"I felt a little sorry for him" - Rob Van Dam reveals his initial reaction to Paul Heyman joining WWE

Former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam recently revealed his initial reaction to Paul Heyman joining WWE, when Heyman appeared on commentary on Monday Night RAW in 2001.

Van Dam has had a close relationship with Paul Heyman and both of them made their names in ECW which was run by Heyman. It was where Van Dam truly got on the radar of big wrestling promotions.

However, at the dawn of the new millennium, ECW wasn't doing well and was sold, as Heyman soon jumped ship to WWE. On the That 90's Wrestling Podcast, Rob Van Dam revealed what his initial reaction was to Paul Heyman joining WWE.

"I kinda felt- in a way I think I felt a little sorry for him because I believed that he really didn't wanna be there and that things had come to that. I didn't know he was getting paid by them all along, otherwise I would have had a different perspective. I thought this man is eating his hat as they used to say it. And I thought what other choices does he have? There's no ECW, I didn't know if WWE had bought WCW at that point or were purchasing it, but either way things had come to that, so I kinda felt sorry for him. Man, he would tell us, the Paul that we knew would never do this, never do this. And there he is, and I just thought man, that just makes him like everyone else. He needs a job but there was a lot more going on behind the scenes than I knew."

It's Friday you know what that means.I wanna say a big thank you to @TherealRVD for coming onto the show to Talk about @RVDCBDHis legendary matches with @itsjerrylynnWorking with Undertaker,His Feud with HHH& Much More📽️https://t.co/0zmQqPBxQr🎧https://t.co/eSbjceCVTe pic.twitter.com/PjPZuVmo8N

— That 90's Wrestling Podcast🎙️ (@90sWrestlingPod) February 26, 2021

There was huge controversy surrounding the whole situation, as it is believed that Paul Heyman never informed the ECW roster about the fact that the company was going bankrupt.

Rob Van Dam also followed and joined WWE after ECW was purchased

Rob Van Dam in WWE

After the demise of ECW, WWE offered many wrestlers a short-term contract for the Invasion angle that took place in 2001. WWE management soon realized the talent that Rob Van Dam possessed and signed him for good.

Mr. Monday Night went on to have an outstanding career in WWE, gaining popularity in the Ruthless Aggression Era. He was one of the most famous WWE wrestlers at the time.

👍 @TherealRVD 👍 put his #MITB contract at stake against @Sheltyb803’s #ICTitle in a back-and-forth affair at #WWEBacklash 2006! @WWENetwork https://t.co/WNDMI3E0ZM pic.twitter.com/8nvnXDjmmM

— WWE (@WWE) June 13, 2020

Rob Van Dam even went on to win the WWE Championship later in his career. He has done it all in WWE and is now semi retired at the age of 50, after leaving Impact Wrestling in September of last year.