WWE wanted Rob Van back full-time?
"What do ya say?!"
Well, maybe if Vince McMahon had showed "RVD" the RE-SPECT, the Battle Creek, MI natived wouldn't have had to "Walk" to TNA.
Okay, enough Pantera references.
Van Dam became infamous during his stint with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) where he addressed himself as "Mr. Monday Night" because, you see, he LOVED wrestling on Monday nights.
In a self-fulfilling prophecy, he became one of WWE's biggest stars in the early half of the 2000s, eventually winning both the ECW Heavyweight Championship and WWE Championship, the latter of which he defeated John Cena for at the first One Night Stand pay-per-view (PPV).
Then a traffic stop changed everything.
"RVD" and Sabu were busted with pot and pills on July 3, 2006 and he subsequently lost both titles. He stuck around in WWE for another year but never reached the same heights.
Three years later, he emerged as the latest member of the TNA roster during a special Monday edition of Impact Wrestling.
Between the Ropes recently spoke with "The Whole F'N Show" to get his thoughts on that period in his career:
"I actually contacted WWE when it looked like things might work out with TNA's contract. I emailed Johnny (Laurinaitis) and I actually said are you sure there isn't a part-time schedule there. I even had some ideas where they would come out financially ahead of me, paying me a limited amount of dates ... Johnny has responded with they'd love to have me there, please reconsider and do full-time because they need me there the whole time. I was not even thinking about doing that. Even now, I can't imagine going back to that crazy ass schedule that I worked with them. I'm grateful that I had that time with them. Right now, at this stage in my career, it's even less appealing than it was prior to coming to TNA."
With several of their stars either moving on recently for one reason or another -- Shawn Michaels, Edge, Batista -- and several others on their last legs -- Triple H, The Undertaker -- WWE seems to need all the star power it could get so trying to hire back one of their most popular Superstars is a no brainer.
Unfortunately for them, Van Dam has his priorities elsewhere and TNA's more relaxed schedule offers him the flexibility he needs.
Besides, WWE already has all the airbrushed singlet action it can handle in Ryback, right?
Check out Between the Ropes for the full interview.