Rob Van Dam was honored by the kind words shared with him by Vince McMahon and Triple H at WWE's Hall of Fame ceremony.
Speaking on a special WrestleMania edition of After The Bell, RVD detailed his experience as one of 2021's inductees. During his Hall of Fame speech, Van Damn talked about how people's perception and value of themselves can be informed by what others say about them. He is appreciative of all the kind words everyone has been saying about him, including one special interaction with Vince McMahon and Triple H. Here is what happened:
"One thing that I want to mention that was the highest honor, at the ceremony, [was] when I talked to Vince and to Triple H. We were getting our photos taken, they both told me that I changed the style of wrestling. I mean, wow. That's huge to hear that from them, and of course, I jokingly said, 'For better or worse?' They both said, 'For better,' and said that people that are trying to emulate me now are dangerous [laughs]. I'll always remember that. I would like to think that, that I was impactful on the style. Now it's hard for wrestlers to stand out just by doing moves that are different because now that's kind of a thing, to be a gymnast and do incredible moves."
Rob Van Dam was a staple of WWE's Ruthless Aggression Era, winning multiple Intercontinental and Tag Team Championships, as well as the WWE and ECW World Championships.
Outside of WWE, Van Dam built his legacy in Extreme Championship Wrestling as one of their stand-out wrestlers. After his time in WWE came to an end, Van Dam continued to cement his status as an all-time great in TNA Wrestling (now IMPACT), capturing their World Title.