Rob Van Dam isn't fond of Madison Square Garden.
Madison Sqaure Garden, also known as MSG, is arguably the most notable wrestling venue in the history of professional wrestling. Over the years, the venue has hosted a number of major shows, including various WrestleMania and Survivor Series events, as well as a number of television tapings. In 2019, the venue also hosted a dual branded pay-per-view for Ring Of Honor & New Japan Pro Wrestling.
Throughout his historic career, Rob Van Dam has wrestled in Madison Sqaure Garden on a handful of occasions. Notably, on a 2002 episode of Raw, Van Dam defeated Tommy Dreamer in a Intercontinental Championship/Hardcore Championship Unification match.
On the latest episode of his 1 Of A Kind podcast, Van Dam was asked about competing in Madison Square Garden over the years. 'The Whole F'n Show' proceeded to note that he isn't very fond of the venue for a number of reasons.
“I think I’m gonna get heat for not sharing that opinion. What I remember from it was the dressing room was overcrowded, I think there’s like one toilet for everybody to use. I just remember being overcrowded. I loved being in the city and the energy and everything, but I remember specifically feeling like I was one of the only ones that didn’t have that super mark out, nostalgia vibe going so I felt a little left out.”
Van Dam went on to say Madison Square Garden is the type of building that has owners that are just interested in making money, not taking care of the talent that perform in the arena.
“Just the way I remember it. Sometimes you’d be surprised, even in a big multi million dollar production like that, you’d be surprised at how many rooms are so small that you just got to drop your bag off and leave and only [a few] people at a time can actually get dressed and they have to make room for other people. I remember MSG being like that. A lot of times, I always felt like the flesh peddlers were probably laughing at us and what we do and what we do it for, and the conditions they put us under and what we are doing to ourselves as jobs — and the flesh peddlers are probably laughing at, because they’re the ones making the money. I’ve always had that perspective and MSG is one of those buildings that puts me back into that mindset, like it’s not about taking care of us, it’s about them making money.”
WWE last hosted a show in Madison Sqaure Garden on Friday, July 7, 2023. That show, which was a live taping of SmackDown, was headlined by a singles bout between Edge and Grayson Waller.
In a seperate recent interview, Van Dam compared Tony Khan and Vince McMahon. Fans can see the full quote by clicking here.
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