Rob Van Dam Praises This AEW Star For Standing Out As 'Different'

Rob Van Dam thinks that AEW has a little too much in the way of egocentric stars, and it's making one former AEW International Champion stick out from the pack.

"Everybody is just, 'I'm the best, I'm the best, I'm the best,' except maybe Orange Cassidy," That's what makes him different," Rob Van Dam said on his "One Of A Kind" podcast. "And when he goes, 'I don't care.' I mean, I feel like he took a piece of me, and took it, and then really went with it. And I like that part of them that's different."

Van Dam also appreciates Cassidy's laidback attitude and how it makes for a different in-ring product from the overwhelming intensity of many modern performers.

"I like that he doesn't have to be all raged up and be just like losing sleep over how he's going to get his hands on this person," Van Dam said, once again reiterating that he feels Cassidy and he shared that in their wrestling personas. "That's the real me. 'You know what, I feel pretty comfortable in this situation. If I was a betting man, and I'm not, I think I put my money on me actually. Well, you know, I don't know really what's going to happen. Let's see. But I feel pretty confident.'"

Van Dam calls himself a "non-conformist" when it comes to professional wrestling's general attitude. The former WWE Champion thinks he and Cassidy prove that there is room for "something else." While Cassidy is laidback on AEW programming, he's still a motivated athlete, recently saying that he'd like to compete in the NJPW Best of Super Junior tournament.