Blockbuster main event announced
By Louie Dee
June 29, 2006
This Tuesday night, ECW returns to Philadelphia for the first edition of ECW on Sci Fi in the old stomping grounds. It will be the Fourth of July, and there will be some fireworks in the Wachovia Center that night as a blockbuster main event has just been announced.
In the main event, WWE and ECW Champion Rob Van Dam will defend both of his championships against Edge in an Extreme Rules Match.WWE.com and ECW.com caught up with Van Dam just moments after the announcement was made, and while it seems that Edge has gotten the best of him in the past week, the champion doesn’t want to be counted out just yet.
“Let’s not forget I’ve gotten him a few times too,” the champion reminded WWE.com. “And at Vengeance, I beat him to remain the champion. He says he respects me and all, so I’m sure he respects me even more now. But I’m sure he’s going to keep coming after (the WWE Championship) until he thinks he’s going to get it. I have to keep him from that, so Tuesday I’ll be kicking his ***.”
The match will be fought under Extreme Rules, which Van Dam is not shy about promoting as his specialty. It will also be in the city of Brotherly Love, which RVD and ECW called home until 2001. According to the champion, that may factor into his motivation more than anything.
“It’ll be in Philadelphia, which obviously mans that there will be a tremendous amount of energy behind me,” he said. “It’s our first television back in Philadelphia as well, (so) it’s our first ECW on Sci Fi in front of an ECW crowd. That’s extremely important; One Night Stand was off the charts, and anyone that watched it felt the energy from the fans. They could see that connection. You don’t catch that in our first few ECW on Sci Fi shows because it’s not in front of the ECW crowd. But at the Wachovia Center, we’ll have a chance to see fans that want ECW and are passionate about it. They want what we’re offering and I’m so thankful that people will be able to see what we’re about.”
Despite the fact the he was victorious over Edge at Vengeance, RVD knows that this Tuesday night won’t be a cakewalk for him.
“It’s going to be a hard fought battle, but that’s the way I like it,” he said. “I had tough matches four nights in a row last week (ECW Live Event, Vengeance, RAW, ECW on Sci Fi) that took a lot of endurance to make it through. With Extreme Rules, I know Edge will be bringing it. There will be some hard falls and chair eating, going through tables and fighting in the crowd…but that’s the way I like it. I like to be reconnected with that energy. I am confident that I won’t let him take the WWE Championship back to RAW; I like it too much. It’s fun to spin.”
RVD won the WWE Championship on his turf at One Night Stand. But if Edge were to come into that environment and take it back (as well as the ECW Championship), RVD wouldn’t be insulted. In fact, he thinks that Edge wants it that way.
“That would be ridiculous. Edge wants to be ECW so bad, and obviously by challenging me he’s getting to wrestle in the new ECW,” Van Dam stated. “It’s obvious by everything he’s done in WWE, with the TLC Matches and his Hardcore showcasing, that he was definitely a fan of the old ECW. He was probably a fan of Rob Van Dam; he had to be, since I was ECW and am ECW right now. He wasn’t there back in the day, and by him coming in and thinking he’s going to take the ECW Championship, he thinks that will make up for it. But that’s not going to happen.”
Whether it’s Edge or Rob Van Dam that walks away as champion, history dictates that it will be one hell of a match. WWE.com and ECW.com will have comments from Edge on Friday.
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