While being interviewed by Chris Van Vliet, Old School ECW/WWF Legend Rob Van Dam revealed that he was close to debuting for Tony Khan’s All Elite Wrestling last year.
However, he wouldn’t make his debut for the promotion until August 2nd 2023.
Here’s what RVD had to say about being contacted by AEW in September 2022:
“I was at a convention in Hamburg, Pennsylvania, Legends Fest and I got the message (about AEW), you know? ‘Hey, can you do the 23rd in Grand Rapids?’. Interestingly enough, last year, at this exact same time, they messaged me with that, September 5th, actually. And that’s when I got the okay to do it. It was like a year ago, and then I did it.
But some time had passed then. But that day was, you know, near Battle Creek. Yeah, from Battle Creek, hometown boys was, so obviously, same idea. Again, that’ll be cool. It’s one week before, I’m going to be doing my show in Battle Creek, which those guys have been working on that for like a year, you know, promoting it. And it’s a big full circle return home and then just the week before, they put me in Grand Rapids, which is just right down the street.
Communication dropped, is why I didn’t debut for AEW in 2022. So that’s it. Sometimes that would happen. Sometimes. Both of the companies over the years, every once in a while, would call, just to check out my schedule. I don’t hold it (the date). I hold it in mind skeptically as a possibility. And that’s all because I know how it works. But that’s how it works, never hear from them again. And then it’s like, well, all right, whatever, I can hypothesize. You know, I wonder what did I do? But you know, I’m very stoic and a part of stoicism is really being able to accept things as they are and just let it roll right off my shoulder.”
After working for Paul Heyman’s ECW from 1996 till it closed its doors in January 2001, Rob Van Dam joined the World Wrestling Federation a few months later and became a household name and even a main eventer, several years before winning the WWE Championship in 2006.
Mr. Monday Night stayed with WWE until 2007, then wrestled for Dixie Carter’s Total Nonstop Action! (TNA) from 2010 to 2013 and returned to WWE for a 2nd run (2013-2014) with the company.
He returned to IMPACT Wrestling (fka TNA) for another run (2019-2020) and is now a free-agent, but recently told NBC Sports that he’d actually be happy to return to WWE.
WATCH: Hot Video Of Katie Forbes (Rob Van Dam’s Wife) Twerking:
