So when is RVD coming back?

[NoCalMike 0]

Just wondering, how much longer is his injury expected to keep him out?

[ChrisMWaters 0]

Just wondering, how much longer is his injury expected to keep him out?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

My theory is when they finally decide to have the blowoff match between Shelton and Carlito that they'll have RVD cost Carlito the match.

 

That's just my theory on the matter though.

[Guest Fishyswa]

^Yeah I think that's the most obvious answer. Probably didn't want people wondering why he was ok to come out on the ECW PPV to talk but wasn't ok to show up on SD/Raw to do something. Running the Cabana attack gives him a reason to be off until he's totally heeled and something to do when he gets back.

[CanadianChick 0]

I'm pretty sure he said he was cleared in August.

[Guest JMA]

Hopefully Carlito has lost the IC title by the time RVD comes back. I want to see him in the WWE title picture when he returns.

[The Niggardly King 0]

Octoberish

[cabbageboy 0]

I'm fairly sure he'll come back to cost Carlito the IC title, then hopefully do a quick squash of Carly en route to either facing Shelton for the IC title in a fun series or hopefully moving up to WWE title contention. They might as well push RVD, not like there's anyone doing anything of note on Raw right now. RVD will easily be the #2 face on Raw, and I dare say if he's on his game he very well could surpass Cena in popularity.

 

Hypothetically speaking, what if they did a face/face RVD and Cena match or feud. Who would the crowd go for?

[Guest QUP2CME]

Hypothetically speaking, what if they did a face/face RVD and Cena match or feud.  Who would the crowd go for?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Cena easily

[Si82 0]

I read in Power Slam that he is to return at Summerslam (or thereabouts).

[dpac 0]

well they are in Detroit this Monday.

[cabbageboy 0]

I am gonna go out on a limb here and say that the crowd would drift more towards RVD than Cena. On SMDN they wrestled a few times but the crowd was mostly confused on who to cheer (RVD kicked Cena in the face, was almost acting heelish for a while).

 

Let's face it, fans turned on the Rock at various points and Cena isn't anywhere near The Rock's level, so it's just a matter of time before the fans turn on him too.

[Guest MikeSC]

^Yeah I think that's the most obvious answer. Probably didn't want people wondering why he was ok to come out on the ECW PPV to talk but wasn't ok to show up on SD/Raw to do something. Running the Cabana attack gives him a reason to be off until he's totally heeled and something to do when he gets back.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

At the risk of being mean, after his whiny, atrocious "shoot" at ONS, I wouldn't bring him back and let him talk, either.

 

One of the problems is that RVD is not unique --- Shelton can do everything Rob can do, and is actually better at doing it.

 

Hate to see anybody hurt, but I do not really miss him being on SD.

[humongous2002 0]

A lot of people don't realize how over is RVD, the guy has been buried time after time since december 2002 and he still gets decent pops (not as big as the pops he was getting back in 2001 and 2002). Of course it all depends if RVD gets a real world title push when he comes back instead of being dicked around by WWE "creative" bookers.

[Guest MikeSC]

I don't disagree he could get really over with a big push.

 

I also think more than a few guys --- Shelton, for example --- would get over with a similar push. And I think Shelton has more upside.

[cabbageboy 0]

I'm starting to think Shelton is getting overrated. Have you seen Shelton bust out a Van Terminator? Or you know, ANY of RVD's moves really? Until he does, then it's hard to say that he can do anything RVD does and better. In fact I'm really wanting to see this match so people will shut up about this "Shelton is way better than RVD and would make him look bad" bullshit.

 

That said, I do agree that RVD should stay away from the whiny promos unless he is planning to turn heel. And given that everyone on Raw is a heel that isn't a real good idea.

[Guest MikeSC]

Shelton does his own high spots and his matches, by and large, are put together with more than hope.

[benoit4hor 0]

In fact I'm really wanting to see this match so people will shut up about this "Shelton is way better than RVD and would make him look bad" bullshit.

 

 

I have never heard anyone say that ever.

[I like Forums 0]

I've heard people say that.

[cabbageboy 0]

It hasn't been a hugely debated topic or anything, but as I said I had someone PM me a while back out of the blue trashing me for even SUGGESTING RVD could keep up with Shelton. Also Eric S. at insidepulse.com said he hoped the match would take place so Shelton could expose RVD so bad it would kill his heat for good.

 

Seriously, does anyone on here think that Shelton would humiliate Van Dam so bad that it would kill his career? I personally think it could be a great match that would make both guys look good.

[zyn081 0]

It hasn't been a hugely debated topic or anything, but as I said I had someone PM me a while back out of the blue trashing me for even SUGGESTING RVD could keep up with Shelton.  Also Eric S. at insidepulse.com said he hoped the match would take place so Shelton could expose RVD so bad it would kill his heat for good.

 

Seriously, does anyone on here think that Shelton would humiliate Van Dam so bad that it would kill his career?  I personally think it could be a great match that would make both guys look good.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

So do I, despite one being a purist and the other anything but. I think they have a common ground for atheleticism, which will mesh well together, producing something very entertaining.

[UseTheSledgehammerUh 0]

True, but RVD lives in CA now. If they want the "home state pop", I guess.

 

And they're in Ohio Monday, BTW, not Michigan.

[King Cucaracha 0]

Shelton would look so much more natural than RVD, that it could expose RVD and whole aura he has about his athleticism.

 

I'm starting to think Shelton is getting overrated. Have you seen Shelton bust out a Van Terminator? Or you know, ANY of RVD's moves really? Until he does, then it's hard to say that he can do anything RVD does and better.

 

I'm pretty sure if Shane McMahon could hit a Van Terminator, Shelton could. Shelton hits a better Somersault Plancha than RVD, better vault to the top rope, better spinwheel kick. What exactly does Van Dam do that's so 'awe-inspiring' exactly?

[Lord of The Curry 0]

I would have no problem with a Shelton/RVD tag team, leading to one of them (most likely Benjy) turning heel and feuding over the IC title.

[Dangerous A 0]

Also Eric S. at insidepulse.com said he hoped the match would take place so Shelton could expose RVD so bad it would kill his heat for good

 

Sounds like a stupid reason to want to see a match. Personally, I'd want to see a match take place between RVD and Shelton so that they, oh, I don't know, put on the best match they can? Being a wrestling fan, I'm funny like that sometimes.

 

If anything, their athleticism and one upsmanship would hopefully bring out the best in both men and in the end, I'd like to see both men come out of a potential feud or series better off than they started. It'd also be a nice starting point for one of them to start a heel turn in that they could both start out as faces and then one of them goes to shortcuts to go over, etching a line that distinguishes who is heel and who is face.

[Boon 0]

RVD just seems so stale. His style has always come off as lackadaisical, formulaic and predictable. Last I saw him, his matches were nearly identical. Same moves, same order, and nothing at all that seemed like it would hurt his opponent. His personality of a laid-back stoner really fit his in-ring style. I don't know why he is pissed about his character being an idiotic pot-head; he has never shown in the past years to be anything that's worth noticing.

[Kahran Ramsus 0]

RVD's been embarrassed before in the ring, most notably against Benoit at Summerslam 2002 where Benoit did the best he could to lead Van Dam through an actual match and he couldn't take the hint, but it didn't hurt his heat and I don't expect this too either. RVD simply can't work a match. He has his trademark moves and that's it. Any of the top wrestlers in the company, Benoit, Guerrero, HBK, Angle, Benjamin, etc., can wrestle circles around RVD on an off day. It is laughable to compare RVD favourably to those guys. He's not even at the level of a Triple H, let alone a Shawn Michaels.

 

It it wasn't for his devoted fanbase, Rob would have been gone a long time ago with his lack of effort, talent, and piss-poor attitude.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Well, when the company refuses to let him get over the same way he did in ECW (I'm not talking about giving him 20 minutes to put on a match, but at least pull off the restraints a little), which is why he was even brought in, it kinda does help to lower his morale, which decreases the quality of his work. As long as RVD doesn't stall constantly after the opening moments of a match (I actually think the stalling during the beginning fits the arrogance of his character), his matches usually turn out good.

 

I rewatched RVD/Lynn from Hardcore Heaven 99, and it's a lot better than I remembered it being. Sure, RVD had to LITERALLY carry Jerry when Jerry was knocked out cold, and both have had better matches against Lance Storm and various others, but the two did bring out something in each other that doesn't happen very often anymore.

 

Now, as for a Shelton/RVD match, and who would be more over...ummm, Van Dam has had over a decade to create a diehard cult fanbase. Benjamin, to me, has all the talent in the world to make it, but lacks a certain something to push himself over the edge. Hopefully a feud with Van Dam could bring that out, and HOPEFULLY Vinnie Mac and Johnny Ace will say "okay, Rob, you get less injured when you go crazy than you do when we make it so you can't do shit, so just go crazy."

[Dangerous A 0]

If RVD and Shelton were to start off face v. face, I think Shelton would end up being turned. The one thing (possibly the only thing) RVD has over Shelton is RVD connects with the crowd a lot better. This is why Shelton has been getting booed during his matches with Carlito and Jericho. They connect with the audience on some level, while Shelton does not. Matter of fact, I think Shelton's lack of connection with the fans is a huge factor in why he isn't as big a player as he should be. In Shelton's defense, WWE hasn't presented him that many chances to connect or even shape his character more. The time or two he has been given mic time that I've seen, he gets cut off and made to look like what he has to say is not important.

[Lord of The Curry 0]

His "I can take this fist and create more hits then the last Fozzy album" line to Jericho is one of the best lines of the year.

 

An RVD/Benjamin feud would present interesting paralells between the two. RVD came up the hard way through ECW and FMW and had to take every oppurtunity given to him to make himself. Grew up in a good home in a middle-class community and is pretty much well-liked by everybody.

 

Benjamins life is a reverse parallel. He grew up in the hood, roughing it and trying to find a way out which he did through athletics. Became an amateur wrestler and was given a golden oppurtunity by the WWE via Team Angle. Is as serious as it gets when it comes to in-ring wrestlers.

 

I like the whole "RVD is a chilled-out spot guy" vs "Shelton is a serious wrestler" dynamic but I even more like the fact that they could put the feud over with both guys being as dangerous as the other.

[cabbageboy 0]

I will agree that RVD has been boring and repetitive on SMDN before getting hurt, but look at who he was wrestling! Would YOU be ultra thrilled dicking around with Kenzo Suzuki and Rene Dupree? Oddly enough I was digging his tag stuff with Rey, at least they were doing some nice tandem moves.

 

Kahran, the SS 02 match vs. Benoit was a bizarre slight misfire during a hot streak for both guys, but I'd hardly say Benoit embarrassed him...most people said it was a **** match instead of the ***** classic that was expected.

 

When has Angle "wrestled circles" around RVD? I recall Eddie schooling him in that IC title win but that was the storyline of the match itself. In the rematches there's no way Eddie wrestled circles around him. As far as Shelton goes, if he did a Van Terminator it would only make him look like a copycat, so I'd advise against it.

 

The main guy who really did make RVD look bad, and went out of his way to do so, was HHH. Virtually all of the RVD/HHH matches are lousy because they are booked totally wrong: HHH does his boring offense on RVD, who isn't exactly the best at long term selling. Seriously, who wants to see HHH work RVD's leg for 15 mins? I suppose in theory it makes sense (take away the legs of a guy who would do a lot of kicking moves on you) but in practice it does just that...it takes away most of RVD's offense and puts him in the near impossible situation of having to sell a leg while attempting to do his stuff.

 

It's funny how people forget stuff. I mean RVD during the 2001-2002 period was perhaps the most over guy on the roster and consistently had the best matches on Raw...but no, the guy can't work at all.