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[ A r t i c l e s ]
WOW Magazine Dawn Of A New Era
Dawn Marie is taking a positive approach
to her post-ECW career Dawn Marie grew up in Extreme Championship Wrestling. In her two-and-a-half years as a valet - from managing the championship tag team of The Impact Players to escorting her real-life beau Simon Diamond to the ring - Dawn Marie learned countless lessons. "The major things I learned from my time in ECW are personal lessons. I've learned millions of professional lessons, but it's the personal things - I grew up," she said during a recent interview with WOW Magazine. "Buh Buh (Ray Dudley) was like a big brother to me. He smartened me up on everything in the locker room and how to act professionally. Not only did her give me the knowledge, but he enforced it. He expected nothing less from me. I learned how to be a part of what's going on, not marching to your own beat." But the most important lesson she learned may have come upon hearing of ECW's demise in early March 2001. "It was a confusing time. You just didn't know what was going to happen," she said of the first two months of the year. "It was tough for awhile, and I didn't want to believe it was going to end. I believe Paul (E. Heyman) really tried to pull it out. Who's to ever second guess Paul? Just when you have him figured out, he makes a left turn - which is a good thing. It wasn't like, 'It's over.' It was like, 'OK, we're going through a rough time, but Paul's going to figure everything out.' " However, Heyman, the owner of the Philadelphia-based promotion, wasn't able to figure everything out, which became painfully clear to ECW performers and fans when Heyman replaced Jerry Lawler as color commentator on RAW on March 5, 2001. Two other incidents solidified the reality of ECW's end. The federation canceled its March pay-per-view, Living Dangerously, and filed for bankruptcy on April 4, 2001, citing nearly $9 million in unpaid bills. The finality of ECW's demise prompted the greatest lesson for Dawn Marie: There's life after E-C Dub. And she's ready to make the most of it. From Valet to Competitor Since ECW ceased operations, Dawn Marie (real name: Dawn Marie Psaltis) has kept busy by performing in independent federations alongside Diamond, taking acting classes and learning how to wrestle. She had her first singles match at an East Coast Wrestling Association show in Delaware on April 7 against Dina Divine. But the desire to learn how to wrestle actually took hold long before ECW's demise. "When I first started in ECW [in August 1998], I didn't know how to take bumps. But the way ECW uses women, I had to learn," she said. "Buh Buh (Ray Dudley), Mikey Whipwreck and Chris Chetti really took a lot of time to help me. I would also get in the ring before shows and learn different things, because that was what was expected of the women. But since we were so busy on the road, I really didn't have anybody who could teach me how to wrestle. In the last six months, we've had access to a ring. I talked with Simon about it, and he said he'd teach me how to wrestle, which is what I really wanted to do. That's where the girls are going nowadays - they have to know how to wrestle." The motivation behind learning how to wrestle was to better her ECW performances, which often included catfights with the "Queen of Extreme" Francine. But now, Dawn Marie knows that to get noticed by World Wrestling Federation officials, she must be able to take and execute some of the bumps that Lita, Trish Stratus and even Stephanie McMahon routinely perform. "My initial reason to start (learning how to wrestle) wasn't so I could go somewhere else," she said. "It was to better myself at what I do. I think every wrestler's dream is to work for the WWF eventually, even before [Vince McMahon] owned everything. That's just the epitome of wrestling. It's always going to be your dream whether you admit it or not." Extreme Exodus For many ECW performers, the dream of performing for the WWF has become a reality. Justin Credible, Rhyno and Spike Dudley made high-profile debuts in the WWF in early 2001, joining Raven, Tazz and The Dudley Boyz who made the jump long before ECW's demise. Other ECW performers who may land in the WWF include Jerry Lynn, Yoshihiro Tajiri and Nova. For former ECW performers who are on the outside looking in, it may seem natural to feel left out. But that's not a feeling Dawn Marie has. "It's really exciting," she said when asked how she feels when watching her former co-workers appear in the WWF. "You just get really happy for these people, because you've been with them three or four days a week for the last two and a half years in ECW. You meet their families and really get to know them. P.J. (Credible) and his wife are just wonderful people. You really start to know these people personally, so when they have success, you're happy for them. I would not wish anything but the best for any of those guys." As of press time, no former female ECW performers have made the jump to the WWF, besides Lita (known as Angelica and Miss Congeniality in ECW) who debuted in the federation in February 2000. But even if the WWF signed Francine, Elektra or Jasmin, Dawn Marie said she wouldn't feel discouraged. "It's a competitive situation, but we all offer something different," she said. "If you have what they want, then you're going to get the job. I don't think it has anything to do with someone being better. It's about what you have to offer to what they need. I wouldn't be upset if even one of the other girls got picked up before me, because it'd be like they weren't looking for what I have to offer them at that moment." No regrets Now Dawn Marie is working toward being ready to show what she can do, as a valet and a brawling female, for possible employment in the only professional wrestling game left in town - the WWF and the new WWF-owned World Championship Wrestling. She's relying on her rich ECW experience, her training from Diamond and her positive no-regrets attitude. "I truly believe that everything that happens in life and all your actions make you who you are today," she said. "You need to make mistakes and go in the wrong directions to be able to make the right choices. I'm a true believer in that, and I would never do anything differently. No matter what your choices are - right, wrong or indifferent - you have to stand by them and learn from them. I am very happy with who I am. If I never stepped inside a ring again, I'm happy with what I've done. But I hope I have a longer career." No matter what happens, the time spent in ECW and the circumstances surrounding its demise will always be fresh in her memory. "I can remember the day reality set in, it was one week before the (Living Dangerously) pay-per-view was going to happen," she said. [Editor's note: Before it was canceled, the pay-per-view was scheduled for March 11, 2001.] "When we found out it wasn't going to happen, I looked at Simon and said 'It's really over.' We had the same hopeful feeling that it's going to be OK. But the week before we had talked to Paul, and he said it wasn't going to happen. Hearing it from him set in the reality. It was a weird feeling. It wasn't sadness, it wasn't anger. It was like when a record scratches." Diamond's Best Friend In the last few months in ECW, and in independent shows since the federation's demise, Dawn Marie was and still is linked to Simon Diamond (real name: Pat Kenney) in and out of the ring. One might thing since the two are partners in the ring, they must also talk about wrestling in their personal lives. Not so, said Dawn Marie. "Pat and I have a rule: When we're not wrestling, we don't get involved with it," she said. "We try to keep our lives very separate. We try to keep it just Dawn and Pat when we're at home. We don't talk about wrestling, unless we want to sit down and discuss our careers. We've looked at past relationships in the business and realize the odds are against us." |