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What's the story?
Rob Van Dam was one of the most popular superstars in both ECW and later in WWE. His high-flying style meshed well with the extreme nature of ECW.
Once he got to WWE, however, things changed a little, and RVD revealed what Mr. McMahon once told him regarding taking chair shots to the head. SEScoops.com carried transcripts of RVD's interview with X-Pac's 1, 2, 360 Podcast.
In case you missed it . . .
Along with Sabu, RVD was a mainstay in ECW during the 1990s until it went defunct later in the decade.
He went on to even more success in the WWE, becoming the first man to concurrently hold both the ECW Heavyweight Championship and the WWE Championship.
The heart of the matter
ECW was literally the home of hardcore matches in the 1990s. But once ECW folded, WWE began to incorporate certain stars (RVD, Sandman) and certain aspects of the company into their own inner workings.
WWE adopted the One Night Stand PPV for one year as well as an annual Extreme Rules PPV. Since RVD did things one way in ECW, it wasn't a surprise that he had to adjust to the WWE styles, as all new wrestlers to the company must do.
He recalled a conversation he had with 'the Chairman' one time about taking chair shots to the head and how McMahon reacted.
Van Dam says that after a match, McMahon met him at the gorilla position and said 'Rob, when your're taking those chair shots, you put your hands up.'
Since he fashioned himself a tough guy due to his time in ECW, Van Dam initially brushed off McMahon's words, saying that putting his hands up 'was for the other guys', causing McMahon to insist RVD take his advice.
Van Dam once again retorted that "that's how I've been doing it for years," but once Mr. McMahon uttered the following words, RVD finally complied.
'The Chairman' said "Rob, listen I am your father telling you, put your hands up." Once he heard McMahon say that, RVD agreed to put his hands up in the future.
What's next?
Although RVD fashioned himself tougher than a lot of the other Superstars, McMahon was telling him how to do things the safest possible way.
It sounded like RVD was more focused on authenticity, but after all of the recent studies over the last decade regarding the effects of impact to the head, 'Mr. Monday Night' probably should have heeded those words a lot sooner in his career.
