'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
WWE Chairman Vince McMahon has opened up about his decision to strip Rob Van Dam (RVD) of both the WWE Championship and the ECW Championship.
On July 2, 2006, RVD and fellow wrestler Sabu were pulled over by a police officer for speeding. The officer arrested both men after illegal substances were found in their car.
The latest episode of the WWE Network show WWE Icons tells the story of RVD’s legendary career. Vince McMahon recalled how he was left with little choice but to suspend RVD and take both titles away from him after the arrest:
“It was so disappointing, and I was personally upset over Rob’s actions because I thought he was above that,” he said. “Obviously, as soon as that happens, you have to be concerned with the way the company looks, and Rob was not Champion for much longer.”
Within two days of RVD's arrest, Vince McMahon had already booked new WWE and ECW Champions. Edge won the WWE Championship on the July 3, 2006 episode of RAW, while The Big Show became the new ECW Champion one day later.
RVD’s conversation with Vince McMahon after his arrest
Vince McMahon relaunched ECW as a weekly WWE show on June 13, 2006. RVD held the WWE Championship and ECW Championship during the show’s first three weeks on television, making him the brand’s top attraction.
RVD said Vince McMahon personally told him about his 30-day suspension and the decision to have him lose both titles:
“When I got to the building, Vince told me, ‘Rob, tonight you’re going to be stripped of your WWE Championship. Tomorrow, you’ll be stripped of the ECW Championship,’” RVD said. “He also said, ‘You’re gonna be suspended for 30 days.’ I knew that I had seriously dropped the ball on some major plans for WWE and for ECW.”
Former ECW owner Paul Heyman said in the documentary that RVD being a “stoner” was hardly a secret backstage in WWE. However, he admitted that the timing of his arrest “was just all wrong.”
Please credit WWE Icons and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.
