Explained: The beef between Paul Heyman and Tommy Dreamer

Overview

• On Aug 18, 2025, episode of WWE Raw, Paul Heyman took a dig at Tommy Dreamer and claimed him dead
• Heyman was ECW's owner in the early 2000s and wanted its biggest face, Dreamer to stay with them, and not sign a contract with WCW
• As Dreamer got to know Heyman was secretly working with WWE, he felt betrayed and wanted to kill his boss at WrestleMania 17

On Aug 18, 2025, episode of WWE Raw, Paul Heyman took a dig at Tommy Dreamer and claimed him dead. Heyman was ECW's owner in the early 2000s and wanted its biggest face, Dreamer to stay with them, and not sign a contract with WCW. As Dreamer got to know Heyman was secretly working with WWE, he felt betrayed and wanted to kill his boss at WrestleMania 17.

In the early 2000s, ECW was one of the hottest Wrestling products due to their unique style and the wrestlers executing it. Dreamer was the face of the company and was one of the top wrestlers of his time. Hence, he was in a huge demand and was reportedly approached by WCW.

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Eric Bischoff's company offered him more than ECW'sthen contract. Before Dreamer could make any decision, Heyman requested him to decline the offer, emotionally convinced him saying ECW would not exist without him. Dreamer rejected WCW's offer only to learn that Heyman was himself secretly working with WWE.

How Jim Ross' call changed Tommy Dreamer's decision to not kill Paul Heyman?

Dreamer felt betrayed and went into a mentally bad state. He decided to kill Heyman at WrestleMania 17 and shoot himself, as he did not have any contract at the time. However, a call from Jim Ross moments before the PLE confirmed Dreamer of a WWE contract.

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It stopped the former ECW star from committing a blunder. Since then, Dreamer and Heyman have not gotten along well with each other. While there have been several attempts for them to be on the same page, nothing has worked out between them since then.