Rob Van Dam highlights some challenges that would come with it.
Unlike other major sports, wrestling has always stood apart, as there is no offseason. Wrestling companies run shows all year round. Fans have often wondered whether an offseason would work in the wrestling business.
Speaking on his 1 Of A Kind With RVD podcast, Rob Van Dam was asked whether an offseason in WWE would work.
“An offseason for wrestling, you wouldn’t get the same energy out of it. I don’t think that wrestlers can take time off. Here’s one of the rules of thumb or expressions in the business. They say that a wrestler’s worst enemy is time off. I’ve always heard that, and I take that to mean, especially from the wrestlers telling me that, that when they stop moving, that’s when all the pain sets in. They’re active, they’re bumping, they’re bumping every night they’re commissioned to go, and then when their job ends or they’re not getting booked or whatever and they stay home, then all of a sudden they’re feeling all the aches and pains, and then it’s not easy to go back and do it again. I think if they continued their lifestyle on the time off, then it could work," Van Dam said.
Van Dam also described how he stayed active between his matches, and this helped prevent him from feeling rusty, He stated that having too long of a break would be counterproductive, and he liked the idea of wrestlers potentially reporting to a ring during their time off.
"Even for me, I continue to be active for months in between matches. Most people couldn’t do that, I don’t think, the way that I can. I hear people say, ‘Oh, I’m feeling a little rusty tonight. What about you?’ ‘No.’ But I do feel better and more conditioned after day one, especially if it’s been a lot of time off and then a tour of Japan, let’s say, day one’s the hardest, day two, a little bit better, and then boom, pretty soon, you’re like, okay, I got the hang of it. You feel all the bumps and bruises from that first night. So it would be counter-conducive to give wrestlers time off in some ways, but it could work. But I think they would have to report to a ring…depending on their experience, at least a couple times a month, if not more, on the time off," Van Dam said.
Van Dam then noted that a brief period of time off could work, but he reiterated that a lot of wrestlers felt rusty after even a two-week break.
Click here to see what Rob Van Dam had to say about why he doesn't see himself doing commentary,
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