ECW Legend Rob Van Dam was the guest on a recent edition of “The Steve Austin Show: Unleashed”, and you can listen to the entire interview at this link. Below are some highlights:
On How He Handles Stress Today:
My goal is, this is what got me through some really rough times recently, some personal losses, kind of bottomed out and then turned around and became productive, that’s the process or whatever. I’m good now; a lot of what got me better was how to live in the moment, and it’s easy to say, but not as easy to do, but more that I am able and quit worrying about what I have to do later on, or what could happen, or what could happen next week, or next month, or oh my God, what’s the future going to be like? This isn’t what it looked like, especially being in the moment, and as I live in the moment I think to myself, you know what, here I am, the sun is on me, I’m on a boat, living this day, whatever the deal is. I am really happy right now; let me own this; let me cherish this. When you put more focus on that, that for me, the more that I live in the moment, the better my spirit is, the better my approach to life is. It’s also my main stress, my main anxiety, from doing WWE schedule, if I made it home, say on a Wednesday afternoon, and I had to leave on a red-eye Thursday, I was just counting down the hours, I was like, oh my gosh, I’m so tired, and I have to work out, and I have to do tri’s, back and shoulders in the next few days, and I had to catch up with family. It got to a point where I didn’t renew my contract because it was stressing me out so bad. I didn’t have time. I noticed still now; not that I have as much stress and anxiety, but when I do, I notice a lot of times it’s related to my lack of structure in my life right now, that if I have an appointment, my focus is on it, like if I have an appointment at 12, normally I’d get up, drink coffee, maybe stretch out, and even now think about what I have to do, whether I have to get ready for something, I still do that. It’s self awareness, especially if I’m going on a trip, it’s so hard for me; I’m not a planner or organizer so I plan on the last day, and right before I go out the door, I speed up and think about everything about why I didn’t do something earlier, it’s time, time, time, time is always rushing for me now.
On His First WWE Run in 1997:
I was there for the betterment of ECW, and that is what Sabu and I thought. Vince thought I was there for a different reason, and Paul [Heyman] kept us in the dark about that. He told us the whole time, if there is anything you don’t like, we’ll go, we’ll walk, and it came to a point where we were there to put ECW out there on TV. He wanted us to get heat with WWE so he can keep us. I told Paul that they wanted me to put over Jesse James, and I said, what’s that going to do for ECW? I got to a point and thought, what should I do? He said, you want to go? Just let me know and we’ll go. He put it all on me. I couldn’t come in and do the J.O.B, it forced a meeting with me and Vince, along with Sabu, perhaps Gerald Brisco was there I think. Bruce Prichard and Paul Heyman were in the corner talking, not even paying attention in the meeting. That is where I learned that Vince wasn’t going to put me on TV if he didn’t think I was going to stay. I was going to be this aggressive babyface, and apparently Paul did know, which is why it blew up. I was there for ECW, and I said, well, we have to go then, so we left.
On Not Expressing Himself More During His Recent Run in WWE:
I also feel obligated as a professional to open up about situations. For example, my last run with WWE, it seems like they had me put everybody over but Nattie Neidhart, and I waited in the end to talk and explain my feelings on it; and I kind of felt that I should have probably, I mean, I don’t regret it. I should have talked earlier and I would have probably had a different run than that, but at the same time, I was like, let’s give it another night and see what happens, and it was also like, I was accepting and thinking that this is how the office sees me, they must have brought me in to give all their guys a win, and must not have look at me in the same mindset my fans see me in, but as a former world champion, and the amount of respect I receive from outside the office, but that USWA run in 1991, they bring me in, and tell me what I needed to do, and after 5-6 weeks they say that we don’t have anything for you guys, and me and Sabu, and two other guys, besides that, I’m pretty sure I have finished by my own choice by every company I worked for.
