Rob Van Dam On His IMPACT Wrestling Contract Status, Learning What To Give A F— About
Rob Van Dam is still at the top of his game with IMPACT Wrestling but we’ll have to wait and see exactly how long the ‘moment’ lasts.
RVD recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard while promoting his new “Money In The Bank” themed slot machine on the new Celebrity Slots app, and he took some time to discuss his current IMPACT run. When he initially signed with the promotion in April 2019, RVD had a very business-oriented mindset and said he was coming out of “semi-retirement” for a very good deal that made sense to him. Most recently, he has been working on-screen with real-life girlfriend Katie Forbes and feuding with Sami Callihan, a feud that has been very light in tone and a bit wackier compared to some of his other work. When asked what changed or if he was just having more fun, RVD said getting to work with Katie on-air has been great and the taping schedule has also been helpful in not allowing him to get burnt out.
“Once a month I might have a two day trip of tapings, sometimes it’s longer. I don’t really have time to be burnt out anymore,” RVD said. “I can’t really complain about being on the road so I’m there for the moment. I don’t know how long the moment will last but you’re right, being in the moment is more fun than it has been.”
When asked if he could elaborate on his contract status at the ‘moment’, Rob Van Dam said he’s taking it on a show-by-show basis right now. RVD said he stays in communication with Scott D’Amore and they map things out as they go, adding that he’s glad IMPACT still thinks he’s worth investing their time in.
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“We are kinda doing it by a handful of shows, you know? Scott [D’Amore] said ‘hey, we’ve got these tapings coming up in August, can you make it?’ boom, boom, boom, ‘and what about these dates?’ So, it’s still like that,” RVD noted, “we might be two shows ahead and at the end, he might say ‘hey, what about the next ones?’ so right now I’m taking it one step at a time.”
“Even though I’m having fun I would never allow myself to invest feelings into it to a point where I could be hurt emotionally or mentally. You really got to learn not to—can I swear on here? You have to learn what to give a fuck about in life, you know what I mean? And in this business, there’s plenty of heartbreaks and promises that are made that have not come through and that’s just part of it, how you adjust to it,” RVD said. “It depends on who you are and what your values are and those are all factors on where you get. For me, I’ve always been upfront in saying I adjusted by not giving a fuck after a while. So when something says something’s going to happen I believe it, and when it does happen, I’m stoked IMPACT thinks that I’m a worthy investment.”
RVD also said he really appreciates the other talent in IMPACT, noting that they work their asses off and he’d be happy to give them his TV time if needed. He added that it’s a lot better to look at things from a different perspective instead of being angry and threatened by others that could take his spot.
“Some people ask, ‘dude, you’re not even in the opening of the show! How could they have the biggest star there and not even have you…’” RVD said. “I don’t know but you know what? I don’t give a fuck, they’re paying me, so I’m doing my part. I hope to see them go— they are going to go places and how they do it, regardless of if it’s different than how I would do it or not, that’s part of my adjustment to make it work.”
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