ShareThisThis weekend's "WrestleReunion 4" in Los Angeles has something that separates it from other pro-wrestling conventions.
An in-ring appearance by Rob Van Dam.
For the first time since leaving World Wrestling Entertainment three years ago, Van Dam will grapple for an independent promotion in the United States. Van Dam faces Chris Hero and Roderick Strong in a three-way match Saturday night for "Pro Wrestling Guerrilla" (www.prowrestlingguerrilla.com).
Van Dam's lengthy absence was self-imposed. He admits to charging a higher appearance fee than most promoters have set aside for an entire card. The only ones willing to match his price so far have come from overseas, where Van Dam works occasional tours.
"Nobody can set a value on what your time is worth except for you," Van Dam said earlier this week in a telephone interview. "I've wanted my freedom for so long. I'm happy to be home."
Van Dam says he was suffering from severe burnout when leaving WWE, especially because the company didn't honor a clause in his contract allocating one weekend off every month. Van Dam also was unhappy with his lot in the promotion. A maligned 2006 run in WWE-owned Extreme Championship Wrestling was the final straw.
Van Dam thought ECW's re-launch would provide an avenue to better showcase the unique athletic style that helped him become a major star when the company was run by Paul Heyman in the 1990s. But the new ECW became a watered-down version of WWE's "Raw" and "Smackdown" telecasts. Van Dam also did himself no favors with a well-publicized arrest for marijuana possession. That led to Van Dam (real name: Rob Szatkowski) being stripped of the ECW title and suspended for 30 days shortly after the brand's revival.
When his wife Sonya was diagnosed with cancer in the spring of 2007, Van Dam found it easy to walk away.
"When ECW came back, I was literally saying, 'Holy cow! I could stay now,' " Van Dam said. "I could have fun, have fans see me the way I wanted to be seen and represent the hard-core style that they'd never seen before (in WWE). I thought it could have extended my stay another three or five years. Who know what heights we could have reached?
"WWE destroyed that and made it very symbolic. They wanted everyone to know ECW was dead and this new group happened to be called ECW. That was the last cycle of frustration for me."
Van Dam's hiatus from wrestling has allowed him to work on other projects like movie roles, a comic book and the episodic "RVD TV" show on his Web site (www.robvandam.com). Van Dam, though, realizes that his non-wrestling work would gain greater exposure if he returned to a major promotion.
Van Dam, 39, remains on good terms with WWE, having made a surprise appearance in last year's "Royal Rumble." But TNA Wrestling might be a better fit because of the company's more limited touring and television-taping schedule. TNA also is now spending more on big-name talent like Hulk Hogan and Ric Flair while trying to compete with WWE. Another head-to-head Monday-night battle could be coming March 1, with TNA hoping to again air its "Impact" show on Spike TV opposite WWE's "Monday Night Raw" on USA Network.
"I really don't have any hidden information," Van Dam said. "This match Saturday is the last official booking I have on my calendar. I'm not out there trying to procure work in wrestling.
"I do have some interest right now in what's going on with the big companies. I know Hogan would like to have me. Eventually, (TNA) may start to wear me down and my 'no thanks' will become 'well, maybe.' I have some interest, but I don't know what's going to happen. I don't see myself going back to the full-time, ridiculous never-ending WWE schedule. I couldn't wait to get away from it before."
Van Dam will join a host of other famous grapplers like Bruno Sammartino, Diamond Dallas Page, Scotty "2 Hotty" Taylor and Stan Hansen for autograph signings at "WrestleReunion 4," which will run from Friday through Sunday at the Los Angeles Airport Hilton. The Philadelphia-based Ring of Honor promotion, which airs at 8 p.m. EST Mondays on HDNet, also will be making its Los Angeles debut with a Friday-night card.
For more information, visit www.wrestlereunion.com.
(Alex Marvez writes a syndicated pro-wrestling column for Scripps Howard News Service. Contact him at alex1marv(at)aol.com or follow him via Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexmarvez.)
