WWE Extreme Rules, 07/07/2009. New Orleans, Louisiana.
This PPV was a new PPV for WWE at the time and was based on the ECW brand. All matches were “gimmick” matches that were based around the “extreme” theme. I was assigned the Triple Threat Match for the ECW Championship, which had Jack Swagger vs. Christian vs. Tommy Dreamer.
Dreamer had been added to the match the previous week by the ECW General Manager, Tiffany. The storyline building up to the PPV had Swagger and Christian going back and forth and to make things interesting for the PPV Dreamer was added to the match.
Going into the PPV, it was well known that Dreamer’s WWE contract had expired and he was “done” with WWE. As we gathered to go over the match with Swagger, Christian and Dreamer and the agent Mike “IRS” Rotunda, it was very somber and very low key as this was Dreamer’s last match and he was leaving WWE. Needless to say, the mood in the WWE locker room was a bit down, as a legend like Dreamer was leaving and would be gone from the locker room. Any locker room that I’ve ever shared with Dreamer has always been fun and loose. If you know Tommy Dreamer than you know what I mean when I say that, haha!
As the match was put together and we had a “finish”, we went our separate ways and agreed to meet later in the afternoon a couple times to make sure the match was on the up and up. I met with Rotunda and he asked if I would mind getting the boys together to verify the match was still the same and if anyone had any tweaks. As aforementioned, the backstage area was different as we all knew Dreamer was going. There were lots of tears, hugs, and people saying “I’ll miss you.” I was able to find Swagger and Christian but Dreamer was nowhere to be found! As I searched the whole arena, it felt as though I was looking for Waldo! Dreamer literally disappeared and no one had seen him.
We were now two hours away from the start of the PPV, and Dreamer was still MIA. It then became a game of let’s find Dreamer; other referees, the boys, and crew looked for Dreamer with zero luck. Tommy Dreamer had pulled a Houdini and had magically disappeared. With that said, me, Swagger, Christian and Mike “IRS” Rotunda went over the match and verified what we had planned earlier in the day. With no Dreamer, things were set and we headed up to Gorilla Position to wait for our match. The finish had Christian retaining the ECW Championship over Jack Swagger, easy enough finish and nothing out of the ordinary. It was a No DQ match, so I was only looking for Christian to hit Swagger with his finish and count 1,2,3.
It was now time for us to go out on PPV and do this as we had done many, many times. As usual, I was out there in the ring waiting for the boys to walk the aisle as their music played and start the match. One by one, they made their entrances. Swagger was out first and entered the ring. As Swagger entered, he looked at me and said, “Dreamer’s Up,” and then did his entrance. I stood there and I was puzzled for a second and wondered if I had heard Swagger correctly. Swagger walked by and gave me a grin, as only Swagger does, and didn’t say another word.
Next was Christian, and as he made his entrance, he calmly came over to me and pointed and said “Tommy’s Up,” then Swagger walked away and no sold what he had just said. My first thought was these guys are ribbing me and are no selling to the tilt!! It was now time for Dreamer’s entrance, as Dreamer made his way down Christian walked over and bumped me and said “Tommy’s Up!”
Dreamer made his entrance into the ring and did his Tommy Dreamer “E-C-Dub” chant, as only Dreamer does. I looked at Tommy and asked, “I heard you’re up?” Tommy looked and me and said, “yes I am.” I looked back at him and asked how can that be and why would they do that? Dreamer laughed and said, “let’s hurry up before they change their mind!”
The match started and went as planned and as I seen Dreamer get Swagger for his finish, I was there to count 3. 1,2,3, and your new ECW Champion is Tommy Dreamer! As I grabbed the title, it hit me! Holy smokes, Dreamer finally gets to enjoy being the ECW Champion! He had chased it in ECW forever and only won it for less than a day, but here it was in New Orleans, Louisiana, that he is now ECW Champion! As I handed the ECW title to Tommy, I could see him getting emotional and taking in the moment. When he took the title from me, I told him “don’t cry, you’re on PPV!” Tommy looked at me and said I’m going to soak this in and enjoy the moment!
It was such an honor to be the referee for Tommy’s ECW Championship win. Originally, an ECW Referee had been assigned the match, but it was changed to me, a Raw referee at the time. It was John Laurinaitis who made the call to make the referee change. People can say what they want about Johnny Ace, but I’ll say this: during my time with WWE, he believed in me and my ability and knew I would be up to any challenges he put in front of me. For that, I’m forever grateful! Always be ready for anything at any time, as things can and will change at any time, and that includes PPV, TV, and life!
With regard to Dreamer leaving WWE and him pulling a Houdini act earlier in the day, Dreamer had gone AWOL and had been meeting with Vince McMahon and apparently worked out a new deal and was staying. I’d say it was a great move on Vince’s part.
Always, live like there’s no tomorrow, shout at the devil, and always know life is beautiful! Always love, forgive, and wish everyone the best in life and love. Be a good human being.
Follow Marty Elias on Twitter @Marty67Elias, and be sure to catch the latest episodes of Lucha Underground on the El Rey Network.
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