"Don't try and take somebody's spot" - RVD recalls lessons learned from two WWE Legends (Exclusive)

Rob Van Dam has worked for AEW lately but the pro wrestling veteran began making his name more than three decades ago. He is now revealing important lessons learned from two WWE legends.

RVD's biggest longtime rival and tag team partner is Sabu. The Whole F'N Show and The Human Highlight Reel are also good friends, and Sabu's legendary uncle, The Sheik, helped the youngsters early on in their Hall of Fame careers.

Van Dam recently spoke to Bill Apter on Sportskeeda WrestleBinge and revealed key lessons learned from Sabu and The Sheik. The WWE Hall of Famer was asked if there was anyone he tried to emulate early on in his career after watching them as a young fan growing up.

"No. Um, no. You know what... before I ever got trained, and I was just a fan, then you know... like I actually, when I was kickboxing we would wrestle at the kickboxing shows, in a choreographed opening match, then we would kickbox later and have like a, you know... a fight. And then during that time, I mean, I was The Battle Creek Barbarian for a minute, and tried to emulate The Dingo Warrior, which would then be The Ultimate Warrior, eventually, because I was so taken by him, and 'Leaping' Lanny Poffo really inspired me to think outside the box, and I liked doing acrobatic moves," RVD said.

Van Dam continued and recalled the first time he met Sabu and The Sheik. He revealed that he received a piece of career-defining advice, which he has applied throughout his time in ECW, WWE, and now AEW.

"But in 1989... December of that year, when I first met The Sheik and Sabu... [Apter reminds this is the original Sheik, not The Iron Sheik] when they started training me, that was Sabu's advice, and in particular I remember him telling me, 'You know, don't try to be like anybody else, there's already one of them, and also don't try and take somebody's spot, make your own spot.' Those were two things that really made a lot of sense to me, that I applied," RVD said. [From 4:02 onwards]

Sabu is currently planning what he hopes will be his retirement match. RVD recently revealed how he may be involved with the festivities.

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RVD's AEW status and future

Rob Van Dam began making occasional cameo appearances for AEW in August 2023, often working with Hook.

RVD is currently advertised for a special 4:20 edition of AEW Collision on April 20 in Peoria, IL. Matches and segments for the show have not been announced.

On a recent episode of the1 Of A Kind podcast, Mr. Monday Night made very interesting comments on his status with the company and revealed how AEW President Tony Khan says he always loves working with the former WWE Champion.

RVD's last AEW match came on the February 21 edition of Dynamite. The near-22-minute main event saw Van Dam, Hook, and Adam Page succumb to defeat at the hands of Samoa Joe, Brian Cage, and Swerve Strickland.