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[Hollywood]

Sources close to the situation have told me that there is a lot of heat on Rob Van Dam with WWE management due to the fact that he refused to go on the "voluntary" Middle East Smackdown trip. The tour, which the wrestlers were told was strictly optional, was really anything but. Last week word surfaced that Luther Reigns, after it being announced to the wrestlers that the trip was voluntary, told WWE talent VP John Laurinaitis that he wasn't going to go. He was told by Laurinaitis, in so many words, that even though the tour was optional, Vince McMahon expected everyone asked to go and was either told or it was strongly implied to him that if he didn't go, there would be heat on him for exercising his right to skip the trip from Vinnie Mac. After being told that, Reigns reconsidered and went. From what I was told, Reigns had no problem going on the trip when it was initially scheduled to be to Qatar but reconsidered when he was told they would be going to Iraq, which of course is a war zone.

RVD had no desire to go on the trip from the get go. I don't know what his reasons are but whatever they may be, I most certainly respect them. I don't blame anyone who chooses not to go into a war zone. He told Laurinaitis last week that he wasn't going, and was sent to meet with Vince McMahon to relay that decision to the boss. Many in the company would have wavered at that point and been intimidated into going by the boss, but that just isn't RVD. He told Vince he didn't want to go. They tried one last time, later on, to get him to go, but he held firm and was heard telling people that if this costs him his push, that is just the way it will have to be. He had made up his mind not to go and wasn't going to be intimidated into going. WWE management is said to be less than happy about his decision. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

- PWInsider

Fuck the WWE man ... RVD is the best guy they got, and deserves a world title - but keeps getting fucked over by stupid shit. Good to see someone stand up against WWE's political bullshit though.

 

[Liu Kang Baking A Pie]

Fuck the WWE man ... RVD is the best guy they got, and deserves a world title

LOL!

 

[LakeEarth]

"but he held firm and was heard telling people that if this costs him his push, that is just the way it will have to be"

Oh no!!! They're not gonna give RVD push because of this... that's gonna ruin that imaginary push they were giving him.

 

[bishoptl]

Good for him.

He was easily the most over guy during the Invasion - you could see the live WWE crowds, most of whom had never heard of the guy, warm up to his in-ring style right away. Completely different from anything that the Fed had presented up until then. How often do you see a new guy get over strictly on his in-ring work? (Sure as hell wasn't his mic work )

So what do they do? Everything they can to ruin his overness with the crowd - I'm looking at you, Mr. Levesque - and throw him right into mid-card tag team hell. Does he pull a Shawn Michaels? No, he just goes to work and does his thing. If he doesn't want to go to Iraq, then props to him for sticking to his guns. He's still dumb for reupping his contract with WWE, sure the money's good but there's no chance he'll get to the level he deserves. Oh well.

If the trip isn't voluntary, then just say so. Don't piss on the guy's boots and tell him it's raining.

 

[StoOgE]

If he was still on Raw he wouldnt have gotten away with this.. but talent has the WWE by the balls on smackdown right now. RVD and Rey Rey are way too over and just got the straps..

I actually like RVD, but over the last 12 months his in ring performance has been as predictable as can be... its like the guy is contractually ensured of getting his spots in. At least he isnt selling the frog splash like it kills him everytime he does it. Personally, I think an RVD/Carlito feud could be comedy gold. "Smoking Weed, now thats cool..."

While we are on the subject of former ECW talent being abused.. seems as though Heyman was kicked off the SD writing team because he called into a RAW writers teleconference without telling anyone and without permission. They found out because he hung up in the middle of it and the teleconference system said someone disconnected... so they did a trace to find out who it was, and he had used his cell phone to do it. :lol

 

[dskillzhtown]

As much as I like RVD, his matches are as boring as ever. Same 6 moves over and over. That is not exactly World Title material.

To tell the truth, at any job you have things that are "voluntary", but you know they are not. So if he gets his push killed, so what. He is still making a nice chuck of cash and he decided to stay there when he had the chance to leave. Even people diggin ditches for a living have to deal with politics. RVD is no different, play the game if you want to get ahead. If you don't want to play, don't complain when you are left behind when it is time for promotion. Same thing for Heyman, he knows how the game is played more than anyone and he continually gets himself in a prime position, then pisses someone off to get demoted.

 

[StoOgE]

As much as I like RVD, his matches are as boring as ever. Same 6 moves over and over. That is not exactly World Title material.

Hey, he and Rey Rey have that new '420' double legdrop thing.. thats new. I mean sure, everything else consists of the exact same spots he allways does.. but at least Rey Rey isnt a spot arti... oh, wait. Well, at least Rey Rey had had some killer matches this year (his match vs. Eddie way back when was really awesome, and he had a good one with Kurt not long ago).

 

[jobbidiar]

As much as I like RVD, his matches are as boring as ever. Same 6 moves over and over. That is not exactly World Title material.

Yes i agree that he has become stale over the past year or so but then again, look at guys like John Cena,JBL,Under(no seller) taker,etc,etc and they seem to be getting these massive pushes for no apparent reason other than being "fan favorites/up Vinces Arse" Most/all of them do less than RVD's "6 moves" and are a lot more boring/predictable that's for sure at least now with Rey Rey it's a bit of a change.

haha was just remembering back to when Rey Mysterio got "unmasked" at one of the WCW ppv's and Bobby Hennan making a crack about him looking like the kid from leave it to beaver or something wasn't it? :lol Can't even fully remember it anymore

 

[bishoptl]

I'd venture to say that when RVD first joined the WWF in the Invasion angle, his matches were a lot more than the 6-spot showcase that he relies on now. Check out his Heat match with Jeff Hardy for one of the best non-PPV matches I've seen on any wrestling program, bar none. After it became obvious that he wasn't going to get pushed to the level his popularity demanded, I guess he became a bit jaded and started going through the motions. Lucky for me I have a bunch of his ECW work to watch when I want to relive the crazy shit he was famous for.

 

[G4life98]

I'd venture to say that when RVD first joined the WWF in the Invasion angle, his matches were a lot more than the 6-spot showcase that he relies on now. Check out his Heat match with Jeff Hardy for one of the best non-PPV matches I've seen on any wrestling program, bar none. After it became obvious that he wasn't going to get pushed to the level his popularity demanded, I guess he became a bit jaded and started going through the motions. Lucky for me I have a bunch of his ECW work to watch when I want to relive the crazy shit he was famous for.

Didnt managment basically tell him to tone down his style to a more "wwe" level

RVD should be getting a main event push based on popularity alone...honestly how do you not push a guy who has remained this over with crowds, even after being buried in shit by cripple h.

 

[Triumph]

I don't really see how management can fuck the poor guy over any more than they already have. What are they gonna do- take his tag title away and job him out then stick him on Velocity? He pulls in cash, so he's gonna be on Smackdown each week. Just not ever in the world title picture.

Sucks. He coulda been a contender. He coulda been SOMEBODY.

 

[FightyF]

I think he should wait until Smackdown and wrestle his own style, holding nothing back. He can be reprimanded...tone it down during some house shows, and then do the same on the next Smackdown.

It's a simple equation:

Wrestle awesome = getting fired = moving to greener pastures

That way he gets fired for being too awesome. He can use that as his angle at TNA...that'd be sweet.

 

[StoOgE]

yeah, that'd be sweet until he gets his first PPV cut at TNA. :lol

As far as other wrestlers being spot artists, Im not saying RVD is the only one.. hell, most of smackdown is the same... RVD is probably the worst offender though, because he almost without fail gets ALL of his spots in, and little else. To his credit, at least his spots are intresting.. much better than the "Shoe pump of death" or "Main event rope walk of doom".. If Cena and Taker were both fired tommorow I would lose no sleep. Why marks have to pop for the shittiest wrestlers is beyond me.

WWE has this wierd conundrum right now.. the writing is stale boring shit on Raw but the workers there are all top notch for the most part (at least the top card and most of the mid card)... but smackdown has the entertaining storylines and charachters and a bunch of workers that couldnt wrestle their way out of a wet paper bag (save a handfull who are currently locked in feuds with people who prevent them from using most of their talent).

 

[Screenboy]

I don't know why people still care about the WWE.





-SB

 

[jobbidiar]

WWE has this wierd conundrum right now.. the writing is stale boring shit on Raw but the workers there are all top notch for the most part (at least the top card and most of the mid card)... but smackdown has the entertaining storylines and charachters and a bunch of workers that couldnt wrestle their way out of a wet paper bag (save a handfull who are currently locked in feuds with people who prevent them from using most of their talent).

The only thing that i feel can fix the current situation is to at LEAST have some sort of roster change 2 times a year not just the once......at least it would make it more interesting and wrestlers like HHH,Flair etc should be MADE to change over no matter what they come up with storyline wise.......It seriously makes me wonder sometimes that the many years that i've been watching Raw and Smackdown, i personally think that anyone on this forum could book better shows than they show on most occasions

 

[Minotauro]

On the subject of RVD, I really think they should run an angle where he finds the hardcore title somewhere and then declares himself the hardcore champion. Then, like he did with the TV title in ECW, he could hold it for over a year and defend it. This would accomplish two things. For one, it would lend credibility to the belt. Number two, RVD could be allowed to wrestle the style he's more comfortable with. I mean, honestly, how long has it been since he's done a Van Daminator? At this point, his overness is pretty damaged but it isn't completely unsalvagable.

 

[Outcast2004]

I don't know why people still care about the WWE.





-SB

THANKS FOR TROLLING MORON!

Freaking jackass.

 

[LakeEarth]

As much as I like RVD, his matches are as boring as ever. Same 6 moves over and over. That is not exactly World Title material.

Hehe, yeah right. There has never been a champion who had a limited moves list. Nope, never.

 

[Outcast2004]

Higan anyone? Most over champ they've ever had.. and his moveset. LAUGHABLE.

Currently JBL, laughable.

 

[LakeEarth]

Higan anyone? Most over champ they've ever had.. and his moveset. LAUGHABLE.

Currently JBL, laughable.

HHH... The Rock for a while (after a while he expanded his moveslist a bit, I guess he listened to the critisisms)... Nash! Not having a big moveslist is not that bad when it comes to casual fans, it only piss off the hardcore wrestling fans. (and we're used to it by now)

 

[Minotauro]

It really has nothing to do with the size of a wrestler's moveset...it's how they use it. Just look at Ric Flair.

(Is anyone else disturbed by how easily "moveset" could be replaced with "penis" in this post?)

 

[The Faceless Master]

i just find it funny that people still think RVD will ever get a world title push...

 

[Heezzi]

Booker should be champ if anything. Those Bookends and scissor kicks he delivers are visious.

 

[Brian Fellows]

It really has nothing to do with the size of a wrestler's moveset...it's how they use it. Just look at Ric Flair.

I'd rather not his matches are insanely boring.

 

[Minotauro]

I'd rather not his matches are insanely boring.

Which decade are we talking about here? While I will grant you that he's definitely slowed down a bit, I still thought that match he had with Lawler a few weeks back was fun. Plus, that cage match he had with Orton was definitely one of Orton's best matches. That might not be saying much but still...

 

[jobber]

JBL vs. RVD @ Judgment Day = 5 Star Match

 

[Brian Fellows]

Which decade are we talking about here? While I will grant you that he's definitely slowed down a bit, I still thought that match he had with Lawler a few weeks back was fun. Plus, that cage match he had with Orton was definitely one of Orton's best matches. That might not be saying much but still...

Late 90's through present. Though his older WWF stuff didnt impress me much either. never seen any of his classics against Steamboat and I have desire to see any of his so-called classics again the ugliest and most annoying wrestler in history Dusty Rhodes.

 

[StoOgE]

No, the hardcore title needs to stay dead. That belt got hotshotted around so damn much who cares anymore. Although, the 24/7 rules were fucking awesome.. plus, I think they are shying away from hardcore matches because of injuries... same reason we may never see a TLC match again. C&E and the Hardyz especially almost ended their careers on more than one occasion.

Although, when Foley put bodyslammed Orton onto those thumbtacks, it sorta made me miss the old hardcore matches (especially when Foley put Orton through a table off the top of the ramp while he STILL had the thumbtacks in his back. OUCH).