7 Questions With Tommy Dreamer
1. ECW! ECW! ECW!
During its creative peak of 1994-1996, ECW often felt like a protest against what was going on around it in pro wrestling. Rewriting the rules of wrestling, ECW went to places other companies would not dare tread. Being part of that must have been exhilarating.
“Oh, absolutely. It was very in your face. All our mottos: ‘Politically incorrect and damn proud of it.’ You know, ‘EC F’N W’ was an ‘F you!’ to everyone else. It’s kinda the same mantra I have with my own company.
“It’s something different. I’m a huge fan of WWE. But I’m 45. I grew up watching wrestling in the 1970s and 1980s when there were tons of wrestling territories and tons of options. That’s kinda what I’m going for. If WWE’s going one way, I’m going to go the other way. Going against the grain is what we used to do [in ECW].
“When ECW first came out, wrestling was very cartoonish, very family-safe, family-friendly, and it was a low period for wrestling. And then ECW came onto the scene, and we went the route of violence. Then we brought in these smaller wrestlers, like Eddie Guerrero and Dean Malenko. When they left, we said, ‘Let’s show lucha libre.’ When they left, it was the Japanese style. So, it’s all about showing stuff that’s different. That’s what I grew up watching.”
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