Bruce Prichard says former star could have been "The Guy" in WWE had it not been for his arrest and suspension

SummerSlam 2006 was the topic in focus during a recent "Something to Wrestle" podcast episode with Bruce Prichard and Conrad Thompson, and the WWE Executive Director spoke about RVD's widely-discussed downfall that year.

2006 was a statement year for RVD as he reached the WWE summit by capturing top titles. Bruce Prichard was with the company at the time and felt Rob Van Dam missed out on the opportunity to truly become the undisputed top guy for an extended period.

RVD's deserved world title push suffered an abrupt demise as WWE booked him to drop the belts in July before writing him off television via a 30-day storyline suspension. It was later revealed that WWE booked the on-screen angle to cover up the highly-publicized story of RVD's real-life arrest.

Prichard said Rob Van Dam's unavailability messed up WWE's well-laid plans for the championship. The former manager felt RVD could have been "The Guy" as he had shown tremendous promise of being a long-term fixture in the main event scene before his run-in with the law.

Bruce Prichard found it unfortunate but added that human beings tend to end up in regrettable and downright stupid situations from time to time.

"Well, it certainly changed plans for Rob, and that was during a time that it was looking, you know, new and trying to do something different and ECW if it had a chance. It needed one of their stalwarts to be the flagbearer for both. I think Rob had a great opportunity, and unfortunately, yeah, it [RVD's real-life arrest] f***ed up a lot of plans. I think Rob had a chance at that point to really go on and possibly be the guy, and I think Rob had the ability to be 'The Guy.' Sometimes, Conrad, you know what just happens? Sometimes, Conrad, you just do stupid sh**! Believe it or not, I know this is going to be hard for you to believe; it's going to be hard for our listeners to believe. Sometimes, I have even known to do stupid sh**," stated Bruce Prichard.

One Night Stand 2006: RVD pins Cena in the main event to win his first WWE & ECW World Titles.One Night Stand 2007: Destroyed in the opening match by Orton, taken out on a stretcher & gone until 2013. #wwe07 pic.twitter.com/kJ44iDg6Az

— Jus🏆in (@Justin_SofOK) March 25, 2018

How the inopportune arrest punctured RVD's WWE career

As the story goes, the ECW legend was arrested on drug possession charges after being stopped for speeding on the Ohio State Highway. The popular star was caught with marijuana and Vicodin, and the ill-timed bust convinced WWE officials to pull the plug on RVD's big push.

The WWE Hall of Famer's career failed to recover after returning from the kayfabe suspension, and he left the company a year later in 2007.

Vince McMahon on RVD drug bust in 2006: "It was so disappointing. I was personally upset because I thought he was above that. Obviously, when something like that happens, we have to be concerned how WWE looks and Rob was not champion much longer." [WWE Icons]

— Alex McCarthy (@AlexM_talkSPORT) May 19, 2021

Do you agree with Prichard's perception of RVD's capabilities as a performer? Could he have been "The Guy" had it not been for the real-life arrest? Sound off in the comments section below.

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If any quotes are used from this article, please credit Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling.