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WWE Wanted To Make Rob Van Dam A ‘Paul Heyman Guy’ During His Run With The Company In 2014

By Aaron Sass

From the archive: published Nov 15, 2016, 9 years ago. Details may have changed since.

Former WWE superstar Rob Van Dam will always be closely linked with Paul Heyman because of his memorable run in Extreme Championship Wrestling [ECW] in the mid- and late-90s. But, despite the fact that the two have had a great working relationship in the past, Rob Van Dam wasn’t interested in working with Heyman during his most recent WWE run two years ago.

While speaking with Sports Illustrated , Van Dam revealed that WWE wanted to turn him heel and put him with Paul Heyman during his 2014 run, but because he already had one foot out the door, RVD nixed the idea simply because he felt like it would’ve been pointless to make a drastic change to his character while he was already planning to leave the company.

“The office wanted to put me with Paul [Heyman] and turn me heel, but I already have one foot out the door in wrestling, so why change to a heel when I’m on my way out? I’ve been so willing to stay strong and stick to my guns for so long when it comes to my beliefs. I’m a symbol to people for a lot of different things and changing me to a heel, at the last minute, could change that.”

Rob Van Dam was a babyface for the majority of his WWE career, and even when he was a heel in the early-2000s, the fans still cheered him because he was one of the most talented and one of the most fun to watch superstars on the entire roster.

Van Dam didn’t mention if his heel turn and alliance with Paul Heyman would eventually lead to a match with Brock Lesnar at some point, but it’s probably safe to assume that they never even thought that far ahead, because if they would’ve offered him a match with Lesnar, he probably would’ve done the turn and stuck around for a little while longer.

It was clear that Van Dam could still do almost all the things that he could do in his prime during his latest WWE run. But it was also clear that WWE had no big plans for him, as he pretty much lost to everyone he got in the ring with.

Van Dam hasn’t returned to WWE since he left in 2014, and, judging from some of his recent interviews, he has no desire to go back as a full-time performer.

WWE did ask Van Dam to return and be involved in the feud which involved the Dudley Boyz and the Wyatt Family, but he wasn’t interested in coming back for that, so WWE had Tommy Dreamer and Rhyno join up with Bubba Ray and D-Von instead.

Even though Van Dam has no desire to be a full-time wrestler for WWE anymore, he’ll probably return to the company at some point because they’ll probably want to put him in their Hall of Fame. It’s also possible that he’ll do a one-off surprise appearance in a future Royal Rumble match.

In recent interviews, Van Dam has made it pretty clear that his primary focus isn’t wrestling anymore, and that he’s not really interested in being a full-time guy for any of the major wrestling organizations.

Have we seen the last of Rob Van Dam in WWE? Probably not. Everyone always goes back, even if it’s just for one match or a Hall of Fame induction. The more appropriate question to ask is, will RVD ever be a full-time WWE superstar ever again? And the answer to that question is probably not, although you can never say never in the wrestling business.

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