Tommy Dreamer wants everyone to know what’s in store at Rebellion.
WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard recently spoke with Tommy Dreamer ahead of IMPACT Wrestling’s Rebellion pay-per-view. Dreamer will lead his team against Bully Ray’s squad in a Hardcore War match on the show.
Tommy Dreamer spoke about what attributes he looks for in teammates for a match like this, noting that he knows first-hand the long-term effects violent matches like this one have on a person.
“The business has changed very, very much since I started. If we’re going to talk about where I was made most famous, ECW, and I was part of wars there. Like I said in my promo, there are no winners in wars, and these are things that affect you for a long, long time. Whether it’s going to be, ‘Hey, I had a great match,’ but we all talk about WarGames. We’ve also talked about Elimination Chamber. When you’re in these types of situations, these are things that are going to last with you for a long, long time, both mentally and physically. “
“To answer your question, I’m looking out at a whole talented locker room, but I’m also looking at, I want to say, people who could benefit from this or people who have the ‘I really don’t give an eff attitude,’ which is a little different now than it was before. It’s hard, because you’re going to tell somebody, ‘Hey, you’re going to be fighting with weapons. Hey, you’re probably going to be busted open on some part of your body.’ Hey, you’re going to go out there and fight for, wherever what number you’re in, whatever that case may be, against another person, you could be in there for 20 minutes — at least 10 to 15 minutes before the match actually gets started.”
Tommy Dreamer has since finalized his team, recruiting Frankie Kazarian, Yuya Uemura, Killer Kelly and Bhupinder Gujjar. They will face Bully Ray, Jason Hotch, John Skyler, Kenny King, and Masha Slamovich in a match that has some WarGames elements. Dreamer spoke about the different variables matches like this present, some of the effects lasting long after the bell has sounded.
“So, a Hardcore War is basically a WarGames without a cage. [I] was trying to get a cage, but I don’t think it could fit in the venue. These are things that you deal with when you work with different types of venues and ceilings and all that stuff, but I’ve been a part of a couple of them. I was actually in one in that very same building. I remember this amazing moment where Fallah Bahh had to choose to squish the guy in the corner, but he had to run across the ring that had Legos and thumbtacks in them, and he’s barefoot.
“It’s the proverbial ‘Die Hard’ moment. ‘I have to do something to save my life. I just shoot up the bad guys. But then I got to run across glass or else I’m going to get killed.’ Even when I still see Fallah Bahh, he’d be like, ‘Dude, those freaking Legos hurt.’ I think we can all relate to stepping on a dog toy, or a child’s toy in our own home, barefoot. There’s a guy who did it barefoot as well. I don’t think a lot of people land in all these items that we do.”
Tommy Dreamer noted how he has physical scars on his head, but he’s also given out his fair share as well. He wants his team to know that this is one possible ending to the match they’re going into together.
“There are scars on Bully Ray’s head that I caused. He caused them for me as well. There’s a scar right here across his head that I remember I hit him with a trash can, and it looked like that TV show Heroes, where the guy would scan, open your brain, take your knowledge, and you would die. But I remember hitting him, and he was standing there looking at me. Then I just saw a giant slit open up in his head.
“The scars on the back of his head, I caused two out of the three of them. These are things where I say, even in promos, man, ‘I’m a 52-year-old man that has a little bit of PTSD from all the violent acts that he did when he was younger.’ I don’t know if I want to put people through that. That’s why it’s kind of be like, ‘hey, you have to know what you’re getting involved in.’”
IMPACT Rebellion takes place on Sunday, April 16 and it is available for purchase on FITE.
Watch our full interview with Tommy Dreamer below:
