"My hat’s off to them"- Hardcore wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer gives his honest opinion on deathmatch wrestling
Wrestling legend Tommy Dreamer recently gave his thoughts on modern deathmatch wrestling.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Wrestling Inc. Daily, Tommy Dreamer stated that he would be a hypocrite to criticize deathmatch wrestling since he made his legacy out of it. He admitted the risk involved but gave a shout out to all those wrestlers who are willing to put their bodies on the line to entertain the fans:
"There’s definitely a genre and a fanbase for deathmatch wrestling,” Tommy Dreamer stated. “I look back at some of the things that I’ve done. I’d be a hypocrite if I said, ‘I hate deathmatch wrestling,’ because the guys go out there and entertain in the way that they do, and people would make fun of me for stuff that I would do back in the day. I just hope that wrestlers are smarter. Back in the day, we didn’t have blood tests. Wrestlers need to do that when they’re doing those type of matches because there is an inherent risk to it where I’m 50 years old now, and I wouldn’t do the things I did. You learn when you’re older, but if people are tested and they’re they’re willing to do that, that’s awesome. My hat’s off to them. I have nothing but respect for them.”
AEW recently brought in deathmatch wrestling legend Nick Gage for a match against Chris Jericho. The bout sparked massive headlines, given the level of barbarity involved. They used glass tubes, pizza cutters and other weapons to such an extent that blood was pouring from both men's heads.
Although the bout billed as no disqualification, it delivered on the level of deathmatch wrestling.
People became excessively critical about the depiction of blood in the match. Despite the buzz, AEW may not consider doing this type of bout again in the near future.
Tommy Dreamer created his legacy by competing in hardcore/deathmatch wrestling
Tommy Dreamer further expressed his gratitude fans for remembering him for his work back in the day, particularly in ECW:
“I’m still proud that in 2021, I’m still relevant and no matter where I go out, people chant for my body of work,” Dreamer said. “And when they chant for ECW, it’s me saying, every bone that I broke, every drop of blood, every sweat that poured out of my body was worth it because fans, ECW’s gone 20 years, and they still love and remember it."
Do you think deathmatch wrestling matches should happen more often? Sound off in the comments section below.