RVD Recalls Heated Talk With Kurt Angle After Botched Spot

While the matches in pro wrestling are predetermined, and even the spots are drawn out by producers, there are often times when the performers take the initiative of calling the action in real time. The spontaneity involved in the process often leads to disagreements and spills over to the locker room, as was the case during a match between Kurt Angle and Rob Van Dam in 2006. 

The match in question took place on WWE's ECW brand, where Angle and RVD feuded briefly. As he recounted the story on his "One of a Kind" podcast, RVD clarified that Angle most likely had no recollection of the incident, and that "it wasn't a big deal" as neither man ever held a grudge over the incident.

"We might have bumped heads or something in the ring ... the match was almost over," RVD recalled. "He said something like, 'You're not listening to me.' I took so much offense to that, you know? Being the veteran, and being in the position that I was, I was like, 'What? I'm not listening to you?' After the match, he left first, and I was still in the ring so hot about it. I got myself all worked up." 

When a furious RVD returned to the backstage area, he found a relaxed Angle — chewing food and wearing flip-flops — sitting near Gorilla.

"I was like, 'Kurt let's talk outside — right now,'" RVD said, recalling his confrontation with Angle. "I was steaming. You said, 'I am not listening to you? Who the f–k are you?' He goes, 'I didn't say that. Did I? I didn't mean it if I said that.'  Just like that, it was over and funny. It was him being crazy Kurt. He kinda got that nickname for some of the people."

Later that year, Kurt Angle left for TNA, a move that opened the door for others such as RVD to consider options outside of WWE. RVD remains eternally grateful to Angle for leading the way, especially since wrestlers in TNA were getting paid similar numbers to WWE for working fewer dates.

"When he was in Impact, he was the top guy, and that made it okay to consider another place to work if WWE wasn't working out," RVD admitted. "For me, it ended up being the case. The office told me that he wasn't getting paid what he was rumored. That was a big factor: way less work for comparable numbers."

While Angle and RVD wrestled only a few times in TNA, the latter admittedly always brought his 'A' game every time he stood across from the Olympic gold medallist. Furthermore, RVD wanted to prove to himself that he could hang in the ring with a wrestler of Angle's stature.

"First of all, Kurt is such a great wrestler," RVD stressed. "He took to the business so quick, he was so gifted. I liked the competitiveness of wrestling with somebody like that, because you know it was going to be way different than wrestling someone like, I don't know, One Man Gang. And because I had that ECW spirit and fire inside me, I wanted to stand up to him, even though he was an Olympic hero."