Why RVD Had MAJOR Heat With Vince McMahon In 2005

Welcome to the real war zone.

by Jamie Kennedy
Rob Van Dam

Jim Ross told a fascinating story about the relationship between Vince McMahon and Rob Van Dam on the latest episode of his 'Grilling JR' podcast.

JR and co-host Conrad Thompson were running through the 2005 Royal Rumble when both paused to talk about RVD's hesitance about travelling to Afghanistan for WWE's Tribute To The Troops special in December of the same year. The former ECW man wasn't exactly keen about working the show or making the trip to Bagram Airfield.

That angered McMahon, because he viewed Van Dam's unwillingness to give back to the military as a show of disrespect towards the United States and didn't think it was very patriotic. Ross, who had the unenviable task of playing middle man in this heated exchange, didn't see what the big problem was.

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If RVD didn't want to go, he didn't want to go. It's not like the entire broadcast was centred around him, and there were plenty of WWE workers who were willing to travel.

John Laurinaitis set up a meeting between Van Dam and Vince that JR also didn't think was necessary. "Who really wins in that p*ssing contest?", he said on his pod.

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Quite.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.