WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam has revealed the real reason he decided to leave WWE in 2007, citing a loss of passion for wrestling and the need to focus on his personal well-being.
Speaking on his 1 Of A Kind With RVD podcast, Van Dam reflected on how his 30-day suspension and the forfeiture of both the WWE and ECW Championships—following his arrest alongside Sabu for marijuana possession—played a major role in his departure. He also felt that WWE’s version of ECW was nearing its end, further diminishing his motivation.
“I got suspended for 30 days, and then both championship belts were forfeited. Then I felt like ECW was in the toilet, swirling down the drain, and they wanted to flush it, so my passion was gone.”
Company executives attempted to persuade him to stay, offering him time off with the option to return, but Van Dam rejected the proposal, feeling that a guaranteed return date would prevent him from truly disconnecting.
“I said, ‘I’m finishing my contract, and then I need a break, I’m not going to re-sign.’ We talked many times about what it would take for me to re-sign, and I chose spirit first. They offered, ‘How about you sign for six months, or a year, and then come back?’ And I was like, ‘I can’t do it, I need to know what it felt like to be free in order to grow.’”
Van Dam admitted that he never ended up feeling ready to return full-time.
“I needed my spirit to be healthy again… but it never f**king happened.”
Since then, Van Dam has continued to wrestle on his own terms and did make a return to WWE in 2013 and still wrestles sporadically, with his last match taking place on an episode of AEW Dynamite on April 20, 2024.
Who Were Rob Van Dam’s Favourite ECW Opponents?
Rob Van Dam named his favourite big and little guy ECW opponents and for the bigger wrestler he named the legendary Bam Bam Bigelow as his favourite to work with. Van Dam then said for smaller opponents it would have to be a tossup between Little Guido and Spike Dudley.
In a new interview, Rob Van Dam explained why he will never retire.
H/t to TJRWrestling.net