This week’s episode of WWE NXT saw a surprise appearance by wrestling legend Rob Van Dam (RVD) at the iconic ECW Arena in Philadelphia. However, things didn’t go as planned for Wes Lee.
Earlier in the night, RVD was featured in a backstage segment offering advice. But Lee caught RVD off guard, striking him in the back of the head with a chair and taking down the former ECW Champion. It was presumed that RVD had left the arena to seek medical attention after the attack.
Despite the incident, RVD made a triumphant return during Lee’s match against Evans, walking out to a roaring reaction from the Philadelphia crowd. Seizing the opportunity, RVD helped Evans avoid another attack from Lee, ultimately leading Evans to victory. In a nod to his classic move set, Evans secured the pinfall with RVD’s signature frog splash. After the match, RVD endorsed Evans by raising his hand in front of the enthusiastic crowd.
Following his recent work with AEW, RVD has signed a WWE Legends contract, making appearances on WWE TV, including recent episodes of SmackDown. The WWE Hall of Famer’s return to NXT brought an extra layer of excitement, especially for fans of his ECW days.
Next week, WWE NXT will air from the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia, better known to wrestling fans as the ECW Arena. A huge 10-person tag team match has been announced for the show, and fans can expect to see Rob Van Dam return to the arena he made his home for years.
In the main event of this week’s show, Je’Von Evans and Cedric Alexander challenged NXT Tag Team Champions Nathan Frazer and Axiom. During the match, Wes Lee tried to get involved with a steel chair but Evans chased him off. This left Alexander all to himself and it wasn’t long after that ‘Fraxiom’ retained the gold.
Backstage, Evans and Lee continued their brawl as security and NXT General Manager Ava tried to stop the fight. Then, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam walked up and said “I know what I wanna do next week, you just gave me an idea“, ending the show on a cliffhanger. Earlier in the night, RVD had said he wanted to earn a spot on the November 6, WWE NXT from the ECW Arena.
WWE NXT in the ECW Arena is shaping up to be a huge night for the silver brand with stars from the past and present set to collide in Philadelphia. Stay tuned to SEScoops for the latest from WWE NXT including breaking news and live results.
Matt Riddle believes he can do for RVD what he did for Randy Orton and have a great tag team run with the WWE Hall of Famer.
The team, collectively known as RK Bro, was one of the highlights of WWE programming during the pandemic era. Their run, however, was cut short due to Orton’s back issues which resulted in the Legend Killer taking the longest break of his wrestling career in mid-2022.
The Ultimate Bro discussed his time working with The Viper during an interview with New York Post. He mentioned how Orton was dealing with extreme pain even before they started working together and he was actually able to assist the wrestling veteran by taking more damage himself:
“He wanted to keep wrestling and keep showing his value because the thing about wrestling is you’re only as valuable as the last show you can make it to.
Once, you can’t make it, you’re not as valuable to that company. I wanted to extend his career as long as I possibly could and I knew I could by taking a little of the damage and the brunt of the match.”
Orton isn’t the only wrestling legend Matt Riddle has a good relationship with. Having first met RVD at a cannabis party hosted in the Playboy mansion in 2008, Riddle’s acquaintance with Mr. Monday Night predates his friendship with the 14-time world champion.
RVD has been on a part-time schedule since his last run with WWE ended in 2014 and Riddle believes that he can help extend the career of the former ECW champion:
“I think kind of what I did for Randy, I could kind of do for Rob, if he wanted to, we could probably have a crazy run as a tag team.”
Riddle previously stepped in the ring with RVD during an indie show in March this year. They teamed up to defeat America’s Most Wanted. The duo then had a singles match which ended in no contest.
The two have a partnership outside of the ring as well. They are working on an RV-Bro glass pipe line among other things.
WrestleMania weekend is always packed with events. There are indie pro wrestling shows going on, and other fan conventions. WaleMania went down at the Philadelphia at Franklin Music Hall on April 4, and there are a ton of highlights.
Since its first show in 2015, WaleMania has combined hip-hop and wrestling. It stands apart from other events during WrestleMania weekend, serving as a gathering where fans and wrestlers come together, and every year it’s usually the best party all weekend.
Pro wrestlers from practically every company on the planet linked up for WaleMania this year. As you can see, it was quite a party, and there are many highlights to feature.
WaleMania 2024 Highlights
First off, we have to give Samantha Irvine all the flowers for this one. She not only rocked Razor Ramon’s theme music, but she did it on a flute.
Samantha Irvin, singing and playing a flute to razor Ramon’s theme was not in our bingo card today. pic.twitter.com/7geSUH2XPF
Rob Van Dam was there, smoking on stage, alongside Katie Forbes. It was quite a party as the crowd fed into the performance on stage, who were having just as much fun as the fans.
R-Truth was present at WaleMania, and he gave fans in attendance a different kind of show than they’re used to seeing from him. He grabbed the microphone and spit some fire bars for the fans.
Although he’s not booked for WrestleMania, WWE Hall of Famer RVD was also present. NXT Superstar Kelani Jordan couldn’t resist the opportunity to snap a photo with the Whole F’n Show.
Big E couldn’t miss WaleMania, either. The New Day member cut one of his trademark promos for fans, where he introduced Wale. As you can see in the clip, Trick Williams was there as well, and he had a wonderful time ahead of his main event match at NXT: Stand & Deliver against Carmelo Hayes.
Zilla Fatu didn’t miss the show, either. He was there in attendance at WaleMania, and he had a great time. As you can see in the video below, he also spent some time on the stage.
Kiera Hogan stunned the crowd with her dancing skills. Willow Nightingale didn’t miss WaleMania, either, as the two AEW stars had a great time on stage in front of the live crowd.
Although his repertoire has evolved throughout the years, Randy Orton has kept certain moves as permanent staples of his offense. His RKO finishing maneuver is the most famous, but his Elevated DDT is rightfully hailed as “Vintage Orton!
To execute this move, opponents are typically placed in between the middle and top ropes of the wrestling ring. While the opponent’s feet are positioned on the middle rope, Orton keeps their head secure with a front facelock. In one swift motion, adversaries are then driven face-first into the mat as Orton purposely falls backwards.
RVD Takes Credit
During a recent interview with Sportskeeda’s WrestleBinge, WWE Hall of Famer RVD revealed that he is the man who inspired Orton’s now signature move.
“I was wrestling Randy one time, and I was trying to get in [the ring]. He kicked the rope when I was coming in, and he pulled me out over the second rope and he grabbed me and boom, he gave me the DDT,” RVD said.
“Who do you think gave him that move? Right here, dude. That happened one time, now it happens every time. I’m so OG, I either gave everybody their finish, or I did their finish way before they did.”
Orton and RVD wrestled each other on several occasions in WWE, many of which were contested for the Intercontinental and World Tag Team Championships. Orton and RVD’s most recent encounter took place in August 2014, when their WWE SmackDown match ended in a no contest. RVD’s final WWE match occurred one week later in a losing effort to Seth Rollins.
Former WWE and ECW World Champion Rob Van Dam is pleased that Paul Heyman is getting his proverbial ‘flowers’ with his upcoming Hall of Fame induction.
Earlier this month, it was announced that Heyman will be inducted as part of this year’s class on April 5. The honor is richly deserved for Heyman, who has excelled in various roles in wrestling. In addition to being Roman Reigns‘ special counsel, Heyman has managed others, worked as a commentator, a writer, and ran ECW during the company’s peak.
Rob Van Dam on Paul Heyman’s Induction
Few names did better under the watchful eye than RVD, who became a success in both the original ECW and WWE. In a recent interview with Wrestle Binge, the former World Champion was pleased that Heyman is getting his due.
“It’s pretty cool they’re giving him his flowers because he was the man. He was the one that made ECW happen… he’s the guy that made everything possible.”
RVD also heralded Heyman’s work in WWE and recalled many in the company being opposed to Paul at first due to his ECW history.
“When I was there back then… he didn’t get a lot of respect in the way of the other agents didn’t like ECW, were trying to fight it, didn’t want it to come in. They were giving him a hard time.”
Van Dam concluded by stating that ECW became a success of Heyman’s leadership, braveness, and passion, and is pleased to see the sacrifices Heyman has made pay off.
AEW has brought in a few names for one-time appearances, and several of them have been former WWE Superstars. RVD has made a couple of appearances for Tony Khan already, and now he’s booked for one more.
RVD’s Next AEW Appearance
Tony Khan logged onto Twitter/X to reveal that RVD is booked for AEW Collision’s April 20th event. That 4/20 return for RVD in AEW is most appropriate. This is exciting, but AEWTix currently has no listing for the April 20th show, so we’re not sure which market is getting the Whole F’n Show.
While Tony Khan was at it, he also threw in a plug for tonight’s episode of AEW Dynamite’s upcoming episode.
I’m excited to announce that RVD will return to @AEWonTV on TNT for 4/20 Saturday Night AEW Collision!
I can’t wait for THIS Wednesday #AEWDynamite in Tulsa on TBS: AEW World Champion @SamoaJoe / @swerveconfident / @briancagegmsi vs Hangman Page/FTW Champion @730hook / @TherealRVD !
RVD has a big match coming up before 4/20. Big Time Wrestling booked a first-time ever collision between Matt Riddle and RVD will take place Saturday, March 9th, 2024 during “The Reunion 3: Cavalcade of Legends” Super Show from Chillicothe, Ohio at the OU-Shoemaker Center.
RVD blazed a trail behind him for years that others walked down. He inspired a generation of risk-takers, and helped put ECW on the map as well. Now, as a WWE Hall of Famer in the latter part of his pro wrestling journey, he has the ability to look back and make certain observations, even if they may be a bit morbid.
RVD Speaks On His Legacy
One fan commented on X to say that RVD should get far more love for the contributions that the has made in the pro wrestling world. “My hot take is RVD don’t get enough credit for how much he changed American Pro Wrestling,” they wrote.
The WWE Hall of Famer saw this tweet, and he had a response in the chamber, ready to go. The way that he sees it, he might be in line for a more posthumous celebration of his career.
‘‘I think the plan is to give me credit post humorous…humus…uhm, after I die. [smiling emoji]”
I think the plan is to give me credit post humorous…humus…uhm, after I die. ? https://t.co/36VnBymG49
Rob Van Dam has been coy about a possible spot on the WrestleMania 40 card in Philadelphia, especially when it came to the idea that he might have lost that invite after his AEW appearances. RVD hasn’t signed any deal with Tony Khan, and his agreement was only on a per appearance deal.
In the past, the Whole F’n Show also admitted that his lack of communication with Triple H might be the reason why he’s not around WWE more often. He was a part of the 2023 WWE Draft, but he hasn’t been back on their programming since.
RVD made a name for himself thanks to his innovative move set, and one of a kind attitude. At 53-years-old, Rob Van Dam is still able to perform in the ring, but WWE isn’t calling him.
RVD’s Status With WWE
The WWE Hall of Famer stands out as one of the most skilled competitors to grace the squared circle. He can still get fans to chant his name to this day, and he can still execute every one of his signature moves.
Over the course of RVD’s career, he has clashed with numerous top-tier opponents, including the likes of Triple H. However, RVD believes that a lack of communication with Triple H is a significant barrier preventing his return to WWE.
RVD saw an appearance on WWE television was during the 2023 Draft, but there have been no further developments since then. He has since made it very clear that he’s down to appear for WWE, in pretty much any way they want to use him.
During a discussion on Marty Jannetty’s “Party with Marty” podcast, RVD revealed that he never had a substantial relationship with Triple H, and that is likely why The Game didn’t call him for a comeback.
“No… I never really talk to Hunter. If I had that relationship with him where we talked, then maybe I would be there. I’m assuming that’s a big reason why I’m not there… Everyone can see I’m still in f*cking better shape than ever. I can work with a motherf*cker. If you ask me why I’m not there, I’d probably say relationships with the office but I don’t know.”
RVD’s journey in the wrestling world includes a successful stint in ECW before signing with WWE in 2001. He spent six years as an active wrestler in WWE, securing numerous championships, including the WWE and ECW Championships. Despite leaving WWE in 2007, RVD made a brief return in 2013 before departing again in 2014.
Although RVD appeared for AEW, he never inked a deal with Tony Khan. Those per appearance deals were definitely a sign that the Whole F’n Show is down to appear whenever he’s called.
In his current role as Chief Content Officer, Triple H holds a key position in WWE, making crucial decisions for the company. He worked for years to climb up WWE’s corporate ladder, and that paid off.
Although Triple H and RVD are in different places in the pro wrestling world, they are still pro wrestlers at heart. WWE fans can only hope that The King of Kings gives RVD a call down the road.
Rob Van Dam has been associated with WWE for the past two decades, but his appearances might not be plentiful now. RVD made a surprising debut in AEW during the August 2nd episode of AEW Dynamite this year. That may have tainted his relationship with WWE.
During Marty Jannetty’s “Party with Marty” podcast, RVD hinted that his AEW debut might impact his chances of appearing at WrestleMania 40 in 2024. That is a shame, because the show of shows is going down in Philadelphia next year.
While RVD confirmed his presence at next year’s WrestleCon, he provided a somewhat elusive response regarding his WrestleMania 40 status, implying that there might not be a planned appearance.
“Allegedly I got booked for an appearance, and then allegedly that appearance was canceled when I showed up on an alleged competitor’s TV program, and then allegedly I might be pre-booked — either way, I’m going to be there at WrestleCon!”
WrestleMania 40 is set to take place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the former stomping grounds of ECW, sparking fan speculation about The Whole F’N Show being a natural addition to the festivities. If anything, Philly fans would love to chant “R-V-D” once again.
RVD never inked a contract with Tony Khan, and he was on a per appearance deal. He still made some waves in the pro wrestling world with that debut, as another WWE Hall of Famer graced an AEW ring.
We can only hope that RVD is included in WrestleMania 40 in some way, because Philadelphia really would be a great place to see him re-appear under WWE’s bright lights. If that booking is going to happen, RVD isn’t saying anything about it at this point. At least fans know RVD will be at WrestleCon.
AEW promised a new era of professional wrestling when they opened their doors. Their rebellious branding may have also filtered into their backstage environment as well, because the company has a reputation of having younger talent who aren’t interested in taking veteran advice.
CM Punk and Jack Perry’s backstage scuffle at All In London was caused by Perry’s defiant nature. Punk advised against Perry using real glass several weeks prior, but he didn’t have a say in his match at Wembley Stadium. After Perry dropped Hook on the windshield of a car, he made a point to tell the camera that it was real glass so, “cry me a river.”
During an interview with Party with Marty, RVD stated that he’s head the same thing from Tully Blanchard and Arn Anderson. AEW has those veteran minds around, but nobody is sitting under their learning tree.
“I heard Tully Blanchard say it, and I’m told Arn Anderson said it too, although that is hearsay, that the young guys don’t want their input ever. [They] never ask them ever for any help or anything on their matches and stuff … I mean, that’s important to me. It makes me think, do they think they know it all? Do they not respect them enough? But also, it’s awkward for them because they’re not taught like us to go around and shake everyone’s hand and stuff.“
AEW May Have A Problem
CM Punk had a great time at the WWE Performance Center. He reported while he was there as well. It appears that he found himself in a setting where younger talent were more than happy to listen. Life Goes On For CM Punk
CM Punk had a great time at the WWE Performance Center. He reported “held court” while he was there as well. It appears that he found himself in a setting where younger talent were more than happy to listen.
CM Punk and Jack Perry’s backstage altercation wasn’t the only one in AEW history. Other skirmishes and backstage drama have also dotted the company’s history, such as Sammy Guevara and Andrade El Idolo’s public tiff, one that involved a backstage altercation.
AEW has a lot of veteran talent around, and we haven’t heard from all of them on this subject. Jake “The Snake” Roberts is backstage, and he has also spoken in the past that he is willing to do anything Tony Khan asks of him. We have to wonder if Tony Khan is supporting the practice of listening to the veterans he has on his payroll.
It seems that the rumor and innuendo would say that AEW talent aren’t too interested in hearing what the former generation has to say about what they’re doing for Tony Khan’s company.
RVD had many memorable matches during his WWE career. Perhaps the most memorable outing was when he went up against John Cena at ECW One Night Stand 2006. The ECW legend cashed in his Money In The Bank contract for this title shot. He went on to defeat the Cenation Leader to become the new WWE Champion.
The former WWE star reflected on this iconic match during an interview with Chris Van Vliet. He was asked which is the one match fans ask him the most about. Van Dam said that it has to be the bout with Cena:
“The one match would probably be when I beat John Cena at ECW One Night Stand and won the championship belts. Which if they asked me, I’d bring it up. If they asked me what my favorite match was, [I’d mention it] because first off, the match itself was in my opinion, great. I loved the match. Obviously Cena is great. He was great with that crowd. The crowd was incredible. One of a kind crowd.
[It was an] irreplaceable moment, besides all of that, it’s like ‘What was my story, my build up, going into that particular match? Everything since 96.’ Maybe even before that, if you were to add the history. So for those reasons. Me and every fan in that building, we were all fighting for what I believed in, in my heart, and what got me all the way up to that point. That’s why they all wanted to see the match go the way it did and see Cena go down, or they would riot.”
‘Holy Crap, This Is Great’: RVD
One of the things that made the match special was the unique crowd reaction. The event was held at the legendary Hammerstein Ballroom and it was the home crowd for RVD. It was one rare occasion when John Cena was decisively the villain. When asked if they anticipated such strong crowd reaction, Mr. Monday Night admitted that he didn’t:
“I don’t think anybody could have known exactly how that crowd was gonna be first off, to put that out there. I didn’t. I knew for sure that was my home. I knew that they were with me. That was my building. But I couldn’t have predicted that they were gonna feel so much that way. They’re gonna be like ‘No! Fuck your T-shirt’ and throw it back. You see me laughing when you watch that.
I thought that was funny and great. What are the chances that a fan that could have a John Cena shirt, because they’re all real fans at heart, will do that? Then boom, second guy does it again, third guy wipes his ass with it. It’s like, ‘Holy crap. This is great,’ But I had no idea it was gonna be like that. John knew that he was in for a rough night, He was gonna get shit on a lot. He knew that. He’s just super cool. I really think he was looking forward to the match. I think that he had fun with it. I know I did.”
RVD was one of the guys that feuded with John Cena during his rise to superstardom and helped the Cenation Leader get to the next level. The ECW legend was an industry veteran by the time he first shared the ring with Cena. The 16-time world champion, however, still made him a fan with his mic skills.
The Whole F’n Show recently spoke to Chris Van Vliet. He first reflected on his time with WWE and talked about his infamous One Night Stand encounter with the Hollywood star. Going back further in time, RVD remembered another similar night when John Cena got booed by the crowd, but he managed to turn it around:
“I did see him get booed by the whole crowd before. That was in Wales. That was early in my WWE days. So I don’t know probably 2003 or 2004 seems like, I don’t know, but I was shocked. Because I hadn’t seen that before at that point. Everyone [was like] ‘boo’ and then he got on the microphone. He cut this promo. He said ‘You can boo me. Yeah, keep it up. Let’s go.’
RVD continued: “He was like, ‘That’s what we want, man. As long as you’re screaming and you’re voicing your opinion. That means you’re ready to go and that you’re ready for wrestling.’ He was like ‘That’s all we want either way. We wanna make sure you’re having a good time. So keep it up.’ He turned them and made me a much bigger fan of his at that moment. I was like ‘Wow, he knows how to turn the whole crowd that hated him into loving him in two minutes.'”
On June 12, 2022, it was announced that Rob Van Dam would make his in-ring debut in CyberFight’s Pro Wrestling Noah at the CyberFight Festival 2022. He teamed with the Stinger duo of Hayata and Yoshinari Ogawa to defeat Kaito Kiyomiya, Daisuke Harada and Yo-Hey.
On July 16, the former WWE Champion made his return to Pro Wrestling NOAH and competed at NOAH Destination 2022. Van Dam & Masato Tanaka defeated NOSAWA Rongai & Super Crazy in a hardcore tag team match.
“The Wrestling Is So Much Better”
When speaking with Steve Fall of NBC Sports Boston, the former ECW World Champion spoke about wrestling in Japan and what it was like to work with Pro Wrestling NOAH.
“Well, so it looks like it’s very likely that it will keep happening. I’ve already gone back. So I wrestled there June 12. And then I came back on July the 16th. Just a couple of weeks ago, and we’re talking about maybe returning in January. So yeah, it’s it’s pretty cool.
I love wrestling in Japan. I started wrestling there in 93′. Somebody, a fan there that every wrestler knows this fan, Masa, he’s, we all know this guy. He had the whole breakdown for me.
This was the 22nd time that I had been to Japan. And he had the breakdown of how many times I’ve been to that building, the Nippon Budokan, and how many times I was there with All Japan, and then FMW, and then New Japan, and IWGP, and WWE, and all these different companies. So, it’s pretty cool. And I have a lot of history there.
Man, the wrestling is so much better. Like, I was watching the other matches, and I was like really proud to be part of that. It’s so different.”
“It Was Actually Like Wrestling”
Van Dam went on to speak about how he believes pro wrestling is better in Japan. He even elaborated on how impressed he was with another match on the card.
“It was actually like wrestling you know. A lot of people complain now that the the newer generation kind of got away from wrestling and now it’s just about stunts, and, you know, flying or whatever and diving on to 80 people catching you. You know, like, the more people that catch you the better. It seems like the biggest spot I don’t know.
But man, Muto, the fabulous Muto, he’s retiring. He’s got five matches left. And this match a few nights ago, a couple weeks ago. That was one of his last five. And I watched him wrestle. I don’t want to brutalize the kid’s name that he wrestled and you wouldn’t probably know him unless you follow. You know, the, the product NOAH. I don’t know.
But anyway, man, these guys put on a clinic, like it was so good. And it was like, the story that they told man. I just hadn’t seen anything like that in years. It wasn’t, they barely even like, hit the ropes and saw there was like Muta going for his trademark leg drag. And he would go to do it in the kid would stop and then get him in the move and then they would work their way up for that, work the way up, bam, bam, bam, he goes for it again. This time you know he’s gonna get it boom, you get stopped right back into and they just worked that leg lock and that leg drag and they made so much sense out of it and it was built so that every little thing meant so much and you know, I was humbled.
Actually, I’d already wrestled and I felt, you know, like, not like not worthy. Like, like the fans were over appreciative of my match. I had a hardcore match that night. And it was a tag team match, you know, when your tag team instead of a singles match, if you compare that to a normal job, a lot of times if your singles match, that’s like being the, the waiter, the cashier, the busboy and the cook at the same time, and when you when your tag partner not so.”
RVD and Matt Riddle have a lot of things in common. Both the fun-loving superstars have gotten over with the crowd in a short amount of time and people love them for their unique personas.
The former ECW world champion recently had an interview with Jonah Ferstand of Rewind Recap Relive podcast. He talked about things such as Vince McMahon stepping down as the WWE CEO and more.
RVD was also asked about Matt Riddle’s rise in WWE. The wrestling veteran claimed that he likes the young star’s character:
“I like it. I like his character. I think the fans do, too. Especially the same kind of fans that would find the stoner part and the martial arts part appealing. He’s over and he’s a cool guy, too. I met him years ago at a marijuana fundraiser.
I smoked with him in The Grotto at the Playboy Mansion when I met him. I knew him from the UFC, so yeah, he’s cool.” said RVD, “I think his character’s cool and he seems to be having fun with it.”
Apart from this, The Whole F’n Show talked about Game Changer Wrestling and the comparison it draws to the original ECW run by Paul Heyman.
He revealed that fellow ECW original Sabu who was wrestling for GCW at the time told him the same thing a couple of years ago. He said that the extreme promotion felt like the new ECW.
You can check out RVD’s full interview on Rewind Recap Relive podcast below:
RVD has had a long relationship with Sabu. It goes all the way back to their days in the original ECW where the two not only had an iconic feud but later formed a team together as well.
The former WWE champion recently had an interview with Sports Illustrated to promote the upcoming WWE Icons special highlighting his illustrious career.
During the interview, RVD talked about his matches with Sabu and explained why he thinks the hardcore legend does not get the recognition that he deserves:
“I hope he eventually gets the recognition that he deserves. He’s done a lot. He’s an innovator, he’s different. It was hard for him to fit into a corporate element. I think he walked out or quit from every important position he’s ever had.
“He’s had to do it his way. That’s keeping him from being in the position he should be post-wrestling.” said RVD, “Not that he’s done wrestling, but I am very grateful for all this recognition. He deserves that, too.”
RVD also revealed that at one time he had offers from both WWE and WCW but he stayed with ECW because he wanted the company to grow.
Apart from this, the wrestling veteran talked about the other highlights of his ECW run including his 700-days long reign as the ECW TV champion, his matches with opponents such as Jerry Lynn and more.
WWE Icons: RVD will premiere on WWE Network this Sunday on 10 PM ET.
AEW has signed a number of wresting veterans in recent times including names such as Sting, Paul Wight and Christian. Another name which could be a good fit for the company is RVD.
The hardcore star was even rumored to be the surprise entrant at the Face Of The Revolution ladder match at one point on the company’s last PPV before it was revealed to be Ethan Page.
RVD was asked about potentially joining the AEW roster during his recent interview with ReelTalker.com and the former WWE champion said that he always goes with the flow:
“I just always go with the flow of the universe. I’m always very happy with the way things turn out, AEW, I watch it sometimes, mostly to help Katie Forbes out.
She’ll watch it, she’s up-and-coming, learning and I’ll point stuff out.” said RVD, “There is nothing that interests me about going there, except for business.”
The former WWE star, who hasn’t wrestled since September was also asked about his future in the industry and he claimed that there is nothing that makes him want to wrestle except for business.
RVD explained that while fans may think that he dreams of wrestling different opponents, it’s not the case for him. According to the wrestling veteran, he could be done with the sport and he is totally fine with never getting in the ring again.
ECW legend and former world champion RVD will apparently be going into Hall Of Fame this year, according to his friend and fellow ECW original Sabu.
Sabu recently had an interview with The NWC Show where he talked about a number of different things and also shared his opinion on the WWE Hall Of Fame.
During the interview, he also made some interesting claims saying that RVD is going to be inducted into the Hall Of Fame during the WrestleMania 37 weekend:
“Hey, Rob Van Dam is getting into the Hall of Fame this year, I think. I wasn’t supposed to say nothing but you can tell people that. Exclusive, right,”
RVD’s WWE career started in 2001, a few months after the closure of ECW. He went on to have a successful WWE career, winning over half a dozen titles in the company before his release in 2007.
The hardcore star returned to the company for a year-long run in 2013. He has made several sporadic appearances since then. The former champion has also been working with the company recently for a WWE Icons episode based on him.
If this news is true, then RVD will be joining Molly Holly and Eric Bischoff in the 2021 class of Hall Of Fame and they will be inducted alongside the 2020 class during the upcoming WrestleMania weekend.
Former WWE star RVD recently had an interview with The Dropkick Podcast where he talked about things such as finding success as a singles star and more.
During the interview, the hardcore star also talked about his early days in WWE and revealed an interesting angle that was planned for him before it was nixed.
According to the former ECW champion, the officials had planned a romantic storyline between RVD and Stephanie McMahon but it had to be nixed because of his girlfriend at the time:
“Something that comes to mind is when I first got there they wanted me to do a bit of a romance angle with Stephanie and myself. And my evil ex was like the most insecure b—h on the planet and I was like thinking, ‘oh my God, this gonna cost me so much grief at home.’
We had a talk, me and Stephanie, and she said, ‘you know, just think of this like you’re an actor’. I was like, ‘that’s cool, except you call me Joe Blow because I’ve been Rob Van Dam for the last ten years’.”
The former TNA star first became famous during his 5-year stint with the original ECW from 1996 to 2001 before the company folded. He was part of the company’s final PPV Guilty as Charged in 2001.
RVD was signed to a short-term WWE deal several months after the folding of ECW. He went on to have a long run with the company after impressing the officials which lasted till 2007.
With his illustrated career in WWE where he has won over a dozen championships, RVD has rightfully earned a spot for himself into the Hall Of Fame and it’s only a matter of time before the company makes it official.
The former WWE champion recently appeared on the That 90’s Wrestling Podcast where he talked about a number of things and also revealed his choice for the person to induct him into the Hall Of Fame.
The former hardcore champion took the name of former ECW owner Paul Heyman when asked the question. RVD explained that Paul was the only producer that ever had his best interest at heart:
“Kinda has to be Paul [Heyman], doesn’t it? I think it has to be Paul. Sabu doesn’t talk very good [laughs], On the real, Paul is the only producer/agent that’s ever had my best interests at heart and understood me, you know and because of that, ya know it has to be him as predictable as it is.”
RVD also revealed that WWE officials had recently contacted him for a documentary. He confirmed that it will be coming out in May this year:
“They [WWE] contacted me and asked if I’d be interested and that they wanted to make a documentary on me, and I said sure, I’d be interested,
We haven’t actually shot much of it yet, but, [whispering] it comes out in May. So we’re gonna be shooting a lot of it real soon. So I’m excited about it, I’m talking to them [WWE] about doing a book, we’re in talks.”
Apart from this, RVD talked about his relationship with the WWE chairman Vince McMahon. He claimed that his relationship with Mr McMahon wasn’t severed even after his WWE departure because he kept in touch with the boss.
RVD made a surprise appearance on the WWE RAW Reunion special at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.
As seen on the show, Sami Zayn was battling Rey Mysterio until he tried walking to the back. Before he could get to the stage, RVD, Sgt. Slaughter, Kurt Angle, and The Hurricane appeared. Zayn got back into the ring that led to him losing to Mysterio.
RVD’s latest run with WWE was from June of 2013 through August of 2014. He made a one-off appearance at the 2014 Slammy Awards to present the Slammy Award for Extreme Moment of the Year.
Van Dam made his name known while working for ECW in the late 1990s, with the WWE in the early to mid-2000s, and then with TNA in the early 2010s. Van Dam gained his mainstream popularity by 1998 when he won the ECW World Television Championship, which he held for a record 700 days.
Back in April, it was announced that the former WWE, ECW and Impact Wrestling Champion had signed a new deal with Impact Wrestling. The length of the deal was not confirmed.
There was speculation that current Impact Wrestling star and former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam could make an appearance on tonight’s (July 22) episode of RAW Reunion.
RVD is backstage and will indeed be appearing the broadcast, PWInsider.com has confirmed. The speculation started once he asked fans to finish a tweet that some believed was, “RVD is RAW.”
Then, fans noticed that the company was selling foam hands as his merchandise at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida before the show.
It should be noted that WWE has yet to advertise the pro wrestling legend for the show but instead, it will be a surprise appearance.
For years after his latest WWE stint that ended in 2014, it appeared that he was just enjoying his life after putting together a successful career as RVD decided to work a selective number of dates on the independent scene. That changed when he signed with Impact earlier this year.
The following stars are advertised to appear: Alicia Fox, Alundra Blayze, Booker T, Candice Michelle, Christian, D-Von Dudley, DX (Triple H, Shawn Michaels, Sean “X-Pac” Waltman, “Road Dogg” BG James), Eric Bischoff, Eve Torres, Gerald Brisco, Hulk Hogan, Hurricane Helms, Jillian Hall, Jonathan Coachman, Jerry Lawler, Jimmy Hart, Kaitlyn, Kelly Kelly, Kevin Nash, Kurt Angle, Lilian Garcia, Mark Henry, Melina, Mick Foley, Pat Patterson, Ric Flair, Rikishi, Ron Simmons, Santino Marella, Scott Hall, gt. Slaughter, Shawn Michaels, Sid Vicious, Steve Austin, Ted DiBiase Sr., The Boogeyman, The Godfather
Years of research has helped to illuminate how headshots and impact to the head can be destructive to an individual.
On a recent episode of The Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling, Rob Van Dam addressed the dangers of concussions. He joined them in order to promote his documentary, Headstrong. He claims that the lessons he learned over the course of filming helped to change his life.
“I showed up on day one with symptoms of a concussion that I got two-three days before the tour started, and at first I thought the concussion symptoms would go away and they always, always, always did before, so I wasn’t as concerned but let’s just go ahead forward with what we were going to do,” RVD said.
“The symptoms stayed so long that the documentary takes a major turn and becomes about something else, and we have to go into that. I’m getting my brain checked out with the camera, and I’m talking to the viewers as I’m learning they are learning with me, so I take them on the roller coaster with me to check out what is going on in my head.”
“I’ll Recover From It”
RVD admits he used to have a different stance regarding impactful shots to the head. He used to staunchly believe it showcased how tough he was:
“Throughout my whole career, I had the other view. I thought I am showing how tough I am and I’m showing what a chair shot I can take to my head, and I’ll recover from it. I knew every night when Balls Mahoney was going to whack me with that chair for instance, I knew my bell was going to get rung. I knew it was going to be something and everything was like slow motion for a few seconds, and the sound would go out or sometimes it would just feel like I am sleeping and there were all kinds of different aspects to having your bells rung.”
“What I didn’t realize at the time was that was my brain bouncing against my skull, knocking my senses loose, and that is a concussion. There is minor concussions, and there is major concussions, and I’ve really only had one that I would consider a major concussion—maybe two where I couldn’t remember anything afterwards.”
When he watched the whole documentary, Rob Van Dam became fully aware of how he had mishandled his concussions.
He realized that “[…] I did everything wrong. Your brain needs to rest, and you need to go someplace dark and close your eyes, not stimulate your brain. I did the exact opposite.”
Headstrong is out now, and is available to buy or rent from iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, and other streaming services.
H/T to Chad and JP of The TwoMan Power Trip Of Wrestling Podcast for the transcription.
Former WWE Star RVD has an image of being one of the toughest workers in the business and the hardcore spots he has pulled over the years are the reason for it.
One such hardcore thing he does regularly is taking chair shots directly to the head. However, it’s a move a lot of legends and critics are against because of the long term damage it can cause.
During his recent appearance on X-Pac 1,2,360 podcast, the Hardcore Legend discussed his legacy and revealed what Vince McMahon once said to him about such spots while he was working for the company.
Per Rob Van Dam, one time after his match, Vince McMahon met
him in the gorilla position and said
‘Rob, when you’re taking those chair shots, you put your hands up’.
The former ECW Star replied to it saying that that’s for the
other guys and he is a lot tougher than the other guys. When Vince insisted
again, he said that he has been doing it this way for years.
However, Mr. McMahon then said ‘Rob, listen I am your father telling you, put your hands up.’ and according to the former Champion with this line, the advice got through him.
He thought that Vince was his boss. He was the guy who was
paying him and he was telling him and paying him to put his hands up so he
decided to take that advice.
Apart from this, RVD also talked about his career. He
admitted that other wrestlers should learn to protect their health and said
that he doesn’t know where the lines for responsibility are drawn.
Posted April 28th, 2019 in WWE, News. Tagged: RVD.
While WWE introduced a new system this year where not every person going into the Hall Of Fame has an inductor, RVD knows exactly who is going to be inducting him when the time comes.
The former WWE and current Impact Star was recently interviewed by Chris Van Vliet where he discussed things like wrestling while being high on marijuana and more.
When asked about a potential Hall Of Fame induction and who he thinks should induct him when the day comes, RVD claimed that right off the bat he thinks it should be Paul Heyman.
Continuing on the topic, he said that it would be really good for him to hear Paul’s perspective on what he thought of the former ECW Star while developing him. He said that it would be an experience for him to hear Heyman open up like that.
The former World Champion also talked about the comments John Oliver made during his “Last Week Tonight” show on HBO about WWE labeling their wrestlers as independent contractors.
He claimed that he enjoys being an independent contractor
since it makes all the terms on the contract negotiable and he can demand
things like health care if he feels it’s necessary.
Though he did acknowledge that not all talents have the same kind of leverage and so it would help them more not to be an independent contractor because they can’t step forward with the same negotiation power.