What is so good about Tommy Dreamer?

[Disturbed]

Someone please explain to me what is so good about the guy? It seems like every wrestling fan, I run into likes the guy. Sure, I respect him for giving his blood, sweat, and tears to ECW but in my eyes the guy sucks. There is nothing special about him. He is so boring on the mic and is nothing more than mediocre in the ring without weapons. He was never an ECW champion but people act like he made the company. So posters, please explain to me why you like or dislike Tommy Dreamer.

 

[Mitch Henessey]

I've always thought Dreamer was shit. When this whole EV2.0 thing started, I actually went back and watched a good amount of Dreamer's ECW stuff. The man is mediocre at best in the ring, and his mic work is terrible. Having to hear him whine about his glory days drove me nuts. It was the same garbage week after week. To some people, Dreamer might seem like this inspiring wounded veteran wrestler who reminisces about his battle stories. They admire this type of stuff, but to me, Dreamer just comes off as this pathetic old man who can't let go of the past.

I also couldn't understand why TNA decided to give this guy such a big push. He's the leader of a stable, he main evented a few episodes of Impact, and he actually pinned AJ Styles(who is considered to be the best wrestler in the world by many people) at BOUND FOR GLORY. All of this stuff made me scratch my head, because I just couldn't believe it. I think Dreamer is just living off of the fame of being one of the more popular ECW Originals, because other than that, he really doesn't bring anything to the table. I just can't stand Dreamer, and all of this exposure he has received in TNA just makes me dislike him more.

 

[MrHashasheen]

Tommy Dreamer was the company guy in ECW. He put over everyone, he never wanted to hold a championship unless forced, and his feud with Raven exemplified ECW at its finest. He was never greedy or played politics to get his way, but always gave his all to the fans.

Outside the ring, the guy's a nice guy. No politics, no assholery, just a wrestler's version working-man and a hard worker. I liked Tommy Dreamer in the WWECW, and even though I don't like original ECW, I respect him for his accomplishments and efforts there.

However, his work in TNA has been lackluster as best and insulting at worst. He's at a point in his career where backstage work would suit him so much better, and his and E.V 2.0's feud with Fortune was hardly worth hours of television time.

 

[Lionshare]

Well right now? nothing, hes way too hurt and past his prime to worth anything ATM, but a year before, he was one of the fundamental parts in the brief sucess of ecw, he was your man to do the jobs, the works, the feuds and make them believable. I think it was vince and also heyman that said "tommy's biggest asset was he was always cheered and looked good even on defeat", his gimmick was the guy who never won the big one but could still get an amazing response of the audience.

 

[Scorpina]

I've never been particularly impressd with Dreamer but, in fairness to him, I've never seen much of his work from ECW. In fact, the first time I saw him was during the 'Invasion' storyline in 2001. So, y'know, the fact that I associate him with that travesty might bias me against him. Still... he's okay, y'know? Reasonable on the mic, reasonable in the ring, but nothing special in either. I guess what I'm saying is, I'd by no means go out of my way to see him work, but he doesn't make me want to turn off the TV in a rage either. He's just... kinda average, y'know?

 

[MB1025]

He is easy to get behind because he always does was is best for the company. The problem right now is he won't let EV2 go away. The reports said he was in charge of this angle and it is still on my TV 3 months after it was suppose to be the last night. There is no fucking excuse for it.

 

[StraightEdge for Life]

At first I kinda liked the EV2.0 with Dreamer as the leader, but when Dreamer did that whole speech with Fourtune, I think it just washed the whole EV2.0/Fourtune feud down the tube.

At this point, Dreamer just needs to leave to save his reputation.

 

[TUFFY54]

Actually he was a two time ECW champion. I'll agree that right now there is nothing special about him. However, 13 years ago he was a great ECW wrestler. (notice I said ECW wrestler, I know there's a diffrence) In the original ECW he was one of the best promo guys and definatly had great matches. The problem is that, with the exception on the first two One Night Stands, he hasn't done anything in about ten years. Thats were the big problem comes in. He used to cut these pasionate, teary promos after he had waged a blood feud with somebody and damn near crippled himself. Now he cuts one after being squashed in a two minute curtain jerker.

Tommy Dreamer was my favorite ECW wrestler and I never had a problem with him until he came to TNA. If he had come to TNA and just been a regular wrestler, I still wouldn't have a problem with him. I started to dislike Tommy Dreamer when he started praising Dixie Carter and running down Vince McMahon. Was the new ECW that great? No, it certainly had its problems. However, it actually got more than it deserved. I was a huge fan of the original ECW, but lets be honest. It wasn't this amazing fantasy land people remember it as. It was about 30% great matches and 70% botches and useless crap. Vince gave them free reign to put on the best ppv of 2005 to honor their memory. He also put out 3 DVDs so fans for years to come could appriciate what they did.

The problem with WWECW was that, with the exception of RVD, who the hell could still go. Sandman, Sabu, Balls Mahony Axel Rotten, and Dreamer were all way past their prime when it launced. Vince had to bring in new talent, and the new talent simply didn't get over. Keep in mind that they brought this on themselves. Mr. ECW, Rob Van Dam, was given the push of his lifetime and given two world titles. The ball was in his court to put on 5 star matches and wave the ECW flag with pride. Naturally, he got arrested for drugs two weeks later and Vince had no choice but to strip him of the title. Unfortunatly for ECW, RVD was the only original who could still wrestle well enough to hold the title. So Vince did what he had to do and changed the format. Not to mention the fact that he didn't owe them a damn thing to begin with and most of the roster was working indie shows and part time jobs when he hired them back.

To get back to Dreamer, he's become a caricature of himself. He now hails whoever will let him and his friends embarasse themselves in the ring while chanting ECW as the greatest person in the history of wrestling. Coming from someone that used to be a huge fan, Dreamer used to be special, now he's nothing.

 

[Karaoke Superstar]

Someone please explain to me what is so good about the guy? It seems like every wrestling fan, I run into likes the guy. Sure, I respect him for giving his blood, sweat, and tears to ECW but in my eyes the guy sucks. There is nothing special about him. He is so boring on the mic and is nothing more than mediocre in the ring without weapons. He was never an ECW champion but people act like he made the company. So posters, please explain to me why you like or dislike Tommy Dreamer.

You're right that he is nothing special in the ring or the mic. People like him because he's average just like them, he's not good or athletic or successful but just goes out and fights.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

Tommy Dreamer's biggest strength is that he can lose but still maintain credibility, and he's extremely willing to put people over, good guy to have around. But outside of that he's nothing special, and he's been atrocious since joining TNA, but then again so is everyone who's jumped ship there (with the exception of Pope).

 

[HellbossMilitia]

Tommy Dreamer was nothing "spectacular", but I respect his dedication though. He needs to stop ASAP. He should of as soon as the WWE said "We want you to do gross things on TV like eat food off a floor and drink Biker-Takers chewed up tobacco spit."

Him and the rest of the ECW originals just need to call it quits because people are really losing (or have lost) their appreciation for what they stood for back in the day. It's like trying to keep a 15 year dog alive. Even though you love the animal, you know it's suffering and needs to be put down. The same applies here. Even though I could never look at the ECW world title as a respective World Championship when WWE took it over, I know that Dreamer holding onto that title was just a "pity" run for all the bullshit WWE put him through.

Don't get me wrong I am a HUGE fan of the Original ECW, especially for it starting the whole "hardcore revolutionized wrestling", and the fact it started some of the top WWE wrestlers careers you see today, but the problem is those guys worked really rough and took falls that you knew at the time was going to shorten their career. Not to mention most of them being addicted to drugs and alcohol. It should have just officially ended after the whole One Night Stand, to let the originals get their last respective matches for their beloved ECW.

Back to Dreamer, I mean his age has really taken a toll on him. He's basically turned out like Matt Hardy. Someone you could "appreciate" back in the day, but now he's just over-weight and not entertaining (even some saying he never was). I respect the guy for what he did back in the day, but he's very lucky to still be working in the wrestling business thanks for Dixie Carter, who I'm sorry can't run a wrestling promotion.

All in all it should have stopped in 2005. If any of the originals are still wrestling and want to use their accomplishments in ECW in their promos from time to time that's fine, but literally banning together another "ECW Original" storyline loses all value.

 

[Scorpina]

Tommy Dreamer's biggest strength is that he can lose but still maintain credibility, and he's extremely willing to put people over, good guy to have around. But outside of that he's nothing special, and he's been atrocious since joining TNA, but then again so is everyone who's jumped ship there (with the exception of Pope).

I take issue with your last comment. While many, many ex-WWE workers have stunk the place out in TNA, some - and not just The Pope - have been good. Angle and Anderson have both done really well in TNA, in the latter case arguably better than he did in WWE. Matt Morgan is another one whose doing much better in TNA than he ever did in WWE. In the past, guys like Booker T. have made the jump and essentially kept doing the same thing they were doing before, while - say - Scott Steiner did much better in his TNA run than in his WWE one. I'd also argue that Christian's jump to TNA did wonders for his career, although since jumping back he's slipped back into a rut. Same goes for Gail Kim...

 

[LSN80]

Dreamer could be a great mic guy, if he didnt break into tears in almost every promo. His "retirement" speech was well done, and so was his first promo in TNA. But it seems every time he cuts a promo nowadays, he's bursting in to tears. He's taken what could be seen as a "special" moment, and turned it into an every day occurence.

Unfortunately, thats been a microcasm of his career. Because of his utter "selflessness", his opponent always goes over, more talented or not. No matter the stipulation, he loses. Guys like that are typically known as "jobbers", but somehow, Dreamer has risen above that stigma, which quite honestly, has baffled me. He has a jobber look, wrestles like a jobber, and the outcomes of his matches are entirely predictable.

I get the argument that people make that hes a "common man like all of us that we can identify with." Yeah, he might be, but if that's all he is, why has he gained the notoriety and risen to the levels of superstardom that he has? How did he get the supermodel of a wife that he did? How has he had such career longevity? All of those things, quite frankly, baffle me.

I know he's a great PR guy, and great behind the scenes. Ive heard dozens of wrestlers speak about how he's the first they go to for advice, and things like that. But how does that make him a marketable WRESTLER? It doesn't, nor should it. I don't see much in Tommy Dreamer, and as much as Ive wanted to like him over the years, I havent been able to.

 

[CH David]

Dreamer has the respect of fans because early on when he was in ECW he took a caning from Sandman. He took shot after shot and the ECW crowd ate him up. He's not the most technical wrestler or the biggest guy out there but he usually puts on a good show in the ring and will put over guys to no end. That's what people love about him is that he is the blue collar wrestler who would go to work everyday and not complain an ounce. That's what is good about Tommy. Not the wrestling, not the power, not the agility, but his heart.

 

[T2KFreeker]

What makes Tommy so good? The big one is that he does what he is told without giving lip about it. Tommy realizes that being a Professional Wrestler is his job. He has a passion for it, but you don't hear stories about so and so telling Tommy to let wrestler A go over him and Tommy throwing a foit and refusing to do so like so many other wrestlers that are the "Big Dogs" like Nash, HHH, Michaels, Hall, Hogan, and so on and so forth. Dreamer was a fantastic talent for ECW back in the day. He was a hard worker and had two really great rivalries back then with Sandman and Raven. Raven was especially deep for the promotion and got people to tune in. Also, you may not have a taste for Dreamer's in ring style, but to call him a crap wrestler shows how little you know about it. Dreamer, again unlike some big names out there, can pretty much have a good match with anyone on your roster and make them look unbelievably good. At Hardcore Justice, he made Raven look great, almost like Raven did ten years ago and let's face it, Raven hasn't had a good match in a very logn time. His match with Rob Van Dam at TNA's last PPV was very good as well. Then you also look at his WWECW days and he got in the ring with some horrid talent and still managed to have good matches with them and even though he was a higher caliber talent and more over with the fans, he still put them over. Tommy may be getting on in years, but he still has name credibility and can still get people over with the fans through his matches. He will before this run is over. I also wouldn't be surprised to see him kept on with TNA after the EV2 thing is over as either a consultant or a Road Agent because the guy does have a mind for wrestling and could help the babyfaces with their promos and in ring work. Plus, you factor in that Dreamer doesn't try and pull the backstabbing polotics B/S and it makes him a guy you can rely on there too because he wont allow another wrestler to do so either. Dreamer didn't get "Special Favors" to get where he is, he worked for it, and very hard.

 

[wushady]

In my opinion Dreamer ran his course many years ago with the original ECW. Back in ECW he was never a great wrestler, but he was a great company man. There's no doubt he worked his ass off, and even made his opponents look great in most cases. However I think he should of retired after the close of the original ECW. At least after the invasion angle he took a backstage job with WWE. From what I understand he was well liked in that position. In my opinion he should of kept that job. He's not good in the ring at all, but his crying in every promo is what makes me hate him the most.

 

[Jack-Hammer]

I think that Mitch pretty much said it all in my opinion. Tommy Dreamer has never impressed me in the least. When I think of all the overrated wrestlers still worshipped by fans of ECW, Tommy Dreamer is the one that always springs into my head first. There's just nothing about the guy in the very least. Not his look, not his ability in the ring, not his ability on the mic, just nothing.

Whenever Tommy Dreamer gets on the mic, it almost always seems to turn into some walk through the days of yesteryear, back to the glory days and/or some sob story/sermon about how much he loves wrestling or ECW or whatever. In his promo on iMPACT! tonight, Douglas Williams said that Ric Flair is someone that lives for yesterday and I think that describes Tommy Dreamer to an absolute T. Dreamer has ridden the coat tails of the original ECW legacy for most of his career, even when he was helping to take a big giant crap all over it when he was working in the WWE.

The way that Dreamer was used in the WWE for most of his time there, basically as a high profile jobber to put over younger talent, is exactly where he belongs in my opinion. He doesn't belong wrestling on ppvs, he belongs in the lower mid-card scene jobbing out to and putting over other guys.

 

[KRKO KING OF KINGS]

i personally cnt stand him. hes not really good in the rinq.his promos have always sucked and his finisher suxx (i mean cmon the dreamer ddt thats almost as bad as the heart punch) i cnt wait till he retires hes better off juss bein backstage

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

People like Tommy Dreamer because he looks like a normal guy who is grateful for the opportunity to work in the wrestling business. It was his dream and ECW gave him that chance to make a name for himself when there was little chance of either WWE and WCW picking him up.

Tommy was incredibly loyal to ECW, working without a paycheque when required, doing jobs backstage for the company and putting his body and career on the line every night. Have you not seen the caning angle with The Sandman where Dreamers back is bleeding and swollen and he refuses to give in? Participation in storylines like that show Tommy's dedication to ECW, and he epitomises the never-say-die attitude of the little company fighting for survival against the monsters of WWE and WCW.

Yeah, Dreamer has never been the best wrestler, he hasnt got much of a moveset outside his Dreamer Driver and Piledriver but he was not awful back in the day. Today, perhaps its time he retired as he is very boring to watch now.

I think its just the fact that ECW had just passionate cult-like fans who appreciated Dreamer for his loyalty, clear love for ECW and ability to take a beating. Other wrestling fans think similarly, and just like Dreamer because he they see themselves in him. A normal looking guy, in average shape, who loves wrestling and likes to fight.

 

[klunderbunker]

There's a movie from either the late 80s or early 90s with Kurt Russell in it. He plays a former football player that was asked why he never went on to play college or pro ball. His answer is that he's "good enough for around here", meaning that he's good enough to dominate in a small area but not good enough to make the leap to the next level. That's Tommy Dreamer in a nutshell.

In ECW, he was nothing short of a huge deal. The problem is that after leaving there, his entire character has been built around being the guy that missed ECW despite being in other companies. ECW is looked at as a minor league and therefore Dreamer is looked at as a guy that is a minor league guy and nothing more because he's never done anything major outside of ECW.

Then there's the nostalgia factor. People don't remember anything specific about Dreamer. They don't remember him being injured more often than not. They don't remember the BAD matches he used to have. They don't remember him being a jobber for the majority of his career in ECW. They remember like two things he did and that's about it. He's viewed as someone cool because he was a somewhat big deal in the 90s. There never really has been anything special about him outside of ECW, which is true for a lot of their alumni. TNA is trying to cash in on that nostalgia despite it already being gone.

 

[Hulk Hogan's Brother]

I think that the impressive thing about Tommy Dreamer is that he was the top face of a glorified indy promotion a long time back. That and as CH David pointed out his blue collar personality. He was, once upon a time, a very hardcore wrestler much in the mould of Mick Foley and we all know that hardcore guys get respected a lot.

But then he has never impressed me the least. As KB points out most of his matches in ECW were pretty bad. His mic work has been good on occasions but he has been erratic mostly. Even his ECW run is overrated in my opinion. I always think that Raven pretty much carried their feud over there.

The fact is that now that ECW is extinct, it is pretty hard to connect with his character anymore as really there is nothing that stands out about him.

 

[culantro]

tommy today has nothing good to offer, his mic work doesn't impress anyone and his matches are plain bad, they need to get him out of the ring, because was decent in some time, but now, he's nothing...

 

[Notorious718]

I never saw his early ECW work. I only saw his most recent work with WWECW and his current time in TNA. That said, I might not have a very fair opinion of Dreamer. From what I've seen though, the guy has never been any better than mediocre in the ring. He's teary eyed promos also make me cringe. Personally, I think he should've just gone straight into retirement after leaving WWE. It's not like EV 2.0 did a great job putting Fortune over anyway.

He seems like a genuinely likeable guy though and is instrumental in the sense that he is willing to job to people. Even though EV 2.0 didn't lose to Fortune until well after BFG.

 

[DangerousDave]

"Whats so good about Tommy Dreamer? Nothing. He was a jobber at the peak of his career, and hes a jobber now. His major talent is taking a trash can to the head. Every time he gives one of his whiny promos I wish I had a way to jam the mic. Someone please put him out of his misery (or more accurately, my misery) and ether fire him or move him to the back. I'm tired of seeing this guy take up time that could be used by TNA's young talent.

 

[25andIstillpeethebed!!!]

Tommy Dreamer is just a terrible human being.Right up there with Pol Pot,The Knight Stalker Richard Rameriez,and probably George W Bush. He's horrible in the ring(worse drop kick i ever seen),he cries every single damn time,he has a stupid wrestling outfit,looks old n ugly!

i would love to see him shopping on Black Friday with his family. i would walk up to him and hit him over the head with a dvd player right in front of his kids