WWE legend says he was "very offended" by a Paul Heyman booking decision
Rob Van Dam (RVD) has opened up about Paul Heyman’s initial decision to leave him off the ECW Barely Legal card.
The event, which took place in April 1997, was ECW’s first pay-per-view. RVD had been left off the show before he was drafted in as a replacement for the injured Chris Candido. The high-flyer went on to defeat Lance Storm in a 10-minute match.
The latest episode of "WWE Icons" focused on RVD’s legendary wrestling career, and when he discussed Barely Legal, RVD made it clear that he was unhappy with ECW owner Paul Heyman for initially leaving him off the show.
“I was very offended that the first chance ECW has to put its foot forward and show everybody what extreme is about, you’re not gonna have RVD?” RVD said. “Because my ego did tell me that I was one of the best, most entertaining wrestlers on the card. I did believe that.”
At the time, RVD cut a heel promo on the ECW crowd after his win over Lance Storm. He told the fans that he “sold out” to himself by agreeing to appear at Barely Legal as a second-choice wrestler for Paul Heyman.
Paul Heyman explains why he did not initially book RVD on ECW Barely Legal
In the same "WWE Icons" episode, Paul Heyman explained that he thought RVD was going to work for another company shortly after Barely Legal.
As a result, he decided that he only wanted to showcase wrestlers who had a long-term future in ECW.
“Rob Van Dam was not booked on Barely Legal because I did not know how long we were gonna hold on to Rob Van Dam,” Heyman stated. “I needed that first pay-per-view to be very ECW-branded, and I didn’t know how long Rob Van Dam was going to be associated with the ECW brand.”
WWE Icons also told the story of RVD’s arrest and 30-day suspension in 2006, an incident which ultimately cost him the WWE and ECW Championships. WWE Chairman Vince McMahon said he felt “personally upset” by RVD's actions at the time, but the two men have seemingly made up in recent years.
Please credit WWE Icons and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.