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Semi-protected

Dreamer stayed with ECW until it folded in 2001, defeating C.W. Anderson in an "I Quit" match at Guilty as Charged – the final pay-per-view – and teaming with Danny Doring in a win over Julio Dinero and EZ Money in the final independent ECW show.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (2001–Present)

After ECW closed its doors Dreamer spent time in various independent leagues throughout the country such as Jersey All Pro Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling before he signed with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He was introduced to WWF audiences on the July 9, 2001 episode of Monday Night Raw as a member of the WCW/ECW Alliance during the Invasion angle. When the angle ended in November, Dreamer was sent to the WWF's "farm territory" Heartland Wrestling Association.

He was brought back to the main roster of the now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in April and placed on the Raw "brand". There he was given a gimmick that proclaimed he was "Just a Regular Guy", for which he was featured in vignettes and backstage segments showing him in normal situations that were then augmented by "disgusting" antics such as brushing his teeth and his dogs teeth with the same brush and eating food from the floor. However, this angle was short lived. He soon reverted back to his "Innovator Of Violence" gimmick and amassed fourteen reigns as Hardcore Champion. During this time; he was the final person to hold it before it became unified with the Intercontinental Title in a match with Rob Van Dam. After losing the Hardcore Championship, Dreamer renewed his feud with Raven, defeating him in a Loser Leaves Raw match on June 24 to send him to Raw's sister show, Heat .

As 2003 and 2004 went on, Dreamer was used less and less on WWE television, and they began allowing him to take independent bookings, and work as color commentator for their "farm territories" Ohio Valley and Deep South Wrestling. When his performers contract expired, he took a succession of "office jobs" inside World Wrestling Entertainment.

ECW brand

In 2005, Dreamer was a major part of the ECW One Night Stand "reunion show" pay-per-view held under the World Wrestling Entertainment banner. He, along with a number of former ECW stars, took part in promotional hype for the event on episodes of Raw and, with the Sandman, he wrestled the Dudley Boyz in the main event. For the 2006 event, he was placed into an angle that had him and Terry Funk – who had been his "mentor" in the early days of the original ECW – at odds with Mick Foley and Edge over the meanings of "extreme". The angle ended with a six-person-intergender-tag team match at the pay-per-view where Dreamer, Funk, and Beulah McGillicutty lost to Edge, Foley, and Lita.

When the ECW brand officially launched on the Sci Fi channel, Dreamer and the Sandman were put into one of the brands first feuds, an "old school versus new school" feud, against Test and Mike Knox. In November and December he engaged in a short feud with Daivari and The Great Khali, but Khali was sent to the Raw brand before it could come to a conclusion. Not long after Khali left ECW, The New Breed stable was established, consisting of wrestlers new to ECW. In response a stable of ECW Originals was created, and the two battled throughout the spring of 2007 until a number of roster moves left the Originals nearly barren.

In late 2007, Dreamer took part in the ECW brand's Elimination chase to name a number one contender to the ECW Championship. During the series of matches, also involving Stevie Richards, Elijah Burke, and Kevin Thorn he added a bandana, worn on his head, to his ring gear. He received the original one from a young boy with a brain tumor, and from then on began wearing one as a sign of solidarity and strength to anyone going through that struggle. Dreamer emerged victorious in the final match against Burke, only to be surprised by ECW's General Manager Armando Estrada forcing him to face Big Daddy V, who promptly beat him for the number one contendership.

In the beginning of 2008, Dreamer was put with ECW brand jobber Colin Delaney as a sort of mentor after Delaney was repeatedly squashed on the weekly ECW television show. At The Great American Bash on July 20, 2008, Delaney turned on Dreamer, costing him his ECW Championship match against Mark Henry.

Personal life

Dreamer married Trisa Hayes, better known by her ring name Beulah McGillicutty, on October 12, 2002, with whom he has twin daughters – Kimberly and Briana. Kimberly and Briana appeared in a sixth season episode, "The Ride", of the HBO drama The Sopranos playing Domenica Baccalieri, Tony Soprano's baby niece.

Outside of wrestling

Dreamer made a cameo in the adult film Whack Attack 5 by Extreme Associates. He also appeared, along with fellow ECW wrestler New Jack, in the "Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter" episode of the TV series Early Edition as a biker. Dreamer participated in wrestling documentary, Bloodstained Memoirs . The footage was filmed at an AWA UK show.

In wrestling

  • Finishing and signature moves
    • Dreamer Driver (WWF/E) / Spicolli Driver (ECW) (Death Valley driver, sometimes proceeded by spinning the opponent around)
    • Piledriver
    • Sitout side powerslam
    • Snap DDT, sometimes landing the opponent's on the top of their head in a vertical position
    • TommyHawk (Inverted crucifix cutter) – ECW
    • Cloverleaf
    • Diving splash
    • Fallaway slam
    • Falling neckbreaker
    • Inverted DDT, sometimes proceeded by a scoop lift
    • Overhead gutwrench twisted sideways into a cutter
    • Pumphandle suplex
    • Running low–angle running dropkick to an opponent in the tree of woe position, usually preceded by shouting "ECW!!!"
    • Running one–handed bulldog
    • Spinning sitout spinebuster
  • Signature foreign object
    • Kendo stick
  • Managers and valets
    • Francine
    • George
    • Paul Heyman
    • Jazz
    • Alexis Laree
    • Beulah McGillicutty
    • Luna Vachon
    • Kimona Wanalaya
  • Nicknames
    • "The Innovator of Violence"
    • "The Heart and Soul of ECW"
    • "The O.G. of Extreme" (Bestowed upon by Matt Striker)
  • Entrance themes
    • For the majority of his ECW career, Dreamer used the Alice in Chains song "Man in the Box" for his entrance music. At the 2005 One Night Stand pay-per-view, he used an instrumental version of Man in the Box performed by Harry Slash & The Slashtones . Yet another version – this time by WWE music head Jim Johnston – was introduced for the WWE vs. ECW special on June 7, 2006, and he has since used that as his theme.

Championships and accomplishments

  • Border City Wrestling
    • BCW Can-Am Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Century Wrestling Alliance
    • CWA Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Eastern Championship Wrestling | Extreme Championship Wrestling
    • ECW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
    • ECW World Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with Johnny Gunn (1), Raven (1) and Masato Tanaka (1)
  • International World Class Championship Wrestling
    • IWCCW Tag Team Championship (3 times) – with G.Q. Madison
  • International Wrestling Association
    • IWA Hardcore Championship (1 time)
  • KYDA Pro Wrestling
    • KYDA Pro Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • Pro Wrestling Illustrated
    • PWI ranked him # 28 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2000
  • Southwest Premier Wrestling
    • SPW Texas Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
  • World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment
    • WWF/E Hardcore Championship (14 times)

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "WWE Bio". WWE . http://www.wwe.com/shows/ecw/superstars/tommydreamer/bio/ . Retrieved on 2007-07-12 .  
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "SLAM! Sports bio"