"The More AEW Does That Stuff, The More I'd Rather Be Associated With WWE" - Rob Van Dam (WWE News)

Rob Van Dam has this week fanned the flames of wrestling tribalism by stating that the more AEW does spots like Jon Moxley getting Cope's 'Spike' nail-bat stuck in his back, the more RVD would rather be associated with WWE.

The ECW legend's comments came on his 1 Of A Kind podcast. Referencing the 19 March AEW Dynamite, on which Moxley was pin-cushioned by Spike after being suplexed onto the nails during a match with Cope, Van Dam stated that such spots weren't his thing.

“It's not my thing, not my kind of thing," said Van Dam (h/t Fightful). "That's not wrestling to me, but obviously that is sacrificing a lot for the business, I mean that could be said about it. But the more AEW has been doing stuff like that, the more personally I feel like I would rather be associated with WWE than AEW you know?"

Van Dam, 54, is currently signed to a WWE Legends contract. although he has never been formally signed to the AEW roster, he wrestled for the Tony Khan-helmed promotion six times in 2023 and 2024, most recently last April.

"Like a couple years ago it was like, ‘Man they're growing, they're trying things to get up there,’ and then there's a feel that like the inmates are running the prison, which there always has been, for better or worse." RVD continued. "I mean that was used as a good point at first, like ‘Hey, the boys are running it, cool,’ but for me this serves as an example of why that might not be a good idea but it is a style of wrestling."

Although Moxley being suplexed onto Spike made for a shocking, grisly visual, the AEW World Champion was not seriously hurt in the incident. Currently, Mox is tapped to defend his belt against Swerve Strickland at the Dynasty 2025 pay-per-view on 6 April.