Starting your own business is a dream widely held by anyone that has ever had to take orders to earn money.  ECW legend Tommy Dreamer has achieved that goal with House of Hardcore, his independent wrestling promotion that will be running their ninth show Saturday at Ted Reeve Community Arena in Toronto.

For Dreamer, it's the next logical step in a career that has been defined by taking crazy chances and making them pay off.

"It's something that I've always wanted to do," Dreamer told TSN.ca "I said I'm going to do one and if it's successful I would do another, and now we're at my ninth show and I have my largest pre-sale to date and hoping to sell out another arena.  It's more of a headache for me as the promoter.   As a wrestler and wrestling fan I love when guys go through tables and now as the promoter I'm thinking 'That cost me $135 to break something.'

"It's surreal for me because I get to be like a player coach. I want to be like the Bartolo Colon of wrestling and keep going till I can't go anymore."

Because no one can build an empire by themselves, Dreamer has made great use of the relationships and friendships he's built over the course of his time in the industry.

"There are some guys I've met on Indy shows and I've been able to say 'I'm a huge fan of your work, I'd love to use you one day' but a lot of times favours have been called, especially my first show," said Dreamer.  "I had Edge (Canadian Adam Copeland), he never did any independent show after his WWE career and he said the only show I'd ever come to is yours."  

"He was supposed to be there to sign autographs and he was enjoying the show so much he asked if he could go out there and he went out and put the show over.  It's a lot of favours and to his credit Bully Ray has not taken a paycheque from me."

The 44-year-old veteran has seen a lot of changes in the industry since his days at ECW Arena, but the one that excites him the most is how technology has allowed the average wrestling fan to get closer to and even have a say in some of the action.

"The best part of being a fan now is social media which has changed the face of television, between Twitter and Facebook," said Dreamer. "I have straight up asked the fans who or what they would like to see and it gives fans that interaction with the superstars.  Bully Ray will insult you just like he does me all the time."

The slogan of House of Hardcore is "No Politics, No BS, Just Wrestling", which is something Dreamer takes to heart trying to keep a fan perspective when booking matches.

"I've had a lot of dream matches that fans don't expect to see because I like to give fans what I'd want to see," said Dreamer. "In the past everyone wanted to see Hulk Hogan vs. Ric Flair but that didn't happen till later in their careers, as opposed to getting to see Team 3D who can still go in the ring vs. the Young Bucks (one of the matches on the House of Hardcore 9 card), which is a tag team dream match. I love that stuff, I'm a fan."

Being at the forefront of the hardcore wrestling movement, Dreamer has seen the evolution of the wrestling genre from the way it was done in the early days of ECW to the way it was presented in both WWE and TNA.  

"I think hardcore has been pushed to market the violence, the blood, the tables and all that stuff because that's what they thought ECW was," said Dreamer.  "Hardcore is about passion and a work ethic, going out there and pushing your body to the limits to entertain the fans."

Two WWE wrestlers that he has high praise for the way they have been putting in work lately are WWE superstars Kevin Owens and John Cena who have been locked in a recent feud both on TV and on PPV.

"Kevin Owens is a hardcore wrestler, I used to use him on all of my shows, I was mad when he signed with WWE for House of Hardcore but I was happy for him as my friend," said Dreamer.  "He goes out there and risks his body, him and John Cena, that's a hardcore match because they've been going out there and doing 20-30 minutes something you're not used to seeing.  The mantra of ECW was, if you can't follow the match before you, you didn't deserve to be there."

Dreamer, also known as the Innovator of Violence, has pulled the plug on one of the moves that he helped make famous, posting on Facebook that he's taken his last chokeslam due to health concerns.

"I broke my neck when I was 28 and I wrestled for four months with a broken neck," said Dreamer. "I actually blew out my back, herniated three disks on PPV, on my mother's birthday, wrestling Canada's own Lance Storm.  I used to think I was invincible and still in my mind when I'm preforming I'm 28-years-old, but this Sunday my body said, no you're 44 idiot, You're wrestling a 25 minute match and you're jumping seven feet in the air and a guy is spiking you to the ground."

"I made that move famous and I've taken it a million times and for the first time I felt pain and I said no I don't want to be in a wheelchair and no I don't want to mess myself up any further."

This Saturday, Dreamer is going to face Chris Hero, a veteran of the independent circuit who spent almost two years with WWE under the name, Kassius Ohno.  He expects it to be a very physical affair.

"He's an excellent striker with his elbows and his kicks, I've wrestled him one other time and I was bruised and lumped up and I like that aggressive style," said Dreamer. "At 44-years-old, I like someone that's going to bring more out of me. "