WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam is firing back at AEW fans after getting criticized for his comments about the brand’s violent style.
On his “1 Of A Kind” podcast recently, Van Dam talked about the trend of violent wrestling spots in AEW and specifically mentioned Adam “Cope” Copeland using a spike bat on Jon Moxley during a title match on Dynamite. RVD was concerned about the direction of the company and felt they were relying too much on dangerous, shocking spots. And in his opinion, it overshadowed the wrestling.
His comments caused a stir on social media and online, where many fans quickly labeled him a hypocrite, citing his time in ECW, where he did similar violent matches. But Van Dam wasn’t having it and posted a video on his RVDTV.com this week and addressed the debate, and explained what he thinks is the biggest problem with the company right now.
Rob Van Dam Calls AEW Fans ‘Ignorant?’
“I didn’t bash AEW. I wouldn’t bash AEW,” Van Dam said. “It seems to me, by far, the worst part about AEW, and I hope this quote gets picked up, is the fans on the IWC [internet wrestling community] . The fans are so ignorant.”
But he didn’t stop there. Rob Van Dam was adamant about getting his point across, reiterating his frustration with fans who misinterpreted his words: “Here is what I said. I am going to say it again. So if it hurt to hear it the first time, you are going to hear it again. I am going to tell you what I did say.”
According to RVD, fans were quick to label him a hypocrite. Many pointed to his past in ECW, where he competed in violent matches, but RVD explained that those matches were never his style of choice. He participated in extreme bouts because it was just the preferred approach of that company.
“My whole career in ECW, even before that, the matches that Sabu taught me were garbage matches,” Van Dam said. “They’ve always been at the bottom of the list of my favorite matches… to me, that is not wrestling.”
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