[11] On August 17, 1993, Tommy Dreamer wrestled a dark match at a WWF Superstars taping in White Plains, NY, losing to The Brooklyn Brawler.
[19] When speaking of his title reigns on The Rise and Fall of ECW documentary produced by WWE Home Video, Dreamer is quoted as saying:[20] I was actually pissed off.
The only reason I won titles is because guys left.Dreamer stayed with ECW until it folded in 2001, defeating C. W. Anderson in an "I Quit" match at Guilty as Charged[21] – the final pay-per-view – and teaming with Danny Doring in a win over Julio Dinero and E. Z.
[27] During this time, he was the final person to hold it before it became unified with the Intercontinental Championship in a match with Rob Van Dam at Madison Square Garden.
When his performer's contract expired, he took a succession of office jobs inside World Wrestling Entertainment, including being the number two person in Talent Relations.
On June 12, 2005, Dreamer was a major part of the ECW One Night Stand reunion show pay-per-view held under the World Wrestling Entertainment banner.
[33][34][35] The angle ended with a six-person-intergender-tag team match at ECW One Night Stand where Dreamer, Funk, and Beulah McGillicutty lost to Edge, Foley, and Lita.
The feud continued until a number of roster moves left both sides nearly barren, with it ending at One Night Stand on June 3 when Dreamer, Sandman, and Punk beat Burke, Cor Von, and Striker in a Tables match.
During the series of matches, also involving Stevie Richards, Elijah Burke, and Kevin Thorn he added a bandana, worn on his head, to his ring gear.
[42][43] Dreamer emerged victorious in the final match against Burke, only to be surprised by ECW's general manager Armando Estrada forcing him to face Big Daddy V, who promptly beat him for the number one contenders.
Despite not being featured on television leading up to the Royal Rumble, Dreamer would receive a loud ovation and chants from his hometown MSG crowd even with Shawn Michaels and The Undertaker in the match.
After his championship pursuit had ceased, Dreamer began teaming up with Christian, Yoshi Tatsu and Goldust on various occasions to take on William Regal and his allies Vladimir Kozlov and Ezekiel Jackson, exchanging victories and losses.
[52] On June 13, 2010, at Slammiversary VIII Dreamer made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA), appearing in the crowd and thus distracting Brother Ray and costing him his match against Jesse Neal.
Styles, Kazarian, Robert Roode, James Storm, Douglas Williams and Matt Morgan of Ric Flair's Fourtune stable, who thought they did not deserve to be in TNA.
[67] The following week he returned with Raven, Stevie Richards, Sabu and Rhino and announced that Dixie Carter had given the five of them a Lethal Lockdown match against Fourtune at Bound for Glory.
[73] After spending some time off television, Dreamer returned on the February 24 episode of Impact!, becoming entangled in the feud between former tag team partners Bully Ray and Brother Devon.
[81] Dreamer appeared at the inaugural event of Evolve on January 17, 2010, in a non-wrestling role, getting involved in a match which led to him brawling with Jimmy Jacobs.
[82] Later that month, on January 23, Dreamer debuted for Dragon Gate USA, saving Jacobs and Lacey from a beating at the hands of Jon Moxley.
[98] In the main event of the first show, Dreamer lost the FWE Heavyweight Championship to Carlito in a three-way match, which also included Mike Knox.
on the July 24 episode of Impact, Dreamer and Team 3D faced Ethan Carter III, Rhino, and Rockstar Spud in a 6-man New York City street fight in a losing effort after a run in by Snitsky and Rycklon.
On the August 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, Dreamer was defeated by TNA World Heavyweight Champion Lashley in a non-title New York City street fight.
On the November 30, 2015 episode of Raw, Dreamer returned, teaming with The Dudley Boyz in a six-man tag match against The Wyatt Family which ended in a no contest.
In November 2016, Dreamer began filming an ECW show for the WWE Network alongside Paul Heyman, Tazz and Bubba Ray Dudley.
[111] At Victory Road on September 8, 2023, he won the Impact Digital Media Championship by defeating Kenny King in a Title vs. Career match.
[119] Dreamer appeared along with fellow ECW wrestler New Jack in the "Mel Schwartz, Bounty Hunter" episode of the TV series Early Edition as a biker.
[122] Dreamer also has a cameo, alongside fellow wrestlers Diamond Dallas Page, Jake Roberts and Roddy Piper, in the comedy film The Bet.
[citation needed] On October 12, 2002, at the Lake Isle Country Club in Eastchester, New York, Laughlin married Trisa Hayes, known as ECW wrestler/manager Beulah McGillicutty.
[citation needed] On a November 2011 Art of Wrestling podcast, Dreamer told host Colt Cabana his family is "connected" to the New York mafia.
[124] He recounted an incident after one of his first matches in Brooklyn, which was attended by various of his local relatives, in which he was attacked from behind and beaten down by Bill DeMott, wrestling at the time under the name Sweet William.
Unaware of wrestling's scripted nature, several of his relatives at ringside got angry; aside from his grandfather jumping over the railing and trying to fight off security guards, his aunt told DeMott as he passed that she would "put a hit" on him.