Post by King Of Wrestling on Apr 20, 2006 4:27:39 GMT 1
i didnt know i should put it in the ECW ppv thread or not, sorry if i should have.
The Innovator of Violence ready to make a Booty Call
By Ed Williams III
At last year's ECW One Night Stand, Tommy Dreamer was hit with chairs, mauled with a cheese grater, went through tables and was even lit on fire. And this year, the Innovator of Violence can't wait to do it again. WWE.com caught up with Tommy Dreamer to talk about last year's One Night Stand, his relationship with Terry Funk, how he thinks this year's pay-per-view will live up to last year's event and much more.
ECW.com: What were your thoughts on last year's One Night Stand?
Tommy Dreamer: I thought it was great. I thought it came off exactly how I expected - something totally different. The reviews were off the charts. I was happy to see a lot of the talent come back that probably never would have been spotlighted in WWE. I was very happy with it. And it gave me closure, which is something a lot of us never had in ECW.
ECW.com: Is there any talent in particular you were happy to see in the ring last year?
Tommy Dreamer: Sandman. I thought that was one of the greatest entrances with an entire building singing. I just wish it could have been in Madison Square Garden with 20,000 people singing it. Also, the return of Beulah, Francine, Lance Storm - it was just great for everybody.
ECW.com: What are your thoughts on One Night Stand returning in June?
Tommy Dreamer: I didn't think it would be coming back. But after the rave reviews, you can tell that ECW is the brand that will never die. It made a lot of money, so you should capitalize on it. I think this one should be called either ECW Sloppy Seconds or The Booty Call because whenever you need it, you can go back to it.
ECW.com: With last year's event being such a success, do you think this year's event will be able to live up to it?
Tommy Dreamer: One hundred percent. I think the talent will always step up. Whether they're WWE wrestlers or non-contracted wresters, they'll step it up. ECW was about the fans and their interaction with us. There's a lot of stuff in the back of my mind that I hope will happen. Me and the creative genius will have a lot of fun. The creative genius, of course, being Paul Heyman.
ECW.com: One of the criticisms of last year's event was that there was too much talking in regards to WWE vs. ECW. What are your thoughts on that criticism?
Tommy Dreamer: I think WWE did every single thing they could to attract attention to the ECW brand. Going back, I think we did well over 300,000 buys for the pay-per-view. We never did that in ECW. Vince used every single measure, whether it was JBL, Eric Bischoff, to help promote the ECW brand and the pay-per-view. He also gave the fans Stone Cold Steve Austin, unadvertised, as a gift. It was amazing. You can nitpick all you want, but we pretty much tripled every number we ever did in ECW buy-rate-wise. You can't knock the success. I think we were given every single thing we could to draw a buy rate and to make it interesting. The company was dead for five years, so that was pretty impressive.
ECW.com: What was your favorite part of last year's event?
Tommy Dreamer: My favorite part was something that was never seen. At the end, when the cameras went off, I got in the ring and got on my hands and knees and kissed the ECW logo and said thank you to everybody. I was crying and all the fans were chanting "Thank you Tommy" and that's all I could ask for - other than being lit on fire. A great DVD extra was made, but it was never used, but who cares. It was my moment, and they can never take away your moments. It's that fan interaction - 3,000 fans thanking you - that was amazing. There were some people crying, and some people just so happy to be there. It was physically and emotionally exhausting, but it was an amazing night. I was able to show the world what Tommy Dreamer is all about. It felt like I went back in time because of the great job done in making the building look authentic as well.
ECW.com: You had the most brutal match on the card last year. Are you worried about living up to that performance this year?
Tommy Dreamer: I'm not worried about it. I had great opponents in The Dudleys and they always bring out the more violent side of Tommy Dreamer. I'm hoping my opponent will do the same this year, but it's more about the crowd. I was lit on fire, I had my face grinded half way off with a cheese grater, I broke my sternum, I broke my shoulder, but I was able to suck it up and finish the match.
ECW.com: How will you be able to overcome not having some of the talent from last year's event being available?
Tommy Dreamer: I would love to see a lot of guys that were on the first show be here. But again, ECW was not about Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, Sandman or The Dudleys. It was about the brand and the product that we were putting out. The Dudley Boys left ECW and the company continued. So, when somebody leaves, somebody else always steps up, and I'm sure someone will do that this year as well.
ECW.com: Do you have one moment that stands out as your favorite during your time in ECW?
Tommy Dreamer: I don't. This is all I ever wanted to do my entire life - ever since I was a little boy. Every time I step through the ropes and wrestling is the time of my life. Every time I go out there is great. I've had so many moments in ECW. We did so many ground-breaking, revolutionary things. We were just ahead of our time. We did the first lesbian and pregnancy angles. Me and Lance Storm were the first to throw urine in each other's face. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. We did it all, and we're going to do it again. ECW is all about the fans and the emotion. I can get on the microphone and make people cry and make them laugh. That's what it was all about. We're all in it together.
ECW.com: What do you think having Terry Funk there will add this year?
Tommy Dreamer: I'm very, very happy to have Terry Funk involved. He was my mentor. He pretty much helped create Tommy Dreamer. I was disappointed a lot of guys weren't represented last year, but this year some of those people will be here. Terry Funk should be recognized as a hardcore staple in ECW because he was. He did a lot more for ECW than a lot of people. He's still middle-aged and crazy, and hopefully I won't be fighting him because he's still tough as nails. I would like to see him and Ric Flair go at it. They're around the same age and it would be two legends going at it.
ECW.com: Any closing comments for the ECW fans?
Tommy Dreamer: I thank everyone for supporting ECW and Tommy Dreamer. If you enjoyed last year's event, you'll definitely enjoy this year's. There's going to be a lot of surprises that will shake up the industry again.
^- From ECW.com or WWE.com cant figure it out.
(if i need to move it or delete it just tell me)
The Innovator of Violence ready to make a Booty Call
By Ed Williams III
At last year's ECW One Night Stand, Tommy Dreamer was hit with chairs, mauled with a cheese grater, went through tables and was even lit on fire. And this year, the Innovator of Violence can't wait to do it again. WWE.com caught up with Tommy Dreamer to talk about last year's One Night Stand, his relationship with Terry Funk, how he thinks this year's pay-per-view will live up to last year's event and much more.
ECW.com: What were your thoughts on last year's One Night Stand?
Tommy Dreamer: I thought it was great. I thought it came off exactly how I expected - something totally different. The reviews were off the charts. I was happy to see a lot of the talent come back that probably never would have been spotlighted in WWE. I was very happy with it. And it gave me closure, which is something a lot of us never had in ECW.
ECW.com: Is there any talent in particular you were happy to see in the ring last year?
Tommy Dreamer: Sandman. I thought that was one of the greatest entrances with an entire building singing. I just wish it could have been in Madison Square Garden with 20,000 people singing it. Also, the return of Beulah, Francine, Lance Storm - it was just great for everybody.
ECW.com: What are your thoughts on One Night Stand returning in June?
Tommy Dreamer: I didn't think it would be coming back. But after the rave reviews, you can tell that ECW is the brand that will never die. It made a lot of money, so you should capitalize on it. I think this one should be called either ECW Sloppy Seconds or The Booty Call because whenever you need it, you can go back to it.
ECW.com: With last year's event being such a success, do you think this year's event will be able to live up to it?
Tommy Dreamer: One hundred percent. I think the talent will always step up. Whether they're WWE wrestlers or non-contracted wresters, they'll step it up. ECW was about the fans and their interaction with us. There's a lot of stuff in the back of my mind that I hope will happen. Me and the creative genius will have a lot of fun. The creative genius, of course, being Paul Heyman.
ECW.com: One of the criticisms of last year's event was that there was too much talking in regards to WWE vs. ECW. What are your thoughts on that criticism?
Tommy Dreamer: I think WWE did every single thing they could to attract attention to the ECW brand. Going back, I think we did well over 300,000 buys for the pay-per-view. We never did that in ECW. Vince used every single measure, whether it was JBL, Eric Bischoff, to help promote the ECW brand and the pay-per-view. He also gave the fans Stone Cold Steve Austin, unadvertised, as a gift. It was amazing. You can nitpick all you want, but we pretty much tripled every number we ever did in ECW buy-rate-wise. You can't knock the success. I think we were given every single thing we could to draw a buy rate and to make it interesting. The company was dead for five years, so that was pretty impressive.
ECW.com: What was your favorite part of last year's event?
Tommy Dreamer: My favorite part was something that was never seen. At the end, when the cameras went off, I got in the ring and got on my hands and knees and kissed the ECW logo and said thank you to everybody. I was crying and all the fans were chanting "Thank you Tommy" and that's all I could ask for - other than being lit on fire. A great DVD extra was made, but it was never used, but who cares. It was my moment, and they can never take away your moments. It's that fan interaction - 3,000 fans thanking you - that was amazing. There were some people crying, and some people just so happy to be there. It was physically and emotionally exhausting, but it was an amazing night. I was able to show the world what Tommy Dreamer is all about. It felt like I went back in time because of the great job done in making the building look authentic as well.
ECW.com: You had the most brutal match on the card last year. Are you worried about living up to that performance this year?
Tommy Dreamer: I'm not worried about it. I had great opponents in The Dudleys and they always bring out the more violent side of Tommy Dreamer. I'm hoping my opponent will do the same this year, but it's more about the crowd. I was lit on fire, I had my face grinded half way off with a cheese grater, I broke my sternum, I broke my shoulder, but I was able to suck it up and finish the match.
ECW.com: How will you be able to overcome not having some of the talent from last year's event being available?
Tommy Dreamer: I would love to see a lot of guys that were on the first show be here. But again, ECW was not about Tommy Dreamer, Paul Heyman, Sandman or The Dudleys. It was about the brand and the product that we were putting out. The Dudley Boys left ECW and the company continued. So, when somebody leaves, somebody else always steps up, and I'm sure someone will do that this year as well.
ECW.com: Do you have one moment that stands out as your favorite during your time in ECW?
Tommy Dreamer: I don't. This is all I ever wanted to do my entire life - ever since I was a little boy. Every time I step through the ropes and wrestling is the time of my life. Every time I go out there is great. I've had so many moments in ECW. We did so many ground-breaking, revolutionary things. We were just ahead of our time. We did the first lesbian and pregnancy angles. Me and Lance Storm were the first to throw urine in each other's face. Imitation is the greatest form of flattery. We did it all, and we're going to do it again. ECW is all about the fans and the emotion. I can get on the microphone and make people cry and make them laugh. That's what it was all about. We're all in it together.
ECW.com: What do you think having Terry Funk there will add this year?
Tommy Dreamer: I'm very, very happy to have Terry Funk involved. He was my mentor. He pretty much helped create Tommy Dreamer. I was disappointed a lot of guys weren't represented last year, but this year some of those people will be here. Terry Funk should be recognized as a hardcore staple in ECW because he was. He did a lot more for ECW than a lot of people. He's still middle-aged and crazy, and hopefully I won't be fighting him because he's still tough as nails. I would like to see him and Ric Flair go at it. They're around the same age and it would be two legends going at it.
ECW.com: Any closing comments for the ECW fans?
Tommy Dreamer: I thank everyone for supporting ECW and Tommy Dreamer. If you enjoyed last year's event, you'll definitely enjoy this year's. There's going to be a lot of surprises that will shake up the industry again.
^- From ECW.com or WWE.com cant figure it out.
(if i need to move it or delete it just tell me)
