Tommy Dreamer wanted a sniper to shoot him during an ECW angle, and had to be talked out of it by an ECW legend.
The former ECW Champion is a legend of the ring and is rightfully known as “The Innovator of Violence”. Known for the crazy ways he inflicted and endured pain, he may have gone too far with this one suggestion.
Tommy Dreamer Wanted A Sniper To Shoot Him
On his House of Hardcore Podcast, Tommy Dreamer revealed that he suggested that a sniper shoot him in the ring at the ECW arena,
Inspired by Dallas and The Simpsons, he wanted it to be a “whodunnit?” and there be a whole angle trying to find out who shot Tommy Dreamer.
While an interesting idea, it is absolutely crazy. What on earth is wrong with Dreamer that he would happily be shot live on TV for a wrestling angle?
Clearly, the chair shots to head added up on that day. Paul Heyman tried to talk him out of it, as the head of ECW, but Dreamer would not be deterred.
“I pitched this to Paul… I want to go out there, in the ECW arena. We were famous for turning the lights off and turning the lights on, and someone would be there… So I wanted to go out there, and word had gotten out on what was going on in the talent raid.
It’s the era of wrestling dirtsheets. So, I came up with the idea where I’d stand in the middle of the ECW Arena and I would address the situation. All of a sudden the lights would go off and then come back on and nothing.
I’d look to my left and look to my right and nothing changes. Maybe it was a power surge. Then I’d begin talking and telling the tale of what went down.
Then out of nowhere, I’d see a red dot on my shoulder. Then I’d look and go “huh?” And ‘pssssh’ I’d get shot for real in the ECW arena. I got this from the show ‘Dallas’ ‘Who shot J.R?’ And ‘The Simpsons’ ‘Who shot Mr. Burns’”
Paul said “No. We cannot do. We cannot shoot you.” And I said “why?” Paul said “what if we shoot a fan?” And I said “We’d hire a sniper.”
Paul said “okay you want to get shot like a flesh wound. I get it. What if it hits a bone and shoots into the crowd and hits a fan?” “There is no way. You’ll hit a fan.”
Exasperated, Heyman turned to wrestling legend Terry Funk to talk some sense into Tommy Dreamer. It’s funny that the implication being is that if he could not convince Dreamer not to do it, then Heyman would have allowed a sniper to shoot him during an episode of ECW.
Luckily, Funk spoke to him in terms he’d understand. He explained how the same thing happened to his dad in their territory in Amarillo, Texas. He was shot as part of an angle.
However, the revenge for being shot is killing the other man, so a simple wrestling match would not do. This “killed our territory” as the fans did not believe he wouldn’t get revenge over the man who tried to kill him.
“Paul turns to Terry Funk, “Please knock some sense into him.”
Terry says “It will never work. It’s a horrible idea… When my father got shot in Amarillo, it killed our territory… Yeah, my dad got shot with a .22 on the air. We came back, the house was packed, and it was great.
We came back in a Texas deathmatch. My father got shot for real, in his buttocks. It’s Texas and we shoot people. Here’s the main thing, they didn’t give a finish… If a man shoots you, and you come back and you don’t kill him, you expose wrestling is fake.”
Thankfully, it never happened. Dreamer later wanted to include guns again in the WWE but on a much darker note.
He contemplated shooting Paul Heyman and then himself during the live broadcast of WrestleMania X7, during a particularly bad spell in his life. Click below to read the horrifying details of Tommy Dreamer’s murder suicide plot.
Hamish is a writer and podcaster and wrestling fan who is a key part of the Atletifo team.
After playing countless hours of WrestleMania X8 on the Gamecube, he discovered Rey Mysterio getting his head crushed by The Great Khali, and thus a love for professional wrestling was born.
He is also a Media Graduate, as well as writing for multiple sites about Premier League football and the culture of Wales – his home country.
