Tommy Dreamer faces accusations of bullying and inappropriate behavior

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 23: Tommy Dreamer during the Busted Open podcast at SiriusXM Studios on October 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images Last week, Tommy Dreamer revealed that he was no longer with TNA Wrestling. The ECW legend worked in a variety of roles behind-the-scenes at Impact, and was one of several moves TNA’s parent company anthem framed as part of a strategic “workforce reduction”. It led to all manner of stories about Dreamer’s decade-long tenure at TNA, and unlike when former president Scott D’Amore left, not all of the stories were heartwarming ones. They started with wrestling student and independent wrestling referee Perch, who posted this message across three tweets: Tommy Dreamer pulled me aside backstage at a TNA show, telling me he would do everything he could to make sure I don’t earn a job in the wrestling business. All I did was try to learn and grow from experiences, though his words were very discouraging for a young student to hear I didn’t set out to prove him wrong, I simply thanked him for their advice and went another direction. The pro wrestling business is for everybody, you just have to find where you fit in best. Don’t perform just for someone else’s ideal vision, perform out of your own passion!! Take critique like a professional and thank them for their time. However don’t allow someone to ‘coercive’ you. Share your burning desire to succeed in the pro wrestling business with others who appreciate you! This is a community, not a tyranny Tommy Dreamer pulled me aside backstage at a TNA show, telling me he would do everything he could to make sure I don’t earn a job in the wrestling business. All I did was try to learn and grow from experiences, though his words were very discouraging for a young student to hear pic.twitter.com/mcTpRGlwKT — Perch (@PerchXLV) June 20, 2026 Ring of Honor and AEW’s Carlie Bravo joined in with a since-deleted post with his own Dreamer story: He told me I was very talented but couldn’t hire me cuz ‘he didn’t know if he could market ‘cocky black guy’ to the world.’ Needless to say, I’m on top of the game and never changed one bit. Run it up. F**k what anybody else says Deleting may have saved Bravo the pushback Perch got, like this reply from Mickie James: Perch, listen, I don’t know you. But I do know @THETOMMYDREAMER well enough to know that “if” he truly said this. There is far more to this story that you are conveniently leaving out. If you are going into come on here & attempt to bury someone. Especially someone who is as loved, respected, and responsible for helping soooooo many folks, including myself, in this industry. Then at least be completely honest. I understand you want to speak “your truth” & possibly gain a bit of recognition by jumping on the bandwagon, however if this is your path of 15 seconds of @X buzz… at least have the common decency to speak “the whole truth”. This ain’t it, it’s also pretty dumb because Tommy will always have a job in the business. I don’t know if I can say the same for you. Have a blessed day. Perch, listen, I don’t know you. But I do know @THETOMMYDREAMER well enough to know that “if” he truly said this. There is far more to this story that you are conveniently leaving out. If you are going into come on here & attempt to bury someone. Especially someone who is as… https://t.co/dZGVvji99W — Mickie James~Aldis (@MickieJames) June 20, 2026 Joey Janela does seem to know Perch pretty well, but per his reply also knows Dreamer: As someone that does like Tommy, idk why he would say something like that to one of nicest and most humble dudes in professional wrestling, a student of the game and one of the best refs out there. Without doubt one day you’ll be reffing multiple Wrestlemania’s! Keep going! As someone that does like Tommy, idk why he would say something like that to one of nicest and most humble dudes in professional wrestling, a student of the game and one of the best refs out there. Without doubt one day you’ll be reffing multiple Wrestlemania’s! Keep going!… — “The Bad Boy” Joey Janela (@JANELABABY) June 21, 2026 Two women shared particularly disturbing stories about their dealings with the 55-year-old Dreamer, who five years ago was disciplined by TNA for his defense of Ric Flair’s “Plane Ride From Hell” misbehavior. Kennedi Copeland, whose social media profile now reads, “I used to wrestle”, shared about a “spanking spot” Dreamer insisted on doing with her in a match: Hol’ up are we sharing our Tommy Dreamer stories bc one time I told him I really wanted to take a cane shot in a match and he told me he doesn’t do that with women so instead we did a spanking spot bc women amirite Omg I can’t believe I just found the photo of it too https://t.co/yFqPZxHsV9 pic.twitter.com/vAyKlX3cEE — Kennedi (@ThatKennDawg) June 21, 2026 Asked why she went through with it, Copeland replied: Because I was young and dumb and impressionable and a people pleaser and still very new in wrestling and didn’t know I could say no especially to a vet because I was always told, “If you really want it, you’d do anything for it.” ¯_(ツ)_/¯ Because I was young and dumb and impressionable and a people pleaser and still very new in wrestling and didn’t know I could say no especially to a vet because I was always told, “If you really want it, you’d do anything for it.” ¯_(ツ)_/¯ https://t.co/QzjW6y2xBG — Kennedi (@ThatKennDawg) June 21, 2026 That story brought another from Dani Jordyn: I’ve been waiting for this – One time Tommy dreamer insisted on doing a crotch grab spot, to me, in a tag match he was a fill in for. This had NO place in our story line. But he didn’t care to ask. I did not want to do this, said how uncomfortable I was, but I’m just woman, right I was new in my career, should’ve trusted my intuition, said a firm no, and not succumb to peer pressure for this spot. This is the only thing that’s happened in my career that felt degrading bc I vowed to never let a MF try me on some uncomfortable shit EVER again I was new in my career, should’ve trusted my intuition, said a firm no, and not succumb to peer pressure for this spot. This is the only thing that’s happened in my career that felt degrading bc I vowed to never let a MF try me on some uncomfortable shit EVER again 💅🏼 — Dani Jordyn (@DaniJordyn) June 21, 2026 Confronted with another “should have said no then”-type response, Jordyn’s response was: There was [discussion of the spot]. And I’d love to share that one day with you – But first I need you to view this with the perspective of a young girl, new to this industry, with everyone telling you this guy has a name and you should do it cause it’s good for your name. There was. And I’d love to share that one day with you – But first I need you to view this with the perspective of a young girl, new to this industry, with everyone telling you this guy has a name and you should do it cause it’s good for your name. — Dani Jordyn (@DaniJordyn) June 21, 2026 Only Copeland had posted when (also apparently retired) indie wrestler Terra Calaway shared this, but we think she’d apply to the response Jordyn got as well: Men with the “well why didn’t you say no” have never been in an imbalanced power dynamic in a male dominated industry with misogynistic values. But that’s just my two cents on today. Men with the "well why didn't you say no" have never been in an imbalanced power dynamic in a male dominated industry with misogynistic values. But that's just my two cents on today. — fka Terra Calaway (@TerraCalaway) June 21, 2026 James and Janela weren’t the only names who came to Dreamer’s defense, however. Like Janela, GCW owner Bret Lauderdale is friends with both Dreamer and Perch. In a series of tweets, Lauderdale wrote: I think one thing people forget is that Tommy Dreamer is an *ecw guy* and he comes from a different era. The antics that many consider to be inappropriate (or worse) today are the very same that made him (and ecw) so cool and universally celebrated/romanticized in the 90s. I’ve always known Tommy to be a decent and gracious person. I think his greatest flaw is probably that he didn’t evolve with the times. But its not hard to understand why… everywhere he goes to this day people chant “ecw ecw ecw” at him. its hard to leave that behind. Tommys always been blunt & honest (to a fault) and uses language that isnt always thoughtful or sensitive but he means well & hes helped advance a lot of peoples careers As for the interaction w perch, idk if it did or didnt happen but the last thing i know perch to be is a liar Hopefully it was just a misunderstanding and one day they can talk and mend fences. We need more people like Dan Perch in the wrestling business. Ive always known tommy to be a decent and gracious person. I think his greatest flaw is probably that he didnt evolve with the times. But its not hard to understand why… everywhere he goes to this day people chant "ecw ecw ecw" at him. its hard to leave that behind… — brett lauderdale (@Lauderdale11) June 21, 2026 WWF/E and ECW veteran Missy Hyatt also spoke up for Dreamer online: I seen some disparaging comments about @THETOMMYDREAMER online. My interactions with dreamer have always been cordial & professional. I have nothing bad to say about him. These are the things i witnessed that tommy did for others. He recommended try outs & jobs for so much indy talent when he worked for ecw, wwe, & tna. I guess he’s confident in his own spot & didnt feel threatened like so many that someone could steal his spot. He helped so many put together matches by emphasizing their strengths. He would call wwe wellness to help troubled souls find help before it was too late. Tna’s loss and an asset to any company and lockeroom. I seen some disparaging comments about @THETOMMYDREAMER online. My interactions with dreamer have always been cordial & professional. I have nothing bad to say about him. These are the things i witnessed that tommy did for others. He recommended try outs & jobs for so much… pic.twitter.com/WepFwA5BmF — MissyHyatt (@RealMissyHyatt) June 21, 2026 Dreamer’s gone from TNA, but he’s still a regular co-host on Busted Open. He has yet to comment on any of the allegations.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 23: Tommy Dreamer during the Busted Open podcast at SiriusXM Studios on October 23, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Roy Rochlin/Getty Images) | Getty Images In so many ways, it’s amazing to think TNA still exists in 2026. It seems like it wasn’t all that long ago that we were hearing the promotion would be finished every other week. You would think things would be going swimmingly with a partnership alongside WWE but that hasn’t necessarily been the case. There’s been some good but plenty of rough news, especially of late as they build up to the upcoming Slammiversary pay-per-view this weekend in Boston. First, multiple names were exiting the promotion, from the likes of Steve Maclin to Sami Callihan in what the company would call a “strategic workforce reduction.” Then Tommy Dreamer, who had been a hugely powerful force backstage for the past decade, announced a “mutual decision to part ways.” Not long after, however, he was accused of bullying and inappropriate behavior. During an appearance on Busted Open, Dreamer would say he tried to create a culture there and now everything will change with him gone: “It’s not my job anymore. I tried building a culture and I can’t worry about that anymore, because it is all gonna change, and I hope everyone realizes how much it’s gonna change.” He talked openly about his booking of the promotion and his belief that he helped attendance numbers with how he booked Slammiversary last year. However, False Finish is claiming sources inside the promotion are pushing back against that while welcoming the culture change he spoke of: Sources inside TNA indicate to False Finish that Tommy Dreamer’s statements are not accurate. Dreamer did not want to build contenders and in fact had control of who got pushed. The belief is that the culture will change for the better. The feeling is that the booking and creative wasn’t good and change was needed, especially with the bigger platform of AMC this year. Meanwhile, TNA President Carlos Silva was on social media touting the success of the latest episode of Thursday Night Impact: 255k: Proud of our @thisisTNA team and our USA broadcast partners @AMC_TV — last week was one of our highest-rated episodes so far. We'll do it again Thursday night, then it's on to Boston and Slammiversary! Tix and PPV info here: https://t.co/yuUOzWkOrH — Carlos Silva (@carlossilva) June 24, 2026 This comes not long after Silva had been catching heat for some of his decisions related to TNA, including a controversy of pulling stars from independent matches against AEW stars. The status of the promotion in general has been in question with rumors of a sale popping up here and there, with even Jeff Jarrett saying “the writing is on the wall and it’s in superglue” if it’s true WWE has right of first refusal in that regard. Matt Hardy is doing his best to defend Silva and the state of TNA right now: Carlos was hired for this position to 1) dig TNA out of debt, 2) streamline company cost & expenses, 3) get the company on a bigger TV platform & 4) get to the point where TNA is becoming profitable. He’s been working tirelessly & every one of these tasks are challenging. Carlos… https://t.co/jVgbHypmY3 — MATT HARDY (@MATTHARDYBRAND) June 23, 2026 Carlos was hired for this position to 1) dig TNA out of debt, 2) streamline company cost & expenses, 3) get the company on a bigger TV platform & 4) get to the point where TNA is becoming profitable. He’s been working tirelessly & every one of these tasks are challenging. Carlos is getting things done & succeeding on all these goals. The core group at TNA is gonna keep doing what we do – Work hard, grind away and make TNA as great as it can be. All this while rumors have been flying for days of big surprises and returns planned for Slammiversary. What a time to be alive, huh?