Former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam had a fairly successful run in the WWE. Mr. Monday Night debuted in Vince McMahon’s company in 2001 as part of the invasion storyline. The storyline saw the on-screen owners of WCW/ECW, Stephanie McMahon and Shane McMahon, feuding with their father. And so, RVD worked very closely with Stephanie McMahon at the time. During a recent interview, Van Dam recalled feeling “dirty” around Stephanie.
Stephanie McMahon was undeniably a desirable personality in wrestling. She was, after all, The Billion Dollar Princess. Her pristine presence on camera made the other wrestlers nervous. And Van Dam was one of them.
Stephanie McMahon’s personality made Rob Van Dam feel like he was dirty
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Without a doubt, Stephanie McMahon has contributed hugely to the WWE. After Vince McMahon temporarily retired, his daughter stepped up as the Co-Ceo. However, the former Women’s Champion later stepped down from her role upon the return of Vince McMahon. Throughout the course of her career, Stephanie McMahon worked with notable stars. Van Dam happened to be one of them.
While speaking on his “1 of Kind” podcast, Van Dam spoke volumes about his relationship with Stephanie McMahon in 2001. On being asked about how he got along with Steph, he said, “Great” and “She was always cool”. Van Dam then indicated that McMahon’s immaculate presence made him feel dirty. He said, “I’ve only told one more person this and they thought it sounded weird, but I felt kinda dirty around her in a way that like I don’t wanna hold a baby, you know. In a sense, I wanna wash my hands first, whatever, because I’m probably dirty or whatever.”
Funnily enough, Van Dam recalled that his shoulder always hit Stephanie in the chin when they would hug. Nonetheless, the ECW legend, “soaked in sweat”, never felt clean enough to hang around Stephanie McMahon’s daughter.
Furthermore, Van Dam also felt uncomfortable doing a romantic angle with McMahon.
RVD refused to do a romantic storyline with Stephanie McMahon due to his “evil” ex
While Stephanie McMahon is regarded as one of the most diabolical villains in WWE, she also gained notoriety for her involvement in sultry angles. Further in the interview, Rob Van Dam revealed that he was asked to do a romance angle with Steph in 2001.
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However, Van Dam had reservations about going ahead with the angle due to his then-relationship. According to him, his ex was “insecure,” and the angle could have caused him a lot of “grief” at home. Stephanie McMahon, on the other hand, tried to persuade Van Dam to look at it all as acting.
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