Paul London says Rob Van Dam (RVD) once stepped in to prevent a WWE backstage fight from getting further out of control.
On November 21, 2004, Rene Dupree received hospital treatment after suffering injuries in a match against Bob Holly at a WWE live event. When the two men returned backstage, Holly allegedly continued to attack his former travel partner until RVD got involved.
London, who worked for WWE between 2003 and 2008, discussed the incident on the latest episode of Dupree’s Cafe de Rene podcast.
“I just remember you [Dupree] taking one breath, like, ‘F***, thank God that s***’s over. What a nightmare,’” London said. “And then it’s like, ‘Wham…’ Cheap shot through the curtain from behind, kept on you. In like less than a minute Van Dam hopped on, pulled Bob off, like, ‘That’s enough, get the f*** off of him. That’s enough.’” [6:51-7:14]
New Champs in WWE! More RIGHT HERE
The animosity between the two men stemmed from Dupree unknowingly receiving a speeding ticket while driving Holly’s rental car. The car was registered in Holly’s name, but he did not find out about the incident until two months later when he checked his mail.
Paul London applauds RVD for his actions
A trained kickboxer and martial artist, Rob Van Dam is viewed by many as one of the toughest guys in the wrestling business.
London added that nobody wanted to pick a fight with the former WWE Champion behind the scenes.
“For however people wanna look at Van Dam, he’s a legit tough guy.” London continued, “He did a lot of tough man tournaments. He knows his s***, so nobody was gonna mess with him. I remember specifically we were just in shock, everybody was like a deer in headlights, ‘Holy f***.’” [7:18-7:36]
London also said in the interview that John Laurinaitis thought Holly acted unprofessionally. The WWE Head of Talent Relations promised Dupree that a similar incident would never happen again.
Please credit Cafe de Rene and give a H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use quotes from this article.