Tommy Dreamer Thomas Laughlin ( February 14 , 1971 ) is a semi - retired American professional wrestler better known by his ring name , Tommy Dreamer . He most recently worked for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling . Before that , he appeared with World Wrestling Entertainment . Dreamer is perhaps best known for the time he spent in the Philadelphia based Extreme Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) promotion , of which he has been called the " heart and soul " . Though he only held the ECW World Heavyweight Championship once in his time with the company – for a grand total of about 30 minutes – he was regularly embroiled in the company ' s most visible angles on screen and involved in the booking , some of the business decisions , and , like a number of other ECW wrestlers , was part of the day - to - day operations of the company off screen . On June 7 , 2009 , at Extreme Rules 2009 , Dreamer accomplished his dream of winning the ECW Championship again , pinning Jack Swagger in a Triple Threat match . Dreamer held the title until Night of Champions 2009 when he lost the title back to previous champion Christian . Dreamer is currently competing on the independent circuit , appearing with Dragon Gate USA , CHIKARA , Evolve , American Championship Wrestling , Universal Championship Wrestling , and Maximum Pro Wrestling , among other promotions . Professional wrestling career . Extreme Championship Wrestling . Dreamer joined Eastern Championship Wrestling ( ECW ) in 1992 , just before its name change to Extreme Championship Wrestling . His first major gimmick in the company had him wrestling in matches in garish green suspenders and acting as something of a " pretty boy " – at least in relation to the rest of the ECW roster . This gimmick got him soundly booed by crowds , even when he became the first person in wrestling history to kick out of the pin that follows the Superfly Splash of Jimmy " Superfly " Snuka . In 1998 , Dreamer had a short feud with the Dudley Boyz ( Buh Buh Ray and D - Von ) , during which they " broke " Beulah ' s neck . In 1999 , on their last night in the company , they cited this incident to get Dreamer to accept a challenge for the ECW Tag Team Championship they had won earlier in the night . He did accept , and got the title , but was paired with the unexpected partner Raven , who slid into the ring at the last second and made the pin . The team only lasted a short time before it dissolved , with Raven taking the title and choosing Mike Awesome as his new partner . He also , begrudgingly , became World Heavyweight Champion in 2000 by beating Tazz at CyberSlam , only to lose it to Justin Credible just 30 minutes later . World Wrestling Entertainment ( 2001 – 2010 ) . Debut and Raw ( 2001 - 2004 ) . After ECW closed its doors , Dreamer spent time in various independent leagues throughout the country , such as Jersey All Pro Wrestling and Combat Zone Wrestling before he signed with the World Wrestling Federation ( WWF ) . He was introduced to WWF audiences on the July 9 , 2001 episode of Raw as a member of the WCW / ECW Alliance during the Invasion angle . When the angle ended in November , Dreamer was sent to the WWF ' s " farm territory " Heartland Wrestling Association . He was brought back to the main roster of the now renamed World Wrestling Entertainment in April and placed on the Raw " brand " . There , he turned face and was given a gimmick that saw him proclaim that he was " Just a Regular Guy " , for which he was featured in vignettes and backstage segments showing him in normal situations that were then augmented by " disgusting " antics such as brushing his teeth and his dogs teeth with the same brush and eating food from the floor . Return of ECW and ECW Originals ( 2005 - 2007 ) . In 2005 , the WWE brought back ECW for one night called ECW One Night Stand , where he met members of the old ECW as Sandman , Sabu , Mick Foley , Terry Funk , Tony Mamaluke and Nunzio . He participated in the Royal Rumble entering at position 7 and being eliminated by Kane . In the edition of ECW on January 30 , Mr . McMahon announced a series of new characters that would be the new generation of ECW , causing the displeasure of some veteran wrestlers like Dreamer , Rob Van Dam and Balls Mahoney in the weeks following the new extremist Elijah Burke announced a new group called " New Breed " ( the New Breed ) members being new promises for ECW ( as Marcus Cor Von , Kevin Thorn and Matt Striker ) , leading to a feud with the ECW Originals self - proclaimed ( Dreamer , Rob Van Dam , Sabu and Sandman ) when they began to make fun of them for their seniority in the struggles . The Feud with the " New Breed " , led to the Wrestlemania 23 when the ECW Originals defeated them this being his greatest victory in all the team ' s formation . However , lost in the rematch on ECW Extreme Rules Match . The New Breed feud continued as during that time , New Breed and the ECW Originals tried to recruit CM Punk . New Breed would make it , however Dreamer and his companions defeat to New Breed in Eight - Man Elimination Tag Team Match after betray Punk New Breed . Feud with The Miz & John Morrison , ECW Championship and departure ( 2008 - 2010 ) . He began the year by participating in the Royal Rumble entering at number 7 and being eliminated by Batista , then enter a feud with then pairwise John Morrison and The Miz , when he went to rescue Colin Delaney attack duo , after defeating the champions in non - title first , could not defeat in the championship fights , including a fight " extreme " in the edition of ECW on March 18 , a week later was defeated by champion of then - ECW , Chavo Guerrero , in a fight Lumberjack type . After that , Dreamer started a feud with the new superstar Jack Swagger . They faced in a classic wrestling match , but Dreamer lost the match after he used his DDT on Swagger . Then Swagger defeated Dreamer in an Extreme rules match , ending the feud . On the January 13 , 2009 episode of ECW , Dreamer announced that if he failed to win the ECW Championship by June 6 , when his WWE contract was to expire , he would no longer wrestle for ECW . The storyline saw Dreamer start a losing streak that ended when he defeated Paul Burchill on the February 24 edition of ECW . On the April 28 edition , Dreamer received a match for the ECW Championship against then - champion Christian , which went to a no - contest when Jack Swagger interfered . Dreamer was granted a one - day extension on his contract , allowing him one last chance at the ECW Championship , challenging the champion Christian and Jack Swagger in a triple threat match at Extreme Rules . At Extreme Rules , Dreamer pinned Jack Swagger in a hardcore triple threat match , capturing his second ECW Championship almost a decade after he claimed the title in the original ECW . After successful title defenses , one against Christian and also a Championship Scramble match at The Bash , Dreamer eventually lost the championship back to Christian at Night of Champions . On the July 28 episode of ECW , Dreamer announced he would exercise his rematch clause against Christian the following week . The two faced off in an Extreme Rules match , in which Christian retained the championship . After his championship pursuit had ceased , Dreamer began teaming up with Christian , Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust on various occasions to take on William Regal and his allies Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson , exchanging victories and losses . On the December 29 episode of ECW , Dreamer wrestled Zack Ryder and lost . If Dreamer was to lose the match then he would be ( kayfabe ) forced to retire from in - ring competition . After the match , Dreamer made a farewell speech in which he thanked the fans before exiting the ring with his two daughters . A few days later on January 4 , 2010 , Dreamer was officially released by WWE . Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( 2010 - 2011 , 2013 – present ) . On June 13 , 2010 , at Slammiversary VIII Dreamer made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling ( TNA ) , appearing in the crowd and thus distracting Brother Ray and costing him his match against Jesse Neal . On the June 24 edition of " Impact ! " Dreamer appeared in the crowd of the Impact ! Zone , beside fellow ECW alumni Raven and Stevie Richards . The following week the three were joined by Rhino . On the July 15 edition of " Impact ! " Dreamer , Raven , Richards , Rhino , Brother Devon , Pat Kenney and Al Snow , led by Mick Foley , aligned themselves with the TNA World Heavyweight Champion Rob Van Dam by attacking Abyss and the rest of the TNA locker room . The following week , TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay – per – view event , Hardcore Justice : The Last Stand , as a celebration of hardcore wrestling and a final farewell to the company , while also placing Dreamer in charge of the show . Dreamer made his TNA in – ring debut on the July 29 edition of " Impact ! " , losing to Abyss in a No Disqualification match . After the match Raven re – ignited his old feud with Dreamer by turning on him , laying him out with a DDT on a chair and licking his face . The following week Raven explained his turn by saying that he hadn ' t forgotten how Dreamer had " stolen " , and later married , his girlfriend Beulah McGillicutty back in 1996 . On August 8 at Hardcore Justice Dreamer was defeated by Raven in a " Final Showdown " match refereed by Mick Foley . On the following edition of " Impact ! " , the ECW alumni , known collectively as Extreme , Version 2 . 0 ( EV 2 . 0 ) , were assaulted by A . J . Styles , Kazarian , Robert Roode , James Storm , Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair ' s stable , who thought they didn ' t deserve to be in TNA . The following week TNA president Dixie Carter gave each member of EV 2 . 0 TNA contracts in order for them to settle their score with At No Surrender Dreamer lost an " I Quit " match to A . J . Styles due to Styles putting a fork into his eye . Dreamer admitted EV 2 . 0 ' s defeat on the following edition of " Impact ! " and tried to reach a truce with , but was beaten down . The following week he returned with Raven , Stevie Richards , Sabu and Rhino and announced that Dixie Carter had given the five of them a Lethal Lockdown match against at Bound for Glory . At Bound for Glory Dreamer , Raven , Rhino , Richards and Sabu defeated members Styles , Kazarian , Morgan , Roode and Storm in a Lethal Lockdown match , when Dreamer pinned Styles . After weeks of dissension between Rob Van Dam and the rest of EV 2 . 0 , caused by Van Dam ' s belief that there was a traitor within the group , Dreamer challenged him to a match . At Turning Point Van Dam defeated Dreamer and afterwards made peace with him . On the following edition of " Impact ! " Rhino turned heel by attacking Van Dam and Dreamer , revealing himself as the traitor Van Dam had been looking for . The following week Dreamer defeated Rhino in a Street Fight . After spending some time off television , Dreamer returned on the February 24 edition of " Impact ! " , becoming entangled in the feud between former tag team partners Bully Ray and Brother Devon . On March 13 at Victory Road , Dreamer defeated Ray in a Falls Count Anywhere match , following interference from Devon . On the May 5 edition of " Impact ! " , Dreamer was forced to join Immortal in order to save his job in TNA . Dreamer was later confronted on his choice by A . J . Styles , which led to a match at Sacrifice , where Dreamer was victorious following interference from Bully Ray . On the following edition of " Impact Wrestling " , Dreamer officially turned heel , citing the first time he attacked Styles was due to being forced by Ray , before willingly attacking Styles because he wanted to and proceeding to berate the crowd by calling them " pieces of crap " . This is also the first time that Dreamer has wrestled as a heel since being a member of the Alliance during his WWF / E career . On the May 26 edition of " Impact Wrestling " , Styles and Christopher Daniels defeated Dreamer and Ray in a no disqualification street fight . On June 6 Dreamer confirmed that TNA ' s house show in Memphis , Tennessee on June 11 would be his final appearance for the promotion . In his final TNA match , Dreamer teamed with Bully Ray in a losing effort against A . J . Styles and Brother Devon . On January 17 , 2013 Dreamer made an appearance TNA Impact Wrestling as one of Bully Ray ' s groomsmen during his wedding to Brooke Hogan . He was assaulted by Aces & Eights after they crashed the ceremony . Dreamer returned to TNA in 2013 . On December 27 , 2013 , was defeated by Ethan Carter III at a TNA house show . On December 29 , 2013 , at TNA Hardcore Justice 3 , Dreamer was defeated by Carter in a Tables match . Next day , Dreamer was defeated by Bully Ray at TNA # OldSchool in a Street Fight match . Independent Circuit ( 2010 - present ) . Dreamer appeared at the inaugural event of EVOLVE Wrestling on January 17 , 2010 , in a non - wrestling role , getting involved in a match which lead to him brawling with Jimmy Jacobs . Later that month , on January 23 , Dreamer debuted for Dragon Gate USA , saving Jimmy Jacobs and Lacey from a beating at the hands of Jon Moxley . On March 27 , Dreamer made his pay - per - view debut for Dragon Gate USA in Phoenix , Arizona , where he lost a hardcore match to Moxley , which was taped for the Mercury Rising pay - per - view . On March 26 , 2010 , Dreamer took part in the first ever event held by the Japan ese Smash promotion , defeating promotion founder Tajiri in the main event . On April 2 , Universal Championship Wrestling added Dreamer to their roster . He defeated fellow former ECW Champion Shane Douglas to become the promotion ' s Universal Heavyweight Champion on February 20 . Dreamer wrestled on all three nights of Maximum Pro Wrestling ' s Spring Loaded event . April 9 was night one and before his match , Dreamer was presented with the Most Shocking Moment of the Decade for his win of the BCW Can - Am Heavyweight Championship . Following the presentation , Dreamer defeated Jon Bolen . The following night , he lost to MaxPro Triple Crown Champion Tyson Dux , but put Dux through a table afterward . On April 25 , Dreamer made his debut for Philadelphia - based Chikara , challenging Eddie Kingston to a match at the Anniversary show on May 23 . Kingston won the match via disqualification when Ares and Claudio Castagnoli of the Bruderschaft des Kreuzes ( BDK ) attacked him . Dreamer assisted Kingston in taking care of BDK and then made a challenge for a tag team match on July 25 at The Arena in Philadelphia . Earlier that same day , Kingston inducted Dreamer into the Hardcore Hall of Fame . BDK ended up defeating Dreamer and Kingston , when Castagnoli pinned Dreamer . On August 14 , 2010 , Dreamer appeared for Montreal - based Northern Championship Wrestling ( nCw ) , challenging " The War Machine " Tank and James Stone to a match at DreamSlam for the nCw Quebec Championship . Dreamer also appeared the following week on August 21 when he defeated Eddie Osbourne in Ontario at PWA " Carrot Fest " and is booked to re - appear in 2011 on August 20 . Dreamer would team with Rhino to win the Carrot Cup over Mike Hart and Joey Valentine . Dreamer returned to Chikara on November 13 , 2011 , at the promotion ' s first ever internet pay - per - view , High Noon , accompanying Eddie Kingston to his Chikara Grand Championship match . On July 28 , 2012 Dreamer wrestled for Family Wrestling Entertainment in which he defeated Brian Kendrick , Carlito and champion Jay Lethal in a four - way Elimination match to become the new FWE Heavyweight Champion . On September 14 , 2012 , Dreamer returned to Chikara , when he , Jerry Lynn and Too Cold Scorpio entered the 2012 King of Trios as " The Extreme Trio " , defeating Team WWF ( 1 - 2 - 3 Kid , Aldo Montoya and Tatanka ) in their first round match . The following day , The Extreme Trio was eliminated from the tournament by Team ROH ( Mike Bennett , Matt Jackson and Nick Jackson ) . On September 29 , Dreamer defeated Dan Maff in a TLC match to win the Impact Championship Wrestling Heavyweight Title . On October 4 , 2012 , he retained the FWE Heavyweight Championship against Rhino in the first PPV of the company . On November 25 , 2012 , Dreamer returned to Japan to take part in an independent event produced by The Big Guns . During the event , Dreamer and Makoto defeated Akira and Syuri in a mixed tag team hardcore match . The following day , Dreamer made his debut for Wrestling New Classic ( WNC ) , the follow - up promotion to Smash , entering the WNC Championship tournament and defeating Yusuke Kodama in his first round match . Two days later , Dreamer was defeated in his semifinal match by Akira . The day after he appeared on Monday Night RAW , Niagara Falls based promotion Busted Knuckle Pro Wrestling announced that Tommy Dreamer would be appearing at their Rumble for Rose 2 event on February 23 , 2013 . Since then , it has been announced that he would be teaming with local talent Markus Ryan in a match against BKPW Tag Team Champions The Thrillbillies in a hardcore tag team match for the BKPW Tag Team Championship . Dreamer and Ryan won the titles , only to lose them later in the evening to Rhys Greenaway and Joey Allen . On December 17 , Dreamer made one - night return to WWE during the annual Slammy Award s show , as the mystery tag team partner of The Miz & Alberto Del Rio in a match against Three Man Band members , Heath Slater , Drew McIntyre and Jinder Mahal . Later that night , Dreamer was attacked backstage by The Shield . In January 2013 , Tommy debuted in Cutting Edge Wrestling , a promotion based out of Newfoundland , Canada . He made the save for Don Martini and Psycho Mitch , who were being beat down by The Gotch Boys ( Buck , Scott and Axel ) and the River City Express 2 . 0 ( Tony King and Alexander Guthrie ) , leading to a confrontating with CEW Owner Dennis Guthrie . Dreamer wanted a 6 man tag - team match with himself , Don Martini and Psycho Mitch vs River City Express and Scott Gotch , while Dennis wanted Dreamer to run the gauntlet against Buck , Scott , Justin Lock , Tony King and Alex Guthrie . Warren G made the 6 man match happen , where Tommy , Martini and Mitch were successful . On February 16 , 2013 , Dreamer tried to capture the FWE Heavyweight Championship in a TLC match against Carlito and Matt Hardy , but he was defeated . On April 6 , 2013 Dreamer was backstage at the WWE Hall Of Fame induction ceremony , meeting up with fellow ECW veterans Rob Van Dam , Joey Styles and Paul Heyman . On May 4 , 2013 Dreamer wrestled at an event called Slamfest 2013 . He was in a tag match main event with 2 Tuff Tony against Too Cool , Fatu and Cristopher . Tony and Dreamer lost after Dreamer was hit by Tony accidentally in the face by a flaming vodka soaked rag . Afterwards Tony received a stinkface . On June 21 , 2013 , he was defeated by Rob Van Dam at FWE Welcome to the Rumble in an Extreme Rules match . However , the same night , he won the FWE Rumble . On October 25 , 2013 Tommy Dreamer returned to Newfoundland for the Cutting Edge Wrestling promotion . Scheduled to wrestle Dennis Guthrie in a street fight , Guthrie tried to get others to do his dirty work . Tommy then defeated Buckmaster Gotch , Scott Gotch and the debuting Bradley Guthrie till the Gotches returned to serve a beatdown . Bad Boy Batty Bat and Don Martini attempted to make the save , but also were beaten down till Justin Lock made the save and ran off the force with a kendo stick . He then Lost to Dennis via his other son , Alexander , who interfered and hit Tommy with his blockbuster finisher . On October 26 , Dreamer won the Cutting Edge Wrestling North Atlantic title from Alexander Guthrie in St . Lawrence , Newfoundland during a fatal 4 way elimination match also involving Martini and Lock . Finishing off the Newfoundland tour , October 27 in Fermeuse he successfully defended the North Atlantic title against Martini , Brandon Flip and Scott Gotch in another fatal 4 way Elimination match . On October 5 , 2013 , at Vanguard Championship Wrestling , Dreamer defeated CW Anderson in an I Quit match . On November 30 , 2013 , at WrestleCade , Dreamer defeated Anderson again in an I Quit match . House of Hardcore ( 2012 - present ) . In 2012 , Dreamer opened his own wrestling promotion , House of Hardcore , which is the name of the former ECW wrestling school . The promotion made its debut on October 6 , 2012 at the Mid - Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie , NY . In the main event of the first show , Dreamer lost the FWE Heavyweight Championship to Carlito in a three - way match , which also included Mike Knox . On June 22 , 2013 , Dreamer defeated Lance Storm in the main event at House of Hardcore 2 . On November 9 , 2013 , Dreamer participated in the main event of House of Hardcore 3 . Dreamer and Terry Funk defeated Sean Waltman and Lance Storm . The match was promoted as the last time of Funk and Dreamer as tag team . After the match , Dreamer was assaulted by TNA Wrestler Bully Ray and Devon . Ray challenged Dreamer to a match at TNA One Night Only - Old School . On June 6 , 2014 , Dreamer was scheuled to face Team 3D along with Abyss . However , Bully Ray was pulled out of the event , so the main event was Devon and Dreamer vs Rhino and Abyss . Dreamer and Devon won the match .