So Dawn Marie did a Torch Talk Current mood: aggravated
And she completely buries me. I wouldn't expect anything less from her. Here is my response. I left her comments in case you haven't seen it yet.
Wade Keller: Talk about the run-in you had with Francine backstage at the ECW One Night Stand pay-per-view last June?
Dawn: Well, I come walking into the locker room happy to see everyone and I'm walking in with my bags still in my hand and I saw her just standing there. It said hello to everybody and I went to go put my hand out and shake her hand, just being professional. I said, "Hi, Franny, how are you?" She went to grab my hand, but then she turned away like she couldn't be bothered. I grabbed her hand as she was turning and I looked her straight in the face and I said, "You're just as pleasant as usual." I just threw her hand down and I just walked away.
Francine: "This is totally untrue. When she came over, she said "hi" and I shook her hand and looked her right in the eyes and said "How are you?". She then rolled her eyes and said "Your just as pleasant as usual". Everyone knows that there is no loveloss between Dawn and I, but I shook her hand because it was the right thing to do. For her to make up lies and say I turned away is just sad. I had three people who were standing there with me when this happened that can back me up on what was said. It's funny because I went and sat in make-up for awhile and while I was there, I was told that Dawn was throwing a hissy fit about me being there (at the PPV). She was screaming profanities about me to anyone that would listen to her. People from the WWE office told me not to worry about her. She acted so unprofessional. If I was her, I would of been embarrassed by my type of behavior that day."
Keller: You could never figure out why she was this way towards you? There was just such a history between you two, but it was one of those things where she just had a rivalry?
Dawn: I never figured out why she didn't like me. When I first started there, I never had a problem with her. I was brought in a way where if you did, you just kept it to yourself. (The rivalry started) back in the ECW days, probably when Tammy left ECW. She was so focused on getting rid of Tammy - since she was the bigger star than her - that she never really paid attention to me. Here I was this newcomer and I was not any competition to her at all. Then when Tammy left, I was getting better as a professional, I was getting more airtime and I was growing. I came out of nowhere to her as if she thought, 'I didn't see this happening.' I was the next thing she needed to get out of the way. I don't think she was jealous. I don't want to say that. I hate when women use the jealousy reason. I believe that she was just trying to protect her turf and her positioning. I believe that she's the type of person that would rather spend time eliminating competition or anyone who may be better or similar in popularity rather than bettering herself. She wouldn't put the time into bettering herself. She would lie and say, "I went to wrestling school.' She never went to wrestling school. People used to laugh about that in the locker room. She learned how to take bumps. That was it. Have you ever seen her do a wrestling match? No. If she ever did a mixed tag, it was a very protected situation. Let's all go back and watch it. The proof is all there. I don't care if that's what she chooses to do, but don't lie about your accomplishments. I just think she's the type of person that would exercise everything to get rid of her competition so that she looks better rather than bettering herself and her own quality to look like she's improving. Hey, if that's what she wants to do, I don't hate her for it. That's fine. If you want to be lazy about your career, that's your choice. Personally, I compete with myself. I don't compete with the people around me. I always did. I always wanted to get better and compare my work to myself. That's how I was growing as a professional. Honestly, everybody is different. If everyone were the same, we wouldn't have jobs. I wouldn't have been around for eleven years if I were the same as everyone else. I always looked at what I did best and tried to make that better. That's why I was important. I don't want to be like Francine, Lita, or Trish. They already have it. I don't want to be like that.
Francine "I have no idea where she got this from. I love Tammy. I never tried to get her fired. Her, myself and Chris always hung out together. And I loved working with Tammy. She is still my friend to this day! I booked both Chris and Tammy for HLOW in Texas. When Chris passed, I was the one who got Tammy booked for the WEW ppv. There were never any problems between us. As far as Dawn goes, she did her thing and I did mine. We were friends when she first came, and I really don't know what went wrong there. We are not friends now, and that's ok. You don't have to like everyone you work with, but you should respect them and be professional and that is something that she is not. And for her to say I never went to wrestling school is insane! Everyone knows that I started training in 1993 and worked very hard to learn as much as I could about the business. JT Smith was my trainer, and I was the only woman there. I tried hard to keep up with what the guys did and bump like they did. Why Dawn would make a statement like this is beyond me. Ask Tod Gordon, he was the first person I met. I paid $1500 to attend the school, which at the time was in the back of the ECW arena. When I began to work, I was a manager and I was happy with that. I loved it. Paul told me that he didn't think woman's wrestling sold as much as the catfights did, so he never made us wrestle. That was his decision and I really loved being a manager, so I didn't mind at all. I loved my role and was happy with what I was doing.
Keller: As far as the ECW locker room went, were there other problems the women had with each other? Was the rivalry between you and Francine the most obvious and well-known or there were other breakdowns between some of the other women who came through?
Dawn: No, Francine hated anyone who came through. (laughs) The only person she got along with was Jazzmine. What kind of competition was there unless you want to be a porn star? Whatever. That's the only person she got along with in ECW. Once they both were in the independent scene, I heard that whole relationship broke down because they were competing for the same job. She (Francine) had to do with Jazz getting fired. Jazz was there for a short period of time before she was rehired. She was out for Lita when she first came because she couldn't compete with her. Lita was brand new in the business as Amy Dumas, but she (Francine) couldn't compete with her athleticism and she didn't want that exposed. Tammy came in and she was a superstar. Francine hated her. She did everything she could possibly do to get rid of her. When I went solo, she wanted me gone. She did everything possible to make me miserable to leave and make everyone hate me. I wasn't there during the Beulah days, but I heard they were worse than her and I. That wasn't made public because they weren't mainstream at the time. This is gossip, but the reason Beulah left was because she couldn't stand Francine anymore. She went back and did her schooling, which was the best thing she ever did. I had the privilege of meeting her at the ECW Reunion show and she's a great girl. She is so smart and she has a beautiful family. The best thing that ever happened to her was leaving and going to school and pursuing her career in life. She's happy as anything. She should be thanking Francine for being such a bitch because she probably wouldn't have all that.
Francine: I have no idea where she gets her info from. I never tried to get anyone fired, I didn't have that kind of power. I welcomed any girls in because I wanted female friends there. I wanted to have women there to hang out with in the back. I never hated anyone. I got along with everyone there. I traveled with Beulah in the beginning. Towards the end, Beulah became distant with everyone. I honestly don't think I was the reason she left. I think she left because she was done with wrestling. But Beulah and I were always professionals. When we worked together, we kept it business. Her and I sat down at ONS last year and talked and there is no hate between us at all. Dawn on the other hand would shoot on me in the ring. You are suppose to respect and protect the person you are working with dispite how you really felt outside of the ring. And Dawn had no respect for the business by acting like that. I made some great friends from working in this business. I traveled and roomed with Chastity. I am still friends with Tammy, George, Angel Orsini, Missy and Jazz (Carlene). I am great friends with many women in the business and I try and get my friends work whenever I can. If I was so jealous, why would I help people? Dawn said I made the whole ECW roster hate her? Again, how could I do that? People hated her there because of the way she acted and the way she treated people. I had nothing to do with that. It's a shame that Dawn has to resort to name calling and lying to get attention now that she isn't doing anything in wrestling. Very sad indeed.
