2006 was a statement year for RVD as he reached the WWE summit by capturing top titles. Bruce Prichard was with the company at the time and felt Rob Van Dam missed out on the opportunity to truly become the undisputed top guy for an extended period.
RVD’s deserved world title push suffered an abrupt demise as WWE booked him to drop the belts in July before writing him off television via a 30-day storyline suspension. It was later revealed that WWE booked the on-screen angle to cover up the highly-publicized story of RVD’s real-life arrest.
Prichard said Rob Van Dam’s unavailability messed up WWE’s well-laid plans for the championship. The former manager felt RVD could have been “The Guy” as he had shown tremendous promise of being a long-term fixture in the main event scene before his run-in with the law.
Bruce Prichard found it unfortunate but added that human beings tend to end up in regrettable and downright stupid situations from time to time.
How the inopportune arrest punctured RVD’s WWE career
As the story goes, the ECW legend was arrested on drug possession charges after being stopped for speeding on the Ohio State Highway. The popular star was caught with marijuana and Vicodin, and the ill-timed bust convinced WWE officials to pull the plug on RVD’s big push.
The WWE Hall of Famer’s career failed to recover after returning from the kayfabe suspension, and he left the company a year later in 2007.
Do you agree with Prichard’s perception of RVD’s capabilities as a performer? Could he have been “The Guy” had it not been for the real-life arrest? Sound off in the comments section below.
If any quotes are used from this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.
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