One MIND-BLOWING Secret From EVERY Month Of The WWE Attitude Era
4. January 2001 | The WWF Was High On Who?!
Here’s something very weird.
By January 2001, ECW was done. The death had not been announced, but Tommy Dreamer had already reached the first stage of grief: denial. Paul Heyman, having reached the acceptance stage by August 1999, talked with the WWF about coming in as both a writer and a commentator. Dreamer meanwhile held meetings with various investors in a desperate plea for a cash injection.
The top ECW names knew what was actually happening, and held discussions with the WWF, since WCW’s future was looking equally ominous.
In an interesting note, Meltzer in the January 15 edition of the Observer - echoing what Jim Ross himself said in his December media conference - said that the WWF was more interested in Jerry Lynn than Rob Van Dam. Lynn was barely used by the company when the signing actually happened; meanwhile, although it took several years and lasted mere days, Rob Van Dam eventually became WWE Champion. It’s cited that the WWF was low on Van Dam not because of his obvious and distinct talents, nor his ability to get over, but because many of “the boys” who shared a locker room with him in ECW gave him bad reviews.
A cynic might say that this isn’t true - various old heads were probably just worried about their spot, considering that Van Dam was the most fashionable wrestler in the U.S. around this time - but he proved them right across 2001. When Van Dam eventually signed, he was dishing out superficial injuries on a near-weekly basis.