Throwback Thursday: Looking back at WWE One Night Stand 2008

Each and every Thursday I will look back at a different pay-per-view event from the past via the WWE Network. Want to see a certain event covered? Send your suggestions to @VaughnMJohnson on Twitter.

Last time, I covered WWE New Year's Revolution 2006

WWE One Night Stand: Extreme Rules

Date: June 1, 2008

Venue: San Diego Sports Arena (Now the Valley View Casino Center), San Diego

Some random notes

This was the fourth annual One Night Stand pay-per-view. The event originally began as reunion show for Extreme Championship Wrestling in 2005, but was changed into a full-fledged WWE event in 2007.

This was WWE's final pay-per-view as a PG-13 company. WWE shifted to a PG product later in the month and has stayed that way ever since.

This was also the last time this event was known as One Night Stand. In 2009, WWE dropped One Night Stand and stuck with the slightly more PG-friendly Extreme Rules.

Extreme Rules was only part of the subtitle on this night, but it was all over the branding of this event. It was featured on all of the name banners and was even on the ring apron.

Jim Ross and Jerry "The King" Lawler called the Raw matches while Michael Cole and Mick Foley called the Smackdown ones.

There was one ECW match on the show with Mike Adamle and Tazz on hand to call it.

With that said, let's get to the matches:

Falls Count Anywhere – Jeff Hardy def. Umaga

It didn't take long for this match to spill outside of the ring and into the crowd with Umaga using his power to control the pace.

Umaga and Hardy worked their over to the stage, which was comprised a couple of construction trucks and a bunch of stuff that you would find on a highway.

Hardy eventually fended off Umaga so that he could get his hands on a fire extinguisher, forcing the fight to go backstage. Hardy ran up a flight of stairs, slid down the railing to hit Umaga with a pretty innovative clothesline.

That obviously didn't stop Umaga, as he tossed Hardy around until they made their way outside of the building and into the San Diego sun.

Umaga and Hardy fought each other into the parking lot when the latter climbed up the side of one of WWE's production trucks that had Shawn Michaels' face emblazoned on it.

Umaga attempted to thwart Hardy's ascent, but Hardy kicked him right in the face, which presumably made Umaga fall to the ground. WWE's cameras were strategically placed so that the viewers at home and in the arena could not tell exactly what was going.

With Umaga prone, Hardy climbed all the way to the top, gave the signal that he was about do something crazy and followed through by performing a swanton bomb off the top of the truck and onto Umaga.

While we could not see the impact of the move, we did see Hardy lying on top of Umaga long enough to secure the victory.

Singapore Cane match – Big Show def. Tommy Dreamer, John Morrison, CM Punk & Chavo Guerrero

The winner of this match became the No. 1 contender for the ECW championship, which was held at this point by Kane.

This match came straight out of Vince Russo's playbook, as there were four poles erected around the ring with a Singapore cane hanging from each of them.

Big Show dominated the early going until the other four men finally overwhelmed him.

Once Big Show was down, all four men ran to the Singapore canes and began pelting Big Show with them. They even managed to knock him out of the ring.

With Big Show out of commission, the other four men paired off and fought each other. At one point, Guerrero attempted to hit CM Punk with a Singapore cane, but CM Punk ducked and Guerrero inadvertently hit then Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman, who was sitting in the front row.

I guess Merriman's lights were turned out. Get it?

CM Punk regained control of Guerrero and tossed him over the announce table in front of Merriman. Merriman shook off the Singapore cane shot and begged CM Punk to allow him to hit Guerrero with one.

CM Punk obliged and handed it over to the Pro Bowler, who wacked Guerrero and gave his signature "Lights Out" celebration. The fans of San Diego, who unfortunately no longer have an NFL team, were pleased with what they saw.

As that was happening, The Miz ran down to the ring to help his tag team partner by attacking Big Show. That didn't work out too well, but it did allow Morrison to knock Big Show into the steel steps, which caused a nasty looking gash over his left eye.

Big Show realized he was bleeding and became quite furious. He got a hold of a Singapore cane commenced to beating the daylights of everyone in sight with them.

He then choke slammed Dreamer, propped him up, hit him over the head with another Singapore cane before mercifully pinning him with only his foot.

This match was pretty fun despite the fact that it set up a ECW title match between Big Show and Kane at Night of Champions, which even in 2010 no one but Vince McMahon was looking forward to.

First Blood match – John Cena def. John "Bradshaw" Layfield

This was the last First Blood match to date in WWE. When WWE went PG, blood became a thing of the past. Since there is no more blood, there are no more First Blood matches.

This was not the first encounter between Cena and JBL that involved blood. If you recall they had an "I Quit" match at Judgment Day back in 2005 for the WWE championship.

That match was much, much bloodier than this one.

Layfield walked into the match sporting a jacket with his MamaJuana Energy drink logo on it. Let's just say that MamaJuana Energy nor Layfield Energy took the world by storm.

As soon as the bell rang JBL took off the pad on one of the top turnbuckles. Cena responded by tearing off the pad on his side of the ring.

Cena then met JBL in the center of the ring and the two men began exchanging knuckle sandwiches. There were no technical wrestling moves in this one.

This was a fight with nothing but punches and kicks. There were weapons involved, too, including a microphone, a steel chair and the steel steps. None of which was able to make either man bleed.

After punishing each other for minutes on end, both men struggled to get to their feet at one point of the match. JBL made it first and kicked Cena into the ropes, which caused him to get tied up the same way Andre the Giant used to.

With Cena helpless, Layfield went under the ring and pulled out a bullwhip.

Just when it looked like Layfield was going to whip Cena like a slave (That would not have been a good visual even with Cena being white), Cena countered with a low blow, freed himself from the ropes, picked up a chain that was used earlier in the match and choked JBL with it via the STFU.

While in the hold, JBL began bleeding from the mouth, which ended the match.

"I Quit" match – Beth Phoenix def. Melina

After all of the "I Quit" matches in WWE history, this was the first to involve a pair of women.

Despite that historic feat, WWE made sure that this was the least violent "I Quit" match I have ever seen. There were no weapons used and I don't even remember the match even leaving the ring.

The match was good. I thought Phoenix and Melina put in some darn good work, but it lacked the feel of a classic "I Quit" match because it really wasn't all that violent. It was way too tame.

One thing I was glad this match didn't have was the referee carrying a microphone and shoving in their faces after every impactful move. That can become annoying after a while.

Phoenix dominated a large portion of the match, but Melina saw a glimmer of hope when she locked in an arm bar and a cross arm breaker, but it was not enough to force Phoenix to say, "I quit."

Phoenix eventually used her strength to power out of the arm breaker and contorted Melina's body with a pair of mean-looking submission moves to make her say the magic words.

Stretcher match – Batista def. Shawn Michaels

This match came about after Michaels feigned an injury to beat Batista at Backlash. Batista vowed revenge, as he felt like he was duped by Michaels, which he was.

The special guest referee in that match was Chris Jericho and he was also none too pleased with Michaels' tactics. Jericho felt as though he was lied to and eventualy turned on Michaels.

Remember, Michaels was a babyface at this point, but I guess WWE was going for shades of gray with this story and I think it worked.

The object of a stretcher match was to beat your opponent so senseless that you placed him on a stretcher and wheeled him across a finish line of sorts.

There have only been nine stretcher matches in WWE history with the last taking on Raw back on June 16, 2014 between Cena and Kane.

The match played out as expected with Batista using his size and strength advantage to overpower Michaels. Michaels countered with his speed and experience to cut down the big man.

At one point, Batista then attempted to power bomb Michaels onto a stretcher outside of the ring, but Michaels wiggled out of it and hit Batista with a super kick, which sent Batista onto the stretcher.

After taking some time to recover, Michaels got out of the ring and attempted to drag the stretcher with Batista's prone body on it past the finish line. Batista avoided losing by throwing himself off the stretcher.

Michaels then hit Batista with the stretcher a couple more times, but Batista eventually countered by using the stretcher as a seesaw right into Michaels' face.

Batista rolled Michaels back into the ring and speared him. He then followed that up by power bombing Michaels.

Batista then dragged Michaels onto the stretcher when Jericho showed up to cheer on Michaels. Jericho's words of encouragement apparently worked, as Michaels began to stir and crawled back into the ring.

Batista stood in the ring waiting for Michaels to slowly get to his feet. In an act of defiance, Michaels shoved Batista and tried to hit him with another super kick, but didn't have nearly enough energy to do any damage to his opponent.

Some fans in the crowd audibly laughed, which I doubt was the intended effect.

Batista picked up Michaels and told him that he didn't love him and that he was not sorry, which was the opposite of what Michaels told Ric Flair at WrestleMania.

Batista delivered a second power bomb and dragged Michaels onto the stretcher. Batista then began pushing the stretcher to the finish line when Jericho came out again to encourage Michaels.

Jericho even blocked Batista from pushing the stretcher across the line. Jericho essentially peeled Michaels off the stretcher, which only made Batista want to inflict more punishment.

Essentially, Jericho knew that Michaels had nothing left, but kept encouraging him to get back up so that he could receive more damage from Batista.

Batista showed no mercy for Michaels, as he went back to the ring to retrieve the steel steps. He then picked up Michaels and slammed him right on top of them.

Batista then hoisted Michaels up on his shoulders, dropped him on the stretcher and shoved his liefeless body across the finish line to mercifully end the match.

WWE championship (Last Man Standing match) – Triple H def. Randy Orton

Orton began using the song Voices by Rev Theory not long before this match. I know for certain the first pay-per-view he used the song was Judgment Day the month before, but I am not sure if he used it on an episode of Raw before then.

The match immediately spilled out of the ring, but the main story was that Triple H was working on Orton's left shoulder.

Despite that, Orton knocked Triple H down on multiple occasions courtesy of the draping DDT and the steel steps, which prompted the referee to count. However, Triple H kept getting back up before the count of 10.

Orton eventually got his hands on an extension cord and choked Triple H with it.

The referee began counting to 10, but Triple H rose to feet again. Just when Triple H made it back to his feet, Orton attempted to hit him with an RKO.

However, Triple H countered by tossing Orton out of the ring. Orton went flying over the top rope, fell hard on the floor and immediately grabbed his left shoulder.

At first, it looked like Orton was selling the damage Triple H had done to it earlier, but it quickly became apparent that something was seriously wrong with Orton.

As Orton writhed in pain on the ground, you can see him say something about his collarbone.

Lawler speculated that Orton told the referee that he broke it. It turned out Orton and Lawler were right, as Orton really did break his collarbone during his tumble out of the ring.

Although it was clear that Orton had suffered a legitimate injury, the match had to go on. Triple H realized Orton was hurt and got him back to his feet so that the match could continue.

Triple H slammed Orton into the barricade, which sent Orton back to the ground. Orton struggled mightily to get back to his feet while his arm dangled and the pain was written all over his face.

Like pretty much any wrestler would, Orton toughed it out and made it back to his feet again. By that point, Triple H had gotten his hands on a sledgehammer and clocked Orton in the head with it, which sent Orton back to the ground.

This time Orton stayed down and the referee counted to 10, ending the match. Orton continued to wither in pain, but it had nothing to do with the sledgehammer.

In reality, he was in so much pain that it looked like the match he was competing in was cut short because of it. If anything, Triple H hit him with the sledgehammer just to give the match a logical conclusion.

Orton was visibly upset after the match and rightfully so. He was in a heck of a lot of pain and he knew that he had just suffered an injury that was more than likely going to halt his career for quite some time.

Orton yelled back and forth with a fan out of frustration. Orton was known for having a short fuse back then. I'd imagine it was a lot shorter after this match.

Orton's collarbone injury kept him out of action for most of 2008.

World Heavyweight championship (Tables, Ladders and Chairs match) – Edge def. The Undertaker

If The Undertaker lost, he had to leave WWE forever.

The Undertaker defeated Edge to win the World Heavyweight championship at WrestleMania, but Smackdown general manager Vickie Guerrero stripped him of the title after Backlash.

According to Cole, The Undertaker was the first man to be stripped of the World Heavyweight championship since the WWE began using the title in 2002.

The Undertaker and Edge beat and battered each other with all of the weapons that the match advertised.

The Undertaker hit Edge with ladders, Edge hit The Undertaker in the head with a steel chair and even frog splashed his opponent through a table.

Not only were there a lot of weapons used there each man constantly countered the other due to their familiarity with each other.

Edge seemed to have the best strategy heading into the match, which was to work on The Undertaker's legs. Firstly, it would chop the big man down and it would also prevent him from climbing a ladder to retrieve the title.

Despite having an injured leg, The Undertaker managed to choke slam Edge onto a ladder outside of the ring. The ladder looked like it was supposed to break, but it didn't.

The Undertaker looked to take advantage of the opening and climb the ladder, but Edge's buddies Zack Ryder and Curt Hawkins thwarted him.

The Undertaker eventually fought Ryder and Hawkins off by choke slamming them both through tables outside of the ring.

Edge finally got back into the ring after all of this and speared The Undertaker out of the ring.

Edge set up a pair of tables on top of each inside the ring and began climbing, but The Undertaker cut him off at the pass and hit him with the last ride power bomb from the ladder and through the two tables Edge set up in the ring only moments earlier.

While Edge lied motionless on the canvas, The Undertaker began slowly climbing up. However, Guerrero and Neely ran down to prevent The Undertaker from reaching the top.

Like he did to Hawkins and Ryder earlier, The Undertaker quickly dispatched Edge's running mates.

The Undertaker seemed to have finally cleared his path to the title, but Edge got up once again and tipped over The Undertaker's ladder, which sent him flying out of the ring and through four tables that were set up earlier in the match.

The fans hoped The Undertaker would sit up, but he didn't, as Edge climbed up the ladder and pulled down the World Heavyweight championship.

Per the stipulation of the match, The Undertaker was banished from WWE forever … or so we thought. Actually no one thought that.

The Undertaker returned the next month and went against Edge in a Hell in a Cell match at SummerSlam.

Cole and Foley constantly talked about how this could be the last time we saw The Undertaker in WWE and how much it would hurt the fans. It's kind of funny to hear now knowing that it took nine more years for The Undertaker to sort of retire.

It definitely looked like The Undertaker retired at WrestleMania this year, but it is professional wrestling and we can never know for sure.

Vaughn Johnson has a podcast with Nick Piccone called the Straight Shooters. Check it out here HERE.