Rob Van Dam Recalls Being Frustrated With WWE Pay Early On, What He Would Have Done Differently Now

Rob Van Dam recently talked about on his early days with WWE and what he would have done differently looking back on it. RVD weighed in on the topic on his 1 Of a Kind podcast, talking about how his early contracts were on an elevating pay scale and being frustrated with what he was making. You can see some highlights below, per Wrestling Inc:

On voicing his frustration with his early pay: “Shortly after this conversation [with Ross], I was in Pittsburgh at the Mellon Arena … I’m in the bathroom standing in the urinal, and Pat Patterson’s in there, and me, we’re the only ones in the bathroom. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I was trying to roll a doobie or something.

“Anyway, he says, ‘Hey, kid, you’re going to make a lot of money here in this business.’ And I said to him, ‘If you say so.’ And he didn’t like the response. He said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘No, if you say so. Sounds good. I’ll believe it when I see it.’ He goes, ‘I don’t like that answer. You’re telling me you don’t believe in yourself?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I believe in me, but I don’t know if that’s going to equate to making a lot of money, based on what I’ve been making here so far. I got paid a lot more before I came here.'”

On what he would have done differently: “Now, having the bigger picture, I can tie all these events together and see where the office might have thought that I was just like, ‘eh,’ where I should have said, ‘A rocket ship on my back? Yes! Yes! Yes! I’m getting a rocket ship, I’m going to prove to you this isn’t a mistake! You’re never going to regret doing this! I’m going to be the best rocket ship player you’ve ever had,’ but that’s not me.”