Former WWE star intentionally botched moves during matches, says Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam is a former WWE Champion.
Rob Van Dam is a former WWE Champion

One of WWE's most experienced and respected stars, Rob Van Dam, recently spoke about his former ECW colleague Sabu.

RVD and Sabu made big names for themselves in the late '90s as part of Extreme Championship Wrestling. The duo became popular due to their athletic moves and violent in-ring style.

On a recent episode of his 1 of a Kind podcast, RVD said that Sabu botched certain moves to add a sense of realism to his matches.

"He would do that [botch moves], and he would tell me he is gonna do it. And then I would see the write-up, and they would be criticizing him, saying that he missed a bunch of spots because it was so different,” Van Dam said. “It wouldn’t even, it wouldn’t fit in. And the only reason to do it would be, ‘Hey, that would happen.’"

The Hall of Famer also stated that Sabu wanted to make even the most hardcore fans question the match's authenticity.

"You know, but everyone’s gonna think he f*cked up. So he would do that for no reason. Like boom, set me up [sic] chair top rope. He would slip and, like, fall to the floor, and everyone would be like, ‘What just happened?’ And he wanted that realism and wanted to work the people in the moment so much that, you know, sacrificed some of his credibility with certain marks," RVD added. (H/T WrestleZone)

Having been away from the business for the past four years, Sabu recently made a surprise return as he debuted in AEW. The legend aided Adam Cole in the latter's feud with Chris Jericho.


Rob Van Dam on Sabu's AEW debut

It is fair to say that Sabu's surprise appearance for All Elite Wrestling was one of the most shocking wrestling moments of 2023 so far.

On the same podcast episode, Rob Van Dam stated that he was among the select few who knew about the ECW legend's debut beforehand.

"I knew that he was gonna be debuting on Wednesday, and then after that, I guess I knew that he was gonna be part of Sunday [All In 2023].”

Rob Van Dam also returned to WWE TV recently as he and many other legends took part in announcing various picks during the 2023 WWE Draft.

Who is the most extreme WWE star of all time? Give us your thoughts in the comments section below.

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