Was Tommy Dreamer telling the truth?

[don]

He said that he had a family to take care of and left a good-paying job with WWE because he couldn't stand what they had done to ECW. Is that true? If so, he has got to be the biggest idiot in the world, in my opinion. "Sure, I have a family to support, but ECW!!!! ECW!! ECW!!!"

[Toates Madhackrviper]

No. I believe it's well known that Tommy was a big part of the return of ECW.

[Deleted]

Nah, but its pretty much standard operating procedures for new TNA guys to bash WWE in some way.

[Deleted]

You never know really. He turned down WCW in the 90's just because he loved ECW so much.

[Judas Heyman]

Jul 23, 2010 11:41:06 GMT -5 @therealoblivion said:

You never know really. He turned down WCW in the 90's just because he loved ECW so much.

WCW or WWF would have screwed up Tommy Dreamer by making him a cannon fodder to midcarders...he was a good brawler and decent on the mic. I believe he knew that ECW was the only place he would feel like somebody and thats the reason he never left....

[joeiscool]

Maybe. I'm sure he's not taking a huge pay cut working for tna...

[josh]

I'm pretty sure he was being heartfelt to an extent. I'd imagine he was heartbroken and semi betrayed when WWE raped the ECW corpse contrary to what they told most of the guys when they rebooted it and sick of a lot of the BS backstage in WWE but at the same time compounding some money for his children.

[golding]

As per usual, it's probably somewhere in between.

There are two main reasons I can see why people work for WWE:
1. It's the biggest wrestling company in the US and has maximum exposure for crowds and TV.
2. They get paid better than in any other wrestling promotion.

I do believe that Dreamer cares a lot about the brand of wrestling he helped make popular in the US, and I'm sure that its identity is more to him than the 3-letter name that represents it. Yeah, he was a big part of ECW's return in WWE, and giving his preferred style of wrestling a platform for maximum exposure is likely why he joined. At that point, the money he gets just doesn't hurt. But I highly doubt that he liked watching the name become applied third-rate PG farm league brand for WWE. The more he watched his preferred form of wrestling deteriorate into such an embarrassment, the more his justification for staying likely leaned towards the money being good.

I don't necessarily believe that wrestlers who jump ship are expected to bash WWE for the sake of it. I think they're given the opportunity to have a live microphone, and they are likely asked to put TNA over. It just happens that some wrestlers can't think of any other way to do it (like Tara, for example). Some wrestlers, like Taz, can be even-keeled about it. And some people have legitimate dislike for a certain aspect of the WWE and internally feel they have to mention it. I think Dreamer's situation is the latter.

So to some extent, I think he's telling the truth. And there's not that much idiotic about it. He probably made enough money to live by, and now he can safely work with more liberties. Win/win.

[Ben Wyatt]

Jul 23, 2010 13:53:28 GMT -5 josh said:

I'm pretty sure he was being heartfelt to an extent. I'd imagine he was heartbroken and semi betrayed when WWE raped the ECW corpse contrary to what they told most of the guys when they rebooted it and sick of a lot of the BS backstage in WWE but at the same time compounding some money for his children.

"The backstage BS" part of your statement doesnt fly with me.

Dreamer was given a pretty cool storyline that spanned months and months, culminating in him winning the ECW title.

Then he was given a pretty neat retirement send off, allowing him to pour his heart out on TV.

[stylesclashwoooo]

I thought That was a fantastic promo and in my opinion completely heartfelt. Sometimes in life something special comes along and you love it to the extent that it becomes a part of who you are, and in my opinion Tommy Dreamer is more to ECW then what paul heyman was.

I do truely believe he left the E over what happened with the firebrand ECW, the way they destroyed it and then pulled the plug and i think he really is as fired up about it all as it came across in that segment

I for one Cant wait for hardcore justice. What an Awesome show that is gonna be! ECDUB ECDUB ECDUB

Also ... the part where someone shouted vince sucks and dreamer replied "exactly". Good lad!

[hajimenoippo]

So WWE basically resurrect his career, give him a title run, a great send off match with Christian, and he says this?

Weird. I guess he really did prefer to be jobbed. With his treatment during the re-birth of ECW it's weird that he mouths off like this.

The guys WWE released like Sandman and Sabu were released because of their unproffesionalism. guys like Doring, Roadkill, Credible, and CW anderson were out of shape and pretty much were nothings. The only surprises were Stevie and Balls because they were really over, and really were in the good graces of the backstage guys for being willing to do anything.

They know that ECW can never really come back. Why hang on to it? It does more to piss on the legacy by rebuilding it in another company, doing the same show you did 5 years ago on a much bigger platform.

Bah.

[N E O G E O B O Y S]

Jul 23, 2010 13:53:28 GMT -5 josh said:

I'm pretty sure he was being heartfelt to an extent. I'd imagine he was heartbroken and semi betrayed when WWE raped the ECW corpse contrary to what they told most of the guys when they rebooted it and sick of a lot of the BS backstage in WWE but at the same time compounding some money for his children.

Yeah, the guy was so unhappy en the ecwwe that he got TWO title reigns and a nice little sendoff, also, there was the only time that the WWE ever treated him as a threat

If he was really unhappy there he would have left at the same time that the 99% of the originals left

[wcw]

Yeah I think that Dreamer was telling the truth to an extent when he said he stuck around WWE for the money. Obviously the guy could not have been happy with the way WWECW was being treated and how he was being treated in it. But he had to have liked the job security and the big salary provided by the WWE.

All in all every ECW original was ousted about a year after WWECW's conception except Dreamer (And I think the Sandman hung around a little bit longer) he was the one guy that wouldn't go away and there was likely a reason(s) for that one being that he was willing to play ball and do what they wanted. Besides they treated him pretty well considering the gave him 2 title reigns and a nice sendoff so it wasn't like WWE just made him out to be a joke.

[losthead]

Jul 23, 2010 13:53:28 GMT -5 josh said:

I'd imagine he was heartbroken and semi betrayed when WWE raped the ECW corpse contrary to what they told most of the guys when they rebooted it.

Then he shouldn't have stuck around for FOUR YEARS. He left when they were shutting the ECW brand down for christs sake.

His promo on TNA upset me greatly. As others have said he had a really good angle, title run, and an awesome send-off with mic time that went over the timeslot of the show. Sure, ECW in WWE wasn't what it was originally, but if he was that unhappy he should have left when Heyman left or when Sandman left or when Sabu got fired or when RVD left or when Balls got fired.

[Shannon Gay]

On Dreamer's last episode of ECW, one of his daughters botched... twice. I'm sure he gave her a nasty spanking when they went home. I know I would've.

[BlahBlah]

Jul 23, 2010 14:35:30 GMT -5 losthead said:

Jul 23, 2010 13:53:28 GMT -5 josh said:

I'd imagine he was heartbroken and semi betrayed when WWE raped the ECW corpse contrary to what they told most of the guys when they rebooted it.

Then he shouldn't have stuck around for FOUR YEARS. He left when they were shutting the ECW brand down for christs sake.

His promo on TNA upset me greatly. As others have said he had a really good angle, title run, and an awesome send-off with mic time that went over the timeslot of the show. Sure, ECW in WWE wasn't what it was originally, but if he was that unhappy he should have left when Heyman left or when Sandman left or when Sabu got fired or when RVD left or when Balls got fired.

Man I completely agree with you. I just got done watching the promo and I'm disgusted. I've always been a fan of Dreamer and EVERYONE in their shoots say what a great guy he is and I'm sure it's true so maybe his emotions just got the best of him here. Either way, that promo was atrocious. It was unbelievably childish when a fan yelled out that Vince sucks and Dreamer agreed. It's not like he got fired, not like he was forced out. He left on his own accord and they gave him a pretty damn good sendoff which is uncharacteristic for Vince unless your Flair or Michaels.

And as an aside, I love how Dixie told the ECW wrestlers in the ring that she wanted the ppv to have nothing to do with TNA.... way to poop on your brand Dixie. Some things are better off left unsaid.

[Krimzon]

The entire segment just rubbed me the wrong way. Tommy Dreamer, despite getting choked up and all that, didn't sound genuine in the least. He sounded phony. He sounded fake. He pulled those emotions out of his ass. We all know he couldn't have had that much of a problem with WWECW.

[The Genesis of KoOS]

Typical "Waaaahhh WWE misused me, now I'm here where they will use me right!" promo.

[joeiscool]

It seemed like he was more upset about how others were treated than himself. The WWE ECW by and large sucked. It seemed like wwe wanted it not to succeed, and never really got behind it.

remember when sandman was being sued for something that happened when he was coming to the ring, and wwe basically disowned him.

[hajimenoippo]

it did piss me off. I was a big fan of Tommy and WWECW. It showcased younger talent and rebuilt mid-carders. That's what made the show awesome. It also focused more on wrestling instead of the other stuff.

ECW was treated as ECW was a feeding ground to the big shows.

Tommy got a great send off. I don't get the venom from him though.

Actually Sandman got fired for being unproffesional in South africa, being late, botching constantly and not caring. Same reason Sabu got released. They did so on purpose.