Often referred to as the heart and soul of renegade blood n guts promotion ECW, Tommy Dreamer is the sort of wrestler who ultimately becomes more than the sum of his parts. Neither a technical whiz, nor a charismatic, catch phrase spewing movie-star-in-the-making, Tommys reputation was founded on his willingness to make seemingly any sacrifice for the business he loves as well as his fanatical determination to make it in that business by any means necessary... Just as punk rock bands act as a great leveller (or should, in any instance), eroding the division between the performer and the fan, Tommy Dreamer perfectly epitomises the kind of everyman hero that wrestling fans love to empathize with and live vicariously through. However, even that is something of an illusion. Tommy Laughlin decided he wanted to be a wrestler at the tender age of 9 years old and pursued that dream relentlessly until he broke into the business, aged 18, in 1989. Today, Dreamer is regarded as a wrestling legend within the industry; he is a hardcore icon and a fan favourite wherever he goes. His fanbase is rabid and incredibly supportive of everything he does and hes happily married to a former Penthouse Pet turned childrens author. He is a two-time World Heavyweight Champion (2000, 2009), a damn fine wrestler and, despite never having a bodybuilders physique, hes also a surprisingly well-conditioned athlete who can still hang with todays young guns, even though hes in his 40s. Still, the Tommy Dreamer of 2014 is a mass of contradictions. Hes a doting husband and a loving father, albeit one who loves to revel in the seedier side of American nightlife. Hes an unrepentant; no holds barred bloodletter, even though he ensures that all his students learn how to actually WRESTLE and how to put on a decent match. Hes a promoter, who spent years working behind the scenes at ECW and WWE, but one that goes out of his way to say that he despises the politics and BS inherent to the biz. Oh yeah, hes also a former World Champ who never actually wanted to win a major title... All this and more make up the fascinating, bloodstained mosaic that is Tommy Dreamer. If youre a long-time fan, youll know everything on this list already, (but you and I both know that youll read it anyway), but if youre a new fan, then prepare to take a look at the life and career of a man who epitomises everything that is good about professional wrestling. Ladies and Gentlemen...Tommy FN Dreamer!
I am a professional author and lifelong comic books/pro wrestling fan. I also work as a journalist as well as writing comic books (I also draw), screenplays, stage plays, songs and prose fiction.
I don't generally read or reply to comments here on What Culture (too many trolls!), but if you follow my Twitter (@heyquicksilver), I'll talk to you all day long!
If you are interested in reading more of my stuff, you can find it on http://quicksilverstories.weebly.com/ (my personal site, which has other wrestling/comics/pop culture stuff on it).
I also write for FLiCK http://www.flickonline.co.uk/flicktion, which is the best place to read my fiction work.
Oh yeah - I'm about to become a Dad for the first time, so if my stuff seems more sentimental than usual - blame it on that!
Finally, I sincerely appreciate every single read I get. So if you're reading this, thank you, you've made me feel like Shakespeare for a day! (see what I mean?)
Latcho Drom,
- CQ
