Pro wrestling icon Rob Van Dam has been part of nearly every promotion of the last few decades and now he’s opened up about what it would take to get him back to All Elite Wrestling.
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In a recent episode of his “1 Of A Kind With RVD” podcast, Van Dam answered a question about whether he could still wrestle with AEW and was quite candid about what it would take: money.
“Can I still wrestle in AEW? As far as I know,” Van Dam said. “There’s no reason that I know of that I can’t. If there is a reason, then I don’t know about it. I don’t know that it would be [the] best move for me right now, but at the same time, money talks, and it’s a great motivator when it comes to going to work.”
Wrestler Rob Van Dam attends the 420 Expo Cannabis Convention at New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center on September 16, 2022 in Edison, New Jersey.
Wrestler Rob Van Dam attends the 420 Expo Cannabis Convention at New Jersey Convention and Exposition Center on September 16, 2022 in Edison, New Jersey.
Bobby Bank/Getty Images
RVD made his debut in AEW in August of 2023, appearing on Dynamite to challenge FTW Champion Jack Perry on behalf of his longtime rival, Jerry Lynn.
In the following week’s Dynamite, Van Dam unsuccessfully contested Perry for the FTW title in an FTW Rules match. He later teamed with Hook and “Hangman” Adam Page in a losing effort against AEW World Champion Samoa Joe and the Mogul Embassy (Strickland and Brian Cage) on Dynamite.
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Outside of AEW, he made notable appearances on WWE SmackDown and NXT during 2024.
Van Dam was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2021, an experience he has described as both a huge honor and “disappointing” due to COVID-19 restrictions.
“The fact that it was during COVID,” Van Dam said. “And we didn’t have a crowd was kind of disappointing after going to [the] Hall of Fame for so many years and watching the really long speeches.”
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RVD has also recently spoken positively about his experiences with AEW and company founder Tony Khan, so the exact amount of money it would take is up for interpretation.
“From my experience, Tony [Khan] is just a really nice guy,” RVD said on his podcast. “He’s happy to be there. He comes across like a friend, like he’s genuine, like he’s really, really appreciative.”
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“I feel like the boys [at AEW] seem to have so much control, and a desire to take the product in a different direction,” Van Dam continued.”And so I think that’s what they’re going to get judged by a lot, is whether that kind of product is inferior and if the other kind of product — more mainstream — is superior. And it really has always been that way in the past. I say that myself, being kind of a wrestler with a niche following.”
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Rob Van Dam Reveals What It Would Take To Rejoin AEW
