Hardcore Homecoming was a series of

professional wrestling Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

events which were advertised as a reunion of talent from the defunct

Extreme Championship Wrestling HHG Corporation, doing business as Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), was a professional wrestling promotion and media company that was based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The promotion was founded in 1992 by Tod Gordon as National Wrest ...

promotion. The tour was booked and promoted by

Cody Michaels Mark Keenan, better known by his ring name Cody Michaels, is an American former professional wrestler. After suffering a serious neck injury, Michaels retired and has worked behind the scenes as a booker and promoter. Professional wrestling c ...

Shane Douglas Troy Allan Martin (born November 21, 1964) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by his ring name Shane Douglas. He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Championship Wrestling (W ...

(a former

ECW World Heavyweight Champion The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship originally used in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and later, World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the ECW ...

) and

Jeremy Borash Jeremy Borash (born July 19, 1974), is an American professional wrestling play-by-play commentator, announcer, ring announcer, booker, interviewer, and producer who is currently signed to WWE. He is known for his work in Impact Wrestling as ...

in 2005. The event footage was released on DVD with a companion documentary of ECW's history called ''Forever Hardcore''.

History

The inaugural Hardcore Homecoming event was held from 8:00pm to 11:55pm on June 10, 2005, at the Alhambra Arena, formerly known unofficially as the ECW Arena, in

South Philadelphia South Philadelphia, nicknamed South Philly, is the section of Philadelphia bounded by South Street to the north, the Delaware River to the east and south and the Schuylkill River to the west.WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

produced/promoted ECW One Night Stand 2005 reunion show in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. The show was preceded by a fan

tailgate party A tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgating, which primarily takes place in the United States and Canada, often involves consuming alcoholic beverages while barbecuing and grilling food. T ...

in front of the former ECW Arena, with several wrestlers in attendance. This was reminiscent of territorial wrestling in the 1980s, when many

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

promotions would hold

barbecue Barbecue or barbeque (informally BBQ in the UK, US, and Canada, barbie in Australia and braai in South Africa) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that use live fire and smoke t ...

s before and after the event. No former

ECW ECW may refer to: Professional wrestling * Extreme Championship Wrestling (originally Eastern Championship Wrestling), a professional wrestling promotion that operated from 1992 to 2001 * The Alliance (professional wrestling) (originally the WCW/E ...

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 Michael Francis Foley (born June 7, 1965) is an American actor, author, retired professional wrestler, and color commentator. He is currently signed to WWE under the company's Legends program, acting as a company ambassador. Foley worked for m ...

, a retired worker who wasn't under contract to

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vario ...

at the time, made an unannounced appearance. Former

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

referees John Finnegan, Mike Kehner and John "Pee Wee" Moore and former

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 three shows, but the September 17 show in Buffalo was canceled just days before the tour began; it is believed that the promoter was unaware that he needed a promoter's license to run a show in New York. However, the tour did continue with two shows, and it would return to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

on November 5 (billed as ''November Reign'') for what

Tod Gordon Tod Gordon (born June 19, 1955, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American businessman. Gordon is the president of Carver W. Reed Co. Inc, a Philadelphia jewelry store and loan office that was established in 1860. He is also the founder of defu ...

has said will stand as the final Hardcore Homecoming show. However, at an ECW reunion convention, Douglas announced that Hardcore Homecoming would return, first with a 'November to Remember' card in 2009 which would later be renamed ''Legends of the Arena'' and took place on June 27, 2009.

Results

An Extreme Reunion

:June 10, 2005, from the former

ECW Arena 2300 Arena is a multipurpose indoor arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania used primarily for professional wrestling, boxing, mixed martial arts, and concert events. Originally known as Viking Hall, the venue has since been named Alhambra Arena, The ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and Hat Guy are introduced to the crowd *Introduction:

Joey Styles Joseph Carmine Bonsignore (born July 14, 1971) better known by his ring name Joey Styles, is an American former professional wrestling commentator. He is best known for his time with ECW and WWE. Before working for WWE, Styles was a full-time ...

Joel Gertner Joel Gertner (born September 20, 1975) is an American professional wrestling announcer, color commentator, and manager. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1995 to 2001. Professional wrestling career ...

and

Cyrus Cyrus ( Persian: کوروش) is a male given name. It is the given name of a number of Persian kings. Most notably it refers to Cyrus the Great ( BC). Cyrus is also the name of Cyrus I of Anshan ( BC), King of Persia and the grandfather of Cyrus ...

Results

*Also: Tribute to the Fallen Heroes of Hardcore:

Johnny Grunge Michael Lynn Durham (July 10, 1966 – February 16, 2006) was an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Johnny Grunge. He is known for his appearances with Eastern/Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestli ...

(former

tag team Tag team wrestling is a type of professional wrestling in which matches are contested between teams of multiple wrestlers. Tag teams may be made up of wrestlers who normally wrestle in singles competition, but more commonly are made of establish ...

partner of

Rocco Rock Theodore James Petty (September 1, 1953 – September 21, 2002) was an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name "Flyboy" Rocco Rock. Rock is best known for his appearances in Eastern Championship Wrestling / Extreme Champion ...

), Pitbull #1 (former tag team partner of Pitbull #2) and

Tammy Lynn Sytch Tamara Lynn Sytch (born December 7, 1972), commonly known by her ring name Sunny, is an American former professional wrestling manager, valet, ring announcer, and adult entertainer. Sytch achieved great success as Sunny within the World Wrestling ...

(widow of

Chris Candido Christopher Barrett Candito (March 21, 1972 – April 28, 2005) was an American professional wrestler. Candito is best remembered for his tenures with promotions such as World Championship Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling, New Japan Pro-W ...

) deliver a eulogy. They are interrupted by

Danny Doring Daniel Morrison (born February 19, 1974) is an American professional wrestler, better known by the ring name Danny Doring. He is best known for his appearances with the professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling from 1997 t ...

and

Roadkill Roadkill is an animal or animals that have been struck and killed by drivers of motor vehicles on highways. Wildlife-vehicle collisions (WVC) have increasingly been the topic of academic research to understand the causes, and how it can be mi ...

, who are then chokeslammed by

911 911 or 9/11 may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** 9/11, the September 11 attacks of 2001 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that outed the democratically elected Salvador Allende * November 9 Numbers * 91 ...

)'' *Note: There was no referee. This match was originally supposed to be

The Eliminators The Eliminators were a professional wrestling tag team that consisted of Perry Saturn and John Kronus who were best known for their time in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) between 1995 and 1997. History Formation While working as the m ...

vs. The Bad Breed, but

Perry Saturn Perry Arthur Satullo (born October 25, 1966) is an American retired professional wrestler known by his ring name, Perry Saturn. Since debuting in 1990, Saturn wrestled for promotions including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Champions ...

was injured.

Extreme Reunion Tour - Night 1

:September 16, 2005, from the Agora Theatre in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Results

Extreme Reunion Tour - Night 2

:September 17, 2005, from the Golden Dome in

Monaca, Pennsylvania Monaca ( ) is a borough in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States along the Ohio River, northwest of Pittsburgh. The population was 5,615 as of the 2020 census. First incorporated as Phillipsburg as the home of the New Philadelphia Societ ...

Results

November Reign

:November 5, 2005, from the former

Results

*Also:

inducted

Terry Funk Terrence Funk (born June 30, 1944) is an American retired professional wrestler, rapper, disc jockey and actor. Funk is known for the longevity of his career – which spanned more than 50 years and included multiple short-lived retirements – a ...

into the Hardcore Hall of Fame. *This match was not featured on DVD due to copyright reasons due to the Dudleys joining TNA.

Forever Hardcore

''Forever Hardcore'' is a

documentary that interviews wrestlers who participated on June 10, 2005 Hardcore Homecoming show. It was produced by Big Vision Entertainment and Former TNA booker

and can be seen as a counterpoint to the

documentary ''

The Rise and Fall of ECW ''The Rise and Fall of ECW'' is a 2004 direct-to-video documentary produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It chronicles the history of Philadelphia-based professional wrestling promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling. The documentary ...

''. It is particularly noteworthy for the interviews with

Sandman The Sandman is a mythical character in European folklore who puts people to sleep and encourages and inspires beautiful dreams by sprinkling magical sand onto their eyes. Representation in traditional folklore The Sandman is a traditional charact ...

, and Raven, wrestlers who were integral to the history of

but who were not featured on ''The Rise and Fall of ECW'' because they weren't under contract to WWE. It also featured another ECW alumnus Sabu in what was at the time a rare speaking role. Also, in the film,

New Jack Jerome Young (January 3, 1963 – May 14, 2021) was an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name New Jack. He was best known for his time with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), where he became notorious for his willingnes ...

admits to attempting to kill

Vic Grimes Victor Grimes (born January 3, 1963) is an American professional wrestler. He is best known for his appearances with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW), and the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Grimes began his wre ...

in the rematch to their notorious

scaffold match Many types of wrestling matches, sometimes called "concept" or "gimmick matches" in the jargon of the business, are performed in professional wrestling. Some gimmick matches are more common than others and are often used to advance or conclude a ...

. The two disc set also includes bonus matches from former ECW wrestlers who competed in the now-defunct

XPW Xtreme Pro Wrestling (XPW) is an American independent professional wrestling promotion owned by Rob Zicari. Zicari originally ran the promotion out of Los Angeles from 1999 to 2003. He appeared on shows as the on-camera owner under the name R ...

. It was also released on April 30, 2007 for sale in Europe on region 2 DVD.

Home video

Unlike One Night Stand 2005, the June 10, 2005 Hardcore Homecoming event was not broadcast on

pay-per-view Pay-per-view (PPV) is a type of pay television or webcast service that enables a viewer to pay to watch individual events via private telecast. Events can be purchased through a multichannel television platform using their electronic program guid ...

. A two-disc

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...

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 Hardcore Homecoming was a series of professional wrestling events which were advertised as a reunion of talent from the defunct Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion. The tour was booked and promoted by Cody Michaels, Shane Douglas (a forme ...

''. The broadcast was released in Europe on Region 2 DVD on April 30, 2007.

was present at the event and provided

play-by-play In sports broadcasting, a sports commentator (also known as sports announcer or sportscaster) provides a real-time commentary of a game or event, usually during a live broadcast, traditionally delivered in the historical present tense. Radio was ...

for the DVD release. The second (and final) Philadelphia show 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 5, 2005 event and provided

and

color commentary A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

for the show's

webcast A webcast is a media presentation distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology to distribute a single content source to many simultaneous listeners/viewers. A webcast may either be distributed live or on demand. Essentially, web ...

and DVD release. The Platinum Edition does not feature the Sabu/Funk vs. Team 3D match, as Team 3D's contract with

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling Impact Wrestling (stylized as ''IMPACT! Wrestling''), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in Nashville, Tennessee. It is a subsidiary of Anthem Sports & Entertainment. Founded by Jeff and Jerry Jarrett in 2002, the promot ...

prohibits them from appearing on non-TNA video releases. However, the Platinum Edition does feature many bonus matches from independent shows in the early 1990s,

and matches from the second show on Hardcore Homecoming's 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 later in 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 has yet to be released in its entirety. However, 4 of the 6 matches from the show were released as bonus features on the commercially released 'November Reign' DVD, with the Dog-Collar and Stairway to Hell matches being omitted from inclusion.

References

External links

2300 Arena
{{Professional wrestling in the United States Professional wrestling shows Professional wrestling in Pennsylvania American independent professional wrestling promotions based in Pennsylvania Events in Philadelphia Extreme Championship Wrestling reunions and revivals Events in Cleveland 2005 in professional wrestling 2005 in Pennsylvania 2005 in Ohio Professional wrestling in Cleveland

History

Results

An Extreme Reunion

Results

Extreme Reunion Tour - Night 1

Results

Extreme Reunion Tour - Night 2

Results

November Reign

Results

Forever Hardcore

Home video

See also

References

External links