Former ECW/WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam recently appeared on X-Pac’s 1,2, 360 podcast. Van Dam discussed his in-ring style with Sean Waltman. Specifically chair shots to the end, something that was a mainstay of the ECW product back in the 90’s.
RVD’s Thoughts on Chair Shots
RVD revealed that he has “mixed feelings about that [chair shots], cause one, it’s an art form. And for me I’ve always appreciated being able to express myself as an artist.” Van Dam elaborated further, saying that “I feel that they should know. Young guys getting in the business. If they know that hitting their heads is dangerous and could lead to stuff and they choose to do it anyway. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with their choices but at the same time I don’t think that I would necessarily hate them for it or try to ban them if they want to take shots to the head.”
Vince McMahon’s Advice
Rob also discussed Vince McMahon’s advice to him regarding chair shots to the head. RVD said that “when I first came to WWE, one time I was walking up the ramp, to go through gorilla, and Vince was standing there after my match and he said to me, ‘Rob, when you’re taking those chair shots, you put your hands up’ and I was like, ‘Nah Vince, that’s for the other guys, I am a lot tougher than the other guys.’ He said ‘No you listen to me, you put your hands up’ and I said, ‘Yeah, but that’s the way I do it. I mean I’ve been doing it this way for years.’ He said ‘Rob, listen I am your father telling you, put your hands up.’ And then it really got through to me, I was like well this is the boss, he’s the guy that’s paying me, why else am I here? And he’s telling me he’s paying me to put my hands up. So I was like, alright.”
You can check out the whole (dam) show below:
*Credit to WrestlingINC for the transcription
