Rob Van Dam Says Dean Malenko Twice Prevented Embarrassing Wardrobe Situation In WWE

One of the special aspects of live television is that you only get one chance to do something right, and there's a lot that can go wrong. Wardrobe malfunctions in wrestling are nothing new, and Rob Van Dam recently revealed on his podcast, "1 Of A Kind," that fellow performer Dean Malenko prevented RVD from having his own kind of gear-related mishap during his WWE run from 2013 to 2014.

"My opponent's already in the ring. It's a commercial, and I'm standing at 'Gorilla' waiting for my music to hit as soon as the commercial's done," Van Dam said. "I remember two different times, but one specific — the last time. Dean Malenko's like, 'Hey, Rob.' He goes, 'You got another outfit in your bag?' I'm like, 'Um, yeah.' And he goes, 'You want to go put it on?' And I'm like, 'Um, are you serious? Why?' And he goes, 'You got one that doesn't say TNA on it?'"

RVD revealed that he had to frantically run back to his locker, quickly change into a different set of gear, and then get out to the ramp in time for his music cue. All the while, everyone in the production area laughed, knowing that he would be the only one to get in trouble if things didn't go according to plan. The WWE Hall of Famer noted that he made the mistake two separate times, with Malenko being the one to correct him in both instances.

At 52 years old, more than 30 years into his career, the veteran is still breaking new ground. Van Dam made his All Elite Wrestling debut back in August, wrestling Jack Perry for the FTW Championship. Following up on that appearance, RVD showed up in AEW again last month, this time wrestling Taz's son Hook on "AEW Collision."