Hardcore Homecoming

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Hardcore Homecoming was a 2005 series of professional wrestling events pitched as a reunion of ECW (Extreme Championship Wrestling) talent. It was organized by Cody Michaels, Shane Douglas, and Jeremy Borash.

The first show took place on June 10, 2005, at the Alhambra Arena in Philadelphia, two days before WWE’s ECW One Night Stand reunion. There was a fan tailgate outside the old ECW Arena with several wrestlers in attendance. No current WWE ECW performers appeared, but Mick Foley showed up unexpectedly. The event used many former ECW staff members, including ring announcers, referees, and a timekeeper.

Following the success of the first show, an Extreme Reunion Tour was announced for September 2005. The Buffalo date was canceled shortly before the tour began due to licensing issues, but two shows went ahead and Philadelphia returned on November 5 as November Reign, which many considered the final Hardcore Homecoming.

In 2009, Douglas announced a renewed lineup under the Legends of the Arena banner, starting with a card that was originally titled November to Remember.

Forever Hardcore was a companion documentary released on June 10, 2005, to accompany the event. Made by Big Vision Entertainment and Borash, it featured interviews with ECW alumni like Shane Douglas, Sandman, Raven, Jerry Lynn, Sabu, and Vince Russo, and was intended as a counterpoint to WWE’s Rise and Fall of ECW. It includes Sabu discussing his famous scaffold match with Vic Grimes. The two-disc DVD set included bonus matches from XPW and other material, with a European Region 2 release in 2007.

Unlike One Night Stand, Hardcore Homecoming was not shown on pay-per-view. A Platinum Edition of the November Reign show and other footage were released on DVD, though some matches and rights issues affected what could be released (for example, Team 3D’s matches were not included in the Platinum Edition due to TNA contract limits). Bootleg versions and additional footage appeared through RF Video and other outlets.

Additional reunion footage from the tour was released later in 2005, including a Cleveland show on the promotion’s website and through RF Video. Some shows from the tour were not released in full, while four of six matches from the Monaca show were later included as bonus material on the November Reign DVD.