"I started crying" – Ex-WWE star on having to fire wrestlers; how John Laurinaitis reacted
Tommy Dreamer spoke about having a difficult time firing WWE talent and the reaction of John Laurinaitis to the same.
Tommy Dreamer recently sat down with former Spirit Squad member Johnny Jeter on The House of Hardcore podcast. The duo discussed a variety of topics about WWE. Dreamer, who spent time in Talent Relations in Ohio Valley Wrestling, discussed the hardest part about working the particular job.
Dreamer said he was in tears while informing a WWE talent of their release. He then recalled talking to John Laurinaitis about having difficulty with his job, and how the latter reacted:
"I remember telling Johnny (Laurinaitis) when I had to fire three people, and the first guy I got on the phone, I started crying. I was like, 'I promise, I know so many indie promoters. I’ll try and get you work.'"
"At the end, they'd say, 'It's ok, I'll be ok', and I'd say, 'No, you don’t understand. I hate doing this.' Then I had to go back and tell Johnny, 'Listen, I can't do this. If this is part of my job, I can't do it.' He said, 'Do you think I like firing people?' I said, 'No.' He said, 'If you don’t do it, somebody else will.' I said, 'Ok, cool. That somebody else will be you.' That settled my argument with him." (H/T Wrestling News)
During his time in Talent Relations, Tommy Dreamer informed three WWE talents of their firing
Tommy Dreamer recalled bawling his eyes out when firing WWE talents. The ECW legend said he fired three WWE talents during his run in Talent Relations in OVW. Dreamer felt that he was "crushing their dream" and "their soul."
Tommy Dreamer's job in Talent Relations didn't last long. He later resumed working as an on-screen character on WWE TV. Dreamer appeared on WWE's ECW One Night Stand 2005 and teamed up with The Sandman in a losing effort against The Dudley Boyz.
Tommy Dreamer was a mainstay in WWE's revival of ECW and won the brand's World title during the stint. He was released by WWE in early 2010, thus putting an end to his eight-year run with the promotion.