Breaking The Walls Down - Missed Potential Submitted by Chris Dailey on Tuesday, April 17, 2007 at 1:12 PM EST
Breaking The Walls Down
Hello all and welcome back to another edition of Breaking The Walls Down. My schedule has somehow gotten busier lately, as my wife and I are looking for a house on top of everything else that is going on. I’m going to pass on Bits and Pieces this week, since I feel like dirt with this wonderful sinus infection and time is fleeting.
Missed Potential
He was heralded as one of the young up and comers in the business. He possessed skills that many drooled over. It was even discussed that he could become world champion and carry a company for a long, long time. Things were looking up for him. He had risked his body for the sport and the sport eventually rewarded him back with world-wide exposure in ECW. But a setback happened and ECW folded. Would he be apart of the incoming invasion angle? Would he get a shot in the company that some were now doubting he belonged in? Time would tell us he would and he eventually, after several years, became a world champion, and not just any world champion, but a dual world champion, holding both The WWE Championship and The ECW Championship. Rob Van Dam had finally arrived.
But then disaster struck. RVD and Sabu were busted in a car with drug paraphernalia and The WWE received a ton of negative exposure that the media hyped as being a typical situation for professional wrestlers. The WWE had to react, its most prominent champion was exposed in a situation that could have become a P.R. nightmare. Shortly thereafter RVD dropped both belts. He was rumored to be slated to hold, in the very least, the ECW title for quite some time, but that one bust ruined his big chance. RVD’s star had fallen and to make matters worse rumors began of his departure for NWA-TNA. These rumors spread rampant over the Internet. RVD was rumored to be telling anyone he could that once his contract ended with The WWE he would be heading to NWA-TNA. His time in The WWE was up and he was ready to move on. Then. . . silence. Nothing’s been said since then. All’s quiet and the rumors section has moved onto another area, all the meanwhile this situation has been left to do what? No one knows.
It’s quite sad, really. Aside from RVD being my favorite professional wrestler, his skills in the ring are, in my opinion, tremendous. Sure, he brings a completely different style than most are use to, but that’s a good thing. His skills, as far as The WWE is concerned, will probably not be put to use in the main event ever again. The WWE was already skeptical going in with RVD’s mic skills, but now with what happened, RVD’s name will never be associated with a world title again in the company. Sure, he may ultimately end up leaving The WWE and end up in The NWA-TNA and win the world title there, but, in reality, that won’t mean nearly as much.
What is there left for RVD to do? Personally I’d like to see if he does get his contract worked out with The WWE. I’m hoping that both sides can put together some contract that is very amicable and RVD gets one more chance to sit atop the mountain again. Sadly, many people don’t get a first try and being world champion. And, many, many more don’t get a second attempt after failing the first try around. So if you sit there like I am doing right now, you begin to realize that RVD doesn’t have many options left. Sure, as stated before he could go to The NWA-TNA, where, at first, he’ll be showcased as the talent to beat and may even get the world title. But, then he will fade away as they have too many other former world champions who will want the title. RVD could got to Japan, where he is a recognized star, and this may be an option for him, but he will then alienate all his U.S. based fans, and there are a ton of them. I would also venture to guess that he would not end up on the independent circuit, as that would be a significant drop for him. What options does he have left other than to retire, which I don’t see him doing either? Signing a new contract with The WWE is, seemingly, what would work best for him in terms of his career.
Most of you are probably thinking that’s insane, since RVD would probably toil in the mid-card to low main event area the rest of his career. While I won’t disagree with you there, Vince is no idiot. If he thinks there is a market for someone, he will use that person in that market. If RVD can stand that kind of status for a while, all the meanwhile working his tail off and making his fanbase grow, Vince will notice and place him in the necessary spotlight. In the end, Vince is about his bottom line, much like any businessperson. And, while there would be inherent risks with putting the world title around RVD’s waste again, the potential of drawing more fan interest, thus increasing the revenue and ultimately the bottom line, far exceeds the negatives.
Sadly, in the professional wrestling business (and it’s the same for any business), there is such as a thing as “heat” (or in most places, called holding a grudge). This can ultimately be the downfall of any professional wrestler. Politics coupled with people with memories who never forget, can be used to effectively hold someone back from developing into something really special. RVD’s comments, I’m sure, have not fallen on deaf ears. One can only surmise that this was intentionally done by RVD because either he didn’t care or was really upset with how things played out and mindlessly vented his steam. Either way, it’s detrimental to his cause. If RVD were to sign another contract with The WWE, his naysayers would still be right there ready to hold him down in the event a push were to come his way. It’s something RVD may have to issue restraint about realizing that he was ultimately responsible for being in the spot that he’s in.
In the end, the blame ultimately comes down on RVD. He shouldn’t be upset with the reaction he faced from the company. He knew that what he got busted for would ultimately bring him the kind of unwanted attention in The WWE that he was working to avoid. Reportedly (and well all know how much we can trust Internet rumors, don’t we?) walking around in the back saying he can’t wait to leave the company and sign with NWA-TNA, would only make his situation worse. The current ECW Champion should be RVD, not Bobby Lashley. There’s something about Lashley that I can’t quite put my finger on that makes me flip the channel instead of watching his matches all the way through. I think it has to do with his face. It simply looks to. . . kind, too soft. RVD should be wearing that belt and I hope that’s the way RVD is thinking. He could be leading ECW in a complete refit of the promotion while still being on top and showcasing his amazing talent. Instead, he’s mired down in a pointless, uninteresting feud that many fans simply don’t care about. For the betterment of the company it’s time that RVD learns to move on and accept what he’s done and that he’s going to pay for it, but in the end The WWE is the best place for him. And, The WWE must also learn to forgive (but not necessarily forget) soon, for they have a star in the form of RVD. That elusive second chance is all that RVD needs to show what he can really do.
