Rob Van Dam had a busy Friday as the WWE Hall Of Famer made his return to SmackDown, and Mr. Monday Night noticed a very different vibe to Triple H’s new regime.
RVD and his wife Katie Forbes were invited as guests for the first SmackDown on USA Network. The power couple were seen sitting ringside for Kevin Owens & Randy Orton vs. Austin Theory & Grayson Waller and Van Dam was impressed with what he saw.
Speaking to me on a yet-to-be-released episode of his ‘1 Of A Kind With RVD’ podcast, the Hall of Famer shared his view of how different WWE is these days, both in the ring and backstage in the locker room.
“It was in a way that’s refreshing to make me realize how out of touch with the product I am because I didn’t realize that a lot of the things people have been telling me are in effect.”
Rob says in just watching the one match in some ways WWE seems to be aiming at bringing the wrestling product back to more storytelling and simplifying the exhibition of the in-ring action. Van Dam also loved the new SmackDown logo.
“I love creative s*** like that.”
Backstage Interactions With Triple H & The Modern Roster
Rob Van Dam had a brief interaction with Kevin Owens backstage after his match with a fist bump, hung with Booker T, Ron Simmons and Teddy Long in the legends dressing room. He also did some interviews on behalf of WWE for future projects. He also did get to chat with Triple H.
“He was really cool, in a good mood and I got good vibes off him as well.”
Van Dam did hear Triple H talk during a meeting about how the touring schedule would change and it reminded him of how daunting the old WWE schedule used to be.
A lot of the modern roster approached him to thank him for being there and saying how they enjoy his podcast too. RVD noted even a talent appreciated the knowledge they get from listening to Mr. Monday Night.
“Just getting feedback from social media or whatever, not only is it toxic, but it’s also deceiving because they were there to have fun. It was so obvious, again I’m gonna use the word refreshing, it was so refreshing.”
RVD said the fans were completely along for the ride and that was a big strong takeaway from the crowd.
“I get it, it’s a very fun vibe.”
Rob also made mention that he found entire WWE dressing room to be positive. No one was tired or exhausted as he remembered when he was full time and everyone looked very happy to be involved in the growth of the company.
New episodes of “1 Of A Kind With RVD” releases every Monday at 4:20 PM ET. Please h/t to SEScoops for the transcription.
