Interview highlights with Rob Van Dam

ROB VAN DAM TALKS ABOUT WHEN HE WILL BE BACK IN THE RING, TURNING HEEL, WWE'S ROUGH TRAVEL SCHEDULE, ECW AND MORE
by Aaron Rift @ 5:57:00 PM on 4/2/2005


RVD talks about his injury status, ECW PPV, ECW/RVD DVDs, and much more

The 35th edition of Xtreme Mayhem Video with Mike Nagel and Jeff Meacham is now online! On this week's show, we have an exclusive video interview with everyone's favorite wrestler: Rob Van Dam!

Download the entire interview in video format (Windows Media Player required): .

- On his injury status: "I'm feeling very good, I feel like kicking somebody's ass. Based on everything the doctors have said, it's going to be another three-four months. The doctors told me six to twelve months, so I'm going with six because they don't know I'm in better shape than anybody they have ever seen before."

- Regarding a heel turn: "A lot of fans ask if I would ever turn heel. I don't know. I'm always the last one to know whatever is on the agenda. I make it a practice to do business that way. I feel it could be fun to be heel. However, I prefer to be a fan favorite because I get a lot of positive energy from the fans. I thrive on that in and out of the ring. I feel that turning heel would put a dark shade on my life. WWE tried to make me a heel by association. When I was a heel in ECW, it was not just by association, but I was also given the freedom to let my actions make me a heel and I did enjoy being a heel in ECW."

- On the travel schedule: "With ECW I would go to work, and then I would come back home sometimes. Now it's more like I go to work, and go to work, and go to work, and I'll stop by home briefly to change my clothes and say hello to my wife, then I'm back working again. Having the knee injury, it's the first time off I've had ever and it definitely has a silver lining to it."

- RVD spoke more about his injury: "I've been known for being tough and I doesn't get hurt often, and when I use the word hurt, it means I can't wrestle anymore. My knee has been shot for a quite few years. Two years ago a MRI basically said that I should quit wrestling and get surgery but I shrugged it off. Things were fine until a match in January with the Basham Brothers. My torn meniscus folded into my kneecap and it locked on it and I couldn't extend my leg anymore. I knew I was hurt and finished the match. When doctors said I couldn't wrestle, I went back to do the last television taping and at that point it didn't look like the injury wasn't going to get better on its own. Since the injury, I've been able to spend more time with my wife which is his favorite thing to do. I have also been able to spend a lot more time at 5 star comics which has definitely helped the store out. When I return, I will be looking forward to the "welcome back" feeling. It means a lot to me when fans tell me at the airport they can't wait to see me back."

- Regarding the ECW PPV: "I have been pushing the ECW PPV hard for the past year. Unlike the invasion, this will be 100% ECW action. Hard-core delivered, this will be for the fans that made the ECW DVD go for the roof. This is to totally entertain them. And it will feature only the ECW Alumni that were there back in the day that felt that energy and knew how to get it. He also thinks the Shane Douglas is great and he is happy to see ECW's spirit alive."

- On the WWE Hardcore Title: "My strong opinion was that they retired the belt because it started to mean more than anybody had planned. The belt used to represent the joke match where they tip over the hot dog stand, I showed them that hardcore is an extra element to add onto a good match, not take the place of. I don't know if it will be back, but I will always push for it to return."

- Regarding the ECW DVD: "No doubt my best matches were with Jerry Lynn. They were the best matches of my career. I think my favorite match with Lynn is the one on my DVD. We were both in top notch shape. There was the "welcome back" energy. We had all sorts of counters and moves that hadn't been done before. The only thing I didn't like was the run-in at the end. The DVD really did a great job of capturing my career here in the United States."

- If he would ever write a book: "I have no doubt that I'll be writing a book eventually. I feel that the best time to write the book though would be after my WWE career is over."

Download the entire interview in video format (Windows Media Player required): .