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What’s the story?
An interesting revelation was made by Brad Shepard on the Barn Burner’s Fired Up Podcast regarding an alleged offer made by WWE to close down Tommy Dreamer’s House of Hardcore promotion.
In case you didn’t know…
WWE is notoriously known for eliminating competition right from the infamous capture of WCW in 2001. While buying promotions isn’t the company’s thing anymore, WWE has employed a smart strategy as of late which involves signing some of most sought-after talents of their rival promotions.
The upper card of the current main roster and almost the entire batch down at NXT comprises of former TNA, ROH and NJPW mainstays. WWE’s way of doing business doesn’t accommodate healthy competition, yet many indie promotions get many popular wrestlers – many of whom are former WWE stars, to wrestle at their shows. T
It seems WWE is acknowledging competition, however small it may seem on the bigger picture, and recently tried to close one down, which is incidentally helmed by hardcore legend Tommy Dreamer.
The heart of the matter
Pro wrestling journalist and podcast co-host Brad Shepard claimed that while WWE doesn’t consider independent wrestling promotions such as House of Hardcore to give them a run for their money like WCW did back in the day, the WWE top brass is still concerned about top talents working in promotions that have a streaming service.
He then disclosed details of a deal that WWE offered the ECW legend to close down his operations.
“So Tommy Dreamer was offered in the ballpark of $1 million to close House of Hardcore. I think that’s big news because what we’re seeing is a trend of WWE eliminating competition,” said Shepard.
Of course, Dreamer turned them down as he is passionate about his product that is all about a throwback to the extreme days of pro wrestling.
What’s next?
It’s interesting to note that WWE offered a relatively small-time promotion in HOH an offer, which forces you to think if they adopted a similar approach with TNA, ROH or NJPW.
We’re sure NJPW is out of bounds as they are primed to be serious contenders to WWE’s throne in the near future if they land a TV deal. TNA/Impact Wrestling too is slowly picking up steam as they are offering a solid product on a weekly basis.
Is WWE getting desperate at the top or is it just another precautionary measure in a bid to stay there? Sound off in the comments section below.
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