For countless wrestling fans, the action they see on WWE TV these days can’t compare to what was going on just a few decades earlier.
In 2008, WWE implemented a PG rating, banning chair shots to the skull, blood, and other staples of the industry, and the consensus among audiences is that the rating has only hurt the wrestling fans see from Vince McMahon’s promotion.
Viewerships and attendances are certainly down from the days of the envelope-pushing Attitude Era, and it’s not just the fans who think things have changed for the worse.
What offends Rob Van Dam?
Speaking on the Two Man Power Trip of Wrestling podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam spoke about how wrestling has changed, not just in WWE but throughout the entire industry.
RVD explained how things are entirely different today compared to when he was competing full-time (via WrestlingInc.)
I’m still offended by a lot of the stuff that I see nowadays… I hate it when people say, ‘Oh, I wasn’t brought up that way,’ no one was brought up that way, we have to adapt. Your perception changes when you’re an adult.”
Rob Van Dam.
Van Dam added that when he was breaking into wrestling, the number one rule was to protect the business, but that’s changed in recent years.
“Somewhere way down the road, it became, ‘number one rule: safety first.’ Like, what?”
Rob Van Dam
The future of wrestling
While AEW has proven to be a hit with fans, offering an alternative to WWE and a more unsanitized product compared to Vince McMahon, RVD isn’t hopeful for the future of the industry.
“What’s it gonna be, eventually? Unless it just goes straight up to a broadway play.”
Rob Van Dam.
RVD’s most recent match came at Ireland’s Over the Top ScrapperMania VI event this past March, where he defeated Scotty Davis.
