WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam is feeling great after getting back into the ring.
In February, Van Dam returned to action after being sidelined for nearly a year. He suffered two broken heels while taking part in the 2025 edition of MLW’s Battle Riot. And before that match, Van Dam had not wrestled since April 2024. His return bout was against Mick Moretti for indie promotion BCW in Australia last month.
“This was my first time back, singles match, 20 minutes, whatever,” Van Dam told TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast. “I know what I’m doing, man. My conditioning was on point. I felt great in the ring, actually enjoyed the match. And I actually look forward to wrestling in a little different, more motivated way now. I don’t know if the reasons have changed on why I do it, but they seemed to — at least on the fringes temporarily.”
That newfound motivation comes from Van Dam now being a father. He and his wife Katie Forbes welcomed twin girls into the world at the end of 2025.
Van Dam noted that he has some matches and appearances coming up during WrestleMania week in Las Vegas, which is an easy commute for him given that he and Forbes live in Vegas. Van Dam will be appearing at the WWE World and WrestleCon conventions along with competing for Juggalo Championship Wrestling and Big Time Wrestling.
Now that he’s recovered from his injury, Inside the Ring asked Van Dam if he would be interested in returning to WWE to finish his career in an in-ring capacity.
“I am open to consider anything, that’s part of being open-minded,” he responded. “I try not to shut anything out without at least considering it. And when it comes to something like that, they got my number. They can talk to me. As you know, I’ll be appearing at WWE World…
“We could definitely have that conversation. But as far as a retirement tour, unless I change my perspective — which always happens, you’re always looking at everything from a different place in life if you keep going. But the way I feel now, I don’t like the idea of labeling something ‘retirement’ or I don’t really want to know if I’m having my last match when I am.”
Rob Van Dam says he’s feeling good after suffering an injury last April.
RVD hasn’t wrestled since he broke both his heels in the MLW Battle Riot match on April 5th, 2025. He was a surprise entrant in the match, entering in at number 40. He was eliminated when Matt Riddle pushed him off the top turnbuckle to the floor. RVD landed on his feet, breaking both of his heels.
During his recent podcast, RVD teased that he might wrestle more in 2026.
“I am right now just wondering, maybe I’ll wrestle a little more than I thought I would this year,” RVD said when mentioning he’s receiving a lot of booking requests.
When asked how he’s feeling, RVD responded, “I feel awesome. Yeah. Training really hard and training good, sleeping good.”
RVD says that the injury he suffered at last year’s Battle Riot is no longer preventing him from training.
“The last match I had was in April when I broke both of them for MLW. And so it’s been a bit of a comeback. I haven’t wrestled since then. I imagine my feet will be probably a little bit sore, but they’re not holding me back now from running, training, spinning, kicking.”
Wrestling veteran and inaugural AEW World Champion Chris Jericho has been heavily speculated to return to WWE after spending years at All Elite Wrestling. While Jericho was previously rumored to return at the January 5th, 2026 edition of Raw, it unfortunately did not happen. Now, speaking to GamesHub, Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam, aka RVD, has opened up on Jericho’s potential WWE return as well as the chances of him receiving a retirement tour similar to John Cena.
“It could be. But I feel like what they did with Cena retiring was really special. I don’t remember anybody’s retirement being built up and pushed to mean that much. But then again, it seems all I’m reading is that Brock Lesnar is going to be the next guy to get a retirement tour. Then as soon as I read that, it feels like it waters down the importance of that being what it was,” RVD continued. “So I don’t know though. Maybe retirement tours will be a popular thing. Maybe we’ll all do it. But I can’t imagine he’ll get one. And not to take anything away from Jericho’s career, he has done more for the business than anyone and has all of the accomplishments to go with it, but Cena was like an era, he was the number one guy the whole time I was in WWE.“
Van Dam further opened up on Cena’s retirement tour, “They had him come in during 2001 and I think he had just come up from Ohio Valley, if I’m not mistaken, somewhere around that time. And then he’s just always been like the guy to beat. He’s been the top guy. He has been the guy that’s wrestled all the other top guys, keeping things marching forward, so automatically when other wrestlers are talked about doing retirement tours, I have to start comparing the importance, the weight of this guy retiring versus the Cena retirement tour which was the biggest thing of 2025, right?“
Jericho was last seen wrestling at AEW Dynasty 2025, when he lost the ROH World Championship to Bandido.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter is now available and covers the following topics:
Polls on Worlds End plus Continental Classic MVP and best match polls.
The story of the WWE/UFC merger and Vince McMahon’s resignation, how real was it, the big unanswered question about the WWE Board of Directors, lots of Discovery information in the shareholders lawsuit against WWE, McMahon, TKO, Nick Khan and others, things behind the scenes about the merger, and the change in plans prior to the 2023 WrestleMania in more detail than ever before.
Full coverage of AEW Worlds End and business notes on the show
The retirement of Hiroshi Tanahashi and the Tokyo Dome show
The record setting 2025 at Arena Mexico and biggest attendance week in the 92 years of CMLL, a look at the last week as well as how many Americans are at the shows.
The few times in history that a company sold out a major arena three times in the same week.
A look at the Stardom Dream Queendom show
Pro Wrestling NOAH hosts the first major show of 2026
Weekly odds
2026 Observer award ballot
Most detailed look at the TV ratings from the past week.
Weddings and engagements in pro wrestling this past week
All Japan has its best match of 2025
William Regal and others talk about neck injuries in pro wrestling and our thoughts on it as well as the reaction of some
Who had the most great matches in 2025
How Eric Bischoff’s new promotion is similar to Sam Muchnick starting out as a promoter
Company does a Vince McMahon/Janel Grant angle on its TV show
On No-Contest Wrestling, Kelani Jordan opened up about how proud she is of her fiance Carmelo Hayes for becoming United States Champion:
Oh, I’m so proud of him. Not only because, of course, you know, I don’t want to say, like, I’m biased, but really, honestly, like, he’s such a great person. He works really hard. I’ve never seen someone more passionate about this business and what he does. He studies all the time. He works hard.
He’s in the gym. He sometimes even does extra ring [work] with me, not only to help me, but just to make sure he’s in shape for his matches when he doesn’t really need to be. Like, he’s in great shape.
So I’m just super proud of him because I want to say he never, like – it wasn’t handed to him. He definitely earned it. And I feel like he definitely paid his dues. And of course, his talent speaks for himself, but he has a genuine heart. And so I’m super proud of him.
I mean that it seems like that’s always their job, they’re over obligated, they got so much TV time and they gotta figure out how to use everybody. Nobody really comes to mind. I feel like I prefer watching the ladies actually a lot more because they’ve really stepped it up.
If you go back to like 2001, when I came into WWE, the girls weren’t the best workers and a lot of wrestling fans would say that when the girls are on, that was their break to run to the kitchen or whatever, watching it. I didn’t know that girls could even move like they were fighting because they seemed so unnatural before, but they were hot, they get really hot girls. That’s not the same thing as someone that’s a tomboy that fought with their brothers and grew up that way. So now they have so many girls that qualify that I don’t see how they’re gonna use all of them because they gotta beat each other. And the NXT too, watching the girls that are coming up, I’m so impressed with them and they seem like they’ve closed the gap and lady wrestling might be just as popular as men wrestling someday.
The two sides have teamed up to create a custom WWE x ESPN CFP National Championship Title Belt, a one-of-one piece inspired by host city Miami and featuring the outline of Hard Rock Stadium, palm trees, and College Football–inspired design elements, including 136 diamonds representing each Division I FBS program. The belt will be on display for fans to take photos and interact with at the ESPN CFP x WWE activation at Playoff Fan Central in Miami from January 16–18, and one lucky fan will also have the chance to win it through an official ESPN sweepstakes.
The title belt will make its first public appearance with WWE Superstar Nikki Bella on the sideline of the CFP Semifinals on Jan. 8 at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, Bella’s home state.
The WWE Vault YouTube account asked fans for 2026 content suggestions: “You have Vault requests… we want ‘em! Let’s start 2026 right. Lay your WWE Vault suggestions on us in the comments below!”
House of Glory announced that Amazing Red will be Andrade’s opponent at their City of Angels show in Los Angeles on January 30. It’s a first-time-ever matchup.
They should have pushed me. They didn’t really push me at all. I should have been used, at least as a strong mid-carder, if not a main eventer. But that’s me. I mean, I could be biased, and I’m sure I am, but looking at it objectively, I think I could have drawn money for them.
Reality of Wrestling proudly introduces PROSPE-X — a brand-new, high-stakes competition series searching for the next breakout star in professional wrestling.
Created by Booker T and Sharmell Huffman, PROSPE-X will spotlight 10 of the top independent prospects from across the U.S. (9 singles competitors + 1 tag team), selected through an open nationwide submission process.
What’s on the line? One standout competitor will earn an official ROW roster spot and compete at a major ROW ‘Big Four’ event: Last Stand Rumble • Summer of Champions • SubZero • Battle to the Bell
We’ve got a giant new issue of the Observer out today covering the Cena and Santo retirements as well as all the big events from the past week:
John Cena and El Hijo del Santo’s retirement shows and how they are so different
A look back at both’s careers and places in history
Where Santo went wrong
Key people who saved John Cena’s career
Why he never turned heel years ago
Marketing of Cena as The GOAT
How Cena ranks with the biggest draws in wrestling history
Update on WBD’s potential sales to Netflix or Paramount, what the deals entail and how this all affects AEW
Dwayne Johnson and his Golden Globe nomination
Odds for upcoming pro wrestling bouts
1,000,000th fan attends CMLL pro wrestling at Arena Mexico alone. Why this has never happened before, and the absolutely staggering part of the story that nobody talks about
UFC 323 coverage of the last UFC show on PPV for at least seven years
A look at NXT Deadline
A look at ROH Final Battle
A look at TNA Final Resolution
A look at the career of Steve “Mr. Electricity” Regal, death of territories, the shocking win over the Road Warriors and holding world titles in the AWA and NWA in the 80s.
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the TV shows over this past week
A look at major promotions joining together for different shows in 2026
A look at last week’s big shows at Arena Mexico, both a hell of a Friday and a big Tuesday with Bad Bunny under a Mistico mask in the front row
Key CMLL talent banged up
All Japan tag team tournament ends with a former rugby star from New Zealand and former member of the Harlem Globetrotters against each other.
NOAH’s big start of the year show
New wrestlers starting at NOAH including the brother of a UFC fighter
New Japan tag team tournament final standings and results
Big awards being announced this week
Actress who played Hall of Fame pro wrestler on a Netflix series wins major award for her performance
Where did the original star ratings in Mexico rating matches come from
Hulk Hogan album being re-released
Notes on AEW Worlds End
Andrade makes claims about what happened with AEW and WWE
Advance ticket sales for all the AEW and WWE upcoming shows
Lots more on Trump UFC event at the White House
UFC schedule
More on the Ali Act and attempting to change and subvert it
Dana White talks Francis Ngannou now that he wants to return
The most interest in buying tickets to a pro wrestling or UFC show in history took place this past week
Lots more on the two lawsuits going against Vince McMahon and WWE
The WWE TV schedule for this coming week
Big PPV main event match that fell through from earlier this year
Cody Rhodes announced that a new episode of his “What Do You Wanna Talk About?” podcast will premiere tomorrow with John Cena joining him as the guest: “For the FIRST TIME since retiring from the ring…@JohnCena joins us on #WhatDoYouWannaTalkAbout TOMORROW.”
Cena acknowledged Kevin Owens by sharing a photo of them shaking hands while Owens was in the crowd for Cena’s last match.
Estranged half-brothers Jonny and James reunite after their father’s mysterious death. As they search for the truth, buried secrets reveal a conspiracy threatening to tear their family apart.
Kazuchika Okada, who supports Manchester City in the Premier League, visited their Etihad Stadium while AEW is in the United Kingdom.
Ortiz will compete for Limitless Wrestling at their Limitless Rumble event in Lewiston, Maine on Friday, January 16. His tag team partner Eddie Kingston has also been announced for the show.
Megan Bayne & Joey Janela vs. JetSpeed (Kevin Knight & Mike Bailey) has been announced for Superpower Slam in New York City on Sunday, February 1. The event is being put on by Orange Crush magazine, Game Changer Wrestling, and Jersey Championship Wrestling to benefit the neurodivergent community.
I’m good now. I’m good. It’s been like – I was just figuring out, it’s been, I guess, six months or so. I haven’t wrestled yet. I do have a match in Australia in February. That’ll be the test. But yeah, I’m much better.
Gzim Selmani (former WWE wrestler Rezar of The Authors of Pain) has signed with Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship. His first fight for the promotion is expected to take place in February.
Braun Strowman and comedian Brad Williams appeared on a new episode of Something’s Burning with Bert Kreischer.
John Cena’s WWE retirement tour could have included a match against Rob Van Dam if things went differently.
On TMZ’s Inside the Ring podcast, RVD revealed that there were talks for him to face Cena at some point this year. RVD feels like the match was going to happen, but the possibility was derailed when he broke both of his heels in April.
“Let me tell you this, I wanted to be one of the return matches for John Cena on his retirement tour,” RVD said. “I was talking to them. There was a lot of interest. Without giving away too many details, you know, we were probably going to do it. And then I broke my heels.”
RVD is a famous opponent from Cena’s past, with their WWE Championship match from ECW One Night Stand 2006 being among the most memorable moments of Cena’s career.
The double heel fracture RVD suffered happened at MLW Battle Riot 2025. Before that, he had not wrestled since competing for AEW in April 2024. TMZ asked RVD if he still feels like he has a small WWE return run in him.
“Sure, it’s possible. I think anything’s possible,” the 54-year-old WWE Hall of Famer responded. “And I’m not ruling anything out. Personally, as far as whether I want to continue or not after my heels are completely 100 percent, I change my mind like every few days about it.
“I don’t really get [what] the product is becoming. And here’s one thing too, I feel like the fans that grew up watching my era felt like they knew how it worked in a certain way. And now they’re the ones running it, so they’ve changed it to actually how they think that it was run. And now we got the next fans that have been watching them that are coming up that are going to be running it
“It’s changing so much into something that seems so far away from the competitive — and maybe it’s for the best. Maybe they’re fixing things about the business, I don’t know. But for me personally, sometimes I feel like, ‘Yeah, you know, I could go. I feel great. I could go show the people that, you know, I can still do what I could do, hopefully it’ll motivate, inspire some people, maybe.’ And then at other times, I feel like maybe I’d rather just be attached to the old-school wrestling and remembered for that.”
RVD is under a Legends contract with WWE and made a couple of on-screen appearances for the company in 2024.
Cena has eight WWE appearances remaining on his retirement tour. It will conclude with him competing in his final match on Saturday Night’s Main Event on December 13.
A documentary chronicling the journey to Sabu’s final match is set to be released soon.
Titled “SABU,” the documentary is from filmmaker Joe Clarke and has Sabu’s best friend Rob Van Dam serving as a producer. A release date has not been announced yet, but it’s listed as “coming soon” and will debut at some point in 2025. The teaser trailer can be seen below:
Here is the official description for the film:
‘SABU’ is an intimate documentary that follows the enigmatic career of professional wrestler Sabu as he seeks closure in his storied life—a final match. From his tumultuous upbringing under the influence of The Sheik to the electrifying days of ECW, Sabu reflects on his evolution as a performer and the extreme style that defined his legacy. The film captures the highs and lows of his journey, including personal challenges, injuries, and the emotional turmoil that shaped him both inside and outside the ring.
Sabu — an ECW legend who was influential in shaping the modern style of pro wrestling — passed away on May 11 just a few weeks after competing in his final match. His last time in the ring was a victory over Joey Janela in a no ropes barbed wire match for Game Changer Wrestling on April 18.
RVD and Clarke also worked together for the concussion documentary “Headstrong,” which was released in 2019. RVD said that, prior to Sabu’s death, Clarke spent several months working on this new documentary with him.
“He had been working with Sabu for a long time, several months, on filming a documentary,” RVD said. “Just a few weeks ago, they were over here. Sabu and I were working out in my gym and hanging out in my sauna… I can’t wait to see the footage that he has now. And of course the ending is definitely going to be a little different than they planned on.”
Sabu’s cause of death is not known yet. RVD noted that, because Sabu and his ex-wife Hitomi never got officially divorced, some things are delayed because her permission is needed. She is living in Japan and has not wanted to get involved in the process.
Rob Van Dam doesn’t place any blame on Game Changer Wrestling for the death of his best friend Sabu.
On Thursday night, RVD and Taz did a live stream sharing their memories of Sabu following his passing. RVD also addressed the controversy that emerged this week after Joey Janela revealed that Sabu’s final match at Joey Janela’s Spring Break 9 almost didn’t happen. Sabu could barely walk because of issues with his knee and feet, but Sabu’s team gave him kratom — a federally legal substance — to help him get through the no ropes barbed wired match. Fans on social media have criticized Janela and GCW for allowing the match to still happen.
“All the heat that’s gone to Joey Janela and GCW? Ridiculous,” RVD said. “I’ve read comments from social media followers that say, ‘GCW should be arrested on manslaughter.’ Wait, regardless of the cause of death, three weeks later? Thank god these people aren’t actually in control actually making real decisions.”
Sabu died on May 11, less than a month after defeating Janela at Spring Break. A cause of death has not been released yet. RVD said that, because Sabu and his ex-wife Hitomi never got officially divorced, there is a hold-up with needing her permission for some things. She is living in Japan and doesn’t want anything to do with the situation.
RVD said Sabu using kratom for the Spring Break match had “nothing to do” with him dying three weeks later. RVD called himself an advocate for kratom, which he believes helps a lot of people with pain, sleep issues, and anxiety. He uses kratom regularly, and Sabu would use it every day.
“A lot of my friends have been able to quit taking opiates and take kratom. A lot of followers have told me and thanked me for talking about kratom because they’ve done the same thing,” RVD said. “Can you get addicted to kratom? You can get addicted to f*cking chocolate. If you’re a person that’s going to be addicted to stuff, then stay away from everything. The answer to that is, sure it’s possible. Can you take too much? Sure.”
Sabu vs. Janela was billed as Sabu’s retirement match, but Sabu felt like he still had one more match left in him after it was over. Sabu told RVD that he was interested in facing him if RVD was up for it.
“People are saying, ‘Shame on GCW for allowing a 60 year old to get in the ring and have a match like that.’ And I can tell you, he was my closest dude friend, closest person to me next to Katie Forbes right here. And I can tell you that he was 61 and he wanted that,” RVD said. “He wanted that for a long time. In fact, Joe Clarke, we’ve had him on the show before, Joe Clarke and I made my documentary on concussions called ‘Headstrong’ which is on Amazon. He had been working with Sabu for a long time, several months, on filming a documentary. Just a few weeks ago, they were over here. Sabu and I were working out in my gym and hanging out in my sauna… I can’t wait to see the footage that he has now. And of course the ending is definitely going to be a little different than they planned on. He was training. He was wanting to have this big retirement match, so much that when it got down to it, he knew that he had more in him, you know?
“One thing that he said when I saw him after his match with Joey Janela — he said, ‘I got one more match in me. If you’re still interested in doing that barbed wire match, I’m interested.’ Because I had talked to him before about being the guy that’s his last opponent, which a lot of people would think, easy, of course you’re going to do that. But he said, ‘No, that’s cheating.’ Just like he thinks two brothers wrestling each other is cheating, from his perspective, because they grew up and they know each other too well.”
RVD said he didn’t really want to do a barbed wire match, but Sabu could have possibly talked him into it if it was really going to be his retirement match.
There was some incorrect information reported about Sabu that RVD wanted to clarify. Sabu’s legal name wasn’t Terrance Brunk, it was Terry Brunk. He was born in Michigan and not New York. And Sabu was 61 years old when he died instead of 60.
Major League Wrestling’s Battle Riot VII on Saturday night marked the first time the MLW World Championship was defended in the match.
Entering at number 25, champion Matt Riddle successfully defended his title in the 40-person Rumble-style gauntlet. The story going into the match was that Riddle was dealing with broken ribs following an earlier attack by Dijak and the debuting Bishop Dyer (formerly known as Baron Corbin).
Rob Van Dam made his MLW debut, entering at number 40. He and Riddle briefly worked together to eliminate Dyer and Dijak, leaving them as the final two. After hitting a Rolling Thunder, RVD climbed to the top rope for the Five Star Frog Splash, but Riddle recovered and shoved him off the turnbuckle and to the floor.
Former MLW World Champion Alex Hammerstone returned to the promotion, entering at number one. His last MLW appearance was a loss to Jacob Fatu in December 2023.
Other notes from the show:
Mistico vacated the MLW Middleweight Championship. He was originally scheduled to wrestle on the show but was pulled from the card last week due to injury. Moments after he handed the title to Cesar Duran, Ikuro Kwon misted Duran and stole the belt.
TJPW’s Shoko Nakajima defeated Delmi Exo to become the new MLW Featherweight Champion.
Austin Aries returned to the company as part of the commentary team.
The full show is available via YouTube:
MLW Battle Riot VII results:
Atlantis, Atlantis Jr. & Star Jr. defeated Barbaro Cavernario, Magnus & Ultimo Guerrero
Janai Kai defeated HIMAWARI
Templario defeated Hechicero, Esfinge in a three-way match
Shoko Nakajima defeated Delmi Exo to win the MLW World Featherweight Championship
Matt Riddle won the 40-person Battle Riot to retain the MLW World Championship
ECW legend Rob Van Dam wasn’t a fan of a recent hardcore spot on AEW Dynamite.
The March 19 edition of Dynamite featured a street fight where Jon Moxley retained his AEW World Championship against Cope. During the match, there was a spot where Cope used a board of nails as a weapon and slammed Moxley onto it. The match generated a lot of differing opinions on social media, and TMZ Sports even posted an article about the weapons spot.
RVD shared his thoughts on the latest episode of his 1 Of A Kind podcast, saying spots like this make him feel he would rather be associated with WWE than AEW.
“I thought, you know, it’s not my thing. Not my kind of thing,” RVD said. “That’s not wrestling to me, but, obviously, it’s sacrificing a lot for the business. I mean, that could be said about it. But the more AEW has been doing stuff like that, the more personally I feel like I would rather be associated with WWE than AEW.
“A couple years ago it was like, man, they’re growing, they’re trying things, you know, to get up there. And then there’s a feel that like the inmates are running the prison, which there always has been, for better or worse. I mean, that was used as a good point at first — you know, like hey, the boys are running it, cool. But for me, [this was] an example of why that might not be a good idea. But it is a style of wrestling. I mean, I put that with the light bulb matches, the death matches where two people grab each other and jump off the back of a semi-truck and land on a pile of light bulbs. That’s not my kind of wrestling, and it’s something that I personally look at as being lower than the standard — substandard. Because it’s going to draw only a certain niche crowd that’s into that kind of stuff.”
RVD believes spots like this separate WWE from AEW, and maybe AEW will be known more as a hardcore promotion like FMW of Japan used to be. When he was in ECW, RVD felt like they had a superior form of entertainment compared to the other wrestling promotions, but he now understands that ECW was never going to draw the mainstream audience that WWE had.
“I didn’t like it, it’s really crazy dangerous,” RVD said about the Moxley vs. Cope spot. “I don’t want to knock their freedom of expression. I think, you know, that’s probably cool to them, I guess. Or else they would turn it down when it was at the idea phase if it didn’t sound cool, right? So congratulations [on] pulling off a crazy stunt, death-defying stunt — for better or worse.”
In 2023-2024, RVD worked several matches for AEW when he was brought in as a legend for sporadic appearances. He’s since made a couple of cameo appearances for WWE on SmackDown and NXT.
It’s been nearly a year since Rob Van Dam last competed in the ring, but he does not consider himself retired.
The most recent match for RVD took place on the 4/20 edition of AEW Rampage in 2024, where he won a four-way over Komander, Isiah Kassidy, and Lee Johnson. On a new episode of Insight, RVD told Chris Van Vliet that — despite the 11-month absence — he feels great physically and is still taking wrestling bookings. He’s willing to discuss anything but is only going to take matches that make sense for him financially.
“It’s been a minute, it’s been almost a year since I’ve had a match,” RVD said. “And I do have some matches that are in conversation in the near future, like over the next — people are talking about even a year from now. And I’m like, ‘Dude, I don’t even know if I’m going to wrestle a year from now.’ You know what I mean? But stuff coming up that I can’t talk about yet. And stuff like bookings throughout all of 2026. For me, it’s something that it’s still like, if you want to discuss it, it’s a numbers issue for me. I feel great.”
Because wrestling retirements have so little credibility, RVD doubts that he’ll ever officially declare that he’s retired. He wants to maintain his value and avoid being in a place where he wrestles himself into the grave working his last match for five dollars.
“I just see me as just going with the flow and someday when you say, ‘Are you still wrestling?’ I might say, ‘Oh, it’s been six years. I might have a match,'” RVD said.
RVD is under a Legends contract with WWE and made appearances on a SmackDown episode and NXT episode in the latter half of 2024. He told Van Vliet that it’s a great time to be a WWE Legend right now because of how much the company is growing.
The new issue of the Wrestling Observer is up on the site right now. It was a huge news week as it’s the largest issue in some time:
ull coverage of Crown Jewel with the matches, business and interest level
Thoughts on the programs going forward
TKO gives its quarterly business update
Why profits are lower than usual.
UFC’s media rights deal thoughts
Talk about the future of Fight Pass
Revenue for UFC & WWE in different categories
Stock value
How much debt TKO currently has
How the Cung Le lawsuit factors into all this
More on the show at Sphere
Thoughts about Dana White and/or Nick Khan getting involved with boxing from Mark Shapiro
More Netflix plans
A look at the Wrestle Kingdom lineup
Where New Japan’s business currently stands
Upcoming New Japan tag team tournament notes
Power Struggle coverage, great matches and angles
NXT and AEW go head-to-head, the most detailed breakdown as to what happened and why
Where AEW stood in the overall standings that night
How every quarter did
Coverage of the Conor McGregor trial going on
Update on Full Gear, announced matches, other matches, ticket buying interest
Notes on WWE cuts like Baron Corbin, Indi Hartwell and Tegan Nox.
Dragon Gates runs a major show
The most detailed look at the ratings for all the shows this past week, with standings for the night and week, segment-by-segment numbers, and all the competition.
CMLL to fill the historical middleweight title vacancy by Mistico this week
Arena Mexico draws the week’s largest crowd for themed show
Update on El Hijo del Vikingo
Stardom tag team tournament update
King of Gate tournament update
Davey Boy Smith Jr. wins Triple Crown and background of that
Death of Scorpio Jr.
Hall of Fame candidate health issue update
The life of AWA’s Al DeRusha
Can actual wrestling draw more than 40,000 each to six events over three days. 2028 we’ll get the chance to find out.
Marko Stunt talks retirement
Santo retirement tour noes
Mike Mansury talks AEW production changes for 2025
All the PPV business updates
Ricochet talks leaving WWE
International TV ratings and streaming numbers
Jon Jones talks Tom Aspinall and why he’s not interested in that ight
More on the Bruce Prichard and Michael Hayes leave of absences
WWE scheduling updates
Yoshhiki Inamura comes to NXT
WWE signs former Olympic athletes
Lots of WWE injury updates
Notes from all the live arena events and the European tour
This Week’s Wrestling Observer Newsletter Back Issue
While appearing on This is Wrestling Life, Rob Van Dam reflected on his induction into the WWE Hall of Fame. RVD said it was an honor to be inducted, but having the induction happen during the pandemic era was a little disappointing:
It was very validating, you know, to be thought of on that Mount Rushmore of wrestlers. That’s something that they can never take away from me now. Like, it felt like I elevated up to a level and now people like yourself refer to me as a Hall of Famer. It’s very prestigious, so I was honored. The fact that it was during COVID and we didn’t have a crowd was kind of disappointing after going to Hall of Fame for so many years and watching the really long speeches. And then they told us to go 3-5 minutes on our speeches after hearing these guys [doing long speeches in the past].
The thing about the time and there not being people there, if you’ve seen my speech, then you’ve seen like nine minutes of it, but the whole thing was actually 27 minutes. So I actually went, in theory, maybe like 24 minutes over the three-minute request. I didn’t hear anything when I got back except I said, ‘That was a little long, wasn’t it?’ But I had no idea until I saw the whole thing that it was that long. You’re playing off of somebody turning the volume up and down on a response… I’ll have to get in it again.
Paradigm Talent Agency – which represents several WWE stars – has announced the launch of The Sports Group, which is “a dedicated, all-encompassing division established to represent a roster of elite athletes and iconic teams.” Damian Priest, Tiffany Stratton, CM Punk, Drew McIntyre, and Liv Morgan are among the WWE wrestlers that Paradigm represents.
We had a common goal in destroying Willow [Nightingale], and I think we accomplished that. But I think we just didn’t have any sort of, like, we didn’t have any other goals after that. The goal was to take care of her. I think after that, we just kind of decided like, you know what, the job is done. It’s kind of like a handshake and, ‘You helped me. I helped you. We’ll see if our paths cross again in the future or something.’ Then he tried to pass a Spanish quiz and put my [CMLL Women’s] title shot on the line that I rightfully won. He put that on the line without me knowing, lost it. So, not my fault. I also decided to give him a boot for that, because how dare you take my opportunities away from me.
It’s interesting. I’m excited to find out (what’s next for me). My contract expired with AEW in June, so I just left them. I’m currently working independents, but I’m 42 and I think it’s time to — I don’t know. I want to find a way to be home more with my kids and so I’m looking into more business opportunities; construction, rental properties and I’d love to sit down with you John (Bradshaw Layfield) and get some pointers about announcing and maybe stay on camera that way. But really, just doing what I can. I had a great career, very blessed to have that career. So, now, it’s kind of easier. The pressure’s off and just try to be a good dad and good example for my kids.
While appearing on the Cheap Heat Productions Podcast, Rob Van Dam explained how being under a WWE Legends contract affects how AEW is able to utilize him.
RVD has wrestled six AEW matches, sporadically appearing for the promotion since August 2023. He told Cheap Heat Productions that — while he’s able to wrestle for AEW — his Legends deal with WWE means that AEW could not put him in a video game or make an RVD action figure.
“So I’m not under contract with AEW. I sign a per-match contract with them, which I’ve done five, maybe six times,” RVD said. “And it’s only wrestling. The first time that I talked to Tony Khan about doing this, a factor was that I still have a WWE Legends deal. So my use to AEW would be limited — as far as, like, they can’t put me on video games, action figures, stuff like that. So you could say it’s limited on both ends — or you could say I got both ends going, best of both worlds. Or you could just say RVD does whatever he wants.”
RVD’s most recent match for AEW was on the April 20 edition of Collision earlier this year.
A WWE Hall of Famer, RVD made an appearance on WWE programming last month when SmackDown moved back to USA Network. He was one of several legends shown in the crowd.
Rob Van Dam had an “awesome” time attending WWE SmackDown’s first episode back on USA Network.
RVD was one of the legends shown in the front row at last Friday’s episode, which was held at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle. It marked the start of WWE and NBCUniversal’s new five-year deal for SmackDown’s return to USA Network. The show had aired on Fox since 2019.
On SmackDown, RVD and his wife Katie Forbes were briefly shown in the crowd prior to a tag team match where Kevin Owens & Randy Orton defeated Grayson Waller & Austin Theory.
“How about that? RVD just pops up wherever he feels like. That’s part of being The Whole F’N Show, you know? [laughs],” RVD said on his 1 Of A Kind podcast. “It was an invite that happened not with a lot of notice at all. It was awesome to be there.”
RVD said he was contacted by WWE last Wednesday to see if he was available to fly out the next day. While at SmackDown, he also filmed interviews for future WWE content. RVD said on his podcast that everyone was cool backstage and there was a good vibe at the show.
Paul Heyman and Paul “Triple H” Levesque were among the people RVD talked with backstage. RVD said the young talent in WWE was very respectful toward him, and the fans brought a lot of energy.
In 2021, RVD was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. He’s had occasional matches for AEW since first competing for the promotion last year.
WWE uploaded a post-show interview with RVD after he attended Friday’s SmackDown:
AEW’s three-hour Saturday night block will feature a special live edition of Rampage ahead of Sunday’s AEW Dynasty.
A noted marijuana enthusiast, Rob Van Dam will take part in the first-ever “High Flying 4-2-0” elimination four-way that also includes Komander, Isiah Kassidy, and Lee Johnson.
Prior to tonight, RVD last wrestled for AEW on the February 21st Dynamite, teaming with Hook & Hangman Page in a trios loss to Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland & Brian Cage.
Angelo Parker will also be on hand with some thoughts.
A rematch of the 2021’s AEW Women’s World title eliminator tournament Japan bracket is also set with Yuka Sakazaki taking on Emi Sakura. This will be their sixth overall match against each other in AEW, five of which have been tag team matches.
A preview for tomorrow’s Dynasty PPV is on tap as Kyle O’Reilly, Rocky Romero & Matt Menard face The Kingdom’s Roderick Strong, Matt Taven & Mike Bennett.
Rampage started with the IWGP World Champion Jon Moxley complimenting how strong Don Callis’ phone is after making his match with Powerhouse Hobbs on next week’s Dynamite for the IWGP Title. Moxley didn’t mind, as he wasn’t planning on losing anyway. Moxley knew Hobbs had something special, but if Hobbs didn’t find it, Moxley would give him a very bitter lesson. Moxley told Hobbs not to hesitate because he wouldn’t.
High Flying 4/20 Four Way Elimination Match – Rob Van Dam defeated Komander, Isiah Kassidy (w/ Marq Quen), Lee Johnson
It felt like there was a joke I was missing here.
We got four-way action to start before Kassidy and RVD paired off. Kassidy mocked RVD before RVD moved out of the way of a Rolling Thunder attempt. RVD hit one of his own before Johnson dived onto everyone on the floor. Johnson and Kassidy paired off in the ring, where Kassidy eliminated Johnson with a tights-assisted roll-up.
After a commercial, Komander hit a big step-up moonsault to Kassidy on the floor to a big pop. Komander took RVD over with a rana out of a powerbomb attempt before hitting a springboard senton to Kassidy for a nearfall. Komander went for a ropewalk, but Kassidy cut him off and crotched him on the ropes. Kassidy teased giving RVD something but turned on him. Quen pulled RVD out of the ring, but Komander hit the ropewalk Shooting Star Press to eliminate him.
It was down to Komander and RVD, and they traded flash pins before RVD cut off Komander on the top rope. After avoiding a leg sweep, RVD hit the Five Star Frog Splash to win.
Yuka Sakazaki defeated Emi Sakura
Sakura got a jump start, hitting a Tiger Driver for a nearfall. Sakazaki came back with a sliding lariat for a nearfall. Sakazaki went to hop over the ropes onto the apron, but she fell to the floor. Sakura stalled as Sakazaki tested her knee on the floor, but eventually Sakazaki was able to continue and hit a rana off the apron.
After a commercial, Sakura sent Sakazaki to the floor with a crossbody off the apron. Sakura followed up with a crossbody into the stairs. Sakura hit a butterfly backbreaker for a nearfall. Sakura teased Sakazaki, but Sakazaki came back with a rope-assisted German to get the win.
In what was called Rampage exclusive footage from after Dynamite, Angelo Parker came to the ring. He left his mentor and lost his friends over the past year, before gaining and losing the love of Ruby Soho. All he had left was his match against Zak Knight, but he lost that too. He didn’t have much left to fight for and teased retiring before Soho came to the ring. Soho said it broke her heart to hear him say that he had nothing to fight for because he had something very special to fight for. Soho announced that she was pregnant to a big pop. The two embraced, with Parker saying that he was going to be a father. Congratulations to the happy couple!
Kyle O’Reilly, Matt Menard, & Rocky Romero defeated The Undisputed Kingdom (Roderick Strong, Matt Taven, Mike Bennett)
What’s cooler than cool? Outkast would say ice cold, but my answer would be The Undisputed Kingdom. This is a stone-dead act, and honestly, I would pull the plug and take these talented guys in other directions. The interactions between O’Reilly and Strong were good, which is promising for tomorrow’s International Title match.
Strong teased starting with O’Reilly before bailing. The first advantage came when Bennett stuffed a headscissor attempt and had Taven hit an assisted powerbomb for a nearfall. After an extended beatdown, Romero eventually got the tag out to Menard, who ran wild. Menard locked Bennett in the Boston Crab, but Taven cut him off with a Kick of the King. O’Reilly tagged in and ran wild. Taven caught Bennett in a triangle choke before getting Taven in an ankle lock at the same time.
Strong broke it up and finally faced off with each other, teeing off with chops and kicks until Strong caught O’Reilly with a backbreaker. O’Reilly caught Strong with an armbar and tapped him out, but Bennett had blind-tagged in. O’Reilly caught Bennett with the rebound lariat before hitting the brainbuster and tapping him out with the armbar. After the match, O’Reilly told Strong that in 24 hours, he would become the new International Champion.
