Rob Van Dam joins Ryan Satin on ‘Out of Character’
By Ryan Satin
FOX Sports WWE Analyst
"Out of Character with Ryan Satin" got extreme this episode, with one of WWE’s newest Hall of Fame inductees.
Former WWE champion Rob Van Dam joined the show this week to chat about his legendary career and open up about being inducted into the HOF beside other famous wrestling stars such as the nWo, Kane, JBL, The British Bulldog and Jushin "Thunder" Liger.
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RVD also talked about his initial reaction to seeing ECW for the first time on TV, how he got into the promotion, the genius of Paul Heyman and what he thought about his iconic TV title reign.
For WWE fans, Van Dam will most be remembered for his run in the company from 2001 to 2007, when he became a Grand Slam Champion by winning the WWE, Intercontinental, European, Hardcore and Tag Team titles.
His inclusion in the Invasion angle upon his WWE debut famously led to matches among the likes of "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle and other WWE mainstays at the time.
RVD then became so focused on getting to the top of WWE that it led to some frustrations within. In hindsight, though, RVD has a different attitude toward the whole thing.
"Now, looking back at the big picture, I look at it a little different because the more I’m alive, the more I learn about life," he said on this week’s show. "I still appreciate the perspective I came from and everything, that was integrity, and that was what the fans enjoyed."
"I can look at the overall business a little bit with a bigger picture now because when I’m in the mindset, so competitive, I’m thinking, ‘This position should be mine. I should be the guy. You shouldn’t bump me off for that.’ All that stuff in my mind was like, hey, if they want to get their investment out of me, then why aren’t they doing this with me?
"A lot of those frustrations are, I guess, just a part of the job, but looking at it from where I’m at now, and knowing how everything turned out – and how I probably wasted time on negative energy, thoughts and being stubborn in certain areas – when I look at it overall like that, I’m glad everything had its place."
Check out the full episode for more on Rob's true self in real life vs. the character he plays on TV, more ECW discussion and what it would take for a WWE return.
Ryan Satin is a WWE analyst for FOX Sports. Satin previously appeared on FS1's "WWE Backstage" and founded Pro Wrestling Sheet, where he broke countless news stories as editor-in-chief.