"Maybe ECW's not dead after all" - Vince McMahon scrapped One Night Stand cameo revealed
It sounds like Vince McMahon knew he wanted to resurrect ECW long before it actually happened.
Former ECW ring announcer Stephen D'Angelis was the latest guest on the Insiders Edge Podcast to talk about a wide variety of subjects. While discussing the 2005 ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view, D'Angelis revealed that Mr. McMahon was originally scripted to make a cameo at the end of the show to tease the return of the renegade promotion.
"The original script for ECW One Night Stand actually ended, in the script, they didn’t do it that way, they changed it," Stephen D’Angelis revealed. "Was Paul and Vince backstage, and Vince saying, ‘Gee Paul, maybe ECW’s not dead after all.’ As you know, they didn’t end it that way. But that was my first hint that maybe there would be something else, moving on."
Vince McMahon was initially scheduled to tease the return of ECW at the end of the first One Night Stand pay-per-view
The fact that this was originally in the script shows you how far ahead that Vince McMahon was considering the relaunch of ECW as a WWE brand.
D'Angelis said it may have taken an additional year, but that line being in the script was a hint that something could be happening for ECW in the future.
"It took a year later for them to do it. But there was like a hint of maybe promise of something," Stephen D’Angelis continued. "Or maybe they were just going to bring some ECW guys in and they wanted to acknowledge it on some level. But that was in the script."
What do you make of Stephen D'Angelis' comments? Do you think Mr. McMahon appearing at the end of One Night Stand would have left a sour taste in the mouths of the fans at the time? Let us know your thoughts by sounding off in the comments section below.
Thanks to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription of this podcast.