Rob Van Dam Explains Why ECW's Mike Awesome Won't Be Featured On Dark Side Of The Ring

WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam is never afraid to confront controversial topics head-on, which is why he appeared on the VICE TV series "Dark Side of the Ring." The documentary program has become one of the most critically acclaimed to cover wrestling in many years, and a fifth season of the show is set to air later this year, covering topics like Kurt Angle's battle with addiction, Harley Race, and the "Black Saturday" incident in 1984.

One topic that was apparently close to being covered was the life of former ECW Champion Mike Awesome, a man who RVD would love to have talked about in more detail. On "1 of a Kind," RVD admitted that he was approached by the producers of "Dark Side of the Ring" to appear for a Mike Awesome episode. He explained that he was happy to do it as he knew Awesome very well from his days on the road, calling him his "road wife" due to how much they traveled together. However, the reason why the episode was eventually canned was down to one person; Awesome's ex-wife.

"As I understand it, Mike Awesome's wife, ex-wife, put the 'kibosh' on the whole project," RVD said. "I was very bummed to hear that because, like I said, without that [documentary] it's like bury him and forget about him. Personally, I know that he missed his kids so much. Can't believe he hung himself and do that to his kids, but he used to love his kids, miss his kids all the time. Not his wife so much, and he was very upfront about that and I would poke him and grill him about it." As Van Dam mentioned, Awesome sadly took his own life on February 17, 2007, aged just 42-years old.

Please credit "1 of a Kind" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.