10 Worst Ideas That Actual WRESTLERS Came Up With

8. Tommy Dreamer's Sniper Pitch

Jeff Hardy
WWE

Tommy Dreamer was desperate for you to know that he was hardcore.

He'd take Singapore cane shot after Singapore cane shot in order to gain acceptance from the ECW faithful. He'd lose and lose and take a battering each time, just so the fans would want him to win in the end. It was a bit desperate, in that he begged for the reaction that somebody like the Sandman simply got, but it worked out for him. He never was the Sandman, in truth, and more than one ECW fan deemed him a bit corny, but he just about secured his legacy, even if it wasn't quite show-don't-tell.

He wanted to take his crusade even further in ECW's heyday, but was talked out of it - "it" being a hit on his life.

Inspired by the "Whodunnit?" craze of the '80s and '90s, he wanted to get shot in the middle of the ring. With a gun. He actually had a clever touch on a very stupid idea, playing with the lights out trope to reveal the sniper's laser when the arena went dark. He was to feud with the person who was revealed to have shot him, but booker Paul Heyman refused to go ahead with the angle. He feared that a fan might get killed, were the sniper's aim not accurate. Dreamer himself could have died.

It was left to Terry Funk to talk Dreamer out of it, but, amusingly, he didn't have safety in mind. He told Dreamer that it wouldn’t draw; his dad got shot in an angle, and the fans stopped caring about him because he didn't kill the guy who tried to kill him.

Contributor
Contributor

Michael Sidgwick is an editor, writer and podcaster for WhatCulture Wrestling. With over seven years of experience in wrestling analysis, Michael was published in the influential institution that was Power Slam magazine, and specialises in providing insights into All Elite Wrestling - so much so that he wrote a book about the subject. You can order Becoming All Elite: The Rise Of AEW on Amazon. Possessing a deep knowledge also of WWE, WCW, ECW and New Japan Pro Wrestling, Michael’s work has been publicly praised by former AEW World Champions Kenny Omega and MJF, and current Undisputed WWE Champion Cody Rhodes. When he isn’t putting your finger on why things are the way they are in the endlessly fascinating world of professional wrestling, Michael wraps his own around a hand grinder to explore the world of specialty coffee. Follow Michael on X (formerly known as Twitter) @MSidgwick for more!