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Former WWE Superstar Rene Dupree recently detailed how John Laurinaitis got mad at him for an accident in a match with Rob Van Dam.
Dupree became WWE's youngest-ever contracted talent back in 2002 when he was sent to their developmental territories. By 2003, 19-year-old Dupree was on the road full-time with the main roster. As part of the SmackDown brand, Dupree got to work with some of the industry's biggest names, but this could, on occasion, be ill-fated given his lack of experience at the time.
Now on his Cafe de Rene podcast, the former WWE Tag Team Champion discussed a match he wrestled with Rob Van Dam on the first-ever UK SmackDown show. In the match, a botched German suplex led to the Canadian-born star taking a nasty bump. This nearly broke the former Superstar's neck. Dupree also noted that Vince McMahon was startled when the former Tag Team Champion came backstage.
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"So, yeah, German Suplex, rolled right onto the back of my head, the referee thought I'd broke my neck. I think it was baby Hebner, Brian. And then, when I got to the back, Vince stood up, and was like, called the trainer Larry." he began (0:21 - 0:38)
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With the backstage consensus being that Dupree had broken his neck, he noted that John Laurinaitis took the opportunity to scold him.
"Yeah, everybody thought I broke my neck, and of course, I think Johnny [Ace] got mad. 'cos 'Why did ya' jump?" he added (0:47 - 0:55)
When did Rob Van Dam vs. Rene Dupree take place?
The match between Rob Van Dam and Rene Dupree took place on October 12, 2004, in the United Kingdom.
The episode aired on Thursday, October 14th 2004. In the match, Van Dam was able to best the former WWE Tag Team Champion via pinfall. Rey Mysterio also won a huge United States Championship Number One Contenders' battle royal.
The show, which took place at the Manchester Evening News Arena, came during WWE's first ever week of UK-based programming. Since then, RAW and SmackDown from the UK have been a frequent occurrence.
What did you think of Rene Dupree's comments? Do you remember his match with Rob Van Dam on SmackDown? You can share your thoughts in the comment section below.
If you use any quotes from this article, please give credit to Cafe de Rene and H/T Sportskeeda for transcriptions
