FORMER WWE superstar Tommy Dreamer has revealed his battle with skin cancer.

The Innovator of Violence shot to fame upon joining ECW in 1993.

He enjoyed a successful eight-year stint that saw him sharing the ring with some of the best performers of all time, such as Mick Foley, Terry Funk as well as Rob Van Dam.

And he took hardcore wrestling to the next level thanks to a series of blood-filled encounters.

Dreamer then went on to star in WWE from 2001 to 2010 before creating his own House of Hardcore promotion while still wrestling for numerous independent companies over the past decade.

Now the current Impact Wrestling ace has revealed he is facing another huge battle – only this time it is out of the ring.

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Tommy Dreamer considered murdering Heyman and then suicide at WrestleMania

The 52-year-old told his House of Hardcore podcast that he was recently diagnosed with skin cancer for a third time.

And he went on to describe how he has undergone surgery to get it removed.

The grappler, who recently lost his mother, said: “I know you’re all looking at [my head] and saying, ‘What the hell is so shiny on your head? Are you going to town? Are you having barbed wire matches? No. Guess what? Ladies and gentlemen, I had skin cancer.

“This is the third time I’ve had skin cancer. Of course, it’s on my head, but I’m not a pretty boy. I am hardcore.

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“It’s scary when they tell you you have cancer. It’s the best form of cancer, but you have to get it removed. For this, they’re able to cut it out. It’s called Moles surgery. I’ve had it before. I’ve had it here on my chest, I’ve had it on my head, and now I have a bigger one on my head.”

Dreamer continued: “What you’re looking at is the grossness of 42 stitches. I had 23 outside and 19 inside.

“You don’t feel it when they’re cutting you. The weirdness of it is they have to cauterize your stuff, so you can smell your skin burning. Then the part that I didn’t like, you can hear the scalpel cutting open your head.

“The worst part is, you can hear them putting in the stitches, and it’s a long task to get that many stitches, but it’s in your head.

“They can numb it, you’re not feeling it. But you can hear it. You can hear it going into your skin and the tightening of the thread. It’s gross.”

Dreamer tragically revealed the depths to which his battle with depression drove him back in 2020.

And he shockingly once considered murdering Paul Heyman and taking his own life at WrestleMania after the former ECW president had jumped ships to WWE.

Back in 2001, the New York grappler was so desperate to keep the failing wrestling promotion alive that he snubbed lucrative offers to join WCW.

However, Dreamer, real name Tom Laughlin, was then heartbroken to discover that Heyman had already given up and was secretly working with WWE.

He then thought about taking advantage of Texas' lax-gun laws to jump the rail at WrestleMania 17 in Houston, murder Heyman, and then take his own life.

For more information on checking for skin cancer visit: cancerresearchuk.org

Is skin cancer itchy?

Itchy skin and/or itchy moles can be a sign of skin cancer.

A mole that is itchy is one of the many signs of melanoma.

An itchy, red, sclaly patch is the main symptoms of one type of non-melanoma skin cancer, Bowen's disease.

A study from 2018 that looked at 16,000 people found people with general itching were more likely to have cancer (including skin) than those who didn't.

Typically, skin cancer is identified by a new or changing spot on the skin.

But in some cases, itchiness might be the reason that the spot was noticed.

Itching can indicate all sorts of things however, so if it's your only symptom and isn't going away go to your doctor.

He previously said: “When ECW went out of business I was 29 years old. I had a lot of my money, my parents’ money, trying to float the company.

“Paul Heyman, who I thought me and him were super tight, he screwed me over big time. He was in the WWE, the whole time. I had turned down hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to WCW. And now was unemployed.

“I went from a $750,000 offer, and Paul Heyman crying to me, that if I leave ECW, it will go out of business. Meanwhile, he was getting a paycheck from WWE. I don’t begrudge him, but then I did.

“I was depressed as depressed can be. I had women, I had fame, I had everything and yet it was the worst time of my life. It really was. I was doing indies, making decent money on the indies. But, I lived at home…

“This is crazy for me to admit it, but I am doing it for a reason, just like I admitted to other things previously.

“Wrestlemania Houston (X7) Paul Heyman told me I was going to debut. All this stuff, when they had TLC and Spike Dudley came in, and Rhyno came in, and Lita came in. That was supposed to be my spot and then uh, that got ixnayed. Then there was gonna be a hardcore 24/7 thing, that was gonna be “all about you”. That was when I was supposed to debut.

“I remember I did a show there, and I saw a sign that said 'Guns Welcome' and I was in Houston. I did an indie show, and I said: 'What is this?' I’m from New York, what do you mean 'Guns Welcome?' and they said 'Oh you are allowed to bring a firearm into the venue.'

“I was across the street from the Astrodome. When I tell you it resonated in my head so, so much. That I’ll tell you what I wanted to do. It’s sick that I think this.

“At Wrestlemania, I was gonna hop the rail and I was gonna whack Paul E. in the back of the head right at the announce table, then I was gonna whack myself. The ultimate martyr, I was gonna hit my pose crack, boom, pull the trigger. Because I was that insane.

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“Don’t know if I would have went through with it, but that’s what I was thinking about every day. I was like 'I will go down in history.' Pop, boom.

“First, they’d think it as an angle until I shot him. I was so severely depressed and so mental with rage, I needed help.”

YOU’RE NOT ALONE

EVERY 90 minutes in the UK a life is lost to suicide.

It doesn't discriminate, touching the lives of people in every corner of society – from the homeless and unemployed to builders and doctors, reality stars and footballers.

It's the biggest killer of people under the age of 35, more deadly than cancer and car crashes.

And men are three times more likely to take their own life than women.

Yet it's rarely spoken of, a taboo that threatens to continue its deadly rampage unless we all stop and take notice, now.

That is why The Sun launched the You're Not Alone campaign.

The aim is that by sharing practical advice, raising awareness and breaking down the barriers people face when talking about their mental health, we can all do our bit to help save lives.

Let's all vow to ask for help when we need it, and listen out for others… You're Not Alone.

If you, or anyone you know, needs help dealing with mental health problems, the following organisations provide support:

• CALM, www.thecalmzone.net, 0800 585 858
• Heads Together, www.headstogether.org.uk
• Mind, www.mind.org.uk, 0300 123 3393
• Papyrus, www.papyrus-uk.org, 0800 068 41 41
• Samaritans, www.samaritans.org, 116 123
• Movember, www.uk.movember.com

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