Tommy Dreamer Details Battle With COVID-19 After Wrestle Pro Booking
"I've never been sicker in my life."
May 6, 2021
Tommy Dreamer has described, in detail, how he contracted and battle COVID-19 after testing positive for the virus following a booking at a Wrestle Pro show in Alaska last month.
Dreamer, who wrestled two matches on the tour - Shane Douglas on April 9 and Sami Callihan on April 10 - has revealed how a number of individuals involved with the shows became infected with coronavirus, after one of the talent had to travel home before returning.
The 50-year-old explained that his desire to work in every State, along with the good financial aspect of the booking, was why he accepted the Wrestle Pro booking, but admitted he realised he made a mistake in gambling with his health.
Speaking on his House Of Hardcore Podcast, Dreamer said: "This is day 24 since I've been exposed to COVID. I've never been sicker in my life.
"I went to Alaska and was exposed on that Friday. The company I went for, Wrestle Pro, everyone tested negative. They were there about a week before I came in and someone tested positive. How that happened, it was a wrestler, and that wrestler had to fly home and he tested positive. Saturday, mid-afternoon, we all found out. The company did everything and told the wrestlers and fans. Nobody asked for refunds or anything.
"As soon as I got in the ring and looked at the crowd and there were so many people not wearing masks. I said, 'I made the wrong decision.' I did it for selfish reasons and wanted to check Alaska off my bucket list to say I wrestled in every state and financial reasons. There was a good financial deal for me. It's going to have long-term effects on my health.
"The wrestler who tested positive, I drove in the car back from the show with the person he wrestled. Both of us felt fine. The next morning, I woke up with a headache. The person who drove me back to the hotel, he and his daughter weren't feeling well. He tested positive, his daughter tested negative. I know 12 people on the tour who tested positive, myself would be 13. It's no fault of the promotion."
Dreamer, who also revealed that he passed the coronavirus onto his wife and daughter, described his symptoms: "It felt like I had a massive concussion, and I had a non-stop throbbing pain in my head for 17 days. Then came the fever. It was going up to 102, 102.4, and I had that for about seven days.
"The chills, at one point I had four winter blankets on me and I still felt like I was outside naked in the snow. That was about four days. Sweats, I would be freezing for two to three hours and then came the sweats and having to change the sheets daily. That lasted about 16 to 17 days.
"Weakness and fatigue were next level. I'm on day 24 and I've had three good days. It feels like you overcome and then it hits you all over again. I tested positive on Thursday and had already exposed my family. Thursday night, I was in so much physical pain that I literally said, 'I'm going to pee myself because I can't get up to walk to the bathroom.'
"One night, I woke up crying and in pain. My elbows and hips felt like they were on fire, and I've been on fire. It was a raging pain, burning in both my elbows and hips. No matter which way I turned, I lost use of both my arms. They were just hanging. I couldn't lay in bed. I had to stand for two hours against the wall."
H/T Fightful