Tommy Dreamer Believes Fans Still Rally Behind Him Because He Never Left The Trenches
Photo Credit: IMPACT Wrestling
Legendary wrestler Tommy Dreamer recently appeared on the Wrestling Perspective Podcast and reflected on his upcoming IMPACT World Championship Match with Rich Swann at No Surrender. Dreamer offered his thoughts on the difference between the fans’ reaction to his title match and that of Goldberg in WWE.
“I think, for me, it’s because I’ve never stopped, and I’ve been in the trenches my entire time,” said Dreamer. “Bill Goldberg, when he was in WCW, he had a very, very nice gig, you know, Bill Goldberg definitely was the, that and the nWo were the two striving forces in WCW. Then, when he went to WWE, he was there kind of as a part-time player. I know when he didn’t want to be there, I mean, the wrestling fans shit all over him. I’ll never forget that match, it was him and Brock Lesnar at Madison Square Garden, and with Steve Austin as the referee, and the wrestling fans are basically booing the crap out of both of them and telling them a lot of insane chants.”
“I just think for me, like I said, I’m still grinding it out. I had a crazy six-man with Eric Young, Cody Deaner and Joe Doering. I’ve never stopped wrestling. I mean before the pandemic, hustling 200+ shows a year, from UWF halls to shit venues, to beautiful venues, with AEW, running my own shows with House of Hardcore, I think that’s where fans appreciate it more because I never stopped grinding and yeah, I do love it.”
Of course, Dreamer also shared plenty of stories from his lengthy career. For example, he described one time that Paul Heyman made a fairly usual request during his ECW run.
“I was in the main event of [November to Remember 1998] and after midnight, I still had no clue who was gonna be my tag team partner,” said Dreamer. “And at six a.m., Paul Heyman calls my room again, no cell phones, and says, ‘We got Jake [Roberts],’ and he goes, ‘You need to go and find a 12-foot boa.’ And I was just like,’ Paul, it’s six o’clock in the morning. Where the f— am I gonna find a 12-foot boa?’ And he goes, ‘Tommy, we’re in New Orleans, they have them everywhere.’”
Dreamer was one of ECW’s most loyal soldiers, so this is just one story from a plethora of funny exchanges from his “Extreme” days. To hear more of them, make sure to check out the episode. The full interview is available here:
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This week’s show also saw Matt Cardona make his tag team debut in IMPACT and much more. WrestleZone’s Bill Pritchard, Robert DeFelice, Dominic DeAngelo, and Kevin Kellam are covering all of this plus your comments on-screen at the same time.