cena and even the anti-WWE, a guy who was never allowed to fully succeed when he was hot in years past now finally busting through the glass ceiling with an army of loyal supporters at his back, waving the rebel flag of ECW, vanquished in business but not in spirit. None of this feeling would survive long of course, but in the moment it all was just about perfect. It's not impossible to criticize this match, the action at it's core is quite simple and the inclusion of Edge's interference to protect Cena was patently unnecessary, but all of that gets brushed aside when you marvel at what made this match legendary."

[6.0] "This match was definitely elevated by the crowd. Not a terrible match by many means, but if it wasnt for that crowd it wouldnt have felt nearly as good. The pacing was off and felt slow and sluggish at times. Lots of heat however and it was fun seeing RVD get the win."

[8.0] "If some would watch this match muted, it's a high sort of good action. But atmospehre of a crowd elevates whole feedback after years in to another level. WWE never missed with One Night Stand shows."

[8.0] "The atmosphere definitely elevated this match. Really good wrestling match but for ne it would have been a 7/7.5. But it's impossible to ignore the magic that this crowd delivered. Cena did an amazing job to handle the furious hate of the fans, and I'm sure it was difficult to perform in this situation, he had middle fingers to his face all the time. A Classic."

[8.0] "This match is iconic mostly due to the one of a kind atmosphere and Cena's amazing work reacting to the crowd. His facial expressions and little smirks whenever the fans were insulting him were great and he made the best out of that. When it comes to the contest itself they did simple stuff and since it worked why would the revolve to some fancy bullshit if they didn't have to? Really a great job from both guys and the audience, producing the unforgettable main event."

[10.0] "For me, this is John Cena's best match. The crowd is on fire and adds so much passion to this match, which is matched by both Cena and RVD. Although I bet a mannequin would wake up and dance if it had this crowd behind it!"

[6.0] "Epic and a milestone of the 2000s. I think that most of the match was about Cena, the crowd against him, he responding the chants like "you can't wrestle" with a fisherman suplex, "same old sh*t" with an uncharacteristic dive, and even using a crowd's sign during the brawl where he demolished RVD were amazing details. Also, the beating that Rob took showed great selling, he always looked slaughtered but crowd's support keep him on the match, RVD rely on his athleticism, kicks and some use of weapons but John beat him on the brawling. A lot of the mystic of the match it's that Cena wrestle as heel, sadly his selling didn't exist. Great and exciting match with a legendary finish.***1/4"

[9.0] "the fact this match only got 3.25 stars from WON is all that is needed to be said about WON. LOL. This is in my opinion the best crowd in wrestling history. Crowd is phenomenal but also the in ring match is so good. I love watching this match because everything about it is incredible but also hate watching it because i know rvd at the top of the card doesnt last long sadly. If i could pick any wrestling crowd in history to be apart of i think this would have to be my pick just because it is so freaking good. One thing i hate about this match is the involvement of edge. Like they just had to have edge get involved couldnt book cena loosing clean of course. Love cena heeling it up a bit which i mean honestly he had no other choice on this night in front of this crowd but him hitting the ECW ref was incredible. One of my favorite moments and matches in history. 4.50 stars"

[9.0] "THE match of the evening. Iconic right from the start, with the famous T-shirt sequence. A Cena rejected in this formidable atmosphere and a far from banal in-ring. Wrestling as we like it. Stakes: 2/2. Justification: 1/1. In ring: 1, 5/3 Place on the card: 1/1 Suspense 1/1 Bonus/Malus: +1 Ambiance and ending angle. Total: 9.5/10"

[8.0] "This was a main event with a very rowdy crowd. Cena was public enemy number 1 and RVD was the biggest babyface ever. Cena was actually working as a heel, feeding the crowd and even attacking the referee. Edge came out and costed Cena his title."

[9.0] "Im a firm believer that a hot crowd can elevate a match from good to legendary and that definitely happened here. Never have I ever seen a crowd this hostile towards one of the competitors. Massive props to Cena for handling it and my god his entrance is one of my favorites of all time. The way he just holds the belt up, face in the shadow of his hat as he ignored the people telling him off. Amazing. The match itself wasnt a masterpiece but was still fun. Edge interfering is actually a plus to me as it allowed RVD to have his moment, and to have the pin be counted by Paul Heyman, this really felt like a series finale for ECW. A good match turned legendary due to one of the most unhinged crowds in wrestling history."

[8.0] "This match is going to be remembered more for the vitriolic response to John Cena in ECW territory than for what happened during and after, obviously. But this match was really good and all involved played their cards well. John Cena, who was the top babyface in WWE, came to ECW and it was clear that no one in the ECW crowd was going to be on the side of Cena but rather their homegrown favorite Rob Van Dam. This was maybe the only time after 2005 that Cena actually played heel and he did it very well. This match also inspired the 'boo/yeah' chants when two wrestlers are punching at each other. In the end, Edge spears Cena through a table wearing a disguise and Rob Van Dam wins to a loud positive reaction and he gets his moment winning the top-of-the-line WWE championship. On an off-topic additional note, to wrestlers that claim that they get treated "poorly" by some fans, just remember that Cena had to wrestle in front of this crowd of fans that chanted some very obscene words at him."

[8.0] "A match not for wrestlers, a match not about in-ring work, this was about the fans, nostalgia, and RVD living his moment as he became WWE Champion for the first time. Plenty of superlatives have been used to describe this chaotic match. The crowd wasn't the 12th man here; it was the whole f'kin show. There's something about a red-hot crowd. They elevate matches to another stratosphere. Precisely what happened here. You can talk about Cena's exceptional work, RVD's coronation, or the claustrophobic resonance of the Hammerstein Ballroom... It really doesn't matter. This was a moment. This was epic. And, this is what wrestling really is at its core."

[7.0] "An ECW rules match. It is legendary for its ambiance and atmosphere throughout. The in-ring is not exceptional even if the match is still decent. Intervention from Edge which gives the victory to RVD. (3*1/2)"

[7.0] "Of course, this match is all about the crowd. The match itself is fine, and what it led to was a complete disaster. Never going to forget Cena's entrance, one of the most badass in WWE history. 3.5 Stars, skippable if you only care about the stuff between the ropes."

[10.0] "My personaly top-1 favorite. I love this match, love the crowd, their reaction to Cena. One of best time in wrestling, but idea to reload ECW was pretty awful, for sure."

[10.0] "This fight was my childhood. I think there is a timeline where Cena won and the whole arena was destroyed by a bunch of angry fans. I must admit it was a lot of fun to see such a fiery atmosphere."

[8.0] "A match that is remembered more because of the crowd and the result than the match itself, but this was pretty good. Cena acting full heel in ECW turf when he was already the top babyface in WWE was so cool, from his badass entrance, to his mockery of Van Dam and the fans, knocking out the referee... Cena did one hell of a job right here. Then you have RVD being the ECW main soldier in their feud with the WWE and being backed up by the legion of loyal fans, but it kinda feel overshadowed by the same fans getting the attention for their chants and Cena's reactions and performance, as well as the interference by Edge at the end. However, RVD did a pretty good job in the ring and finally became World Champion after so long. The ECW euphoria was so short, but man, it was intense. (**** 1/4)"

[7.0] "Man, I felt sorry for Cena. The match itself is very memorable, because of the outcome, the crowd reactions and the PPV. The action was just ok though, elevated by the crowd."

[6.0] "This was a decent match and really has that old ECW feel. Cenas heel work is great. The crowds obscene comments to Cena make me pop everytime. There are some decent spots with weapons and on the outside. My favorite is when RVD goes head first through the chair in the turnbuckle. I did not like the ending, Edges spear through the table was mediocre and something about the finish made it sort of underwhelming. The atmosphere bumps this up a point for me. 6/10"

[7.0] "This was a very good match with an absolutely insane crowd. RVD and Cena were both really good here and I loved Cena taunting the crowd and making them even angrier. ***3/4"

[10.0] "What a great match with RVD taking home the championship. The crowd really got into this match and it was very entertaining to see John Cena get booed like he did. This was one of the best matches I've seen."

[9.0] "This was a great match that the crowd was really into they did not want cena to win this was a classic moment seeing RVD winning the title.****1/4"

[8.0] "This match is the closest we'll ever get to a Cena heel turn post 2003. Cena adapted perfectly to the hostile environment and worked the crowd to perfection in this. Cena controls much of the match much to the disdain of the ECW crowd which is awesome. It's Cena, this match took place in the mid 2000s so of course we needed interference from Edge so that RVD could pick up the win.****1/4"

[9.0] "This is what sports entertainment (and, tbh, wrestling) is all about. John Cena is such a huge heat magnet here, and I loved that he pulled off more heel tactics and mannerisms as the match continued. Rob Van Dam is the big hero here and bumps his ass for Cena several times. I loved that the crowd was hating Edge earlier in the night but are thanking him here as he screws over Cena. This match isn't a technical masterpiece, but (much like the Hogan vs Rock from Mania X8) this is one of those legendary matches because the crowd was so into it. The post-match celebration was awesome as well. Van Dam finally wins the big one, and it's well deserved. Plus, Cena is the perfect heel for the ECW crowd."

[8.0] "The action itself was solid but the atmosphere from the crowd really elevated it to greatness level. Huge credit to Cena who managed to adapt to the crowd and played to them, making the match even better. I'll say that the finish was a bit lackluster but doesn't hurt the match at all. Unfortunately, RVD would go on to fuck up his own push and never got back to this level again. [****]"

[5.0] "Pretty inferior in ring and the vibes of the ECW faithful are just so toxic to me that I got no enjoyment out of it."

[10.0] "To be honest, there is nothing special about this match at all. I can't really remember anything special that happened in ring. But the crowd really made this match. It's mostly nostalgia but probably my favorite Cena single match. Also probably the only time Cena actually played a heel. Despite it not being a "5 star" match, this match is too special not to give it a 10."

[7.0] "Unique match for the crowd reaction. Cena is absolutely hated and RVD is the big hero. The action itself is nothing mesmerizing."

[8.0] "This was really cool. The crowd was more into this than anything else on the show, and that? s saying something. Cena was in control for a LOT of the match, falling behind whenever he let the crowd get to him. It was cool to see him wrestle heel, as he knew that he was in big trouble in front of this audience. The action was real fun, though RVD certainly didn? t come out of it looking very strong. He got his ass kicked through a lot of this, which is fine as he was a babyface fighting from underneath. Needing Edge and Paul Heyman to help him win didn? t do him a lot of favors, but knowing that he didn? t end up holding the title takes some of the edge off of that sting."