Rob Van Dam is enjoying his work in AEW.
WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam made his AEW debut on the August 2 episode of AEW Dynamite. He then faced Jack Perry on the August 9 episode. Rob Van Team returned on the September 23 episode of AEW Collision, where he teamed up with HOOK to defeat Angelo Parker and Matt Menard. The duo beat John Silver and Alex Reynolds on the October 25 episode of AEW Dynamite.
Speaking on his 1 Of A Kind podcast, Rob Van Dam discussed his latest match in AEW and shared his thoughts on teaming with HOOK.
“Thanks for watching me on AEW. I had a blast. I felt good, man. Felt good out there in the ring all the way through it, felt good afterwards. Then afterwards, I walked through and bam, there’s Ric Flair. I’m like, ‘What? What are you doing here, dude?’ I thought it was a really good show. Good energy. Always awesome to be in Philly. Every time I get in the ring, I’m feeling better and better. So that’s how it is. If you do it regularly, myself anyway, if I’m doing something regularly, then it’s like working on the craft, looking at it, to tweak, to do improvements, to show something I didn’t show last time, whatever. But when they’re all one-offs, there’s really not that much to put into it because it’s like, ‘Hey, people want to see you do the shit that they used to see you do.’ So show them, give them the Rolling Thunder, give them a Frog Splash. But it’s been cool to continuously be part of this momentum, and it looks like me and HOOK are kind of engaged now [laughs]. We could have a reason to see some more of RVD besides being such a damn good wrestler. So now it looks like I got a position of mentoring HOOK, and I’m enjoying that too. It’s really cool. I like him, and it’s really cool. It’s cool how the crowd takes to it because of Taz and me going way back," Rob Van Dam said.
Van Dam was then asked whether he is vibing more with HOOK backstage now. The legend joked that he gets along better with HOOK than he did with Taz. RVD also noted that everyone is respectful to him and says they watched him when they were kids.
“Yeah, I get along with him a lot better than I used to get along with his dad [laughs]. Took me 20 years to come along to being able to meet Taz on the same page and be able to talk. But no, HOOK is really cool and obviously already looked up to RVD. So that goes a long way when it comes to building a relationship. All the guys there are really respectful and cool, and everyone always says that. Fans too. ‘I grew up watching you.’ I know. Everybody did [laughs]," he said.
When asked whether he sees similarities between HOOK and Taz, Rob Van Dam noted that they are different, and he quipped that he forgets his partner came from Taz. He stated that HOOK stands on his own, and he focuses on their work as a team.
“Not really. Maybe a little bit in the move set. But I kind of forget that he came from Taz’s scrotum bag when I’m out there. He’s his own person, just like any of the wrestlers. Big personality, and I don’t mean he’s an extrovert, by any means. Quite the opposite. But what I mean is that he stands on his own, so when I’m teaming with him, I kind of forget about that. I’m not thinking about his dad. I’m just thinking about, ‘Boom, there’s HOOK my partner out there.’ He’s in trouble, tag me in. I’m fresh. Then afterwards, we’ll celebrate, and then dad comes to mind again a little bit," he said.
As of this writing, there is no word on when Rob Van Dam will return to AEW.
Rob Van Dam has said he likes the Smoke and Choke name for his team with HOOK. Check out his comments here.
Matt Riddle is set to to face Rob Van Dam in his first match since his WWE release. More information is available here.
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