In the latest episode of Rob Van Dam’s podcast “1 Of A Kind”, a variety of topics were explored, including specific wrestling moves which no longer hold a special significance, anecdotes about Dean Malenko, among others.
A brief recap of the podcast’s discussions can be found below:
Talking about Dean Malenko, Van Dam said, “Imagining him being serious can seem quite amusing, but in the ring, he definitely is. His character is serious but outside of it, he’s always full of jokes, constantly attempting to lighten the mood. He has a knack for throwing out silly one-liners and making people laugh. Rather than asking you to look at something obvious, such as a piece of toilet paper stuck to someone, he’ll ask, ‘Do you know how to make a handkerchief dance? Put a little boogie in it.’ His humor is simplistic and dry, but I’ve always enjoyed his company.”
Regarding some moves losing their relevance in wrestling, Van Dam commented, “We’re not diving into the crowd, wrestling with chairs or bleeding as much now, and sometimes tables are even destroyed. I think they might be overdoing it a bit. Each time I see an announcer table being broken, I ponder, ‘Does this hold any significance anymore?’ It seems like every single match had to involve elements like specialized moves such as the Stone Cold Stunner or the Canadian Destroyer.”
Van Dam continued, “However, it looks like they’re gradually shifting away from this pattern. That’s actually heartening. There was a time when it was difficult for me to comprehend their actions or the reasons behind such changes. Why is everyone so keen on performing moves that other wrestlers popularized? It’s unclear to me, but I believe, we’re gradually moving back to a more traditional form of wrestling. Maybe not all companies are doing this, but those who do stand a good chance of distinguishing themselves from the competition.”
You can watch the entire episode below. .