Rob Van Dam: A Lot Of The Guys At AEW Went Out Of Their Way To Make Me Feel Appreciated And Welcome

Rob Van Dam felt appreciated backstage at AEW.

WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam has wrestled for AEW multiple times. He returned to the company on the February 21 episode of AEW Dynamite, where he teamed up with Hangman Adam Page and HOOK to face Samoa Joe, Swerve Strickland, and Brian Cage.

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Speaking on 1 Of A Kind With RVD, Rob Van Dam commented on the match.

“It was good. It was a six-man tag, and those are complex with everyone trying to be in the right spot. There was a lot of chaotic energy to it, but it was fun. Crowd was awesome. Of course, RVD got the biggest pops ever," Rob Van Dam said.

Rob Van Dam was then asked about sharing the ring with Samoa Joe during the match. He noted that they did not get to wrestle as much as they would have in a singles bout, but he liked the match. Rob Van Dam went on to highlight how many of the wrestlers went out of their way backstage to make him feel appreciated.

“It was good. All those guys are good, but like I said, it was a little bit chaotic. I was in the ring with Joe, but it might have been a couple moves here and there, or it could have been a save or whatever. There was just so much going on. It’s not the same as being in there and wrestling around with somebody in the ring for a little bit, although that does happen. That is part of the match, people pair off and do that, but I don’t know. I guess I felt like I was in there for a long time, and people were taking turns whipping on me. But it was cool. Everyone’s good. Everyone at AEW, not everyone, but a lot of the guys really went out of their way to make me feel appreciated and welcome. They were like, ‘Hey, some of us might be a little apprehensive about coming up and telling you this, but we’re all so excited that you’re here and so stoked. It’s so cool.’ There was a few particular guys that said that. I’ll always remember that. That stands out. It definitely puts me in a definitely perspective than in WWE, where I kind of just felt replaceable, expendable, might be there next week, might not. I never knew how to feel [laughs]. I never knew if I was really being appreciated or not there because there was so much balance of different energies conflicting. Totally, no pressure [in AEW]," Rob Van Dam said.

Sabu was a guest on the podcast, and he noted that everyone treated him well backstage when he was at AEW.

Click here to see what Rob Van Dam had to say about HOOK.

Fightful will have live coverage of AEW Dynamite as it airs on February 28.

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