“We Were Insulted” – Rob Van Dam Once Exposed WWE of Stealing Ideas From Rival Promotion

Rob Van Dam ruled the roost in WWE in the early 2000s. He was one of the fastest-rising superstars in the Attitude and Ruthless Aggression eras. While an unfortunate incident cut short his budding WWE career, the company inducted him into its prestigious Hall of Fame in 2021. A year ago, Van Dam opened up about his WWE days and exposed the company, stealing ideas from a rival promotion.

Rob Van Dam says WWE watered down copied ideas from ECW

Before Rob Van Dam became a household name for WWE fans, he was a huge superstar in the rival ECW. He is among the many pro-wrestlers in the late 90s and early 2000s to jump ship to Vince McMahon’s company from the ECW.

Speaking exclusively to Inside The Ropes in 2022, RVD said he thought he was selling out by joining ECW’s rival in 2001. “So, at that point in my career in 2001, I’ve been wrestling, you know, since my first matches in 1990, and I looked at WWE as selling out, you know.“

The 52-year-old said ECW felt insulted as WWE would copy every unique idea and water them down. “Like we were in ECW, we were insulted by the way they would copy our products, our specific things that we did on our show, but they would water them down, you know what I mean?” Rob Van Dam said.

Revealing the differences, the former WWE Champion said in terms of the usage of props, ECW employed a hardcore style. After joining WWE, Van Dam went on to become the only double champion to simultaneously hold the ECW and WWE championships.

WWE had earmarked RVD for a huge push, but it all came crashing down for the high-flying superstar in 2006, as WWE stripped him of his titles in a matter of 24 hours, ending his momentum.

What impeded Rob Van Dam’s growth in WWE?

The press reported that on July 1st, 2006; the authorities had arrested Rob Van Dam and fellow WWE superstar Sabu for possession of cannabis. Soon after his release, WWE booked him to drop both the ECW and WWE golds within 24 hours. He lost his WWE belt to Edge and the ECW gold to the Big Show. Moreover, the company suspended him for 30 days.

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Needless to say, the plan for his major push was dropped. His arrest affected Vince McMahon personally. Years later, McMahon revealed his feelings about Van Dam’s arrest while appearing on the ‘WWE Icons’ documentary. “It was so disappointing. I was personally upset over Rob’s actions because I thought he was above that,” Vinnie Mac said.

Reminiscing about the arrest, WWE legend Jim Ross said on a recent episode of his Grilling JR podcast that Van Dam’s advocacy of cannabis didn’t sit well with many. “Part of the pushback at times for RVD was his advocacy of cannabis. Right. And that made some people uncomfortable,” he said.

Van Dam, who won almost all the golds apart from the world heavyweight championship in WWE, left the company in 2007. While he came back in 2013 for a brief stint, the superstar was nowhere near his glory days in the company.

What do you make of Van Dam’s expose? Do you think WWE copied ideas from its rivals? Let us know in the comments.

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