Rob Van Dam Addresses WWE's Motivation In Bringing ECW Back

ECW has had yet another resurgence in popularity in 2024 thanks to Paul Heyman being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame (in Philadelphia no less), the company getting its own episode of "Biography: WWE Legends," and the November 6 episode of "WWE NXT" taking place in the old ECW Arena. All of this has been welcomed with open arms, unlike the brand's 2006 revival that WWE Hall of Famer RVD was a part of for its first year. He was asked about why WWE brought the brand back on an episode of "Busted Open Radio," where he shared his insights.

"When WWE brought ECW back, there was several times there that could have been taken as evidence that they were just bringing it back to destroy it," RVD said. "I mean Vince [McMahon] was wearing the belt, and they changed all the OG's with The New Breed... To me, they were making a statement there, and I know Vince didn't like it when the fans would chant ECW during his shows when some of us [that] are represented were in the ring."

RVD even admitted that McMahon once told him that he trained the fans to chant ECW during WWE shows, using the release of "The Rise and Fall of ECW" documentary in 2004 as the reason for the chants starting to become more prominent. McMahon also told RVD that before that documentary was released, he thought no one knew about ECW, which immediately told RVD that he never wanted the original flavor of the company to be brought back in the first place.

Please credit "Busted Open Radio" when using quotes from this article, and give a H/T to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.