WWE Rumors 2016: Tommy Dreamer Return in Limbo; Hardcore Legend Refuses Contract Offer?
When it came to hardcore moments and gory bloodshed, WWE did not come short in the Attitude Era of the late 90s to early 2000s. At the time, however, there was one other promotion that made extreme risks on their talents—Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW).
The tough ECW roster gets put through chair shots, table crashes and even Singapore canes night in, night out. It also produced a lot of memorable superstars in WWE history—Rob Van Dam, Mark Henry, The Dudley Boyz, Rhyno, to name a few.
But this list would be remiss if it does not include Tommy Dreamer, who became the face of the franchise in its early "extreme" days. Dreamer suffered countless blows and bloodbaths over the course of his storied career, and so he had been one of the wrestlers clamored to return to the in-ring competition.
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However, Dreamer himself thinks it is not the best option at the moment.
House of Hardcore
Dreamer was recently offered a contract deal by WWE, following his recent stint toward the end of 2015. He returned in-ring and had a brief run with fellow ECW alumni The Dudley Boyz, taking on the Wyatt Family.
He was willing to continue what he was doing, but declined to sign with the company. On refusing the contract offer, Dreamer said he had a lot of commitments and events lined up in 2017, thus, he cannot afford to be weighed down by a WWE contract.
Dreamer's busy schedule is the result of his brain child, a young promotion called House of Hardcore. The brand, which started in 2012, carries the tagline "No Politics, No BS, Just Wrestling." This is because he wants to take away all the backstage trouble plaguing the business since time immemorial.
A new take on wrestling
While not as big as WWE, House of Hardcore provides a refreshing alternative to the big league. It features Dreamer's own imaginative booking, pitting veterans against younger independent scene standouts. His current goal is to get his promotion online or on television, to further boost his brand and profit.
However, he still wants the biggest wrestling brand to do a better job. He criticized the way the Dudley Boyz were booked during their one-year return to the company, only being used to put over the New Day.
He was also upset by the ending of the recent SummerSlam, which saw Brock Lesnar kayfabe brutalizing Randy Orton to end their match with a false finish. As much as Dreamer loves hardcore moments, the ending was flat for him.
