TNA’s Rob Van Dam continues to excite crowds

Meet RVD at Comic-Con, NWA Legends Fanfest
By Scott Fishman
Miami Herald Writer

Amid the young, high flying talent on the TNA roster, Rob Van Dam prides himself in continually creating his own level of excitement, something he established from his days in the original ECW.

This point was further proven in his standout bout with former ECW rival Jerry Lynn at the TNA Destination X pay-per-view on Sunday, July 10 at Universal Studios Orlando.

“I was very pleased with the match as was Jerry Lynn,” Van Dam said. “We had a competitive bout as we’ve always did. That same spirit that used to drive us for our matches before definitely came out. We haven’t wrestled since 2001. It has been quite a while, but we were able to pick right up and feel that chemistry together.

“According to the reports from the office, our match was off the charts. Especially for what they wanted the focus to be on right now and what they want the young guys to pick up and learn. I was super happy with the match. Jerry and I know the more we wrestle each other, the better the match gets.”

Van Dam excited the ECW faithful with his acrobatic moves and unorthodox style. Today it’s not hard to find younger pro wrestlers using similar high risk maneuvers to get a reaction. However, to the man from Battle Creek, Michigan, there is only one RVD.

“Before, my style was considered a pioneer style that people weren’t exposed to, but now even on a pay-per-view like Destination X, everyone is flying and flipping,” Van Dam said. “It’s the nature of that division. There are a lot of wrestlers who have been influenced by those earlier matches. Especially those matches that Jerry Lynn and I had in the 1990s. I don’t feel like right now, even after being in the business for as long as I have, anyone wrestles like me. I still stand out. Nobody does most of my RVD moves.

“The truth is a lot of it is because they can’t. Some of it is out of respect. A lot of it is because normal people can’t jump off the apron and do a 360-degree spin in the air, then come back on one leg, with the other leg coming down on somebody on the guard rail. Normal people can’t do that. Normal wrestlers can’t do that, or they will get injured. That is still one of the things that set me apart. That’s not going to change.”

With more than 20 years of success in the business, one would think the young risk takers of today would line up to seek Van Dam for advice or feedback. He says that is not the case.

“I feel like I get respect, but not in that way,” Van Dam said. “I’m open to it. Most of the guys, I don’t know if they don’t feel welcome to ask me or any of the other veterans or what. That is probably an issue that we have is the young guys should ask some of the older guys. They should be saying, ‘Hey, watch my match. Let me know what I can improve on.’

“That never happens enough. Some of the young guys who are or were there, I don’t want to mention any names. There were two young guys who just left and looked like they were out of high school. The whole time they were there, they never introduced themselves or shook my hand. Things are way different than they used to be.”

Van Dam remembers the ECW locker room being a wealth of knowledge from different eras and backgrounds. He often took what the veterans told him to heart and used it to make him a better performer.

“They were there for that,” Van Dam said. “Bam Bam Bigelow and some of these veterans who were around a long time were there. That was part of the combination of ECW. There were young guys who were created and haven’t been anywhere. Then there were wrestlers like me who were in between. They had experience and traveled around the world but hadn’t been molded into a superstar yet. That’s kind of what ECW was all about. The veterans and the young guys were working together. That is how you learn.”

Van Dam emerged as one of the most popular wrestlers in the industry, holding championships everywhere he has gone. In TNA, he won the heavyweight championship in a matter of months after debuting in 2010. Despite a short run with the gold, RVD doesn’t necessarily feel the company has truly tapped into his potential to contribute.

“I can’t say that I have been utilized to the fullest,” Van Dam said. “I’d say very much not, but I don’t want that to come off as a complaint because I really like my deal with TNA. I’m very professional and there for whatever they need me to do. Having said that, I still care about my character and my career, and I’m very easy to get along with.

“Hopefully that rubs off on a professional basis. I’m not one guy to complain that they should be doing this with me or that. I will offer some ideas up, and at the same time, give my opinion to the writer and stuff like that. It doesn’t do any good to throw out that negativity out there. Everyone has a job do.

“I feel like if I were to complain about, say the writing for instance in a public forum, I don’t see that as any different as ‘stooging off’ in any other place of employment. If you work at a grocery store, and are, say, a cashier, and if you tell the manager of the grocery store that the guy stocking the shelves or bagging the groceries isn’t doing a good job, then you are kind of a stooge.”

RVD isn’t one to complain, but he does have one aspect of the business model he thinks his employer should put more focus: brand recognition.

“We don’t have it,” Van Dam said. “We have less than a handful of third party licensees, where as the big companies like with WCW there were a lot more. When they were around, they had a couple a hundred licensees. We need to get the TNA Impact Wrestling brand out there.

“The most common comment I hear every day from fans that spot me for the first time at a restaurant, mall or beach. The one comment I get is, ‘RVD, you’re my favorite wrestler. What happened? Are you not wrestling anymore? Why did you retire?’ I get that all the time.

“It’s not a bad downside for the deal I have, but it’s something I put up with. I’m always like an ambassador. I would say, ‘You got Spike TV? The show is on Thursday nights at 9.’

“That tells me there is a void there, where a lot of wrestling fans have yet to catch onto this product. Brand recognition is so important. When I was with WWE, people would have me sign merchandise that I didn’t even know existed. I would go, ‘What the f---? There is an RVD outlet cover for your wall? I had no idea.’

“With TNA, unfortunately right now, we are dealing with T-shirts, action figures, trading cards and then a few key chains or something. That is all we got. We have a handheld game, I guess. I don’t think that many people know about it. Then we have a big void. I’m hoping at this weekend at the Comic-Con in San Diego that the TNA office will meet some third party licensees.”

For Van Dam, the brand marketing goes beyond merchandising. It’s also about building a brand with the talent and promoting the programming everywhere.

“TNA sounds like t--- and a--, which they have rebranded into Impact Wrestling,” Van Dam said.

“That’s a Spike TV, big network decision, I believe. So go with it. Pump it out there. Put Impact Wrestling commercials on other channels, and not when you are watching the damn show. It was like when ECW was on TNN. The only commercial for the show that they would show all week is during the actual ECW show. We need to do things different than that.”

Social media has become an important part of everyday life. Pro wrestling is no different. RVD utilizes Twitter, Facebook and other avenues to promote himself, as well as interact with his loyal followers.

“Anywhere in the entertainment business, it’s about your fan base,” Van Dam said. “It’s about knowing where your fans are, who your fans are and then connecting with them. You can definitely have a full career of professional wrestling just by traveling from town to town, having the matches, getting paid and just partying the rest of the time. That is an option. One of the reasons for being an entertainer is it can be a good job.

“I often wonder why I even bother to rack my brain in between being consumed by the actual job. Why do I spend time on my website, do an RVD TV show, RVD radio, write a blog or any of the hundred projects that are writing or production projects. This is how I tick. It’s how my brain works. I like to keep myself overwhelmed with projects. I have some projects that have been on the table for 10 years that are still making movement.

“You don’t have to go that way, but it can be important. Fans want to have a fan page or a Facebook page they can comment to, but at the same time, it’s not necessary. I looked on Facebook last night. I saw so many fake Rob Van Dam profile pages. I thought, ‘Nobody knows if this is really me or not.’ People are leaving comments on these pages or following them, excited they are connecting with me, when it’s just a fan trying to be me.

“You can’t control that to a certain extent, but it is out there. The Internet is as important in this profession as it is in any profession.”

The Internet wrestling community has recently been infatuated with CM Punk and the direction of WWE the last few weeks. The Punk storyline has an edge very reminiscent of what RVD and the other stars of ECW were doing in the mid-1990s.

“I haven’t seen anything that has been happening, but I’ve definitely heard feedback from other wrestlers or fans who were excited by the promo that CM Punk cut on Vince and everybody,” Van Dam said.

“Just by hearing everybody all stirred up, it reminded me of some aggressive times in the past. They definitely seem like they are trying to shake things up a bit. It seems like the opposite of what they were doing to be kid friendly. That seems to be a big difference. They also took their wrestling out, where TNA says, ‘Wrestling Matters. Don’t take the wrestling out and tell the wrestling fans there is no wrestling. They are wrestling fans.’

“They are taking advantage of that, and we are not just aiming to kids. They like to use the term a----- when Ken [Anderson] is out there. They seem to like little references to RVD’s cultural interests to mother earth. There are things that TNA likes to do that you don’t see on WWE shows. I think that is part of it.

“The whole thing with CM Punk, hopefully, they will make some money off of it. It sounds like they made a noise that rocked the whole industry. It’s something that doesn’t happen too often.”

The veteran believes there can be a happy medium between PG and still catching the attention of other audiences.

“It’s professional wrestling. So there will always be concerns, if it’s the right thing for kids to watch, and should I have my little child watching this, when this is going on,” Van Dam said.

“Should I have my child watching a woman being beat up by men? That is always going to be a parental call, if they want something like this to be exposed to their kid or not. Either way, no matter how friendly you make it or censor the language, it’s still two guys beating each other up in the ring.”

• NWA Legends Fanfest

Van Dam will join more than 100 wrestling stars for the NWA Legends Fanfest Aug. 4-7 at Atlanta’s Airport Marriott Hotel. Festivities include photo ops, autograph signings, live wrestling, question and answer sessions and more.

“Greg Price, who is running the show, is a very good friend of mine,” Van Dam said. “I’ve always wanted to make it to the NWA Fanfest, but every year I’m always booked, and it has never been possible. I’ve always heard from the fans everywhere asking if I will be there. This year I can tell them I will be there. It’s a huge event.

“You have the wrestling shows, but on top of that, there are up-close and personal times where you get to meet the wrestlers. Compared to a WWE show where you’re sitting in the 17th row and they think the superstar heard their name because he shouted it out that one time. This event you get to talk to the wrestlers, get pictures, share stories with them and get their autograph. It’s an intimate atmosphere.”

The wrestling conventions elicits fond memories of when he was a fan growing up.

“I had forgotten being an enthusiastic fan until I found my old photo album,” Van Dam said. “I was a 14 or 15-year-old, when I would wait in front of the Kellogg Center [Michigan State University] when wrestling would come to town.

“Even though the show would start at 8, I’d have to get there at 2 p.m. when the wrestlers were pulling up. They had to park across the street to get into the arena, so I used to bug the s--- out of them for autographs and get my picture taken with them while they are carrying their bags. These are guys who are my friends and who I work with now.

“There are pictures with me and the Hart Foundation, The Bulldogs, Ultimate Warrior, Jim Duggan, Rick Rude and most of the guys from the mid-1980s. I was definitely what I would call a stalker.

“Every fan wants you to remember them. I remember one night in particular Bret ‘Hitman’ Hart was there, and I was a huge fan of his. So after the show ended, he walked to a bar in the hotel that was attached to the arena. I waited until around 1:30 in the morning until he finally signed.

“Jim ‘The Anvil’ Neidhart and the others would tell me he wouldn’t sign and to go home. I was persistent so when he was leaving the bar I was there, like a little pest saying, ‘Bret, can I get your autograph?’ I think I still may have it. I like to collect. I am a collector slash hoarder. I’m trying to get better about that, but stuff like that means a lot.”

For more information on the convention, visit nwalegends.com.

• RVD also will be part of the TNA and Spike TV contingent attending Comic-Con, which occurs July 21-24 in San Diego.

He is set to make some sort of announcement during the weekend. The busy entertainer also expects to officially announce his next action movie in the near future.

• Get the latest on Rob Van Dam by visiting robvandam.com.