RVD Interview

Crockerinho

Rob Van Dam is interviewed in today's London Sun, discussing a number of topics pertaining to Extreme Championship Wrestling and WWE. The interview is classic Van Dam, not holding back an inch of what he thinks and making no apologies for feeling the way he does.

When asked about not being able to compete at the ECW One Night Stand PPV this June due to injury Van Dam said, "It definitely looks like I'm not going to be able to wrestle on that show, but I have been known to step out of the box when it comes to physical limits so we'll see what happens. It's not impossible and, even if I can't have an actual match, I'll definitely be out there in some shape or form giving it everything I've got. To tell you the truth, missing this event was harder to swallow than WrestleMania. I've always been very pro-ECW, it was what developed me and my fan base and where I was best showcased. It's what makes my new DVD so awesome, and the real hard part is that having an ECW reunion show was my idea!"

He said the show is going to be an authentic ECW show done in the ECW style and said fans who are skeptical about what it's going to be are "dead wrong."

He said there is a common bond among the ECW performers because of their past history together and "the other guys are jealous of it." Van Dam noted that "The ECW guys all share that common energy and heart - and we're all still proud of what we achieved and how different we were."

In discussing what caused the demise of ECW, Van Dam said that it grew faster than those running it could handle, "And the people in charge were, unfortunately, only Paul. I'm not saying I could run a company better, but that's definitely what happened. To a lot of us on the inside, who watched it happen, at certain times it seemed almost intentional. Because there were a lot of decisions that could have possibly saved it. But it wasn't its destiny and now ECW has a different kind of appreciation. And if this PPV goes off it's really going to rejuvenate that energy people haven't felt for so long. If it's a success then, at the very least, I expect this to become an annual event."

He also commented that he wishes they had never gotten rid of the Hardcore belt and that it meant more to him than the Heavyweight championship, saying, "I made the hardcore title mean a hell of a lot more than anybody planned on, and I think that's why they got rid of it. "My matches were the best representation of what a match with hardcore elements can achieve. Before that the belt just meant that somebody might get a plunger in the face, fight in a toilet or something really stupid like that. It was a joke to the WWE and I think they were making fun of ECW, which was me at the time. So when I came in I said: "No, no, no - this is what hardcore is about."

He also noted that before he signed his new WWE contract, he looked for other options, but, "There was a brief moment between the end of my last contract and us renewing it when I looked around at the other options. But it would be very foolish to leave what I've got to go anywhere else. To quit the WWE would be such a huge step backwards in money, prestige, exposure and everything that's important about being an entertainer." You can read the entire excellent interview, which also discussing toning down his style for WWE rings, working against Steve Austin, the Rock, and Triple H, and much more at this link.