Rob Van Dam pushed for WWE to bring back ECW in 2005. He got his wish in the form of One Night Stand, which featured ECW originals up and down the card.
Unfortunately, Van Dam was injured at the time and could not compete at the event. He did make an appearance in front of the Hammerstein Ballroom crowd, cutting a promo and saying missing One Night Stand was worse than missing WrestleMania.
Speaking to Ryan Satin on Out of Character, Van Dam recalled his promo that night and how he was able to air some frustrations over his WWE spot.
"That was a complete shoot about how I felt at the time," he said. "Now, looking back at the big picture, I look at it a little different. The more I'm alive and learn about life, I still appreciate that perspective I came from and that was integrity and what the fans enjoyed, but I can look at the overall business in the big picture now. When I'm in that mindset and so competitive, I'm thinking, 'this position should be mine and I should be the guy. You shouldn't bump me off events for the Coors Light girls.' All that stuff came into my mind. 'If they wanted to get their investment out of me and they aren't doing this with me,' a lot of those frustrations are part of the job. Looking more at that now and knowing how everything turned out and how I wasted time on negative energy and thoughts and being stubborn in certain areas, when I look at it now, everything had its place and everybody, whether I looked up to them or thought they were stealing some of my TV time, I look at everything different now. It's a big and wonderful business. I'm so glad to be a big part of it. This crowning moment, the Hall of Fame, puts credibility onto my body of work. It's someone no one can take from me. Looking back, even though I have a more mature perspective, I don't know if I would have changed a thing because I'm so happy and life is so great. I hope everyone else enjoys life."
RVD would find redemption a year later when he won the WWE Championship at One Night Stand 2006 from John Cena.
During his time in WWE, RVD shared the ring with legends like Steve Austin, The Undertaker, and The Rock. And he's thankful that footage lives because he doesn't always remember those matches.
"It was awesome, I was wrestling Stone Cold, Kurt Angle, Undertaker, The Rock, all those guys. Thank God a lot of it is on YouTube or the Network or Peacock because some of it, I actually don't remember. I'm watching it like, 'I'll be damned.' I had no idea," he said.
RVD was inducted to the WWE Hall of Fame class of 2021 during WrestleMania 37 week.
Elsewhere during the interview, RVD commented on a potential full-time return to WWE. You can find his full comments by clicking here.
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