THIS Hall Of Famer Was Turned Down For WWE Royal Rumble 2022 Return

Despite getting new tights for the occasion, this former World Champion was left on standby.

by Andrew Pollard
Rob Van Dam
WWE.com

Now a part of the WWE Hall of Fame, Rob Van Dam offered to make his WWE in-ring return at last month's Royal Rumble premium live event.

Unfortunately for RVD, WWE opted against having him be a part of the men's Rumble match, and instead they choose to keep the Whole F'n Show on standby for the event.

Van Dam revealed this tidbit in a recent interview with Sportskeeda, explaining that he reached out to WWE about him being a surprise entrant in the 30-man over-the-top extravaganza.

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"I let them know that I was available if they needed me for Royal Rumble, and I was on standby, with a brand new outfit, feeling great, you know, in great condition. They didn't call me in, but it could happen anytime. I don't have any plans for it, but you know, I would consider any situation from any company. I'd consider it. If it's right, it's right."

Of course, Rob Van Dam is no stranger to the Royal Rumble, having competed in six Rumble contests during his time with WWE - the best of which saw him get to the final four of the 2006 Rumble which Rey Mysterio won.

The one-time WWE Champion's final Royal Rumble appearance came in 2009, with him a surprise Rumble entrant that year. Van Dam's final WWE match, period, as of this writing was against Seth Rollins in August 2014. Still, the ECW icon was active in IMPACT Wrestling until as recently as late-2020, and he competed for Battleground Championship Wrestling just this past September.

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In this same Sportskeeda interview, RVD talked about how he still has a few matches in the tank and that's not yet done with his career. Whether we ever see Mr. Monday Night back in a WWE ring at some point, that remains to be seen.

Senior Writer
Senior Writer

Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main dayjob, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg.