RVD spills the beans on how AEW kept his debut a secret

Former ECW and WWE star Rob Van Dam shocked most wrestling fans when he made his surprise debut in AEW last week (Aug. 2) on Dynamite 200.

Earlier that day, there were some rumors about AEW possibly bringing in RVD for All In or All Out later in August. That’s why his return to the big stage wasn’t a complete secret, but for the most part it was kept under wraps well enough.

On his 1 Of A Kind With RVD podcast, the man himself explained how AEW tried to hide him backstage at Dynamite 200 in order to keep word of his presence from getting out. Here’s how he describes what happened, and I’m keeping in every single “like” because you won’t get the full RVD experience otherwise.

“I was concerned that the surprise would be blown, because it usually is. And it didn’t get too far out. Even a lot of the boys were surprised.

And they went through so much trouble to hide me that like, even after we pulled into the garage in my ride, my truck, van, limo, whatever the fuck it was, but they put me in a wheelchair. They put a black curtain over top of me and like pushed me like all the way back to like this room...so I was like, well I’m not gonna fuck it up after they go through all that trouble. And so I just stayed in my room until after I made my appearance.

But like, I was still seeing guys at the end of the night. Jeff Hardy, and Matt, and some of the guys I hadn’t seen all day. Brian Cage. And they were still surprised. They were like, ‘I thought I heard the crowd saying RVD, or something. What?’ So, anyway, everyone kept the lid on it pretty good.”

RVD will be back on Dynamite tomorrow night, hopefully with no wheelchairs needed this time, to challenge Jungle Boy Jack Perry for the FTW championship.

How do you think RVD’s story compares to other instances of wrestlers being hidden backstage in order to preserve a secret? Let us know in the comments below, Cagesiders.