Why Rob Van Dam Likens AEW To ECW

On his podcast "1 of A Kind,” former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam weighed in on the controversial decision AEW made to air footage of the CM Punk-Jack Perry altercation on "AEW Dynamite." While the WWE Hall of Famer acknowledged that the criticism the booking received was reasonable, he said that this type of storytelling is not unlike what would be seen in his old stomping ground of ECW, "That's how people are taking this whole AEW thing, saying by AEW filming it that they're localizing their growth potential to a point to where they're coming across small, some people think they're gonna implode they're so small, and I look at it like it's more like ECW-style."

The ECW legend explained this comparison by recalling that ECW capitalized on being the smaller and unique promotion. One example RVD brought up was how ECW would incorporate real legal troubles and introduce them into the television storylines. He stated that backstage drama leading up to Punk's dismissal from AEW was good fodder for the continuation of The Young Bucks' storyline, who have been subtly commenting about the "Second City Saint" on AEW television, without mentioning his name.

RVD also cautioned that it may not be in AEW's best interest to try to emulate WWE, but rather they should embrace their own unique identity and acknowledge that professional wrestling has a large and varied landscape.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "1 of a Kind" with a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.