“The most insecure person on the planet” - WWE veteran once refused to date Stephanie McMahon on-screen due to his wife

Former WWE CEO Stephanie McMahon has donned several hats in the company. Steph was also put in several romance storylines which almost always worked with the fans. However, when she had pitched one such angle to Rob Van Dam, he refused to do it because of his wife. Here’s a throwback on why RVD had to decline the part.

The Whole Dam Show is currently married to fellow pro wrestler Katie Forbed and the two tied the knot in 2021. Before this, RVD was married to Sonia Delbeck between 1998 and 2018.

Speaking to the Cheap Heat Productions podcast back in October 2024, Van Dam talked about declining to do a romance angle with Stephanie McMahon. He said that his ex-wife had made it clear that she didn’t wish to see him in such a role with Steph:

"They wanted to do a romantic angle with me and Stephanie McMahon, and my shoot wife was like the most insecure person on the planet. She hated it, totally didn't trust me being on the road already, didn't trust anyone I worked with. It was one of those horror stories which a lot of people can relate to, and I prioritized in trying to make my marriage work above my job." [From 12:09 to 12:43]

Check out the video below:

Rob Van Dam is a very successful wrestler who has held the WWE Championship, the TNA World Championship, and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship belts. Despite this stature, he couldn’t participate in a storyline that may have received a great response from the WWE Universe.

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Stephanie McMahon had tried her best to convince RVD

Speaking in the same interview, Rob Van Dam also relayed that Stephanie McMahon had tried to make him comfortable with the role. He highlighted that Steph pitched the storyline in a very sensible manner to him.

The Billion Dollar Princess also told him what her dad Vince McMahon had to say about the storyline. However, despite this RVD wasn’t convinced to be her on-screen partner:

"My evil ex knows that I would have left and got on a plane and gone to her if she needed me, but we also knew that I wasn't her priority and she wouldn't do the same to me, so it was like off lopsided already. But, yeah, this was a time when Stephanie was like, 'You know, Dad says it's like we're acting. Just look at it like you're doing a part.'" [From 12:57 to 13:22]

RVD did admit that he may have agreed to work the storyline had he been wrestling under another name. He noted that a different name would have helped people tell fiction apart from reality. However, since that wasn’t the case, he refused to play Stephanie McMahon’s on-screen lover.