Veteran ECW grappler Tommy Dreamer is not known to mince his words. He says what he means and he means what he says. Which is why it was no surprise that when asked by SLAM! Wrestling during a conference call to promote the Living Dangerously pay-per-view why it took so long for the official card to be released, Dreamer stayed true to form and shot from the hip.
“Have you ever met or dealt with Paul Heyman?” he jokingly asked. “Well, give him your phone number or leave him a message and by the time he calls you back, you’ll understand why.”
All kidding about the sometimes maniac and elusive ECW owner aside, Dreamer blamed the delay on a rash of injuries that have crippled the rebel promotion throwing its long-term plans into disarray.
“Number One, we had a lot of guys go down with injuries. The tentative main event for this pay-per-view, Rob Van Dam was supposed to be in it – but that went down. And, ECW we do – it’s kind of funny – we DO live dangerously. That’s what kind of got us to the dance, I guess. We’ve had tons of last minute things come together the way they have and that’s how it is,” Dreamer concluded.
Varying from its competition, Extreme Championship Wrestling doesn’t max itself out by putting on a pay-per-view each and every month. Dreamer is glad of that stark difference in building momentum so that the feuds build up over the course of several months. The risk of boring fans with repetitious match-ups or quickly slapped together angles is reduced.
“I feel the pay-per-view market is over-saturated. I like doing a pay-per-view every two months or so. I think it makes us special and unique,” he said. “If you look at what WCW is putting out, I think they should be paying the fans to watch their pay-per-views. WWF is putting out some good stuff then again, it’s over-saturation of the pay-per-view market.”
As of late it’s been open season on Tommy Dreamer in ECW. Everyone from the Impact Players to Dreamer’s own tag team partner and arch nemesis Raven, have dished out their own brand of violence on the Innovator. Things started to look up when Dreamer found an unlikely partner in Masato Tanaka and reclaimed the ECW World Tag Team Title belts from the Impact Players on February 26th. However, as we find out this Friday on ECW’s weekly TNN broadcast, Raven has discovered an “awesome” partner to dash Dreamer’s hopes setting up a potentially explosive three-way battle for the gold this weekend at Living Dangerously.
Compounding Dreamer’s rekindled rivalry with Raven is the defection of his manager Francine. The Queen Of Extreme chose Raven’s side in their latest skirmish, dumping The Innovator Of Violence in front of an arena full of fans and a national television audience. Shocked by Francine’s betrayal, Dreamer isn’t crying himself to sleep at night. He’s moving on.
“Now that I am single again, there are a few female valets that I haven’t had in the wrestling industry so they can all come out. I’m setting up the casting couch and getting ready,” kidded Dreamer.
Struggling with the effects of two herniated discs in his back, taking Awesome Bombs from the ECW World Heavyweight Champion as he does on the TNN taping, is a dangerous proposition for Dreamer. Still, he insists he’s learned to live with the pain and is aware of the risks his condition presents. Until such a time as he can’t perform to the level he thinks he should, Dreamer will continue to weather the storm.
“You know, you just take every day in stride. It’s not a condition that’s going to get any better. It can only get worse so I just keep on going out there and see what I can do,” he surmised.
A driving force and cornerstone of ECW in front of the cameras and behind the scenes, Dreamer has faced every bruiser and brawler who has tried to make their mark in the promotion yet he has never booked himself or used his influence in the company to become the ECW World Heavyweight Champion. Dreamer has more pressing issues on his mind than any championship. It’s a matter of respect for him and ECW.
“I’d like to see ECW become the Number One wrestling federation in the world because I feel the WWF took all of our ideas and our style, ran with it and made millions of dollars. All of the hardcore fans know that we get the credit and should get the credit. But, I would like to see us not only get the credit but reap the rewards from it,” he said.
