Just this month, Tommy Dreamer made a return to WWE programming, teaming with The Dudley Boyz and (later) Rhyno to stand against The Wyatt Family. The grouping is wrestling's latest attempt to cash in on fans' nostalgia for ECW, a well that ran dry in 2006. While still charismatic, Dreamer offers little to WWE as an in-ring performer. Even though his tenure is likely to be temporary, he's simply part of a placeholder feud for The Wyatt Family, designed to give Bray and crew a victory after repeated losses throughout 2015 - a victory that only means something if it's followed up on. Dreamer is currently scheduled to work house shows through January, and after that, he'll hopefully leave the spotlight to the talented young workers. Dreamer also promotes shows under the House of Hardcore brand, working matches for that promotion as well. With House of Hardcore providing some interesting dream bouts over the past couple of years and emerging as one of the U.S.'s more popular independent leagues, he ought to remove himself from competition there, as well. Despite the name, the company doesn't need associations with a buried brand when talent like The Young Bucks, Chris Hero, and others should be leading it to success.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
