RVD is full of himself

[hardmick33]

All praise to Paul Heyman, and I mean that with all my heart. The guy has been praised time and time again as being a man that can see a star in a cloudy sky, a diamond in the rough, a needle in a haystack... however you want to put it, the man knew what he had and what to do with it. In retrospect, it sucks that him and Vince didn't get along, but Heyman had ideas and Vince doesn't like ideas unless they're his own.

I loved ECW, but the simple truth of it is that ECW failed. It went bankrupt. WWE reigned triumphant not only over the financially strapped ECW, but over the infinitely funded WCW. Vince won. He was smarter not only in business, but in creativity. This seems to be something that some people will just not get.

After reading RVDs latest interview, I have nothing but disdain for the whole situation. Refer to the first 3 words of the last paragraph. I get it. I can promise to you that, to me, ECW was great, crazy, original and one of the most entertaining things I've ever witnessed... but WWE was always better. Granted some of the best things I've ever seen in wrestling happened in ECW, but those guys were nuts!! Look at Sandman. He's unemployed for more than a year and he's getting arrested all over the news. New Jack is one of the craziest people ever allowed on television. RVD was given the world on a silver platter. I know he worked his ass off for it, but he not only earned a WWE title win, but he won the title off of JOHN CENA! John Cena? The guy who beat Triple H and HBK cleanly in consecutive main events at Wrestlemania. THAT John Cena. The WWE gave him the opportunity to hold the title for the first time after a win in MITB, a win over their golden boy and also gave him the renewed ECW title. How did he hold up his end of this newly found praise from his employer? He went on a blazingly fun ride with yet another former ECW wrestler, Sabu.

Please please please do not let me lead you to believe I'm am one of those holy people who look at others in a way that their faults make me think negatively of them. I'm no angel, far from it. In my case it is and never has been these faults that made me think lesser of these individuals. Everyone has their faults. My issue is when they blame others for their unhinging. RVD would have reigned for quite some time had he not done what he did. He was given the proverbial "ball" and he downed it. Now he wants to come back and insult what has become of it? I'm sorry bud. You did this to yourself and until you man up to it, I won't respect your opinion on any of the WWE products.

Then again you'll probably puss out and head to TNA. They'll probably bow down to you much more than Vince will. The did for Kurt, Hulk and Nash didn't they?

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

All praise to Paul Heyman, and I mean that with all my heart. The guy has been praised time and time again as being a man that can see a star in a cloudy sky, a diamond in the rough, a needle in a haystack... however you want to put it, the man knew what he had and what to do with it. In retrospect, it sucks that him and Vince didn't get along, but Heyman had ideas and Vince doesn't like ideas unless they're his own.

I loved ECW, but the simple truth of it is that ECW failed. It went bankrupt. WWE reigned triumphant not only over the financially strapped ECW, but over the infinitely funded WCW. Vince won. He was smarter not only in business, but in creativity. This seems to be something that some people will just not get.

After reading RVDs latest interview, I have nothing but disdain for the whole situation. Refer to the first 3 words of the last paragraph. I get it. I can promise to you that, to me, ECW was great, crazy, original and one of the most entertaining things I've ever witnessed... but WWE was always better. Granted some of the best things I've ever seen in wrestling happened in ECW, but those guys were nuts!! Look at Sandman. He's unemployed for more than a year and he's getting arrested all over the news. New Jack is one of the craziest people ever allowed on television. RVD was given the world on a silver platter. I know he worked his ass off for it, but he not only earned a WWE title win, but he won the title off of JOHN CENA! John Cena? The guy who beat Triple H and HBK cleanly in consecutive main events at Wrestlemania. THAT John Cena. The WWE gave him the opportunity to hold the title for the first time after a win in MITB, a win over their golden boy and also gave him the renewed ECW title. How did he hold up his end of this newly found praise from his employer? He went on a blazingly fun ride with yet another former ECW wrestler, Sabu.

Please please please do not let me lead you to believe I'm am one of those holy people who look at others in a way that their faults make me think negatively of them. I'm no angel, far from it. In my case it is and never has been these faults that made me think lesser of these individuals. Everyone has their faults. My issue is when they blame others for their unhinging. RVD would have reigned for quite some time had he not done what he did. He was given the proverbial "ball" and he downed it. Now he wants to come back and insult what has become of it? I'm sorry bud. You did this to yourself and until you man up to it, I won't respect your opinion on any of the WWE products.

Then again you'll probably puss out and head to TNA. They'll probably bow down to you much more than Vince will. The did for Kurt, Hulk and Nash didn't they?

Really, dude. REALLY? Instead of picking this post apart, I'm simply going to address this the best way I possibly can.

Rob Van Dam may go down as the most underrated pro wrestler in history. He took a third rate company and made it legitimate with hard work, determination and charisma. He smokes weed and all of a sudden, he's full of himself? He tokes up with Sabu and he's an awful guy? You're joking right? As opposed to Chris Benoit, who is known as a murderer or for Jeff Hardy, who's known as a junkie. RVD deserved every thing he had. He won the belt from Cena because he was charismatic enough to carry the belt. He was also good enough to win Money in the Bank and good enough to carry ECW's mantle temporarily. His only mistake is having pot on him while driving fast. And he's full of himself. Between how much you contradicted yourself and how baseless your claims are, this might be the worst post I've seen on these boards, and that says a lot.

 

[hardmick33]

Interesting retort my friend... it's always difficult to argue a point when not arguing anything. YES he is full of himself. I would imagine by your response that you skimmed what I had to say. So I will try to summarize it for you so this time you can actually understand it.

When you get to a certain point, like say champion of THE organization in a business, you are required to adhere to rules that the common man in a business does not have to follow. I may enjoy the occasional recreational substance, but I'm not the face of my organization. Now while somehow you got from my post that I was comparing RVD to either Jeff Hardy or Chris Benoit (??really??) that is not the case. I am merely saying that the man was given a chance and only a month later was publicly arrested. Does this make him worse than or even on the same plane as those individuals? Nope, but I never said it did now did I? (Sidenote: I'm a little upset that I have Jeff and a murderer in the same grouping, but that's your doing so I'm rolling with it) What I said is that he did it to himself. Maybe if he stuck around and proved himself to the company (i.e. Eddie Guerrero) they would have given him another shot. Instead he decides to leave only two years after and not stick it through.

I'm sure you'll try to turn that into the fact that I back Jeffery Dahmer, but I'm hoping for the best here

 

[CKDaimen]

Well what I want to know is if we're talking about the same interview. Because the interview that I read was more about ECW than him complaining about his treatment in the WWE. I did read a line where he talked about how they picked Bobby Lashley to be the face of the new ECW and how they squashed him, but how you take that and make the whole interview about him complaining about himself is a bit of an exaggeration don't you think? RVD's main beef with the WWE based on the very interview you are referencing is the treatment of ECW. Any true ECW fan knows exactly what he is talking about and how Paul Heyman is not losing sleep every night is an acheivement in and of itself.

I just don't see what that interview has to do with RVD being full of himself. RVD is an artist...and an opinionated one at that. If it were up to RVD there would be longer matches and a more edgy product in the ring and character-wise. Most of his beef is about things that are bigger than him. Like this interview was about ECW more so than about him. There are a lot of regulars on this board who would accuse you of posting a typical WWE mark thread and I would be inclined to agree with them. The simple fact that you read that interview and all you got from it was that RVD was full of himself for speaking out against the WWE makes you a pretty big WWE mark, but hey, that's ok, I'm an ECW mark so you have the right to be a WWE mark...I would just suggest that you re-read the interview and have more evidence to show why he is full of himself.

 

[Rip]

I share your feelings for the situation. I don't agree however, that he's full of himself.

RVD was easily the best wrestler to never win a world title, when I heard that ECW was coming back for one more night and that RVD was possibly going to win his first world title.... his first WORLD title at an ECW event no doubt!!! I was beside myself to say the least. Then ECW was coming back as a third brand??? And he beat the face of the company John Cena?????
He was finally getting everything he worked so hard for, the ball was finally in his hands....... and he dropped it.
I have to admit that it was him and him alone on this one. I appreciate his passion and how adamant he is about the legalization of marijuana, but when you're given the ball and made to represent the company.... you have to make your choice between the two. He did, he made the choice for cannabis.
With WWE's wellness programs and RVD's passion for weed, I don't think he could ever work there again. RVD and WWE are just NOT compatible. I want him to back, I love that he won the title, I hate that he dropped the ball, I love that he finally was given the ball, I hate that he was practically squashed by John Cena until Edge came in and speared him.... see? Mixed feelings about the whole thing.
I don't think that he is full of himself. He has a passion for the legalization of cannabis and he stuck by his beliefs and stuck to his guns even while he was champion. He was suspended for it, he was punished and subsequently he left... I don't think that's he's full of himself for it. He made his choice, I'm sure he doesn't regret it. I think he' bitter about what Vince did to ECW and the ECW name.... can't blame for that can we?

No... the only one full of himself is not RVD... it's another three letters... it's VKM.

 

[aphazel1]

Is RVD full of himself? Well, sure, but who in the wrestling business isn't? Self-promotion is the name of the game...None the less, my reading of his comments seemed more of a complaint about the bastardization of the original ECW, which shows a commitment to something other than himself. So, I'm not sure how far that places his head in the clouds...

As for the so-called failure of ECW, well, that is certainly something to be debated. It wasn't that Heyman's formulas didn't work or still couldn't work given the opportunity, he was up against Godzilla (WCW) and King Kong (WWF)....No small promotion can combat two giant conglomerates that have the purchasing power to put their product in our face and all over the place. They also regularly raided their talent and stole their "attitude". … The WWF/WWE was a household name and a brand identity that carved its way into the American culture through years of exposure. If your gonna purchase a product, why not go with the brand you know? If its everywhere, then it must be popular and it must be the better “choice”, right? Maybe not for the die-hard inter-web marks, but for the average consumer, that’s the way it goes. What kind of exposure did ECW get? They were only on TNN for a short time….before that they were on ESPN at 2 or 3 in the morning (at least in my area).....

 

[It's...Baylariat!]

Interesting retort my friend... it's always difficult to argue a point when not arguing anything. YES he is full of himself. I would imagine by your response that you skimmed what I had to say. So I will try to summarize it for you so this time you can actually understand it.

When you get to a certain point, like say champion of THE organization in a business, you are required to adhere to rules that the common man in a business does not have to follow. I may enjoy the occasional recreational substance, but I'm not the face of my organization. Now while somehow you got from my post that I was comparing RVD to either Jeff Hardy or Chris Benoit (??really??) that is not the case. I am merely saying that the man was given a chance and only a month later was publicly arrested. Does this make him worse than or even on the same plane as those individuals? Nope, but I never said it did now did I? (Sidenote: I'm a little upset that I have Jeff and a murderer in the same grouping, but that's your doing so I'm rolling with it) What I said is that he did it to himself. Maybe if he stuck around and proved himself to the company (i.e. Eddie Guerrero) they would have given him another shot. Instead he decides to leave only two years after and not stick it through.

I'm sure you'll try to turn that into the fact that I back Jeffery Dahmer, but I'm hoping for the best here

Well... as what was said before, accusing a wrestler of being full of themselves is like accusing a chef of cooking. It's one in the same. Now, RVD did drop the ball, but what you were saying is that he is full of himself. And to be honest, that's not why he was a short time champion. What made RVD so great was that he didn't mesh well with the stereotypical champion. He was different. He was himself. That's all. Sure he could have used better judgement and smoked weed somewhere else besides an interstate in West Virginia, but that doesn't make him full of himself. It makes him unique. He's one of a kind. He's not a gimmick, he's Rob...Van...Dam.

He was burnt out. He got his wish, it wasn't what it was cracked up to be, and he put it in auto pilot. Sounds like a certain Charismatic Enigma doesn't it? And the thing is, RVD's ten times the man Jeff Hardy is. The fact is that RVD may be full of himself, but to judge him on his actions as WWE Champion are foolish. He was his own man and as bad as that may have been, it wasn't as bad as some of the other former champions.

 

[mral82]

whatever rvd had to say in his opinion bout ECW was wrong Vince didn't destroy it. ECW has always been about the future stars up'n'comers. Just look at the little name people like Al Snow, Chris Jericho, Rey Mysteriojr, The Dudleyz, Lance Storm, RVD, Jerry Lynn, Raven, Stevie Richards, Taz, Tommy Dreamer, Dawn Marie, Shane Douglas, Rhino, Chris Candido, Tammy Sytch to name a few at the time to most people nobody heard of them as the fresh young stars b4 they jumped respective ships 2 either WCW or WWF. ECW has (imo) bein about developin the future of the biz. So what that Vince took out all the weapons and all that r-tardness. I think ECW is bettr than it was back in day at least the stars aren't tryin 2 kill 1 another.

 

[burnout4200]

RVD didn't drop the damn ball. He smoked pot. Whoopie! Multiple American Presidents admitted to smoking marijuana and no one even made a big deal about it. At that time noone ever got fired for weed. It wasn't tested for in WWE therefore it wasn't against their substance abuse policy. A DUI is worse than getting caught with weed. There weren't any lives at risk. Someone said he should have quit smoking weed when he won the title? Seriously? Obviously you're not a pothead. That's like saying quit smoking cigarettes while everyone in the room is smoking one. Marijuana has been known to run ramped backstage from shoot interviews I've seen and it's nowhere near as harmful as the pills they shove down their throats. Yes it's illegal, I get that point, but its the least harmful thing he could have gotten in trouble for. Marijuana wouldn't even be illegal if they didn't make so much money off of it. RVD didn't drop the ball. He travels the country for a living and almost all of them have pot on them. He was just the one that got pulled over. Could you imagine how boring those road trips would be? Marijuana is a necessity at that point. CM Punk has to be one bored son of a bitch on the road.

Now that I think about it, you never hear about any other wrestlers getting caught with weed while on the road. They know how to hide it. Whether it's the famous boxer briefs trick or a hidden compartment in the car. I wonder if RVD wanted the publicity for his legalize it crap while trying to get Vince to back off of ECW at the same time. It's possible.

 

[Reddannihilation]

RVD was given the world on a silver platter. I know he worked his ass off for it

This is probably the weirdest part of what you've said, being that it makes literally no sense and all, I mean how does one get something on a silver platter if they had to work for it? That defeats the whole point of the term. Beyond that; RVD isn't any more full of himself than any wrestler has or will be. It's already been said it's about self-promotion.

 

[RVDgurl]

Interesting retort my friend... it's always difficult to argue a point when not arguing anything. YES he is full of himself. I would imagine by your response that you skimmed what I had to say. So I will try to summarize it for you so this time you can actually understand it.

I read your entire post twice and I still have yet to figure out where the main idea of your thread is located- that being "RVD is full of himself". Am I to assume you think RVD is full of himself because he reports that feels he was treated unfairly by the WWE? Do you really think it's a bad thing to care about the way you are treated by your employer?

When you get to a certain point, like say champion of THE organization in a business, you are required to adhere to rules that the common man in a business does not have to follow. I may enjoy the occasional recreational substance, but I'm not the face of my organization.

RVD received a citation, which is simply a fine, for being in possession of marijuana. He did NOT receive criminal charges and he was severely penalized for this by the WWE. One receives a citation for things like traffic violations- does this mean that any wrestler holding a WWE title should be severely penalized for receiving such a citation? Jeff Hardy continued to be pushed after his highly publicized drug problems. Steve Austin continued to be pushed after being arrest-and receiving actual criminal charges- for domestic violence. These are just 2 examples off the top of my head of those who were the face of the company and had no consequences imposed.

What I said is that he did it to himself. Maybe if he stuck around and proved himself to the company (i.e. Eddie Guerrero) they would have given him another shot. Instead he decides to leave only two years after and not stick it through.

It does appear that he was treated unfairly as he was jobbed out time and time again for months after this incident took place. Why should he continue to be a slave to the WWE? After wrestling for years and working his ass off to entertain the fans, maybe he was at a place in his life where he was ready to walk away. I think the fact that he has not returned to any wrestling company over the past couple of years speaks volumes. If it was simply about RVD being full of himself he would have signed a nice contract with TNA immediately after leaving the WWE. He didn't. He walked away from the business and has pursued other interests.

The truth of ther matter is that the WWE was cool with using RVD's well publicized marijuana habit to make money. "Nobody gets higher" was the slogan on the back of the RVD Tshirt sold by the WWE. Do you really think that they were talking about his frog splash?

 

[Rip]

RVD didn't drop the damn ball. He smoked pot. Whoopie! Multiple American Presidents admitted to smoking marijuana and no one even made a big deal about it. At that time noone ever got fired for weed. It wasn't tested for in WWE therefore it wasn't against their substance abuse policy. A DUI is worse than getting caught with weed. There weren't any lives at risk. Someone said he should have quit smoking weed when he won the title? Seriously? Obviously you're not a pothead. That's like saying quit smoking cigarettes while everyone in the room is smoking one. Marijuana has been known to run ramped backstage from shoot interviews I've seen and it's nowhere near as harmful as the pills they shove down their throats. Yes it's illegal, I get that point, but its the least harmful thing he could have gotten in trouble for. Marijuana wouldn't even be illegal if they didn't make so much money off of it. RVD didn't drop the ball. He travels the country for a living and almost all of them have pot on them. He was just the one that got pulled over. Could you imagine how boring those road trips would be? Marijuana is a necessity at that point. CM Punk has to be one bored son of a bitch on the road.

Now that I think about it, you never hear about any other wrestlers getting caught with weed while on the road. They know how to hide it. Whether it's the famous boxer briefs trick or a hidden compartment in the car. I wonder if RVD wanted the publicity for his legalize it crap while trying to get Vince to back off of ECW at the same time. It's possible.

There were some pictures leaked online just recently of the MCMGs getting stoned with some others. I wouldn't say that's hiding it well.

Marijuana is a necessity at that point. CM Punk has to be one bored son of a bitch on the road.

That's funny that you can't even imagine having a long road trip be fun without weed.

 

[burnout4200]

MCMG had pictures taken of them smoking at a party. That's completely different. Noone bothers hiding it at a good party. Wrestlers are on the road all year long. RVD got searched and they found it when I'm sure he's smart enough to hide it from them. Since he's an activist I highly doubt he doesn't know the tricks to make sure cops don't find it upon a search.

Smoking pot and listening to punk rock music. Those are my only road options lol. Are we supposed to play the license plate game? They travel constantly, that game would get old in an hour. Smoking a fat joint is the only thing you have to look forward to during a road trip unless you got a new CD.

By the way nice siggy. My band played with Agent Orange in Springfield IL this past summer and I know a former member of the meat puppets that lives around here

 

[Kenny Powers]

I think if anyone is full of himself its Vince for taking credit for ECW's popularity. Granted if Vince didn't hire Paul Heyman and the ECW Originals back then we wouldn't have the Dvd's or the One Night Stand PPVs. I know most of the ECW Originals weren't in the best shape, but WWE had so much talent back then they could of ran with that invasion angle for years. Instead of having all of former ECW and WCW talent job to the almighty WWE.

Maybe the other ECW stars weren't marketable but they were over and RVD was the most talented and over wrestler from ECW. It's a shame because of one incident RVD was let go. I know Vince wanted to go in a different direction with ECW and make it his own, but to have something so popular in the organization just to let it die before it even has a chance of growing is ridiculous. Maybe RVD and Heyman are "full of themselves" for watching their passion and their hard work go down the drain but can you blame them?

 

[Rip]

MCMG had pictures taken of them smoking at a party. That's completely different. Noone bothers hiding it at a good party. Wrestlers are on the road all year long. RVD got searched and they found it when I'm sure he's smart enough to hide it from them. Since he's an activist I highly doubt he doesn't know the tricks to make sure cops don't find it upon a search.

Smoking pot and listening to punk rock music. Those are my only road options lol. Are we supposed to play the license plate game? They travel constantly, that game would get old in an hour. Smoking a fat joint is the only thing you have to look forward to during a road trip unless you got a new CD.

By the way nice siggy. My band played with Agent Orange in Springfield IL this past summer and I know a former member of the meat puppets that lives around here

It may have been at a party, but dude.... it leaked all over the net. Take the "on the road" part out, it's superfluous, that's not hiding it. I just don't think TNA cares if their wrestler do weed (or steroids for that matter).

 

[Henry Hill]

Is Rob Van Dam full of himself? I don't think so. What is he taking credit for that he doesn't deserve. The idea that Vince McMahon "trained" WWE fans to chant ECW since he bought it is absurd. If anything ECW chants trained Vince to get some "attitude." Yeah It's Vince's promotion, but it wasn't his passion or his first love. No matter what that will always be Raw. So Vince throws a bone to Van Dam after all those years, makes on screen references to RVD's marijuana use during the ECW invasion angle, and then promptly takes not only the ECW belt but the WWE belt off him after the traffic incident. Is that Rob being arrogant? No that's Rob being Rob. What that was is Vince McMahon finding a way to bring back some ECW fans, but then kill the original off and replace it with his own version, that hopefully would win them over. It didn't. Rob left. The passion was gone, the dream was dead. It wasn't arrogant for Rob to leave WWE, It was the right thing to do.

 

[Leafy]

The man who calls himself the whole F'n show is full of himself, no way.

I think RVD has done enough in the wrestling world to say whatever he wants about himself. He held the TV title for a year and put on some stellar matches with it. He had good matches with some of the worst in ECW. You can talk all you want about ECW and talent but put New Jack in a regular match and God kills a puppy. He was a WWE champion beating Cena, the man who brought back ECW, held two world titles at the same time in WWE. The man's resume is impressive. No way is he full of himself, only stating the truth.