Rob Van Dam Discusses His Absence on Raw's 25th Anniversary, ECW's Invasion and His Future In PCW

Rob Van Dam on Raw 25: "I haven’t talked to anybody from WWE about it, so I wouldn’t expect to see me there."

Rob Van Dam will not be at WWE’s Raw 25th Anniversary show tonight in New York.

But the legendary RVD is not finished with pro wrestling, and will be appearing at PCW Ultra’s show on March 16 in Wilmington, California against Penta.

“I will not be at Raw,” said Van Dam. “I haven’t talked to anybody from WWE about it, so I wouldn’t expect to see me there.”

PCW’s anniversary show aired this past Friday in Wilmington, which is right outside Los Angeles, and included a tag team main event with the Great Muta. Van Dam appeared as a surprise at the end of the show, challenging Penta to a match.

“I had one match with Penta before, and I saw moves I’ve never seen or done before,” said Van Dam. “I can’t compare Penta to anyone, he’s such an individual. He has a good balance of moves, strength, drive, and determination.”

Van Dan’s prior match with Penta, which occurred in a PCW ring in Nov. 2016, is noteworthy. During Van Dam’s recent divorce hearings, which became public in 2016, he revealed that he suffered a concussion during the match with Penta that caused visual impairment and has prevented him from returning to WWE.

Van Dam was asked to elaborate on his health.

“I’m 100 percent of RVD, but I’m always getting news scars and cracks along the way,” said Van Dam. “That all adds up, and you could say I’m a little more battle-worn every time I’m in the ring because I put so much into it. In the ring, I’m still doing everything I’ve ever been able to do.”

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PCW Ultra is working on plans to tour outside of California, but Van Dam is content knowing its home base is in California.

“PCW is part of my community,” said Van Dam, who calls Los Angeles home. “And once I saw the level of talent and the support from the fans, I knew PCW was on the path to greatness.”

Van Dam will always be associated with both ECW and WWE. His first appearance on Monday Night Raw took place during an ECW invasion in May of 1997, which was when Jerry Lawler christened Van Dam as “Mr. Monday Night.”

“That made me a much bigger superstar than I ever was before,” said Van Dam. “Even though I had a really supportive following from ECW, WWE pumps you into homes all across the world.”

Van Dam remains connected to the WWE, but business is better for him when wrestling independently. 

“I know some people can’t understand that, but I’m wrestling overseas and I’m wrestling way less matches,” said Van Dam. “I don’t enjoy the road life or WWE’s really hectic schedule.”

Van Dam is grateful he can still perform—and is still in demand—at 47 years old.

“I am really thankful for my career,” said Van Dam. “It doesn’t interest me to be on the road 300 days a year any more, so I’m sticking to my guns and the universe seems to take care of me. PCW is better competition than I could find by flying six or 16 hours away.

“I am finding what I need to make my spirit happy, surrounding my universe with people and things I love.”

Justin Barrasso can be reached at JBarrasso@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinBarrasso.