ECW’s One Night Stand reunion show is one of the most memorable wrestling events in recent decades. 2500 of the outlaw promotion’s legendary rabid fans, almost exclusively young-to-middle-aged men, filled the Hammerstein Ballroom to watch chaotic matches involving steel chairs, cheese graters, and flaming tables one more time. One of those rabid fans shouting profane chants at Eric Bischoff and catching splashes of beer and blood from The Sandman and Tommy Dreamer was Barbara “Barf” Laitenin, who broke the mold as the only woman to attend. We visited Laitenin in her current residence at the Cambridge Springs State Correctional Institution to hear her perspective on the historic pay-per-view.
Hard Drive: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us, Barbara!
No one’s called me “Barbara” since I was a kid. Call me “Barf.”
HD: Ok, Barf, what was the energy like that night? It must have been electric.
It was off the fuckin’ chain, dude! I was as hyped as the time I saw Terry Funk brand Cactus Jack and got grounded when I tried to do it to my little brother. Rad shit, man.
HD: What was your favorite match?
I’m not gonna lie; I butt-chugged some beer in the parking lot and butt-snorted some coke in the bathroom so my memory of it is hazy, but it’s gotta be the last one when everyone came out.
HD: You were in the minority being the only female attendee there. Did you ever feel out of place as a wrestling fan among that crowd?
Are you calling me a pussy? I ain’t a pussy! Watch me chew this phone cord in half!
HD: No, no, no—we know you’re tough, Barf. But did you ever feel like you had to prove yourself among your wrestling friends more than others?
You know, those crazy bastards are my people, but I will say, whenever my guy friends jumped through tables at parties, they were never impressed when I joined in until I started setting the tables on fire first. One of the times I did it, I accidentally burned my buddy’s house down.
HD: Is that how you ended up in here?
Nah, just probation on that one. This time around was when I tried to rob a gas station. I had a whole escape plan and everything, but I got nervous in the middle of it, so I psyched myself up by bashing my own head with a beer like the Sandman and accidentally knocked myself out. Woke up in a Philly PD cruiser.
HD: Do you think some parts of the show haven’t aged the best? The crowd chanted some pretty disparaging things about Lita and Dawn Marie.
Dawn Marie! That crack whore! Why? What did they say about her?
HD: Uh, never mind. Any other thoughts about the show you want to add?
Yeah! Fuck JBL!
