Mid 20th Century
211-479: Thomas James Laughlin (born February 13, 1971) is an American professional wrestler and promoter better known by the ring name Tommy Dreamer . He is signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), where he is a former one-time TNA Digital Media Champion , and was the owner and promoter of the House of Hardcore (HOH) promotion. Dreamer is best known for his tenures with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in
422-509: A Fatal Four-Way to retain the Universal Championship. At Extreme Rules 2018 , Kurt Angle said that if Lesnar, then-reigning Universal Champion , did not show up for Raw or agree to the terms of when Lesnar will defend the championship, he would be stripped of the championship. On July 16, 2018, episode of Raw , Heyman interrupted Angle, who was about to strip Lesnar of the title, and stated that Lesnar would hold on to
633-505: A Singapore Cane match . Dreamer participated in All Elite Wrestling (AEW)'s Casino Battle Royale at their inaugural pay-per-view event Double or Nothing on May 25, 2019. He failed to win as he was eliminated by Jimmy Havoc . At their following PPV All Out , Dreamer worked backstage as a producer during the event. Dreamer appeared along with fellow ECW wrestler New Jack in the "Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter" episode of
844-683: A Title vs. Career match . He would hold the title until January 13, 2024, at Hard To Kill , when he lost the title to Crazzy Steve . Dreamer joined Major League Wrestling in 2018 as a wrestler and in a backstage role as an agent for matches. His first match for the promotion would be at MLW War Games in September 2018. Dreamer would be on the winning team in the War Games match as himself, John Hennigan , Shane Strickland , Barrington Hughes and Kotto Brazil defeated Abyss, Jimmy Havoc , Sami Callihan and his team The Death Machines. In his match at
1055-435: A bona fide athletic contest or competition. Professional wrestling is not a combative sport. Wrestling constituting bona fide athletic contests and competitions, which may be professional or amateur combative sport, shall not be deemed professional wrestling under this Part. Professional wrestling as used in this Part shall not depend on whether the individual wrestlers are paid or have been paid for their performance in
1266-415: A performing art evolved from the common practice of match-fixing among American wrestlers in the 19th century, who later sought to make matches shorter, more entertaining, and less physically taxing. As the public gradually realized and accepted that matches were predetermined, wrestlers responded by increasingly adding melodrama, gimmickry, and outlandish stunt work to their performances to further enhance
1477-415: A professional wrestling exhibition. All engagements of professional wrestling shall be referred to as exhibitions, and not as matches. In the industry's slang, a fixed match is referred to as a worked match, derived from the slang word for manipulation, as in "working the crowd". A shoot match is a genuine contest where both wrestlers fight to win and are therefore "straight shooters", which comes from
1688-662: A " pretty boy " – at least about the rest of the ECW roster. This gimmick got him soundly booed by crowds, even when he became the first person in wrestling history to kick out of the pin that follows the Superfly Splash of Jimmy "Superfly" Snuka at The Night the Line Was Crossed . After Michael Fay was arrested in Singapore and sentenced to a caning , ECW head booker Paul Heyman decided to capitalize on
1899-554: A "Paul Heyman Guy". After that, CM Punk came out to once again beat Heyman with a kendo stick. The following night on SmackDown , Heyman formally announced to Curtis Axel and Ryback that they were no longer Paul Heyman guys, therefore marking the end of Axel's association with Heyman as he continued to team with Ryback. Heyman returned on the December 30 episode of Raw alongside Brock Lesnar, who attacked Mark Henry . He stood by Lesnar as he feuded with Big Show and The Undertaker in
2110-408: A "genius" was echoed by Tazz and Jim Cornette . Heyman is widely regarded as one of the greatest orators in professional wrestling history. Heyman's skills were praised by his former broadcast partner Jim Ross , who stated: "He was a really good antagonist because sometimes the best antagonists are the villains that say things that you know are true but you just don't want to hear them. Heyman had
2321-439: A 1-on-1 match for the next week's Raw , which Punk accepted. However, this was revealed to be a trap when Lesnar appeared prior to the match. The plan was foiled, however, when Heyman dared CM Punk to come into the ring and accept the challenge as CM Punk, who had anticipated the trap and hid under the ring, emerged and attacked Lesnar. However, Punk failed to get his hands on Heyman as Curtis Axel came to Heyman's aid. This led to
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#17327873562822532-602: A Falls Count Anywhere match, following interference from Devon. On the May 5 episode of Impact! , Dreamer was forced to attack A.J. Styles and to join Immortal in order to save his job in TNA. Dreamer was later confronted on his choice by A.J. Styles, which led to a match at Sacrifice , where Dreamer was victorious following interference from Bully Ray. On the following episode of Impact Wrestling , Dreamer officially turned heel, citing
2743-419: A Lethal Lockdown match, when Dreamer pinned Styles. After weeks of dissension between Rob Van Dam and the rest of EV 2.0, caused by Van Dam's belief that there was a traitor within the group, Dreamer challenged him to a match. At Turning Point Van Dam defeated Dreamer and afterwards made peace with him. On the following episode of Impact! , Rhino turned heel by attacking Van Dam and Dreamer, revealing himself as
2954-457: A No Holds Barred match against Triple H at WrestleMania, with Triple H's career on the line. At WrestleMania, both of Heyman's clients lost their matches. On the April 15 episode of Raw , Heyman announced Lesnar had challenged Triple H to a steel cage match at Extreme Rules . The following week, Triple H accepted the match and delivered a Pedigree to Heyman. As a response, Lesnar and Heyman invaded
3165-524: A Tables match. In late 2007, Dreamer took part in the ECW brand's elimination chase to name a number one contender to the ECW Championship . During the series of matches, also involving Stevie Richards , Elijah Burke , and Kevin Thorn he added a bandana , worn on his head, to his ring gear. He received the original one from a young boy with a brain tumor, and from then on began wearing one as
3376-413: A background in authentic wrestling no longer mattered. After this time, matches became more outlandish and gimmicky and any semblance professional wrestling had to catch wrestling faded. The personas of the wrestlers likewise grew more outlandish. Gorgeous George , who performed throughout the 1940s and 1950s, was the first wrestler whose entrance into the arena was accompanied by a theme song played over
3587-532: A carny term for a shooting gallery gun whose sights were not deliberately misaligned. Wrestling in the United States blossomed in popularity after the Civil War , with catch wrestling eventually becoming the most popular style. At first, professional wrestlers were genuine competitive fighters, but they struggled to draw audiences because Americans did not find real wrestling to be very entertaining, so
3798-696: A celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company, while also placing Dreamer in charge of the show. Dreamer made his TNA in–ring debut on the July 29 episode of Impact! , losing to Abyss in a No Disqualification match. After the match Raven reignited his old feud with Dreamer by turning on him, laying him out with a DDT on a chair, and licking his face. The following week Raven explained his turn by saying that he had not forgotten how Dreamer had "stolen" his girlfriend Beulah McGillicutty back in 1996; also on that show Dreamer teamed with Van Dam to beat Abyss and Raven. On August 8 at Hardcore Justice, Dreamer
4009-519: A central authority. Nor could any of them stomach the idea of leaving the NWA themselves to compete directly with McMahon, for that would mean their territories would become fair game for the other NWA members. McMahon also had a creative flair for TV that his rivals lacked. For instance, the AWA's TV productions during the 1980s were amateurish, low-budget, and out-of-touch with contemporary culture, which lead to
4220-697: A challenge for a tag team match on July 25 at The Arena in Philadelphia. Earlier that same day, Kingston inducted Dreamer into the Hardcore Hall of Fame . BDK ended up defeating Dreamer and Kingston, when Castagnoli pinned Dreamer. Dreamer returned to Chikara on November 13, 2011, at the promotion's first ever internet pay-per-view, High Noon , accompanying Eddie Kingston to his Chikara Grand Championship match. On July 28, 2012, Dreamer wrestled for Family Wrestling Entertainment in which he defeated Brian Kendrick , Carlito and champion Jay Lethal in
4431-585: A champion that Curley put forth: Dick Shikat . The National Wrestling Association shut down in 1980. In 1948, a number of promoters from across the country came together to form the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA). The NWA recognized one "world champion", voted on by its members, but allowed member promoters to crown their own local champions in their territories. If a member poached wrestlers from another member, or held matches in another member's territory, they risked being ejected from
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#17327873562824642-682: A comedic foil, including in the main event of the 2002 Rebellion event. Heyman was inducted into the Wrestling Observer Newsletter Hall of Fame in 2005 and the WWE Hall of Fame on April 5, 2024. Heyman was born in New York City 's Bronx borough on September 11, 1965, the son of Jewish parents Sulamita (née Szarf; 1928–2009) and Richard S. Heyman (1926–2013). His father was a prominent personal injury attorney and World War II veteran, while his mother
4853-604: A creative, deciding the storylines which include Reigns. At the Crown Jewel event in October 2021, Reigns retained the Universal Championship after striking Lesnar with the title belt. Heyman's alliance with Reigns ended on the December 17, 2021 episode of Smackdown after Reigns fired Heyman and attacked him. As Reigns was about to hit him with a steel chair, Lesnar saved him from being attacked. On
5064-466: A degree. Vince Russo, the boss of WCW in 2000, completely disregarded kayfabe by routinely discussing business matters and office politics in public, which alienated fans. I watch championship wrestling from Florida with wrestling commentator Gordon Solie . Is this all "fake"? If so, they deserve an Oscar . Paul Heyman Paul Heyman (born September 11, 1965) is an American professional wrestling manager , executive and former promoter. He
5275-463: A disgruntled talent roster as causes for Mr. Heyman's dismissal". Heyman was escorted from the Coliseum and sent home. He was also immediately pulled from ECW's creative team after the altercation. McMahon attempted to put the blame on Heyman for the poorly received pay-per-view, and after a meeting with Vince and Stephanie McMahon , Heyman legitimately left WWE but remained under contract. Heyman
5486-404: A distinct vernacular . It has achieved mainstream success and influence within popular culture , with many terms, tropes , and concepts being referenced in everyday language as well as in film , music , television , and video games . Likewise, numerous professional wrestlers have become national or international icons with recognition by the broader public. In the United States, wrestling
5697-527: A face-off with Mick Foley , Heyman announced that he was granted a draft pick from both Raw and SmackDown! by Vince McMahon . His Raw draft pick was former ECW wrestler (and Money in the Bank contract holder) Rob Van Dam , and his SmackDown! draft pick was Kurt Angle . Heyman predicted that Van Dam would defeat John Cena at ECW One Night Stand for the WWE Championship and then declare himself
5908-410: A fee, a visitor could challenge the wrestler to a quick match. If the challenger defeated the champion in a short time frame, usually 15 minutes, he won a prize. To encourage challenges, the carnival operators staged rigged matches in which an accomplice posing as a visitor challenged the champion and won, giving the audience the impression that the champion was easy to beat. This practice taught wrestlers
6119-438: A feud between Lesnar and Rollins. At Battleground , Lesnar defeated Rollins by disqualification ( The Undertaker returned and attacked Lesnar). The Undertaker further explained his actions as revenge, not for defeating the streak but over Heyman's constant taunting. At SummerSlam , Heyman was at ringside when the match between Brock Lesnar and The Undertaker ended in controversy; the bell was rung as The Undertaker tapped out, but
6330-677: A feud with the World Wrestling Federation 's Jerry "The King" Lawler . The feud was largely symbolic, with Dreamer representing Extreme Championship Wrestling's "new school" style of wrestling as a concept and Lawler (with James E. Cornette ) representing the World Wrestling Federation and United States Wrestling Association 's more "old school" way of doing things. In 1998, Dreamer had a short feud with Dudley Boyz ( Buh Buh Ray and D-Von ), during which they "broke" Beulah's neck. In August 1999 at
6541-486: A fork into his eye. Dreamer admitted EV 2.0's defeat on the following episode of Impact! and tried to reach a truce with Fourtune, but was beaten down. The following week he returned with Raven, Stevie Richards, Sabu and Rhino and announced that Dixie Carter had given the five of them a Lethal Lockdown match against Fourtune at Bound for Glory . At Bound for Glory Dreamer, Raven, Rhino, Richards and Sabu defeated Fourtune members Styles, Kazarian, Morgan, Roode and Storm in
Tommy Dreamer - Misplaced Pages Continue
6752-484: A four-way Elimination match to become the new FWE Heavyweight Champion . On September 14, 2012, Dreamer returned to Chikara, when he, Jerry Lynn and Too Cold Scorpio entered the 2012 King of Trios as "The Extreme Trio", defeating Team WWF ( 1–2–3 Kid , Aldo Montoya and Tatanka ) in their first round match. The following day, The Extreme Trio was eliminated from the tournament by Team ROH ( Mike Bennett , Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson ). On October 4, 2012, he retained
6963-480: A hardcore triple threat match , capturing his second ECW Championship almost a decade after he claimed the title in the original ECW, being the only man to hold the belt in the original ECW and in the ECW brand of WWE. After successfully defending the title against Christian on the June 15 episode of Raw , Dreamer successfully defended the title in a Championship Scramble match at The Bash , before eventually losing
7174-608: A hardcore match to Moxley, which was taped for the Mercury Rising pay-per-view. On April 25, Dreamer made his debut for Philadelphia-based Chikara , challenging Eddie Kingston to a match at the Anniversary show on May 23. Kingston won the match via disqualification when Ares and Claudio Castagnoli of the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes (BDK) attacked him. Dreamer assisted Kingston in taking care of BDK and then made
7385-549: A heated feud with Jerry Lawler , a war which later carried over to the American Wrestling Association (AWA), with the Midnight Express ( Dennis Condrey and Randy Rose ) taking over for Idol and the face - turned Rich. The Paul E. Dangerously gimmick was an extension of Heyman's own personality: a brash New Yorker with a yuppie attitude, often seen holding a mobile phone, which
7596-405: A legitimate sport. Firstly, wrestling was more entertaining when it was faked, whereas fakery did not make boxing any more entertaining. Secondly, in a rigged boxing match, the designated loser must take a real beating for his "defeat" to be convincing, but wrestling holds can be faked convincingly without inflicting injury. This meant that boxers were less willing to "take dives"; they wanted to have
7807-523: A losing effort. on the July 24 episode of Impact, Dreamer and Team 3D faced Ethan Carter III, Rhino, and Rockstar Spud in a 6-man New York City street fight in a losing effort after a run in by Snitsky and Rycklon. On the August 7 taping of Impact Wrestling, Dreamer, Team 3D, and Al Snow defeated Team Dixie (Ethan Carter III, Rhyno, Rycklon Stephens , and Snitsky ) in a hardcore tag team war. Shortly afterward, Bully Ray powerbombed Dixie Carter through
8018-474: A major falling out with Gilbert right before the UltraClash event on September 18, 1993. From that point forward, Heyman was in charge of the creative direction of the company. As Paul E. Dangerously, he managed a few wrestlers, including Sabu and 911 . A year later, the company was the flagship promotion of the struggling NWA. The NWA World Title Tournament was scheduled to be held in August 1994 for
8229-742: A match against Gus Sonnenberg in January 1929. Bowser then broke away from the trust to form his own cartel, the American Wrestling Association (AWA), in September 1930, and he declared Sonnenberg to be the AWA champion. This AWA should not be confused with Wally Kadbo's AWA founded in 1960. Curley reacted to this move by convincing the National Boxing Association to form the National Wrestling Association , which in turn crowned
8440-569: A match at TNA One Night Only – Old School. On June 6, 2014, Dreamer was scheduled to face Team 3D along with Abyss. However, Bully Ray was pulled out of the event, so the main event was Devon and Dreamer vs Rhino and Abyss. Dreamer and Devon won the match. At House of Hardcore VII, Dreamer wrestled against Bobby Roode for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but he was defeated. Dreamer now owns his House of Hardcore promotion. He has made various touring tours across
8651-419: A match between Lesnar and Punk at SummerSlam , which Lesnar won after interference from Heyman. "I think the bar was set so high with the chemistry that Brock and I have, and the chemistry that Punk and I had, that it would be very difficult to match that ... I've never walked through the curtain with someone I wasn't trying to audition as a WrestleMania main-eventer, and I never want to ... But sometimes
Tommy Dreamer - Misplaced Pages Continue
8862-443: A month before, had quit the company. Behind the scenes, Heyman had no interest at first in returning to WWE, as he still felt he held bad blood with a lot of the staff, but reconsidered after Lesnar requested his presence after a lackluster promo with John Laurinaitis . The following week on Raw SuperShow , Heyman confronted Triple H , handing him a lawsuit from Lesnar for breach of contract. Triple H responded by shoving Heyman into
9073-783: A more high-profile stint with Championship Wrestling from Florida in February 1987. There, he joined forces with Kevin Sullivan and Oliver Humperdink , and acquired the name Paul E. Dangerously because of his resemblance to Michael Keaton 's character in Johnny Dangerously . After CWF was absorbed by Jim Crockett Promotions, Bigelow brought him to Memphis and the Continental Wrestling Association (CWA) to manage Tommy Rich and Austin Idol in
9284-424: A more literal meaning in those places. A notable example is India's Pro Wrestling League . In numerous American states, professional wrestling is legally defined as a non-sport. For instance, New York defines professional wrestling as: Professional wrestling means an activity in which participants struggle hand-in-hand primarily for the purpose of providing entertainment to spectators and which does not comprise
9495-440: A new city, attendance was high because there was a waiting fanbase cultivated in advance by the cable TV shows. The NWA's traditional anti-competitive tricks were no match for this. The NWA attempted to centralize and create their own national cable television shows to counter McMahon's rogue promotion, but it failed in part because the members of the NWA, ever protective of their territories, could not stomach submitting themselves to
9706-465: A new way of working the fans, especially the " smarks " – fans with some amount of inside information. In a later match, Dreamer kayfabe accidentally blinded the Sandman, first by knocking a lit cigarette into his eye, then hitting the other with a Singapore cane . Immediately after, Dreamer seemed to break kayfabe and started aiding the Sandman. He professed that he "didn't mean to do it" and that it
9917-465: A no disqualification street fight. On June 6 Dreamer confirmed that TNA's house show in Memphis, Tennessee on June 11 would be his final appearance for the promotion. In his final TNA match, Dreamer teamed with Bully Ray in a losing effort against A.J. Styles and Brother Devon. After the match Bully berates Dreamer, causing Dreamer to turn on him and make up with Styles and Devon. Dreamer appeared at
10128-531: A number one contender for the championship; Big Show would win the match. Following Mark Henry's ECW Championship win at Night of Champions , Dreamer was named his first challenger. At The Great American Bash , Dreamer was defeated by Henry for the championship after Colin Delaney turned on him and cost him the match. On the following ECW , Dreamer defeated Delaney and again on August 12, 2008, in an Extreme Rules grudge match which would be Delaney's final match in
10339-675: A photographer when he was 13 and bought his own photo lab to take photos of pro wrestlers in New York. He published his own newsletter, The Wrestling Times Magazine , and wrote for third-party wrestling publications such as Pro Wrestling Illustrated . At the age of 14, he called Capitol Wrestling Corporation , the parent company of the World Wide Wrestling Federation , and obtained a backstage pass for Madison Square Garden , his first official work in pro wrestling. Posed photographs from this period of Heyman with
10550-466: A photographer. The same year, he became producer of Studio 54 and hosted the first Wrestle Party 85 show. He called Jim Crockett, who sent Ric Flair , Dusty Rhodes and Magnum T. A. The show featured Bam Bam Bigelow 's debut and an award to Flair. At the urging of Bigelow, Heyman made his managerial debut on January 2, 1987, initially appearing on the Northeast independent circuit before moving to
10761-433: A segment with Vince McMahon and Eric Bischoff announcing ECW One Night Stand , with Heyman in charge. On the May 22, 2006 episode of Raw , Heyman appeared as ECW Representative promoting ECW One Night Stand . On May 25, 2006, it was announced that ECW would relaunch , as a third WWE brand. Heyman was in charge of the new brand on-camera but had minimal creative input off-camera as well. On the May 29 episode of Raw , during
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#173278735628210972-475: A short feud with Daivari and The Great Khali , but Khali was sent to the Raw brand before it could come to a conclusion. Not long after Khali left ECW, The New Breed stable was established, consisting of wrestlers new to ECW: Elijah Burke, Marcus Cor Von, Matt Striker and Kevin Thorn. In response, a stable of ECW Originals was created, and the teams continued to clash in singles and tag matches, trading wins on
11183-408: A sign of solidarity and strength to anyone going through that struggle. Dreamer emerged victorious in the final match against Burke, only to be surprised by ECW's general manager Armando Estrada forcing him to face Big Daddy V , who promptly beat him for the number one contenders. In early 2008, Dreamer would have one of his career highlights. Despite not being featured on television leading up to
11394-413: A singles match between Lesnar and Strowman for the now- vacant title at Crown Jewel, a match Lesnar won. At WrestleMania 35 , Heyman came out just after the opening segment, demanding that Seth Rollins fights his client to start off the main card. Lesnar and Rollins appeared thereafter. Lesnar then severely beat up Rollins before the match started. When the match finally started, Rollins ultimately won
11605-784: A six-man tag team match. Later on in the night, Dreamer was attacked backstage by The Shield . On the November 30, 2015 episode of Raw , Dreamer returned, teaming with The Dudley Boyz in a six-man tag match against The Wyatt Family which ended in a no contest. The following week on Raw , Dreamer and The Dudley Boyz would be joined by Rhyno , forming Team Extreme , competing in a 16-man elimination Fatal 4-Way tag team match, where Dreamer would pin Erick Rowan to eliminate The Wyatt Family before Team Extreme would be eliminated by The League of Nations . Later, Dreamer lost to Braun Strowman . At TLC: Tables, Ladders and Chairs , Team Extreme
11816-505: A table. On the August 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, Dreamer was defeated by TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley in a non-title New York City street fight . The day before Bound For Glory Dreamer would induct Team 3D into the TNA Hall of Fame and at Bound for Glory , Dreamer teamed up with Abyss to face Team 3D in a losing effort. On the October 29 episode of Impact Wrestling, Dreamer helped Devon brawl with Bram and Magnus. On
12027-528: A three-way match, which also included Mike Knox . On June 22, 2013, Dreamer defeated Lance Storm in the main event at House of Hardcore 2. On November 9, 2013, Dreamer participated in the main event of House of Hardcore 3. Dreamer and Terry Funk defeated Sean Waltman and Lance Storm . The match was promoted as the last time of Funk and Dreamer as a tag team. After the match, Dreamer was assaulted by TNA wrestlers Team 3D, Bully Ray (formerly Buh Buh Ray Dudley) and Devon (formerly D-Von). Ray challenged Dreamer to
12238-503: A typical American household only received four national channels by antenna, and ten to twelve local channels via UHF broadcasting . But cable television could carry a much larger selection of channels and therefore had room for niche interests. The WWF started with a show called All-American Wrestling airing on the USA Network in September 1983. McMahon's TV shows made his wrestlers national celebrities, so when he held matches in
12449-546: A variety of partners) would feud in the fall with Lance Storm and William Regal as he sought revenge for his jaw being broken. Dreamer would make his Royal Rumble debut in 2003, bringing weapons with him and breaking Bill DeMott's hand during the match. As 2003 and 2004 went on, Dreamer was used less and less on WWE television, and they began allowing him to take independent bookings and work as color commentator for their developmental territories , Ohio Valley Wrestling , Deep South Wrestling and on occasion Heat . He
12660-586: A victory for all the pain to which they subjected themselves. In the 1910s, promotional cartels for professional wrestling emerged in the East Coast (outside its traditional heartland in the Midwest ). These promoters sought to make long-term plans with their wrestlers, and to ensure their more charismatic and crowd-pleasing wrestlers received championships, further entrenching the desire for worked matches. The primary rationale for shoot matches at this point
12871-451: A win over Raven until Raven's last match in ECW, and a Loser Leaves Town match at Wrestlepalooza 1997. During the feud, Beulah had left Raven and was Tommy's valet . Throughout 1996, during the feud with Raven, Dreamer was also involved in an additional feud with "Prime Time" Brian Lee , who was brought in as Raven's bodyguard . The two had several encounters that ended with Dreamer being chokeslammed through tables. During other fights,
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#173278735628213082-596: Is Paul Heyman , Heyman stated that the SmackDown! brand he was writing was beating Raw in ratings, merchandise and live show attendance during a time McMahon wanted real-life competition between the Raw and SmackDown! brands. While he was in WWE, Tazz spoke to him about Brock Lesnar , a WWE developmental wrestler. Heyman began mentoring Lesnar, and McMahon decided to make Heyman Lesnar's manager. Heyman helped Lesnar capture
13293-436: Is a form of athletic theater that combines mock combat with drama , with the premise that the performers are competitive wrestlers. Professional wrestling is distinguished by its scripted outcomes and emphasis on entertainment and showmanship . The staged nature of matches is an open secret , with both wrestlers and spectators nonetheless maintaining the pretense that performances are bona fide competitions, which
13504-410: Is a true sport. Wrestlers would at all times flatly deny allegations that they fixed their matches, and they often remained in-character in public even when not performing. When in public, wrestlers would sometimes say the word kayfabe to each other as a coded signal that there were fans present and they needed to be in character. Professional wrestlers in the past strongly believed that if they admitted
13715-404: Is arguably his most memorable. The two were portrayed as childhood friends who had been competing in different ways their entire lives. Raven's entrance into ECW had him accompanied by Beulah McGillicutty , an overweight girl from their kayfabe childhood who had a crush on Dreamer and was now a Penthouse Pet. Dreamer and Raven (and Raven's Nest ) feuded for two years, with Dreamer never getting
13926-478: Is because guys left. Dreamer stayed with ECW until it folded in 2001, defeating C. W. Anderson in an "I Quit" match at Guilty as Charged – the final pay-per-view – and teaming with Danny Doring in a win over Julio Dinero and E. Z. Money in the final independent ECW show. After ECW closed its doors, Dreamer spent time in various independent leagues throughout the country, such as Jersey All Pro Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling before he signed with
14137-427: Is generally practiced in an amateur context. No professional league for competitive wrestling exists due to a lack of popularity. For example, Real Pro Wrestling , an American professional freestyle wrestling league, dissolved in 2007 after just two seasons. In other countries, such as Iran and India , wrestling enjoys widespread popularity as a genuine sport, and the phrase "professional wrestling" therefore has
14348-470: Is likened to the suspension of disbelief employed when engaging with fiction . Professional wrestlers perform as characters and usually maintain a " gimmick " consisting of a specific persona , stage name , entrance theme , and other distinguishing traits. Matches are the primary vehicle for advancing storylines, which typically center on interpersonal conflicts, or feuds , between heroic " faces " and villainous " heels ". A wrestling ring , akin to
14559-755: Is signed to WWE , where he appears on the SmackDown brand . Born in Scarsdale, New York to a family of Holocaust survivors , Heyman debuted in the professional wrestling business in 1986, becoming known as the CEO and creative force behind the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion from 1993 until its closure in 2001. Before owning ECW, he was a manager under the ring name Paul E. Dangerously in World Championship Wrestling (WCW) and other promotions. He
14770-494: Is the co-owner of New York City 's Looking4Larry Agency. In WWE, Heyman had managed or has served as manager for a record seven world champions ( The Undertaker , Big Show , Kurt Angle , Brock Lesnar , CM Punk , Rob Van Dam , and Roman Reigns ), although besides Reigns, he also managed several members of the dynastic Anoaʻi family of Samoan professional wrestlers. Critics have praised his managing and promo skills. He has also competed sporadically in matches, usually as
14981-703: The IWCCW Tag Team Championship three times in 1991. He changed his name to Tommy Dreamer, reportedly after taking his given first name, and adding "Dreamer" in tribute to Dusty Rhodes , in 1992 while working in the New England based Century Wrestling Alliance (CWA). While in the CWA, he became its first Heavyweight Champion by defeating "Mr. USA" Tony Atlas in a tournament final held in Wallingford, Connecticut , on November 5, 1992. He held
15192-521: The Intercontinental Championship with Axel winning the match and the title. Heyman accompanied Punk to the ring later in the show for his match with Chris Jericho. After Payback , a WWE.com exclusive video aired with Punk telling Heyman that he is his friend and not his client. On the June 17 episode of Raw , Punk challenged Alberto Del Rio , mentioning that he did not want Heyman managing him anymore. Following Punk's match, he
15403-555: The NWA World Heavyweight Championship , at an ECW-hosted event mostly featuring ECW wrestlers. The proposed outcome was the current ECW champion Shane Douglas becoming champion, but Heyman conspired with Douglas and Gordon without the knowledge of NWA president Dennis Coralluzzo to have Douglas (and by extension, ECW itself) publicly denounce the NWA and its "tradition" after winning the tournament. In his post-match speech, Douglas aggressively assaulted
15614-624: The New Jersey State Athletic Control Board that professional wrestling is not a real sport because its matches have predetermined outcomes. Shortly thereafter, New Jersey deregulated professional wrestling. The WWF then rebranded itself as a " sports entertainment " company. In the early years of the 20th century, the style of wrestling used in professional wrestling matches was catch wrestling . Promoters wanted their matches to look realistic and so preferred to recruit wrestlers with real grappling skills. In
15825-537: The No Mercy pay-per-view, the storyline was that she was forced to resign from her position as general manager (GM) of SmackDown! . Heyman returned to television to assume Stephanie McMahon's on-camera role as General Manager. On March 22, 2004, he appeared on Raw to take part in the annual WWE draft lottery . During the show he was drafted to the Raw brand to work for Raw general manager Eric Bischoff . Instead, he decided to "quit" rather than work for Bischoff,
16036-464: The Raw brand . There, he turned face and was given a gimmick that saw him proclaim that he was "Just a Regular Guy", for which he was featured in vignettes and backstage segments showing him in normal situations that were then augmented by "disgusting" antics such as brushing his teeth and his dog's teeth with the same brush and eating food from the floor. However, this angle was short-lived. He soon reverted to his "Innovator of Violence" gimmick in
16247-509: The Royal Rumble , Dreamer would receive a loud ovation and chants from his hometown MSG crowd even with Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker in the match. In February, Dreamer was paired with ECW brand enhancement talent Colin Delaney as a sort of mentor after Delaney was consistently and easily defeated on the weekly ECW television show. They challenged John Morrison and the Miz for
16458-459: The TruTV television show Impractical Jokers in 2014, as one of the show's main members, Brian "Q" Quinn , had to wrestle him as part of his punishment for losing the most contests on that episode. He had another cameo on the show in 2017, in a challenge where he had to take Q's pants off, before a stranger untangles his earphones. In 2013, he portrayed Officer Carpoza in the horror film Army of
16669-577: The USA Network failed after USA Network President Steven Chau became aware of an email Vince McMahon sent which pressured him and other network executives to put ECW on the USA Network. In the final days of ECW, Heyman became persona non grata as he did not appear on the show and was replaced as the leader of the backstage and creative by ECW wrestler Tommy Dreamer . Heyman could not get out of financial trouble and ECW closed on April 4, 2001. Heyman also supposedly had never told his wrestlers that
16880-767: The WNC Championship tournament and defeating Yusuke Kodama in his first round match. Two days later, Dreamer was defeated in his semi-final match by Akira. Tommy Dreamer worked with Ring of Honor during 2017 coming to the aid of Bully Ray who had been attacked by former allies The Briscoe Brothers . Tommy Dreamer and Bully Ray teamed against The Briscoe Brothers in a losing effort at ROH Final Battle 2017 . He made his debut in Lucha Underground in Aztec Warfare IV, Episode 1 of Lucha Underground's fourth season on June 13, 2018, at number 7, and
17091-599: The WWE Tag Team Championship after they defeated them in a non-title match, but they lost the title match in an Extreme rules match in March. At WrestleMania XXIV , he participated in a pre-show 24-man battle royal to earn an opportunity for the ECW Championship in the event, a match that was won by Kane . Dreamer qualified for the five-way Singapore cane match at One Night Stand to determine
17302-544: The WWE Undisputed Championship 126 days after Lesnar's main roster debut when Lesnar beat The Rock at SummerSlam to also become the youngest WWE Undisputed Champion at the time. At the Survivor Series , Heyman turned on Lesnar and allied himself with Big Show , while helping him win the title from Lesnar in the process. After McMahon defeated his daughter Stephanie in October 2003 at
17513-586: The World Wrestling Federation (WWF). He was introduced to WWF audiences on the July 9, 2001, episode of Raw as a member of the WCW/ECW Alliance during the Invasion angle . When the angle ended in November, Dreamer was sent to the WWF's " farm territory " Heartland Wrestling Association . He was brought back to the main roster of the now-renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in March and placed on
17724-557: The independent circuit , to internationally broadcast events at major arenas. The largest and most influential promotions are in the United States , Mexico , Japan , and northwest Europe (the United Kingdom , Germany/Austria and France ), which have each developed distinct styles, traditions, and subgenres within professional wrestling. Professional wrestling has developed its own culture and community , including
17935-431: The spectacle . By at least the early 20th century, professional wrestling had diverged from the competitive sport to become an artform and genre of sports entertainment . Professional wrestling is performed around the world through various " promotions ", which are roughly analogous to production companies or sports leagues . Promotions vary considerably in size, scope, and creative approach, ranging from local shows on
18146-534: The "heart and soul" of ECW, Dreamer regularly featured in prominent storylines for the promotion as well as holding many back office roles. Dreamer has also appeared in notable promotions such as Impact Wrestling/TNA Wrestling, Ring of Honor (ROH), and AAA . After departing from WWE in 2010, Dreamer joined Total Nonstop Action Wrestling and was a part of an ECW-inspired stable known as EV 2.0 . In 2012, Dreamer started his wrestling promotion called House of Hardcore, named in honor of ECW's former wrestling school of
18357-584: The 1920s, a group of wrestlers and promoters known as the Gold Dust Trio introduced moves which have since become staples of the mock combat of professional wrestling, such as body slams, suplexes , punches, finishing moves, and out-of-ring count-outs. By the early 1930s, most wrestlers had adopted personas to generate public interest. These personas could broadly be characterized as either faces (likeable) or heels (villainous). Native Americans, cowboys, and English aristocrats were staple characters in
18568-400: The 1930s and 1940s. Before the age of television, some wrestlers played different personas depending on the region they were performing in. This eventually came to an end in the age of national television wrestling shows, which forced wrestlers to stick to one persona. Wrestlers also often used some sort of gimmick, such as a finishing move, eccentric mannerisms, or out-of-control behavior (in
18779-639: The 1990s and early 2000s and with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) (previously the World Wrestling Federation (WWF)), primarily from 2001 to 2010. During this time, he held numerous championships including, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship (which he held twice, being the only man to capture the title in both the original ECW and WWE's ECW brand ). He has also held the ECW World Tag Team Championship and WWF/E Hardcore Championship . Dubbed
18990-460: The 1990s, WCW became a credible rival to the WWF, but by end it suffered from a series of creative missteps that led to its failure and purchase by the WWF. One of its mistakes was that it diminished the glamor of its World Heavyweight Championship . Between January 2000 and March 2001, the title changed hands eighteen times, which sapped fan enthusiasm, particularly for the climactic pay-per-view matches. In professional wrestling, two factors decide
19201-465: The Alliance during the Invasion angle . Heyman was " fired " following the 2001 Survivor Series when the Alliance lost a winner takes all match that marked the end of the invasion angle. Heyman was replaced on Raw commentary by the returning Jerry Lawler . Heyman was the lead writer for SmackDown! from July 2002 to February 2003. On Heyman's 2014 WWE documentary Ladies and Gentleman, My Name
19412-653: The Atlantic Athletic Corporation (AAC). The AAC shut down in 1960. In 1958, Omaha promoter and NWA member Joe Dusek recognized Verne Gagne as the world champion without the approval of the NWA. Gagne asked for a match against the recognized NWA champion Pat O'Connor. The NWA refused to honor the request, so Gagne and Minneapolis promoter Wally Karbo established the American Wrestling Association in 1960. This AWA should not be confused with Paul Bowser's AWA, which ceased operations just two months prior. Gagne's AWA operated out of Minnesota . Unlike
19623-417: The August 13, 2018 episode of Raw , Heyman revealed it was all a ruse as both Heyman (wielding pepper spray ) and Lesnar ambushed Reigns . Heyman would accompany Lesnar to SummerSlam, where Lesnar's 504 day reign as champion would come to an end after Lesnar was pinned by Reigns. Heyman would appear in a segment backstage at the Raw following SummerSlam to invoke Lesnar's rematch clause against Roman for
19834-512: The Bank , Heyman betrayed CM Punk, costing him his chance at the Money in the Bank briefcase by hitting him three times with a ladder, knocking Punk off the ladder when he was ascending. On the August 5 episode of Raw , Punk retaliated by choking Heyman while Heyman was in Curtis Axel's corner during a match. This prompted Lesnar to enter the ring and attack Punk. Heyman later challenged Punk to
20045-533: The Bloodline. Heyman was by Reigns' side as he beat Cody Rhodes at Wrestlemania 39 in the main event. Reigns' title reign as Universal Champion lasted 1,316 days when he ultimately lost to Rhodes at WrestleMania XL in April 2024. That same year, Heyman was announced as the first 2024 WWE Hall of Fame inductee and was inducted on April 5. After Reigns' title loss, Heyman turned into a tweener , after his character became innocent after Solo Sikoa , who joined
20256-545: The Damned . Dreamer also has a cameo, alongside fellow wrestlers Diamond Dallas Page , Jake Roberts and Roddy Piper , in the comedy film The Bet . In 2017, he starred as Detective Marx in the drama-thriller 'The Abduction of Jennifer Grayson', where he was credited as "Tom Dreamer". Professional wrestling 1970s and 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s and 2020s Professional wrestling (often referred to as pro wrestling , or simply, wrestling )
20467-413: The December 29 episode of ECW , Dreamer wrestled Zack Ryder and lost. If Dreamer was to lose the match then he would be ( kayfabe ) forced to retire from in-ring competition. After the match, Dreamer made a farewell speech in which he thanked the fans before exiting the ring with his two daughters. A few days later on January 4, 2010, Dreamer was officially released by WWE, ending an eight-year tenure with
20678-414: The ECW Championship by June 6, when his WWE contract was to expire, he would no longer wrestle for ECW. The storyline saw Dreamer start a losing streak that ended when he defeated Paul Burchill on the February 24 episode of ECW . On the April 28 episode of ECW , Dreamer received a match for the ECW Championship against then-champion Christian , which went to a no-contest when Jack Swagger interfered. On
20889-499: The FWE Heavyweight Championship against Rhino in the first PPV of the company. On November 25, 2012, Dreamer returned to Japan to take part in an independent event produced by The Big Guns. During the event, Dreamer and Makoto defeated Akira and Syuri in a mixed tag team hardcore match. The following day, Dreamer made his debut for Wrestling New Classic (WNC), the follow-up promotion to Smash, entering
21100-506: The January 3, 2022 episode of Raw , Heyman once again aligned himself with Lesnar after he had won the WWE Championship two days earlier at Day 1 . The reunion was short-lived, as three weeks later at the Royal Rumble event, Heyman betrayed Lesnar by handing Reigns the WWE Championship belt to attack Lesnar, allowing Bobby Lashley to win the title from him in the process and re-aligning him with Reigns. Lesnar went on to win
21311-519: The July 15 episode of Impact! , Dreamer, Raven, Richards, Rhino , Brother Devon , Pat Kenney and Al Snow , led by Mick Foley, aligned themselves with the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam by attacking Abyss and the rest of the TNA locker room. The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice: The Last Stand , as
21522-404: The June 14, 2018, episode of Impact , Edwards brutally hit Dreamer with a kendo stick because of their loss at Redemption. Edwards and Dreamer would later start an intense feud which ended when Edwards beat Dreamer in a street fight in a match at Slammiversary . At Bound for Glory , Dreamer saved Edwards from an attack from Killer Kross and Moose . This led to a tag team match in which the team
21733-610: The Last Show at the Madhouse , on their last night in the company, they cited this incident to get Dreamer to accept a challenge for the ECW Tag Team Championship they had won earlier in the night. He did accept, and got the title, but was paired with the unexpected partner Raven, who slid into the ring at the last second and made the pin . The team only lasted a short time before it dissolved, with Raven taking
21944-440: The May 21 episode of Superstars Dreamer had another title match with Christian which once again went to a no contest when Swagger interfered, believing he ruined Dreamer's last title chance. Dreamer was granted a one-day extension on his contract, allowing him one last chance at the ECW Championship, challenging the champion Christian and Jack Swagger in a triple threat match at Extreme Rules , where Dreamer pinned Jack Swagger in
22155-408: The NWA, at which point his territory became fair game for everyone. The NWA would blacklist wrestlers who worked for independent promoters or who publicly criticized an NWA promoter or who did not throw a match on command. If an independent promoter tried to establish himself in a certain area, the NWA would send their star performers to perform for the local NWA promoter to draw the customers away from
22366-408: The NWA, which only allowed faces to be champions, Gagne occasionally allowed heels to win the AWA championship so that they could serve as foils for him. In August 1983, the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), a promotion in the north-east , withdrew from the NWA. Vince K. McMahon then took over as its boss. No longer bound by the territorial pact of the NWA, McMahon began expanding his promotion into
22577-400: The November 5 episode of Impact, Dreamer and Devon defeated Bram and Magnus in a hardcore tag team match. On the November 19, 2014, episode of Impact, Dreamer faced Bram in a hardcore match but lost. on the February 20 episode of Impact, Dreamer faced Eric Young in a Hardcore match but lost the match. At Bound for Glory , Dreamer competed in the 12-man Bound for Gold Gauntlet match which
22788-519: The October 27 episode of Impact , Swoggle helped Dreamer in defeating Brian Myers in a hardcore match by hitting Myers with a low blow. At No Surrender on February 13, 2021, his 50th birthday, Dreamer unsuccessfully challenged Rich Swann for the Impact World Championship . On September 17, 2021, Impact officials announced that Dreamer had been suspended indefinitely due to the comments he made on an episode of Dark Side of
22999-530: The October 31 episode of Raw , Heyman and Lesnar confronted Goldberg , and Heyman was speared by Goldberg; he was later taken by ambulance to a hospital in Hartford, Connecticut . On the July 31 episode of Raw , Heyman appeared with Lesnar to announce to acting authority figure Kurt Angle that, should Lesnar lose the championship at SummerSlam , they will both depart from the company. At Summerslam, Lesnar defeated Roman Reigns, Samoa Joe, and Braun Strowman in
23210-574: The Ring , which saw Dreamer defend Ric Flair concerning the allegation that Flair made multiple unwanted sexual advances towards a flight attendant on a flight from England to the U.S. in 2002. He left Impact in November 2021. In December, Dreamer returned to Impact both as a producer and semi-active wrestler. At Victory Road on September 8, 2023, he won the Impact Digital Media Championship by defeating Kenny King in
23421-525: The Royal Rumble match and regained the WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber , setting up a Champion vs. Champion Winner Takes All Championship Unification match against Reigns at WrestleMania 38 . Reigns defeated Lesnar, thus winning both the Universal and WWE Championships . It was around this time that Heyman would be announced as ‘The Wiseman’ as well as ‘Special Counsel’ to Roman Reigns and
23632-450: The September 3 episode of Raw , after CM Punk attacked John Cena , Heyman was seen driving the car Punk had entered. This began an alliance between CM Punk and Heyman. Heyman began accompanying Punk to the ring for his matches and promos. Because of the events of the previous weeks, on the February 11 episode of Raw , Heyman addressed the audience intending to resign from the company. CM Punk, however, convinced Heyman to not only stay with
23843-610: The TV series Early Edition as a biker. In October 2011, Dreamer started his own YouTube series, titled The Tommy Dreamer TV . The show is produced by Brooke Platzner with graphics and music by Jason Platzner. He is a playable character in various video games including ECW Anarchy Rulz , ECW Hardcore Revolution , WWE Raw 2 , WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008 , WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2009 , WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010 , WWE Legends of WrestleMania , TNA Wrestling Impact! , and RetroMania Wrestling . Dreamer appeared on an episode of
24054-453: The United States and over the years at his owner's level he is still fighting and defeating his opponents in hardcore matches. On December 2, 2017, House of Hardcore 36 Abyss defeated Dreamer. On January 27, 2018, House of Hardcore 37 Team of Tommy Dreamer and Billy Gunn beat the team of Joey Mercury and Nick Aldis . On March 23, 2018, in the 38 episode of House of Hardcore Tommy Dreamer beat Joey Mercury in one very brutal street fight match;
24265-476: The Universal Championship at Hell in a Cell , but the rematch was denied by Kurt Angle. However, at Hell in a Cell, Heyman appeared as Lesnar interfered with the main event match between Roman Reigns and Braun Strowman. The next day, Heyman appeared on Raw , setting up a triple threat match at Crown Jewel between Brock Lesnar, Braun Strowman, and Roman Reigns for the Universal Championship. However, following Reigns' leukemia announcement, Heyman would instead set up
24476-491: The WWE Championship in quick fashion, at a fan-less event, due to the COVID-19 pandemic . Lesnar then opted not to sign a new contract, thus leaving his professional wrestling career in uncertainty due to him becoming a "free agent". On the August 28, 2020 episode of SmackDown , Heyman aligned with the returning Roman Reigns , portraying the character of his special counsel. Besides his work as manager, Heyman also worked as
24687-407: The WWE. Dreamer then turned his attention to the debuting Jack Swagger , who made disparaging remarks about Dreamer and ECW. They first faced off in an amateur wrestling match, which Dreamer was disqualified from for using his DDT on Swagger. Then Swagger defeated Dreamer in an Extreme Rules match, ending the feud. On the January 13, 2009 episode of ECW , Dreamer announced that if he failed to win
24898-410: The WWF's three dominant heel managers of the period, Lou Albano , Fred Blassie and The Grand Wizard were later published by Pro Wrestling Illustrated as evidence that Heyman had studied heel management under the tutelage of the "Three Wise Men". Heyman met Dusty Rhodes at a Jim Crockett Promotions taping, when he entered a production meeting. In 1985, Heyman was hired by New York Studio 54 as
25109-571: The World Wrestling Entertainment banner. He, along with a number of former ECW stars, took part in promotional hype for the event on episodes of Raw and, with The Sandman , he wrestled the Dudley Boyz in the main event. For the 2006 event , he was placed into an angle that had him and Terry Funk – who had been his "mentor" in the early days of the original ECW – at odds with then-heels, Mick Foley and Edge over
25320-639: The ability to tell his version of the truth, [he was] plausible. He just wasn't a heel getting himself over, he got talent over and did a great job." Heyman is the co-founder of the award-winning New York City firm The Looking4Larry Agency. The firm broke new ground with its initial campaign with Electronic Arts , THQ video games, 2K Sports , the Hard Rock Hotel, and Casino Las Vegas. Heyman also worked with Brock Lesnar , collaborating with him on Lesnar's autobiography, Death Clutch: My Story of Determination, Domination, and Survival . He has appeared in
25531-401: The arena's loudspeakers, his being Pomp and Circumstance . He also wore a costume: a robe and hairnet, which he removed after getting in the ring. He also had a pre-match ritual where his "butler" would spray the ring with perfume. In the 1980s, Vince McMahon made entrance songs, costumes, and rituals standard for his star wrestlers. For instance, McMahon's top star Hulk Hogan would delight
25742-418: The art of staging rigged matches and fostered a mentality that spectators were marks to be duped. The term kayfabe comes from carny slang. By the turn of the 20th century, most professional wrestling matches were "worked" and some journalists exposed the practice: American wrestlers are notorious for the amount of faking they do. It is because of this fact that suspicion attaches to so many bouts that
25953-561: The audience by tearing his shirt off before each match. The first major promoter cartel emerged on the East Coast, although up to that point, wrestling's heartland had been in the Midwest. Notable members of this cartel included Jack Curley , Lou Daro, Paul Bowser and Tom and Tony Packs. The promoters colluded to solve a number of problems that hurt their profits. Firstly, they could force their wrestlers to perform for less money. As
26164-424: The cartel grew, there were fewer independent promoters where independent wrestlers could find work, and many were forced to sign a contract with the cartel to receive steady work. The contracts forbade them from performing at independent venues. A wrestler who refused to play by the cartel's rules was barred from performing at its venues. A second goal of the wrestling cartels was to establish an authority to decide who
26375-418: The case of heels). The matches could also be gimmicky sometimes, with wrestlers fighting in mud and piles of tomatoes and so forth. The most successful and enduring gimmick to emerge from the 1930s were tag-team matches. Promoters noticed that matches slowed down as the wrestlers in the ring tired, so they gave them partners to relieve them. It also gave heels another way to misbehave by double-teaming. Towards
26586-468: The championship for "however long he pleases". Angle then scheduled Lesnar to defend the championship at SummerSlam; if he did not, he would be indefinitely stripped. On the July 30 episode of Raw , Angle threatened Heyman's employment due to Lesnar's refusal to leave the backstage area and appear in the ring. After several failed attempts by Heyman to convince Lesnar to appear in the ring, Lesnar attacked Angle with an F-5 and choked Heyman. Two weeks later on
26797-423: The character in shows must be considered fictional, wholly separate from the life of the performer. This is similar to other entertainers who perform with a persona that shares their own name. Some wrestlers also incorporate elements of their real-life personalities into their characters, even if they and their in-ring persona have different names. Kayfabe is the practice of pretending that professional wrestling
27008-430: The chemistry just isn't there". Heyman in 2013, regarding wrestlers he did not complement well with. Heyman and Axel delivered a brutal assault to Punk on Raw the following week, with Heyman breaking a kendo stick over Punk's back while Punk was handcuffed. Heyman was then booked to team with Axel against CM Punk in an elimination handicap match at Night of Champions . Heyman tried various times to get out of
27219-461: The commission. The Commission did on very rare occasions hand out such authorizations, such as for a championship match between Jim Londos and Jim Browning in June 1934. This decree did not apply to amateur wrestling, which the commission had no authority over. Wrestling fans widely suspected that professional wrestling was fake, but they did not care as long as it entertained. In 1933, a wrestling promoter named Jack Pfefer started talking about
27430-627: The company away from the NWA, and ECW became its own entity. Heyman encouraged wrestlers to express their true feelings about the WWF, the NWA, and WCW. In May 1995, Heyman bought out Gordon and became sole owner of ECW. During his time in ECW, Heyman found an ally in Vince McMahon 's WWF. McMahon had sent some WWF wrestlers to ECW (under WWF payroll) to develop them and was interested in some ECW wrestlers, such as Terry Gordy and 2 Cold Scorpio . McMahon paid Heyman $ 1,000 per week to rent Scorpio. Heyman also acknowledged how an effort to put ECW on
27641-671: The company for several of his photographs. He graduated from Edgemont High School . He attended SUNY Purchase and worked on-air as an opinionated, controversial host at SUNY's radio station and the WARY-FM New York radio station for Westchester Community College ; in 1985, at the age of 19, he became a photographer, then a producer and promoter for the New York City nightclub Studio 54 . Heyman decided he wanted to work in professional wrestling when he saw Vince McMahon interviewing "Superstar" Billy Graham . He began as
27852-453: The company was on its dying legs and was unable to pay them for a while. ECW entered into bankruptcy in 2001 (just weeks after WCW was sold to WWF for $ 2 million, after AOL Time Warner wrote off over $ 100 million in debt), with the company $ 7 million in arrears, with over $ 3 million owed to the company by InDemand pay per view. On January 28, 2003, World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. purchased ECW's assets from HHG Corporation in court, acquiring
28063-451: The company, but also to be in Punk's corner at the upcoming Elimination Chamber pay-per-view for his WWE Championship match. Around this time, Heyman quietly cut off his signature ponytail . Later, CM Punk earned the right to fight The Undertaker at WrestleMania 29 after winning a Fatal Four Way match at Old School Raw . In addition, Heyman's other client Brock Lesnar was booked for
28274-479: The company. On June 13, 2010, at Slammiversary VIII Dreamer made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), appearing in the crowd and thus distracting Brother Ray and costing him his match against Jesse Neal . On the June 24 episode of Impact! Dreamer appeared in the crowd of the Impact! Zone, beside fellow ECW alumni Raven and Stevie Richards. The following week the three were joined by Rhino . On
28485-400: The contract to make it official. The same week on SmackDown , Jericho faced off against Curtis Axel. As Jericho was closing in on the victory, Heyman stood on the announcers table and yelled: "It's clobbering time". Punk's music began to play, distracting Jericho long enough for Axel to pick up the victory. At Payback, Heyman coached Axel during his match with Wade Barrett and The Miz for
28696-540: The current fashion of wrestling is the universal discussion as to the honesty of the matches. And certainly the most interesting phrase of this discussion is the unanimous agreement: "Who cares if they're fixed or not—the show is good." Newspapers tended to shun professional wrestling, as journalists saw its theatrical pretense to being a legitimate sport as untruthful. Eventually promoters resorted to publishing their own magazines in order to get press coverage and communicate with fans. The first professional wrestling magazine
28907-512: The day after this match, Dreamer was a contender for the NWA World Heavyweight Championship against Nick Aldis, but he failed to win the title. On January 17, 2013, Dreamer made an appearance Impact Wrestling as one of Bully Ray 's groomsmen during his wedding to Brooke Hogan . He was assaulted by Aces & Eights after they crashed the ceremony. Dreamer returned to TNA in late 2013. He faced Ethan Carter III at two house shows and on December 29, 2013, at TNA Hardcore Justice 3 , Dreamer
29118-405: The end of the 1930s, faced with declining revenues, promoters chose to focus on grooming charismatic wrestlers with no regard for their skill because it was charisma that drew the crowds, and wrestlers who were both skilled at grappling and charismatic were hard to come by. Since most of the public by this time knew and accepted that professional wrestling was fake, realism was no longer paramount and
29329-603: The facade of kayfabe as best as they could. In 1989, Vince McMahon testified before the New Jersey government that professional wrestling was not a true sport and therefore should be exempted from sports-related taxes. Many wrestlers and fans resented McMahon for this, but Lou Thesz accepted it as the smart move as it gave the industry more freedom to do as it pleased, and because by that point professional wrestling no longer attempted to appear real. The demise of WCW in 2001 provided some evidence that kayfabe still mattered to
29540-606: The first four months of 2014. Lesnar ended The Undertaker's undefeated streak at WrestleMania XXX ; this was The Undertaker's first loss at a WrestleMania, as he previously had a record of 21 wins. On the Raw following WrestleMania, Cesaro revealed himself to be a "Paul Heyman Guy". Cesaro eventually declared himself no longer a "Paul Heyman Guy" on the July 21 episode of Raw . After Triple H announced that Randy Orton would challenge John Cena at SummerSlam , Roman Reigns came out and fought with Orton backstage. Heyman then came out and told Triple H to implement "Plan C" which
29751-470: The first place. "Double-crosses", where a wrestler agreed to lose a match but nevertheless fought to win, remained a problem in the early cartel days. At times a promoter would even award a victorious double-crosser the title of champion to preserve the facade of sport. But promoters punished such wrestlers by blacklisting them, making it quite challenging to find work. Double-crossers could also be sued for breach of contract, such as Dick Shikat in 1936. In
29962-465: The first time he attacked Styles was due to being forced by Ray, before willingly attacking Styles because he wanted to and proceeding to berate the crowd by calling them "pieces of crap" for not sympathizing with his job situation. This is also the first time that Dreamer has wrestled as a heel since being a member of the Alliance during his WWF/E career. On the May 26 episode of Impact Wrestling , Styles and Christopher Daniels defeated Dreamer and Ray in
30173-610: The game is not popular here. Nine out of ten bouts, it has been said, are pre-arranged affairs, and it would be no surprise if the ratio of fixed matches to honest ones was really so high. The wrestler Lou Thesz recalled that between 1915 and 1920, a series of exposés in the newspapers about the integrity of professional wrestling alienated a lot of fans, sending the industry "into a tailspin". But rather than perform more shoot matches, professional wrestlers instead committed themselves wholesale to fakery. Several reasons explain why professional wrestling became fake whereas boxing endured as
30384-404: The government. They pledged to stop allocating exclusive territories to its promoters, to stop blacklisting wrestlers who worked for outsider promoters, and to admit any promoter into the Alliance. The NWA would flout many of these promises, but its power was nonetheless weakened by the lawsuit. Paul Bowser's AWA joined the NWA in 1949. The AWA withdrew from the Alliance in 1957 and renamed itself
30595-555: The headquarters of WWE and trashed Triple H's office. At Extreme Rules, Lesnar defeated Triple H with the help of Heyman. Heyman announced Michael McGillicutty as the newest "Paul Heyman guy" on the May 20 Raw and gave him the new name of Curtis Axel . On the May 27 episode of Raw , Heyman appeared on the Highlight Reel with Chris Jericho , where Jericho challenged CM Punk to a match at Payback which Heyman accepted on Punk's behalf. The next week, Heyman and Jericho signed
30806-457: The inaugural event of Evolve on January 17, 2010, in a non-wrestling role, getting involved in a match which led to him brawling with Jimmy Jacobs . Later that month, on January 23, Dreamer debuted for Dragon Gate USA , saving Jacobs and Lacey from a beating at the hands of Jon Moxley . On March 27, Dreamer made his pay-per-view debut for Dragon Gate USA in Phoenix, Arizona , where he lost
31017-526: The independent. By 1956, the NWA controlled 38 promotions within the United States, with more in Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand. The NWA's monopolistic practices became so stifling that the independents appealed to the government for help. In October 1956 the US Attorney General's office filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NWA in an Iowa federal district court. The NWA settled with
31228-480: The industry was anything but a competitive sport. The first wrestling promoter to publicly admit to routinely fixing matches was Jack Pfefer . In 1933, he started talking about the industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , resulting in a huge exposé. The exposé neither surprised nor alienated most wrestling fans, although some promoters like Jack Curley were furious and tried to restore
31439-496: The industry's inner workings to the New York Daily Mirror , maintaining no pretense that wrestling was real and passing on planned results just before the matches took place. While fans were neither surprised nor alienated, traditionalists like Jack Curley were furious, and most promoters tried to maintain the facade of kayfabe as best they could. Not the least interesting of all the minor phenomena produced by
31650-517: The man he cited for the death of ECW by raiding its talent. Heyman was replaced as SmackDown! General Manager by his former client Kurt Angle on March 25. On July 10, 2005, it was reported that Heyman took over the positions of head booker and writer in Ohio Valley Wrestling , a developmental territory maintained by WWE. It was during this time that he forged a real-life friendship with CM Punk . On May 23, 2005, Heyman returned in
31861-468: The match in under 5 minutes, carrying out a low blow when a referee was knocked down, and executing his finisher three times. In June 2019, WWE announced that Heyman would be the executive director of Raw . Heyman also appeared on SmackDown due to Lesnar being drafted to the brand in the 2019 WWE Draft , but shortly thereafter, Lesnar returned to Raw . Heyman continued to represent Lesnar up to WrestleMania 36 , when Drew McIntyre defeated him for
32072-429: The match, which caused General Manager Brad Maddox to make the match into a no disqualification elimination handicap match. At Night of Champions, Punk eliminated Axel (who had been forced to defend his Intercontinental Championship against Kofi Kingston earlier in the night), leaving Heyman alone with Punk. After receiving a beating from Punk and being placed in handcuffs, just as Heyman did to Punk weeks before, Punk
32283-541: The meanings of " extreme ". The angle ended with a six-person- intergender-tag team match at the pay-per-view where Dreamer, Funk, and Beulah McGillicutty lost to Edge, Foley, and Lita . When the ECW brand officially launched on the Sci Fi channel , Dreamer and the Sandman were put into one of the brands first feuds , an "old school versus new school" feud, against Test and Mike Knox . In November and December he engaged in
32494-498: The members of wrestling cartels as the champion drew big crowds wherever he performed, and this would occasionally lead to schisms. By 1925, this cartel had divided the country up into territories which were the exclusive domains of specific promoters. This system of territories endured until Vince McMahon drove the fragmented cartels out of the market in the 1980s. This cartel fractured in 1929 after one of its members, Paul Bowser , bribed Ed "Strangler" Lewis to lose his championship in
32705-479: The new ECW World Heavyweight Champion . At ECW One Night Stand, Van Dam defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship. After Cena knocked an ECW referee unconscious, Edge (in a disguise) appeared and speared Cena through a table, before taking out SmackDown! referee Nick Patrick , allowing Van Dam to hit the Five-Star Frog Splash on Cena. With no referee available Heyman ran down the aisle to count
32916-485: The next set of television tapings, he would be defeated by Brody King . He then entered a feud with Brian Pillman Jr. over his lack of respect for veterans such as Kevin Sullivan and himself. He beat Pillman in their first encounter, but three weeks later, Pillman would pin Dreamer in a tag team match on the December 21, 2018 episode of MLW Fusion . On January 11, 2019, episode of Fusion , Pillman defeated Dreamer in
33127-410: The pair brawled outdoors onto the street and into traffic. The feud culminated in a scaffold match at High Incident in October 1996, where Dreamer sent Lee off the scaffolding through several tables in the ring below. On February 24, 1997, Dreamer appeared on WWF Monday Night Raw defeating D-Von Dudley during ECW's invasion in WWF. After Raven went to World Championship Wrestling , Dreamer began
33338-496: The pin fall. The following night on Raw , Heyman confirmed that because the championship match was contested under "ECW rules" (which meant, essentially, there were no rules) that the decision stood and Van Dam was the "Undisputed" WWE Champion. As the WWE Champion, Van Dam was the number one man in the reformed ECW, so on the debut of ECW on Sci Fi the next night Heyman, announced as an "ECW Representative", presented him with
33549-437: The platform used in boxing , serves as the main stage ; additional scenes may be recorded for television in backstage areas of the venue, in a format similar to reality television . Performers generally integrate authentic wrestling techniques and fighting styles with choreography , stunts , improvisation , and dramatic conventions designed to maximize entertainment value and audience engagement. Professional wrestling as
33760-717: The promotion's closing in 1991. In the spring of 1984, the WWF purchased Georgia Championship Wrestling (GCW), which had been ailing for some time due to financial mismanagement and internal squabbles. In the deal, the WWF acquired the GCW's timeslot on TBS . McMahon agreed to keep showing Georgia wrestling matches in that timeslot, but he was unable to get his staff to Atlanta every Saturday to fulfill this obligation, so he sold GCW and its TBS timeslot to Jim Crockett Promotions (JCP). JCP started informally calling itself World Championship Wrestling (WCW). In 1988, Ted Turner bought JCP and formally renamed it World Championship Wrestling. During
33971-423: The publicity by holding a Singapore Cane match between Dreamer and the Sandman – with the loser having to take ten lashes. After losing the match, Dreamer took his lashes, then asked the Sandman for another, causing the crowd to feel sympathy for him as he took the extra and another. This was a launching point to an angle that ended up blurring the divide between faces and heels in wrestling, as well as start
34182-660: The re-instated ECW World Heavyweight Championship. Van Dam elected to keep both title belts and was recognized as both the WWE Champion and ECW World Heavyweight Champion. On the July 4 episode of ECW , Heyman helped Big Show defeat Van Dam for the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. At the Raw/ECW taping in South Carolina in December 2006, it was announced that Vince McMahon had sent Heyman home, citing "slumping television ratings and
34393-464: The referee did not see it. This allowed The Undertaker to defeat Lesnar after he passed out to the Hell's Gate . At Hell in a Cell , Heyman was present when Lesnar defeated The Undertaker in the rematch, ending their feud. Heyman returned with Lesnar on the January 11, 2016 Raw , and was ringside with Lesnar for the Royal Rumble . Lesnar was eliminated in the match by Bray Wyatt , after interference by
34604-420: The rest of The Wyatt Family . He accompanied Lesnar to the ring at WrestleMania 32 where Lesnar defeated Dean Ambrose in a No Holds Barred Street Fight. On July 19 at the 2016 WWE Draft , Lesnar and Heyman were drafted to the Raw brand. Heyman returned alongside Lesnar on the August 1 episode of Raw, hyping the match between Lesnar and Randy Orton at SummerSlam while Lesnar took an RKO from Orton. On
34815-417: The rights to ECW's video library. Heyman became a commentator for the WWF on Raw Is War , replacing Jerry Lawler who had quit due to a dispute when his wife The Kat was fired in February 2001. During that time, he resumed his storyline rivalry with Jim Ross . In July, while retaining his commentator role, Heyman recreated ECW as a stable, which then immediately merged with Shane McMahon 's WCW to form
35026-483: The role of an announcer, joining Jim Ross to call the matches on WTBS' World Championship Wrestling and other programming. Heyman admitted he learned more working with Ross than from his previous mentors. While in-between stints in WCW, Heyman went to work for ICW as a writer, but was fired on his first day in the middle of his first TV taping. In 1991, WCW needed to re-structure its " heels ", so Heyman returned to
35237-535: The role of spokesman and ringside manager as the manager of the Dangerous Alliance, with Rick Rude as the centerpiece of the stable. According to Heyman, he and Stone Cold Steve Austin learned their craft from Rude. Heyman led Rude to the United States title and the tag team of Eaton and Arn Anderson to the Tag Team titles . The Dangerous Alliance dominated WCW through most of 1992. Heyman
35448-421: The ropes, leading Heyman to announce that he would file a lawsuit against Triple H for assault and battery. On the June 18 episode of Raw SuperShow , Heyman declined Triple H's challenge for a match against Lesnar at SummerSlam on Lesnar's behalf. Later that month, Heyman stated that Brock Lesnar would answer Triple H's challenge himself at Raw 1000 . Lesnar would go on to defeat Triple H at SummerSlam. On
35659-533: The same name. Since then, Dreamer has made sporadic appearances with WWE in 2012, 2015, and 2016, as well as wrestling on the independent circuit . Laughlin was trained in professional wrestling by Johnny Rodz . His first notable foray into the business came when he worked in International World Class Championship Wrestling (IWCCW) under the name T.D. Madison. While there, he and his storyline brother, G.Q., held
35870-671: The scenes, Gilbert was the head booker of the promotion , and Heyman became his assistant. Heyman was also the head booker for Windy City Wrestling in Chicago and started developing a reputation as being an innovative television writer and producer. In 1988, Heyman jumped to Jim Crockett Promotions , where Dangerously again managed the Original Midnight Express in a feud with the new Midnight Express ( Bobby Eaton and Stan Lane ) and their manager, Jim Cornette , as well as managing "Mean" Mark Callous . He settled into
36081-479: The show's hosts, Edge and Christian . In November 2016, Dreamer began filming an ECW show for the WWE Network alongside Paul Heyman , Tazz and Bubba Ray Dudley . Dreamer returned to Impact Wrestling on the April 12 episode of Impact when he helped Eddie Edwards and Moose from an attack from Ohio Versus Everything and challenged them to a House of Hardcore Match at Redemption , in which he lost. On
36292-513: The stable in 2022 , took temporary leadership of The Bloodline after exiling Jimmy Uso and inducting Tama Tonga , Tonga Loa , and Jacob Fatu . On the June 28 episode of SmackDown , Heyman was kicked out of The Bloodline after refusing to acknowledge Sikoa as the Tribal Chief, turning Heyman face for the first time since 2022 in the process. On the November 15 episode of SmackDown , Reigns attempted to contact Heyman, however his number
36503-440: The stamina for an hours-long fight. Audiences also preferred short matches. Worked matches also carried less risk of injury, which meant shorter recovery. Altogether, worked matches proved more profitable than shoots. By the end of the 19th century, nearly all professional wrestling matches were worked. A major influence on professional wrestling was carnival culture. Wrestlers in the late 19th century worked in carnival shows. For
36714-513: The summer and amassed fourteen reigns as Hardcore Champion . During this time, he was the final person to hold it before it became unified with the Intercontinental Championship in a match with Rob Van Dam at Madison Square Garden . After losing the Hardcore Championship, Dreamer renewed his feud with Raven , defeating him in a Loser Leaves Raw match on June 24 to send him to Raw's sister show , Heat . Dreamer (with
36925-426: The territories of his former NWA peers, now his rivals. By the end of the 1980s, the WWF would become the sole national wrestling promotion in the U.S. This was in part made possible by the rapid spread of cable television in the 1980s. The national broadcast networks generally regarded professional wrestling as too niche an interest, and had not broadcast any national wrestling shows since the 1950s. Before cable TV,
37136-536: The title and choosing Mike Awesome as his new partner. He also, begrudgingly, became World Heavyweight Champion in 2000 by beating Tazz at CyberSlam , only to lose it to Justin Credible just 30 minutes later. When speaking of his title reigns on The Rise and Fall of ECW documentary produced by WWE Home Video , Dreamer is quoted as saying: I was actually pissed off. I wanted to go my entire ECW career without winning titles. The only reason I won titles
37347-523: The title back to Christian at Night of Champions . On the July 28 episode of ECW , Dreamer announced he would exercise his rematch clause against Christian the following week. The two faced off in an Extreme Rules match, in which Christian retained the championship. After his championship pursuit had ceased, Dreamer began teaming up with Christian, Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust on various occasions to take on William Regal and his allies Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson , exchanging victories and losses. On
37558-568: The title for over four months before losing it to The Iron Sheik in Burlington, Vermont . On August 17, 1993, Tommy Dreamer wrestled a dark match at a WWF Superstars taping in White Plains, NY, losing to The Brooklyn Brawler . Dreamer joined Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) in October 1993 at NWA Bloodfest . His first major gimmick in the company had him wrestling in matches in garish green suspenders and acting as something of
37769-407: The title's lineage, throwing the belt itself down, proclaiming the NWA a "dead organization" and declaring his ECW title a world-level championship. The plan for this shoot screwjob was known only to those three. That same week, Heyman and Tod Gordon rechristened the promotion, eliminating the regional branding "Eastern" and declaring the promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling . They broke
37980-400: The traitor Van Dam had been looking for. The following week Dreamer defeated Rhino in a Street Fight, but he suffered an injured wrist during the match. After spending some time off television, Dreamer returned on the February 24 episode of Impact! , becoming entangled in the feud between former tag team partners Bully Ray and Brother Devon. On March 13 at Victory Road , Dreamer defeated Ray in
38191-519: The trial, witnesses testified that most of the "big matches" and all of the championship bouts were fixed. By the 1930s, with the exception of the occasional double-cross or business dispute, shoot matches were essentially nonexistent. In April 1930, the New York State Athletic Commission decreed that all professional wrestling matches held in the state had to be advertised as exhibitions unless certified as contests by
38402-471: The truth, their audiences would desert them. Today's performers don't "protect" the industry like we did, but that's primarily because they've already exposed it by relying on silly or downright ludicrous characters and gimmicks to gain popularity with the fans. It was different in my day, when our product was presented as an authentic, competitive sport. We protected it because we believed it would collapse if we ever so much as implied publicly that it
38613-479: The video games WWE Day of Reckoning , WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw , WWE 2K14 , WWE 2K15 , WWE 2K16 , WWE 2K17 , WWE 2K18 , WWE 2K19 , WWE 2K20 , WWE 2K22 , WWE 2K23 , and WWE 2K24 . Heyman portrayed a sports announcer in 2002's Rollerball , and an uncredited role in the WWE film Countdown . After a family emergency forced the original actor to pull out, he was chosen by I Am Legend executive producer Michael Tadross to play "Gino" in
38824-535: The way of proceedings: the "in-show" happenings, presented through the shows; and real-life happenings outside the work that have implications, such as performer contracts, legitimate injuries, etc. Because actual life events are often co-opted by writers for incorporation into storylines of performers, the lines between real life and fictional life are often blurred and become confused. Special discern must be taken with people who perform under their own name (such as Kurt Angle and his fictional persona ). The actions of
39035-538: The weekly ECW show throughout the spring of 2007, while both sides tried to get CM Punk to side with them. The Originals won a standard-rules four-on-four match at WrestleMania 23 , which would be Dreamer's first and only match ever on the main card of a WrestleMania. The Originals lost an extreme-rules rematch on the following episode of ECW . The feud continued until a number of roster moves left both sides nearly barren, with it ending at One Night Stand when Dreamer, Sandman, and Punk beat Burke, Cor Von, and Striker in
39246-420: The wrestlers quietly began faking their matches so that they could give their audiences a satisfying spectacle. Fixing matches was also convenient for scheduling. A real ("shoot") match could sometimes last hours, whereas a fixed ("worked") match can be made short, which was convenient for wrestlers on tour who needed to keep appointments or share venues. It also suited wrestlers who were aging and therefore lacked
39457-583: The writing team on McMahon's corporate jet the day after the pay-per-view. The argument with McMahon was over a disagreement over the Extreme Elimination Chamber match at December to Dismember. Heyman thought that Big Show should be eliminated in the Elimination Chamber match by CM Punk via submission, to push the rising star. Big Show agreed with this idea, wanting to help push Punk's career, but McMahon disagreed, and Punk
39668-425: Was Wrestling As You Like It , which printed its first issue in 1946. These magazines were faithful to kayfabe . Before the advent of television, professional wrestling's fanbase largely consisted of children, the elderly, blue-collar workers and minorities. When television arose in the 1940s, professional wrestling got national exposure on prime-time television and gained widespread popularity. Professional wrestling
39879-449: Was "an accident" as other wrestlers – face and heel – swarmed out to help. The feud continued with Sandman planning to announce his retirement at an ECW show, only to attack Dreamer and reveal he was never actually blind. The feud ended when Dreamer defeated the Sandman in a No DQ/No-Holds-Barred match. Though the blind Sandman angle was his first "major" feud in ECW, his later, years-long feud against Raven that started in January 1995
40090-457: Was a Holocaust survivor who suffered through experiences in Auschwitz , Bergen-Belsen , and the Łódź Ghetto . By age 11, he was running a mail order business selling celebrity and sports memorabilia from his home. While still a teenager, he fast-talked his way backstage at a World Wide Wrestling Federation (WWWF) event at Madison Square Garden as a photojournalist. He was paid by
40301-480: Was about to attack Heyman with a kendo stick when Ryback interfered and cost Punk the match by putting Punk through a table. At Battleground , Punk pinned Ryback after a low blow. At Hell in a Cell , Punk defeated both Ryback and Heyman and after the match attacked Heyman on top of the cell, putting an end to their feud. On the November 11, 2013 episode of Raw , Heyman stated that he was no longer with Ryback as Ryback never officially accepted his proposal to become
40512-566: Was against the decision of Bobby Lashley being booked to win the ECW World Championship, and instead wanted to have CM Punk win it, a decision McMahon disliked. This was one of multiple behind-the-scenes creative disagreements between Heyman and McMahon that led to the split, and that Heyman had been overruled on a number of decisions regarding the product over ECW's only pay-per-view under WWE, December to Dismember . McMahon and Heyman clashed in front of several members of
40723-445: Was antiquated and a new take on the genre was needed. At this time, Eddie Gilbert was a booker for a Philadelphia-based promotion, National Wrestling Alliance (NWA)'s Eastern Championship Wrestling , which he did under the ownership of a local pawn shop owner named Tod Gordon . Heyman came in to help Gilbert teach the younger wrestlers how to perform on interviews, but Gilbert's erratic behavior became too much for Gordon, who had
40934-421: Was attacked by Lesnar. The next week on Raw , Punk demanded answers from Heyman, who swore he did not ask Lesnar to attack him. Punk forgave Heyman and then faced Darren Young and, following his win, was attacked by Titus O'Neil until Curtis Axel saved him, to Punk's chagrin. Heyman announced that he would team with Axel against The Prime Time Players the next week, again to Punk's disapproval. At Money in
41145-488: Was challenges from independent wrestlers. But a cartelized wrestler, if challenged, could credibly use his contractual obligations to his promoter as an excuse to refuse the challenge. Promotions would sometimes respond to challenges with "policemen": powerful wrestlers who lacked the charisma to become stars, but could defeat and often seriously injure any challenger in a shoot match. As the industry trend continued, there were fewer independent wrestlers to make such challenges in
41356-421: Was defeated by Ethan Carter III in a Tables match. The next day, Dreamer was defeated by Bully Ray at TNA #OldSchool in a Falls Count Anywhere match that happened due to Bully Ray attacking Dreamer and Terry Funk at House of Hardcore III . At Lockdown in January 2014, Dreamer returned to the company as a road agent. on the July 17 episode of Impact, Dreamer and Bully Ray faced Ethan Carter III and Rhyno in
41567-735: Was defeated by Raven in a "Final Showdown" (Final Singles match) match refereed by Mick Foley and featuring appearances by Beulah McGillicutty , "Lupus" , The Blue Meanie and Hollywood Nova . On the following episode of Impact! , the ECW alumni, known collectively as Extreme, Version 2.0 (EV 2.0) , were assaulted by A.J. Styles , Kazarian , Robert Roode , James Storm , Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair 's Fourtune stable, who thought they did not deserve to be in TNA. The following week TNA president Dixie Carter gave each member of EV 2.0 TNA contracts in order for them to settle their score with Fourtune. At No Surrender Dreamer lost an "I Quit" match to A.J. Styles due to Styles putting
41778-507: Was defeated by The Wyatt Family in an 8-man elimination tag team tables match. The following night on Raw , Team Extreme would challenge The Wyatt Family to a rematch, this time in an 8-man Extreme Rules match, in a losing effort. Dreamer continued to make live event appearances for the WWE in 2016 while becoming a regular guest on the WWE Network exclusive series, The Edge & Christian Show That Totally Reeks of Awesomeness, alongside
41989-504: Was fired from WCW after clashes with booker Bill Watts . In February 1993, Heyman filed a lawsuit against WCW alleging wrongful termination and ethnic discrimination. The lawsuit was settled privately out of court. After departing WCW, Heyman attempted to start a new promotion in Texas with Jim Crockett Jr. Disagreement arose, however, as Crockett wanted to build a traditional wrestling brand, while Heyman believed traditional wrestling
42200-511: Was no longer in service. On the November 22 episode of SmackDown , Heyman returned and announced CM Punk as the fifth member for the Original Bloodline's team for Survivor Series: WarGames . Heyman's work as a promoter and booker has been praised by many wrestling fellows and critics. Former ECW World Heavyweight Champion Raven called him "the most creative genius the business has ever seen". Raven's description of Heyman as
42411-525: Was occasionally used as a "foreign object" (according to Heyman, he decided to use the mobile phone as a weapon when he watched Gordon Gekko in Wall Street ). After departing the AWA, Heyman went back to the CWA. Heyman joined with Eddie Gilbert and his wife and valet Missy Hyatt and together they feuded with Lawler before moving on to the Alabama -based Continental Wrestling Federation . Behind
42622-539: Was pinned and eliminated by Pentagón Dark . In 2012, Dreamer opened his own wrestling promotion and wrestling school, House of Hardcore , which is the name of the former ECW wrestling school. The promotion made its debut on October 6, 2012, at the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie, New York. In the main event of the first show, Dreamer lost the FWE Heavyweight Championship to Carlito in
42833-523: Was previously considered a niche interest, but the TV networks at the time were short on content and thus were willing to try some wrestling shows. In the 1960s, however, the networks moved on to more mainstream interests such as baseball, and professional wrestling was dropped. The core audience then shrunk back to a profile similar to that of the 1930s. In 1989, Vince McMahon was looking to exempt his promotion (the World Wrestling Federation ) from sports licensing fees. To achieve this, he testified before
43044-415: Was something other than what it appeared to be. I'm not sure now the fear was ever justified given the fact that the industry is still in existence today, but the point is no one questioned the need then. "Protecting the business" in the face of criticism and skepticism was the first and most important rule a pro wrestler learned. No matter how aggressive or informed the questioner, you never admitted
43255-544: Was taken off the main roster in January 2004. When his performer's contract expired, he took a succession of office jobs inside World Wrestling Entertainment, including being the number two person in Talent Relations. During this time he continued to work in the independents and Ohio Valley Wrestling. In 2005, Dreamer was a major part of the ECW One Night Stand reunion show pay-per-view held under
43466-417: Was the "world champion". Before the cartels, there were multiple wrestlers in the U.S. simultaneously calling themselves the "world champion", and this sapped public enthusiasm for professional wrestling. Likewise, the cartel could agree on a common set of match rules that the fans could keep track of. The issue over who got to be the champion and who controlled said champion was a major point of contention among
43677-535: Was the return of Lesnar, who would have a match against Cena at SummerSlam. Lesnar defeated Cena at SummerSlam to win the WWE World Heavyweight Championship . At the Royal Rumble , Heyman was at ringside when Lesnar retained his WWE World Heavyweight Championship against Cena and Seth Rollins . At WrestleMania 31 , Heyman was at ringside when Lesnar defended his title belt against the 2015 Royal Rumble winner Roman Reigns, but Lesnar
43888-497: Was ultimately eliminated first. After allegedly turning down an offer from Stephanie McMahon to return to his post writing television for WWE developmental television shows, Heyman officially parted ways quietly with WWE on December 17, 2006. After a five-year absence following the controversial departure after the December to Dismember PPV in 2006, Heyman returned to WWE on the May 7, 2012 episode of Raw SuperShow as Brock Lesnar 's legal advisor, announcing that Lesnar, who returned
44099-558: Was unsuccessful as Rollins cashed in his Money in the Bank briefcase and made the match a Triple Threat match. Rollins pinned Reigns for the win. The next night on Raw , Lesnar was suspended after he demanded a rematch for the title and attacked several innocent people. In June, Heyman and Lesnar returned to the WWE after Lesnar was named the No. 1 contender to the WWE World Heavyweight Championship, igniting
44310-408: Was victorious. On January 23, 2019, it was revealed that Dreamer would now be working as a member of the creative team for Impact Wrestling. He had already been serving as a producer for some time. At Slammiversary , Dreamer unsuccessful challenged Moose in an Old School Rules match for the unsanctioned TNA World Heavyweight Championship . At Victory Road , he was defeated by Brian Myers . On
44521-418: Was won by Tyrus . Bound for Glory turned out to be Dreamer's final appearance with the company. Dreamer was reportedly fired due to an argument with fellow producers after cancelling the India Tour. On the December 17, 2012 episode of Raw , Dreamer made a one-off appearance as the surprise tag team partner of The Miz and Alberto Del Rio , defeating 3MB ( Heath Slater , Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal ) in
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