Warning: This article contains discussion of suicide which some readers may find distressing
Former WWE superstar Tommy Dreamer contemplated committing a real-life murder on live TV at WrestleMania.
Dreamer had been a key cog in the ECW promotion built by Paul Heyman but after the brand ceased to exist in 2000, the wrestler was not in a good headspace.
He thought he was going to be making his WWE debut at the WrestleMania 17 event in Houston, Texas.
Advert
That never happened but Dreamer became extremely bitter about Heyman, his former boss, who was accused of lying and secretly working for WWE.
He ended up being on commentary for WrestleMania 17, where Stone Cold Steve Austin and The Rock did battle for the world title in the main event.
But feeling as though he and his family had been screwed over Dreamer became so deranged and planned to act on his "mobster mentality.".
The "heart and soul" of ECW planned to storm the event at the Astrodome and shoot Heyman at the announce table before killing himself.
The thoughts overtook his brain and consumed Dreamer, who thought about it "everyday" and believed he would go down in history.
Speaking on the House of Hardcore podcast, Dreamer said: “I remember I did a show there, and I saw a sign that said, ‘Guns Welcome,’ and I was in Houston. I did an indie show, and I said, ‘What is this?’ I’m from New York, what do you mean, ‘guns welcome?’ and they said, ‘Oh you are allowed to bring a firearm into the venue.’ I was across the street from the Astrodome.
"When I tell you it resonated in my head so, so much. That I’ll tell you what I wanted to do. It’s sick that I think this.
"At WrestleMania, I was gonna hop the rail and I was gonna whack Paul E. in the back of the head right at the announce table, then I was gonna whack myself.
"The ultimate martyr, I was gonna hit my pose crack, boom, pull the trigger. Because I was that insane. Don’t know if I would have went through with it, but that’s what I was thinking about everyday.
"I was like, ‘I will go down in history.’ Pop, boom. First they’d think it as an angle until I shot him. I was so severely depressed and so mental with rage, I needed help.”
Dreamer did not act on his thoughts and says he is "glad he didn't do it".
He received a phone call from legendary commentator Jim Ross and though he missed it, the message left was a reassuring one.
He added: "Think of how stupid I would have been, how dumb and how messed up my thoughts would have been if they would have come to fruition.
"I am so happy I didn’t do it, I am so happy that I did get that phone call, from someone who was a stranger, I barely knew the guy. There was another day, there has been a lot of other days.”
Dreamer ended up having an eight-year stint with WWE and is still performing today with TNA (Total Nonstop Action).
He has his own promotion and wrestling school called House of Hardcore.
Topics: WWE, WrestleMania, Paul Heyman
Josh Lawless