WWE legend got offended by Bruce Prichard seemingly telling him to work harder if he wanted to replace John Cena
John Cena might have been WWE's poster boy for more than a decade, but the company did have a few stars who they thought could replace the Franchise Player. Rob Van Dam recalled a conversation with Bruce Prichard before WWE gave him a world title push.
RVD's only world title victory in WWE came against John Cena at ECW One Night Stand in 2006. It was a huge moment that made Van Dam a main-event star and showed that WWE trusted him to be a top guy.
Behind the scenes, several high-ranking officials tried to prepare RVD for the spot as John Cena was scheduled to take some time off to film The Marine.
Bruce Prichard was tasked with the job of telling RVD about WWE's plans, which included the superstar being elevated to the next level in the pecking order. While speaking on his 1 of a Kind podcast, here's what RVD recalled about his chat with Prichard:
"He says, 'Hey Rob, you're doing really good here, and they're really happy with you.' 'Oh, cool. That's awesome. I'm enjoying it.' He says, 'Yeah, John Cena is going to be leaving in October. He's going to be working on The Marine and doing this movie. So it's going to be gone for a while. And I was like, 'Oh, okay.' And he realized I didn't get what he was saying. And he said, 'Yeah, so this is a good chance for you to fill that spot, on that next level, put you in that position.'" (H/T Wrestling Writing)
ROB VAN DAM WINS THE WWE CHAMPIONSHIP AGAINST JOHN CENA (2006) https://t.co/SvbbjENeRn
RVD admitted that he couldn't grasp what Prichard actually meant and thought the longtime pro wrestling executive was urging him to work harder.
The superstar might have mistaken Prichard's comments and felt that the former manager was undermining his efforts on TV.
RVD continued:
"I was like, 'Cool,' you know? And he was like, 'Yeah. So it's a good time for you to really do what it takes to get up there, and I got offended, and I was like, 'Are you telling me that I don't work hard enough?…Do you not see me work my ass off in the ring? What else do I have to do?'"
Rob Van Dam on thinking WWE officials wanted him to indulge in backstage politics
As noted earlier, RVD revealed that apart from Prichard, Stephanie McMahon and a few others advised him to build a relationship with Vince McMahon if he wished to be the face of the promotion.
At the time, the 52-year-old didn't understand what they meant and was under the misconception that he had to politic his way to the top. The company eventually gave Rob Van Dam a healthy push, which unfortunately ended due to a 30-day suspension due to an arrest for drug possession.
"I didn't get it. You know? I didn't get it. I thought they were telling me that I had to politic, and maybe they were, maybe it was the right thing to do, but I didn't get it," claimed the WWE Hall of Famer.
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