Rob Van Dam Critiques Modern Training’s Focus On Spots Over Fundamentals, Psychology

On the latest episode of 1 Of A Kind, Rob Van Dam expressed concerns about modern wrestling training methods and psychology while reacting to the discussion around the dangerous Leon Slater dive at TNA Rebellion. Here are the highlights:

On the style: “I hate it when they stop what they’re doing and just start staring. Choke each other, something. I hate it. It just tells me that they’re not in the mindset, the commitment…. They forget that it’s a match. As soon as someone grabs your hand and goes up to the top rope, the guy down on the bottom forgets he’s doing anything already. He just starts spotting them. Doesn’t try to pull his arm away, untie the guy’s show, try and grab his leg, try and push him off the rope, nothing. They just go, ‘Oh okay, no one’s going to notice that I’m just spotting you while you dance on the f**king rope. That is the stuff that wouldn’t have fit in what the Sheik trained me to do.”

On training being behind the reason: “It’s crazy how everybody does everybody’s moves . And they’re taught that in school. They’re taught in school to do all the moves that nobody — nobody — was doing when I broke in. If I watch kids training right now in a ring in school, they haven’t even had a match yet, they’re doing moves that nobody was doing back in 1989… It’s crazy that they’re taught those moves instead of the basics now, instead of the foundation of wrestling. Grabing the guy, headlock, reversal, go behind, arm bar. They’re taught that instead and because of that, I guess they’re taught that they’re supposed to be able to trust everyone else to do their same s**t. And that’s not a luxury that I ever had.”

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit 1 Of A Kind an h/t to 411mania.com for the transcription.