Last night's episode of TNA Impact featured Tommy Dreamer returning to the show for an on screen role to challenge Dixie Carter's sense of self importance. Because of their past, my colleague Sean worried the angle would likely involve some gender slurs and general threats of violence against a female authority figure.
But that's not at all what happened, though Sean had good reason to believe it would.
Instead we got a rehash of the tired story of a wrestler assuming the role of the voice of the fans in the face of a selfish leader and appealing to her sense of being a former fan herself. This was done under the guise of making it about the fans when, really, it's still being made about Dixie except now Dreamer is getting TV time off it while claiming to represent fan interest.
If that were true, of course, this little program wouldn't be happening in the first place.
Still, it did, and the promo you see above is one incredibly up and down piece of work from the artist formerly known as the "Innovator of Violence". The idea driving the promo is fine, but at one point Dreamer tries his best to get emotional -- it doesn't work out very well -- and this is an actual quote of what he had to say:
"It's your responsibility to give the best product each and every week on television. And yes, I run a small little wrestling company called House of Hardcore. But I travel the world and I listen to the fans and I listen to the people. And they tell me how wrestling has affected their lives. They tell me how doctors have said 'hey, you are dying from cancer, watch wrestling because it can help you fight because when you get knocked down you gotta get back up'."
Doctors are telling cancer patients to watch wrestling? It should be noted this came not long after he told Dixie he's embarrassed to admit he's a professional wrestler with the crap that he sees on television.
Also, I sincerely hope that's not a real thing that's ever been said to a cancer patient. My mother, my father, and my oldest brother have all beaten various forms of the disease and speaking as the manager of a site dedicated to covering pro wrestling, I would have been horrified if those words were uttered to any of the three.
I'd like your thoughts on this segment, Dreamer's promo, and that line, Cagesiders.