Last week, Tommy Dreamer revealed that he was no longer with TNA Wrestling
. The ECW legend worked in a variety of roles behind-the-scenes at Impact, and was one of several moves TNA’s parent company anthem framed as part of a strategic “workforce reduction”.It led to all manner of stories about Dreamer’s decade-long tenure at TNA, and unlike when former president Scott D’Amore left, not all of the stories were heartwarming ones.
They started with wrestling student and independent wrestling referee
Perch, who posted this message across three tweets:
Tommy Dreamer pulled me aside backstage at a TNA show, telling me he would do everything he could to make sure I don’t earn a job in the wrestling business. All I did was try to learn and grow from experiences, though his words were very discouraging for a young student to hear
I didn’t set out to prove him wrong, I simply thanked him for their advice and went another direction. The pro wrestling business is for everybody, you just have to find where you fit in best. Don’t perform just for someone else’s ideal vision, perform out of your own passion!!
Take critique like a professional and thank them for their time. However don’t allow someone to ‘coercive’ you. Share your burning desire to succeed in the pro wrestling business with others who appreciate you! This is a community, not a tyranny
Ring of Honor and AEW’s Carlie Bravo joined in with a since-deleted post with his own Dreamer story:
He told me I was very talented but couldn’t hire me cuz ‘he didn’t know if he could market ‘cocky black guy’ to the world.’ Needless to say, I’m on top of the game and never changed one bit. Run it up. F**k what anybody else says
Deleting may have saved Bravo the pushback Perch got, like this reply from Mickie James:
Perch, listen, I don’t know you. But I do know @THETOMMYDREAMER well enough to know that “if” he truly said this. There is far more to this story that you are conveniently leaving out. If you are going into come on here & attempt to bury someone. Especially someone who is as loved, respected, and responsible for helping soooooo many folks, including myself, in this industry. Then at least be completely honest. I understand you want to speak “your truth” & possibly gain a bit of recognition by jumping on the bandwagon, however if this is your path of 15 seconds of @X buzz… at least have the common decency to speak “the whole truth”. This ain’t it, it’s also pretty dumb because Tommy will always have a job in the business. I don’t know if I can say the same for you. Have a blessed day.
Joey Janela does seem to know Perch pretty well, but per his reply also knows Dreamer:
As someone that does like Tommy, idk why he would say something like that to one of nicest and most humble dudes in professional wrestling, a student of the game and one of the best refs out there.
Without doubt one day you’ll be reffing multiple Wrestlemania’s! Keep going!
Two women shared particularly disturbing stories about their dealings with the 55-year-old Dreamer, who five years ago was disciplined by TNA for his defense of Ric Flair’s “Plane Ride From Hell” misbehavior.
Kennedi Copeland, whose social media profile now reads, “I used to wrestle”, shared about a “spanking spot” Dreamer insisted on doing with her in a match:
Hol’ up are we sharing our Tommy Dreamer stories bc one time I told him I really wanted to take a cane shot in a match and he told me he doesn’t do that with women so instead we did a spanking spot bc women amirite
Asked why she went through with it, Copeland replied:
Because I was young and dumb and impressionable and a people pleaser and still very new in wrestling and didn’t know I could say no especially to a vet because I was always told, “If you really want it, you’d do anything for it.” ¯_(ツ)_/¯
That story brought another from Dani Jordyn:
I’ve been waiting for this – One time Tommy dreamer insisted on doing a crotch grab spot, to me, in a tag match he was a fill in for. This had NO place in our story line. But he didn’t care to ask. I did not want to do this, said how uncomfortable I was, but I’m just woman, right
I was new in my career, should’ve trusted my intuition, said a firm no, and not succumb to peer pressure for this spot. This is the only thing that’s happened in my career that felt degrading bc I vowed to never let a MF try me on some uncomfortable shit EVER again
Confronted with another “should have said no then”-type response, Jordyn’s response was:
There was [discussion of the spot]. And I’d love to share that one day with you – But first I need you to view this with the perspective of a young girl, new to this industry, with everyone telling you this guy has a name and you should do it cause it’s good for your name.
Only Copeland had posted when (also apparently retired) indie wrestler Terra Calaway shared this, but we think she’d apply to the response Jordyn got as well:
Men with the “well why didn’t you say no” have never been in an imbalanced power dynamic in a male dominated industry with misogynistic values.
But that’s just my two cents on today.
James and Janela weren’t the only names who came to Dreamer’s defense, however. Like Janela, GCW owner Bret Lauderdale is friends with both Dreamer and Perch. In a series of tweets, Lauderdale wrote:
I think one thing people forget is that Tommy Dreamer is an *ecw guy* and he comes from a different era.
The antics that many consider to be inappropriate (or worse) today are the very same that made him (and ecw) so cool and universally celebrated/romanticized in the 90s. I’ve always known Tommy to be a decent and gracious person.
I think his greatest flaw is probably that he didn’t evolve with the times. But its not hard to understand why… everywhere he goes to this day people chant “ecw ecw ecw” at him. its hard to leave that behind.
Tommys always been blunt & honest (to a fault) and uses language that isnt always thoughtful or sensitive but he means well & hes helped advance a lot of peoples careers
As for the interaction w perch, idk if it did or didnt happen but the last thing i know perch to be is a liar
Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding and one day they can talk and mend fences.
We need more people like Dan Perch in the wrestling business.
WWF/E and ECW veteran Missy Hyatt also spoke up for Dreamer online:
I seen some disparaging comments about @THETOMMYDREAMER online.
My interactions with dreamer have always been cordial & professional. I have nothing bad to say about him.
These are the things i witnessed that tommy did for others.
He recommended try outs & jobs for so much indy talent when he worked for ecw, wwe, & tna. I guess he’s confident in his own spot & didnt feel threatened like so many that someone could steal his spot.
He helped so many put together matches by emphasizing their strengths.
He would call wwe wellness to help troubled souls find help before it was too late.
Tna’s loss and an asset to any company and lockeroom.
Dreamer’s gone from TNA, but he’s still a regular co-host on Busted Open. He has yet to comment on any of the allegations.
