Rob Van Dam recently spoke with Ryan Satin of FOX Sports to discuss his 2021 WWE Hall of Fame induction, which was officially announced by WWE this morning. RVD says he is honored to go into the WWE Hall, noting that fans have been calling him a future Hall of Famer for years.
“It’s a pretty awesome feeling. Just like you probably would imagine, it feels like I’m being acknowledged and appreciated for my body of work,” RVD said. “It feels very good. I’m honored. Fans have] been calling me future Hall of Famer for years and I always just shrug and say, ‘All right, man. As long as you think so.’
“But, glad to be among the chosen few this year. I’m glad for me and for all the fans. I feel like them being behind me and wanting to see this happen is a win for them as well.”
RVD revealed that WWE’s Head of Talent Relations, John Laurinaitis, is the one who called him with the news of his induction. He and Laurinaitis were close with each other when a young RVD worked for All Japan Pro Wrestling years ago.
“I’ve known him since 93, because I used to wrestle with him in Japan,” RVD said of Laurinaitis. “From ’93 to ’97, I spent many, many long hours on long bus rides, sitting in cold arenas in the winter, hot in the summer and ferry boat rides. We did a lot of traveling around Japan that time. You get to know somebody a little better when you’re stuck with them all the time like that. So, I’m proud to call Johnny a friend, and it was really cool to get the call from him.”
The 2020 and 2021 WWE Hall of Fame Classes will be inducted during WrestleMania 37 Week on Tuesday, April 6. RVD commented on going in with other names like JBL, The Bella Twins, The British Bulldog, Jushin Thunder Liger, the nWo (Hulk Hogan, Scott Hall, Kevin Nash, Sean Waltman), Eric Bischoff, Molly Holly, Kane and The Great Khali. He recalled watching Liger vs. Brian Pillman years ago.
“I think that the whole list is a bunch of characters,” RVD said. “We all represent images that people can translate into their minds, fill in all the blanks, and then figure out that they know each of us.
“Having said that, I think about when I was getting into wrestling watching Jushin ‘Thunder’ Liger wrestling against Brian Pillman, for one. They just opened up my mind to a whole new kind of wrestling, because I wasn’t seeing that with the limited amount of wrestling that I had been exposed to that early on. They really helped me think outside the box of what could really be done with some athleticism.”
The 50 year old RVD recently had a run with Impact Wrestling, but made it clear that fans wanting one more full-time run with WWE should not hold their breath, if WWE resumes a normal touring schedule in a post-pandemic world. He did seem open to the idea of making some sort of comeback.
“There is definitely some pros and cons to the thought,” RVD said of a WWE return. “I enjoy showing off in the ring. I enjoy very much getting that love and energy from the crowd, looking around seeing the RVD signs. That’s a high for sure, and RVD is all about highs.”
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