Rob Van Dam felt personally "insulted" by WWE
Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam recently expressed feeling insulted by the company's booking of a specific championship in the past.
RVD joined WWE (then WWF) in 2001 and first appeared as a heel on the July 9 episode of RAW, attacking Kane and Chris Jericho. He went on to become one of the most popular names in the company, going toe-to-toe with industry veterans like The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, and The Undertaker.
On a recent episode of his 1 Of A Kind with RVD podcast, the legend said that he felt personally insulted by WWE as they were seemingly mocking ECW by booking the Hardcore Championship matches like a "joke."
"I was insulted by it until I got it [Hardcore Title]. I felt like they were making fun of us in ECW because we have this, in my opinion, [a] superior art form, making wrestling cool to people that aren't even wrestling fans," said Van Dam.
RVD added that the Hardcore Title matches in WWE were perceived by many as comedy segments:
"Then I would see the Hardcore title match on Monday Night RAW or whatever, and in my opinion, I thought they were making a joke out of it. RIP Crash Holly, but it pretty much meant the hot dog stand was gonna get tipped over (...) the Hardcore match was something to laugh at." [From 51:10 to 52:19]
Rob Van Dam further mentioned that he brought credibility to the Hardcore Championship, delivering some of the best matches on the card.
You can check out the full podcast below:
Former WWE Superstar Rob Van Dam recently made his AEW debut
Mr. Monday Night recently made a surprise appearance on this week's episode of AEW Dynamite. Alongside Jerry Lynn, he confronted Jack Perry after the latter claimed he had made the FTW Championship relevant.
Following the confrontation, the company announced a match between RVD and Jack Perry for next week's Dynamite. They will face each other next Wednesday for the FTW Championship.
RVD made a huge name for himself in the Stamford-based promotion by becoming one of its most decorated superstars. He will add another title to his resume if he manages to dethrone Perry.
What do you think about Rob Van Dam showing up in AEW? Let us know in the comments section below.
Please credit the 1 Of A Kind with RVD podcast and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling if you use quotes from the article's first half.