WWE Legends Biography Rob Van Dam Live 6/23/24 June 23rd 2024
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00This is my wall of RVD action figures.
00:19You know, I was signing autographs of so many figures, I thought, well, I should have my
00:27own collection.
00:33I have the figures grouped, you know, by my career.
00:35These are the original EC-Dub right here.
00:38This is one of the more expensive action figures.
00:42It's the variant micro brawler with red eyes.
00:45Those go for several hundred dollars.
00:49It shows how big my career was.
00:51This is one standard to measure success by.
00:57From Battle Creek, Michigan, Rob Van Dam!
01:04Oh my God!
01:06What made Rob cool is that he was cool without trying to be cool.
01:11Hey, whatever.
01:12He's not the showstopper, he's the show.
01:13His moveset was revolutionary.
01:14Those matches changed the game.
01:15They became a blueprint, actually, for what you're seeing in WWE nowadays.
01:16I think he could have gone to the moon and back if it wasn't for a little speed bump.
01:34Can you explain to me why your car smells like dope?
01:35Even as a kid, he didn't like anything organized, and he didn't want to be told what he had
01:43to do.
01:44Unbelievable athleticism!
01:45RVD, one of the most popular yet unorthodox contenders we've ever seen.
01:54Everybody looks at me as being different, and I loved it.
01:58I did everything my way, and I ended up at the very top.
02:14I was born December 18th, 1970.
02:21I would say that growing up, I liked to risk safety.
02:28I liked to thrill myself by jumping my bike.
02:32We were always building ramps higher and higher.
02:36He isn't afraid of very much.
02:38Never has been.
02:40When he was old enough, I'd say maybe three, he would jump off the boat into the water.
02:43He just loved the water.
02:44He liked the diving boards.
02:45You can't get hurt that way if you go off the diving boards.
02:46He did all kinds of stupid things off of the diving board.
02:47I mean, flips, backflips, forwardflips, doubleflips, you name it, he did them.
02:48I've been a superstar in my own mind, trying to outdo whatever I saw anybody else do.
02:49It was a great start.
02:50It was a great start.
02:51It was a great start.
02:52It was a great start.
02:53It was a great start.
02:54It was a great start.
02:55It was a great start.
02:56It was a great start.
02:57It was a great start.
02:58It was a great start.
02:59It was a great start.
03:00It was a great start.
03:01It was a great start.
03:02It was a great start.
03:03It was a great start.
03:04It was a great start.
03:05It was a great start.
03:06It was a great start.
03:07It was a great start.
03:08It was a great start.
03:09It was a great start.
03:10It was a great start.
03:11It was a great start.
03:12It was a great start.
03:13It was a great start.
03:14It was a great start.
03:15It was a great start.
03:16It was a great start.
03:17It was a great start.
03:18It was a great start.
03:19It was a great start.
03:20It was a great start.
03:21It was a great start.
03:22It was a great start.
03:23It was a great start.
03:24It was a great start.
03:25It was a great start.
03:26It was a great start.
03:27It was a great start.
03:28I was forced to fit in to a position that was predetermined for me.
03:35Still do.
03:36Some of my earliest memories of professional wrestling were from the other kids that enjoyed
03:46watching it.
03:47I thought the idea sounded silly, but I watched wrestling one time to hang out with everybody
03:54and right away I was into it.
03:57Leaping Lanny Poffo was a very big influence on me.
04:00He became my favorite wrestler because he fought so far outside of the box that I just
04:05enjoyed watching him and his moves.
04:13I started watching wrestling every week.
04:15I became a really big fan and really enjoyed going to the live shows.
04:19It was like the coolest thing ever for me.
04:23One night, Ted DiBiase was in the ring.
04:27Here is the self-proclaimed million-dollar champion, Ted DiBiase!
04:34The Million Dollar Man's character was based on how much more he had than everybody else.
04:40One of the ways that he demonstrated that was he'd offer money to people in the crowd
04:45to humiliate themselves.
04:57And Ted DiBiase points at me, I jumped over the guardrail, I was so excited, slid into
05:09the ring.
05:10I already kissed his foot before he was done with his sentence, I was so excited to be
05:15there.
05:16From my perspective, that was basically like the whole town in the stands watching me when
05:26I was in the ring.
05:27I was the center of attention and I knew that was going to be my platform.
05:33I wasn't going to dance, I wasn't going to sing, and this was a way to express myself
05:38and hold the spotlight, entertain, show off.
05:44From that moment on, I thought about nothing else.
05:49He built his own little gym thing to really bulk himself.
05:54He took an old swing set and he had a weight bench with weights.
05:58I mean, he was really rocking it down there.
06:01Really studying wrestling a lot, you know, like watching it, me and my buddies would
06:07wrestle each other and actually have matches at one of my friends' houses.
06:13And it wasn't too long until we found out that there was a guy in town, right there
06:18in Battle Creek, that had an actual ring.
06:21So that became our next step.
06:24Our goal was we got to get in that ring.
06:27Ten o'clock at night, somebody knocks on my door.
06:29It's these two kids and they're like, dude, can we get in your ring?
06:33We need to get in it, you know, we're going to be wrestlers when we grow up.
06:37This dude is like, what?
06:39Turns out he's a kickboxer promoter and he runs kickboxing shows.
06:44I was like, we do kickboxing, karate, and boxing.
06:46We don't do wrestling, but I'll make a deal with you.
06:49If you do karate, I'll let you guys practice in the ring.
06:52He stuck his hand out and said, deal.
06:54So the next day they were there and they never left.
06:59He fought just like my team.
07:02Push-ups, sit-ups, a lot of actual sparring.
07:05He's very skilled.
07:07He's 15 whooping grown men in nightclubs.
07:11I could take a lot of abuse.
07:13I took a lot of hard shots and was able to keep smiling
07:17while I was knocking guys out, left and right.
07:25I learned that I was really good at kickboxing.
07:30He had all the physical stuff, and a lot of guys have that.
07:33But what you can't teach is drive and determination and willpower.
07:36You got those or you don't.
07:38But his total focus, even when he was that little, was wrestling.
07:47I got into kickboxing through Kit because that was mandatory
07:51in order for us wrestlers to use the ring.
07:58I spent as much time in that ring as possible.
08:02I lived in that ring.
08:03I had it in my own yard for a very long time.
08:07He had a grant to go to Western Michigan University.
08:09He turned it down because he says, I'm going to wrestle.
08:12We made a deal.
08:14I said, Dad, give me two years.
08:16I'm going to know if I'm going to make it or not.
08:18If I don't make it, I'll still be young enough to go to college.
08:21And he thought that sounded fair.
08:24I always told my kids, whatever you do, be the best at it.
08:27Be the best at it.
08:29Whatever you do, be the best at it.
08:31Be the best you can do it.
08:32Couldn't ask for anything more than that.
08:34And he did.
08:38I ended up learning there's actually a wrestling school not too far from my town.
08:43It's not just some school because I had things that were important to me.
08:48Who's training, the longevity of the school, who have they trained that's successful.
08:55Turns out the original Sheik was going to be the guy for me.
08:59And he checked all the boxes.
09:03The original Sheik was just that, OG.
09:07It was a top box office attraction in the 50s and the 60s.
09:14It wasn't like a wrestling school.
09:16It was Sheik throwing us in the ring and telling us to beat each other up.
09:21It was only rougher, squeeze harder, bring the bodies in closer to each other.
09:27Because Sheik was old school and we were taught the number one rule is to protect the business.
09:32Ladies and gentlemen, our next match, let me introduce the first, Rob Zakowski.
09:37I wrestled under many different names.
09:40Rod Zapp, Robbie Z, different forms of my last name.
09:46Backflip out of the corner, there came a Savat kick.
09:49A karate move with a flash of brilliance from Zakowski.
09:54Eventually, a wrestling promoter named Ron Slinker gave me the name Rob Van Dam.
10:00Pretty sure because he thought I looked like the actor.
10:04Jean-Claude Van Dam was an action movie icon who could do amazing martial arts kicks.
10:11And could do splits and could do all kinds of stuff.
10:14So in comes this wrestler, he can also do splits, he can also do kicks.
10:19And he kind of looks like Jean-Claude Van Dam.
10:23It could have just been for the night as far as I was concerned, but it stuck.
10:30In the round corner, the challenger, the 230 pound Rob Van Dam.
10:40Pretty soon, I'm wrestling all over.
10:44I'm wrestling in Japan.
10:48Everything is about getting your name out and your reputation at that point.
10:54I saw a couple matches that Rob had had in Japan.
10:58And knew we really had to get our hands on him.
11:07ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW!
11:13I remember one time flipping through the channels and I caught a commercial for ECW.
11:19And I couldn't believe that this was professional wrestling.
11:25ECW is very raw, gritty, in your face.
11:31ECW were the renegades, they were the misfits.
11:34It was everything that WCW and WWE wasn't at that time.
11:40WCW sucks!
11:43It was a breath of fresh air for the wrestling industry.
11:48Oh my God! They broke the ring!
11:51Paul Heyman was running ECW.
11:55And he calls me and he talks about me coming up to work for him.
12:00Rob Van Dam making his ECW debut, a well-traveled world-class wrestler.
12:05Thought he was a tremendous talent that needed a little bit more seasoning.
12:12But that he certainly had main event potential.
12:14Fans here at the ECW aren't sure what to make of Rob Van Dam yet.
12:20It was not what I was used to when it came to pro wrestling.
12:25The crowd's just waiting for you to slip so they can jump on you.
12:30The ECW fans don't take the newcomers too well.
12:33He had to be a really good wrestler by the standards of the ECW crowd.
12:37It was intimidating.
12:39Split-legged moonsault, press two, he got it!
12:43Rob Van Dam is now extreme. Welcome to ECW!
12:48Five, four, three...
12:53Eliminators, you're a great team.
13:01When I first got to ECW, I didn't want to go anywhere near the camera to cut promos.
13:06Eliminators, you're a great team.
13:13I was just too green, uncomfortable with it.
13:18Didn't think that I could convince people that I believed in myself.
13:23When Rob first came in, his promos weren't the best.
13:27But he grew into that character and he had the best coach in Paul Heyman.
13:35My advice to Rob Van Dam was just be authentic.
13:38Just be yourself. Just be Rob Van Dam.
13:42I got the idea of actually posing, showing my awesome arms,
13:50without it looking like I'm posing, because I saw Jean-Claude Van Dam do it in the movie.
13:56He knocks the guy out and looks up at the promoters and he says,
14:00I want Dung Paul!
14:03I want Dung Paul!
14:07Give me Dung Paul!
14:10I ripped it off a little bit, but I never knew that I was making anything special.
14:15I just thought, you know, hey I'm just posing.
14:18And the fans started doing this back to me.
14:23And then I realized that it's me.
14:26Like they're identifying me with, because I do that.
14:29It was just something that I was doing that became me.
14:34You know, I really discovered who RVD was in ECW.
14:39I learned how to just bring myself out.
14:429 out of 10 viewers agree, Rob Van Dam's face belongs on a television camera.
14:48It was Jeff Spicoli from Fast Times at Ridgemont High meets Jean-Claude Van Dam.
14:56Rob Van Dam is a spectacular, breathtaking, world class athlete.
15:02And he knows it.
15:06For the time, like what, what were you watching?
15:11You know what I mean?
15:13It was so different from how anybody else had ever wrestled.
15:22The more I understood ECW and the crowd, it floated my blood.
15:29I mean, I understood it. I knew what was a good decision and what wasn't.
15:34Being called the whole f***ing show, you put a lot of pressure on me.
15:39Luckily, I back it up.
15:41Always outdoing myself, always getting better.
15:45Oh my God, there it is!
15:48Rob Van Dam was an artist.
15:50I knew that if Rob Van Dam was in the main event, the audience would go home satisfied with the ECW product.
15:57And that our main event would be different than anything else WWE or WCW could offer.
16:12I was married since a couple years after I started ECW.
16:17And of course, that makes it a lot more challenging to be on the road.
16:21But I believed in loyalty. I believed in commitment.
16:25And it was important to me to see all that through.
16:28At the same time, this was a very good part of my career.
16:32It was pretty apparent everybody was watching our product.
16:36Rob did have opportunity to go other places.
16:39He could have went to WCW. He could have went to WWE.
16:44There was interest in signing Rob.
16:46Rob had a very unique look, a very unique style.
16:49And was someone that we felt would really fit on our roster.
16:55I think it was assumed that I was just going to go because that's what you do.
16:59You go and get more exposure, bigger crowds, bigger TV, bigger money.
17:04But I really didn't want to.
17:06I felt like they could erase my entire history of everything that I've done.
17:14And start me over as a new character.
17:17Because they did business in that kind of way.
17:21I wasn't afraid of losing Rob to WWE or WCW.
17:25Because the constraints that they were going to put on him
17:29betrayed an artist's sensibility.
17:33And as long as he had the opportunity to be an artist,
17:40Rob Van Dam would stay with ECW.
17:43This is my perfect showcasing.
17:47This is where I want to be.
17:49I don't want to go somewhere else.
17:50I want to bring all the eyes here.
17:53So everyone can see me being the whole effing show here in ECW.
18:04I can stay here the rest of my career.
18:07But ECW is headed downhill.
18:19ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW! ECW!
18:25I was the guy. I was the king at the time sitting in the throne.
18:29I am ECW.
18:36But then checks started bouncing.
18:40Paul didn't have the funds to finance the company.
18:45The last year of ECW was a brutal struggle to stay alive.
18:54So we all had a little bit of time to prepare for the inevitable.
18:57But once you hit that flatline, it's still shocking.
19:08In April of 2001, ECW officially declares bankruptcy.
19:12That was only a month after WWE had officially acquired WCW.
19:19The sports entertainment industry had gone from three major players to just one.
19:25When ECW went out of business, it really gutted me.
19:30So ultimately I knew that if I wanted to be a TV wrestler in the United States, that meant
19:38going to WWE.
19:39I actually came in representing ECW, which was great for me.
20:04When WWE acquired ECW, fans still wanted to see the battle play out.
20:09And Rob Van Dam was brought in to fight for ECW's side.
20:19The invaders were supposed to be heels, but he was the baby face within the heel group
20:24who stood out.
20:25He kind of had to like that guy.
20:26And here comes Rob Van Dam.
20:27This guy's a real deal, no doubt about it.
20:28What made Rob cool is that he was cool without trying to be cool.
20:46I remember they're doing this thing where Austin's backstage and he says, next person
20:50that comes through that door, I'm going to fight tonight.
20:52First son of a bitch walks through that door.
20:57I am going to take to my ring and I'm going to whip his ass.
21:03Everyone just wants RVD to walk through the door.
21:07And then you're seeing RVD mix it up with top WWE stars that as an ECW fan, you would
21:22have never imagined.
21:23I'm wrestling some of the top stars there and I'm beating these guys.
21:39This is what happens when you get hardcore with Rob Van Dam.
21:45Cool.
21:46That's all you have to say is cool.
21:49Don't you understand this?
21:50This is pressure, man.
21:51This is pressure.
21:52I'm like, hey, everything's cool when you're Rob Van Dam, you know?
22:02So for the next few years, when I'm out in the ring, I'm happy, I'm doing my thing, I'm
22:08connecting with the crowd.
22:10But at the same time, it was a total different style, total different agenda.
22:16Now I'm not the whole effing show.
22:19I'm part of the show.
22:21In the early part of his run here, Rob was underappreciated and underutilized.
22:26It's not a proper assessment of what Rob Van Dam had to offer.
22:31Every single step of the way felt like a battle.
22:34I'm fighting the conformity of fitting into pre-notioned ideas or pre-packaged storylines.
22:43I didn't want to change because I really enjoyed what I was.
22:48He wasn't going to compromise himself, even if it meant advancement in his career and
22:53higher profile matches.
22:55He knew what he wanted to do and what he wanted to be, and he wasn't going to be pushed into
22:59being something that he wasn't.
23:01I think if he really, really cared about pleasing certain people, he would have changed, and
23:06he never did.
23:07Sometimes wrestling can be a little tricky.
23:13During this time, I know he's not as happy as he could be.
23:17It could have been backstage politics that prevent you from reaching the apex of your
23:25career.
23:26I always felt like producers never understood me.
23:32Everybody wants to talk in my ear and tell me something different.
23:36The other people don't get you, but I get you.
23:38You're a surfer dude, right?
23:41Everyone's always trying to fit me into a category.
23:43Why can't I just be me?
23:48I was longing for something, feeling unfulfilled, and I ended up pitching an idea to Vince McMahon.
23:58That idea would end up changing everything.
24:11The fans that knew ECW, Never Let the Spirit Die, the fans would chant, ECW, ECW.
24:23A lot of those fans did that because they missed ECW.
24:27They preferred ECW, and so did I, and I thought we could have an ECW reunion.
24:34Just one night, all of us wrestling ECW style.
24:38The wrestlers would love it.
24:40The fans would love it.
24:42And so I asked Vince McMahon, why don't you do this?
24:45And instead of telling me no, he loved the idea.
24:49Rob just kept telling Vince, ECW, bring back ECW.
24:52It's still got legs.
24:53People will love it.
24:54It'll be successful.
24:55And Rob was right.
24:56ECW, ECW, ECW.
24:57ECW was all these people standing right in front of the arena from 8.30 in the morning
25:05until 8.30 at night just to get in there.
25:08Hello, everyone, and welcome to ECW One Night Stand.
25:15ECW One Night Stand was a hell of a night.
25:21Oh, Dios mio.
25:24Air seven.
25:27Tommy, no, no.
25:30He's on fire.
25:34Of course, I was extremely disappointed that I had a tour in ACL when it came time to actually
25:41do the show.
25:42RVD, RVD, RVD, RVD.
25:45I don't have any creative geniuses writing my script tonight, folks.
25:50And I'm gonna take you back to a time before RVD's vocabulary was limited to whatever and
25:59cool.
26:01That is how you showcase RVD.
26:04RVD, RVD, RVD, RVD.
26:09Rob Van Dam made that all possible.
26:11He made that possible for the fans.
26:13He made that possible for me.
26:15And he gave opportunity to a lot of guys who deserved it.
26:20It was a perfect sendoff.
26:24The first ECW One Night Stand was such a success.
26:28We're doing it again.
26:29But this one leads into opening up ECW as a third brand.
26:39The first ECW One Night Stand was a very special show.
26:44So doing it again was going to feel exploitive.
26:48What could we offer that had never been offered before?
26:53RVD is in the main event against John Cena.
26:57This is even bigger than anything we did the year before.
27:00I'm wrestling for the championship in the Hammerstein Ballroom.
27:04Six days, John, before that title is around my waist.
27:13Me and my buddies watched the first One Night Stand from home.
27:17We thought it was amazing.
27:18We're so into it.
27:19So when they announced the second one, we're like, we're going.
27:21Everybody in that arena wants RVD to win the title.
27:25It was such a wild atmosphere.
27:47I was in the Hammerstein Ballroom.
27:49It was special.
27:55They were not going to let Rob Van Dam lose.
27:58If he loses, I really did think there was going to be a riot that night.
28:02They hated him.
28:05Everything about that night was so exciting.
28:08I could have had a 25-minute contest with my t-shirt.
28:11And that would have been amazing.
28:13And I don't think John Cena understands.
28:15These ECW fans want no part of him whatsoever, except maybe his head.
28:20This is a way for them in our house to show us that they are really the boss.
28:25It was so fun.
28:27I don't think this one's rocket science.
28:29Cena represented everything that these fans disliked.
28:32And RVD was the legitimate embodiment of everything they do like.
28:40That night is completely irreplaceable.
28:43That match was fantastic.
28:50Oh, there goes the WWE Champion.
29:00Rob Van Dam using his entire body as a weapon.
29:04John Cena was great. The crowd was great.
29:09Van Dam fights out of it.
29:12It was awesome.
29:13I'm so glad I was able to be a part of it.
29:16Van Dam up top.
29:19Rob Van Dam with a five-star front flip.
29:31Rob Van Dam is the new heavyweight champion of the world.
29:38Thank you, God. Thank you, God.
29:43Thank you, God. Thank you, God.
29:46When I won the championship at the end of the night, and that crowd erupted,
29:52that was a payoff that I worked so hard for.
29:55You know, I blazed my own trail.
29:57I followed my own path, even though a lot of people wouldn't have.
30:01And I ended up at the very top.
30:04I was so happy for Rob. I was so happy for all the ECW guys.
30:08It's not about winning or losing. It's about the moments.
30:13I am the world champion.
30:16I did it by the way that fit me, and here I am.
30:22Hello, everyone, and welcome to the world premiere of ECW on SyFy.
30:28Two days after I won the world championship,
30:31two days after I won the world championship,
30:33Paul Heyman presented me with the ECW championship.
30:40So now I had two title belts, and everything's going great.
30:45My mind, body, and spirit are aligned.
30:48I'm feeling like I am at my best in every which way.
30:54The higher you are, the further you have to fall.
31:02I'm rolling pretty hard.
31:04What do you go by?
31:05Rob Van Dam, RBB.
31:06Can you explain to me why your car smells like dope?
31:16I think it's about time for a party right now.
31:20I got some time to burn.
31:23In ECW, I started being known for the cannabis community.
31:31I remember seeing a sign in New York, and I just connected with it.
31:36And I loved the thought of them associating me with them.
31:41A lot of the cannabis references when it came to my character
31:45was like tongue in cheek, or if you get it, you get it.
31:49They're all gonna see their favorite wrestler, Rob Van Dam,
31:53smoking Taz's ass.
31:55And just because this match means so much to me, Taz,
31:58I plan on getting in a couple extra hits.
32:02Taz!
32:07When I was in WWE, I used marijuana, and I thought that it was okay.
32:14Dude, what have you been smoking?
32:18You know, I never felt like I was really doing anything wrong.
32:23I had that perspective, like these people are drinking,
32:26and alcohol is way worse.
32:28They're smoking cigarettes.
32:30What am I doing that's so wrong?
32:33And that's how I felt.
32:36Looking back, I think it's fair to say
32:39I spent so much time trying to convince everybody
32:43that marijuana was something that could be used responsibly,
32:48when at the same time, I was pretty irresponsible.
32:55We were on our way to Philadelphia.
32:59And I see the Christmas lights go up.
33:22We have our bags and suitcases on the ground, open,
33:26with all our clothes, the championship belt laying there in the grass.
33:29All these cars are driving by.
33:33It was a pretty humbling experience.
33:36I was quite embarrassed by it, by the whole thing.
33:41We weren't busted for driving under the influence,
33:44or driving and smoking.
33:46I got a ticket for possession of marijuana and speeding.
33:49That's it.
33:51I'd been busted plenty of times before, and it never went anywhere.
33:56Just because I was world champion, that's what made it different.
34:00But by the time we got to the arena,
34:03our bus was all over every form of media.
34:06Everybody knew.
34:09Vince McMahon was upset.
34:15We had a little talk.
34:17He said, you're going to be suspended for 30 days.
34:21Tonight, you're going to lose the WWE Championship.
34:27Tomorrow night, you're going to lose the ECW Championship.
34:34I was so disappointed in myself.
34:37It broke my heart.
34:39And the fans were so bummed, they booed.
34:43We've got near riot conditions here in South Philly.
34:47They all started throwing their cups.
34:50And why? Because I'm the cause of it.
34:52So I had to eat that.
34:54And wanted to find a gutter to crawl into.
34:59And at the time, the legality of it and the arrest
35:03is what really made it bad.
35:07Representing the WWE,
35:10we're riding on your back as world champions.
35:12We have faith in you.
35:14And then that faith is shattered.
35:16And it derailed RVD's career.
35:19And it could have derailed the WWE's career.
35:22And it could have derailed the WWE as well at that time.
35:27I think he probably could have gone to the moon and back
35:31if he didn't get arrested.
35:33Vince has to take a step back.
35:35He has to reassess because he has a brand to be concerned about.
35:46Now looking back at it,
35:48I can clearly see that it was a very risky move
35:52having me represent the whole company
35:55because I was a little bit of a wild card.
35:59Anybody that thought that going with me
36:02might not be the right move because I might blow it,
36:06well, I proved them all right.
36:10Once I came back from the 30-day suspension,
36:14things had changed.
36:16I didn't have the inspiration that I had.
36:20I was so burnt out from all the nonstop traveling and wrestling.
36:26I was ready to go.
36:32Yeah.
36:36My contract expired with WWE in 2007.
36:42At the same time, I didn't care if I ever wrestled again.
36:45That's how burnt out I was.
36:47And I took some time away from the business.
36:51Rob was tired of the grind.
36:53Rob was tired of people telling him where to go, when to be there,
36:56and how to do it, and needed a break.
36:59It takes a lot to walk away.
37:02And, you know, it doesn't take a whole lot to stay.
37:05And when someone does that, they're doing it for themselves.
37:08I did a lot of meditating,
37:10building up my relationship with the universe.
37:13It felt like a new part of me,
37:15a new Zen Ninja RVD spirit became my priority.
37:20And that started a whole new era of post-WWE wrestling,
37:26where I wasn't priced to work every single weekend
37:29because that's not what I wanted.
37:31So when it got to the business end, everything was great.
37:34However, at the same time, my marriage was going downhill.
37:40At the end of 2015, we were officially separated.
37:44And now I got this big, cold, empty house.
37:48And I got very depressed.
37:50And I had this little dog,
37:52and that dog was my source of happiness and positive energy and of love.
37:56And when the dog died, you know, I was completely lost.
38:00And then my dad was getting sick,
38:02and I told myself, what if this happens?
38:05Now what are you going to do?
38:07And, you know, that happened.
38:10He was pretty close with dad.
38:12And then for dad to just go, it was very hard for him.
38:18I hadn't really felt that kind of pain before.
38:21I knew I'm always going to be RVD.
38:24I'm always going to be able to go anywhere and find love.
38:26People love me, but it didn't matter.
38:31When you're just, like, surrounded with darkness, none of that matters.
38:35So I got to go through that and feel that.
38:37And moving forward, I rebuilt myself.
38:40And that gave me a new purpose.
38:44I met Katie towards the end of my rock bottom.
38:48And, you know, at first, I felt like she should run,
38:52because of the place that I was in.
38:54You know, a lot of times they say it's one day at a time.
38:56But I was at a point where I couldn't imagine getting to the end of the day.
39:00And someone very wise said to me,
39:02well, sometimes it's one moment at a time.
39:04And that's what helped me.
39:06Because being with Katie has been one happy moment
39:09that I just decided to throw myself completely into.
39:13He was coming out of a dark time in his life.
39:15So he wasn't looking for love at that time.
39:17But I could just feel that it was there and meant to be.
39:22Rob Van Dam is headed to the WWE Hall of Fame.
39:27Please welcome Rob Van Dam.
39:35Every step of the way, I had so many people trying to change me
39:39because I was different.
39:41But you understood me.
39:44When I get up on the top rope, when I look out to the crowd,
39:48I don't know of a better high.
39:51Seems like I would know.
39:53So, thank you.
39:56A lot of people feel like I was kicked out of the WWE,
39:59like I was unaccepted.
40:01But I'm now up there with the legends that I used to watch
40:06that inspired me to follow my dreams.
40:10I hope that when people think of me,
40:12it makes them feel better about just being themselves.
40:17If you're happy being you, hey, you're okay by me.
40:21Do I have the drive that I used to have
40:24to prove to everybody that I'm the best in the world?
40:27No.
40:28But where I'm at right now, I'm fulfilled.
40:36When you ask people some of the most exciting talent of all times,
40:39Rob Van Dam is in that argument every single time.
40:45To ECW fans, he was our Hulk Hogan.
40:49He was our Ric Flair.
40:51Is he thinking about going coast to coast?
40:53Those matches became a blueprint actually for the independent style
40:56that morphed eventually into even what you're seeing in WWE nowadays.
41:00Oh my goodness! What a collision!
41:03He blazes his own trail.
41:06He doesn't conform.
41:08Rob Van Dam's entire mindset is being one of a kind.
41:15Rob Van Dam! The whole damn show is here!
41:20I think the way that I've gone through life,
41:23kind of following my own path,
41:26has just been the only way that I could have lived my life.
41:32It's not about trying to be different.
41:35It's about not bothering to try to be like everybody else.