Despite being at odds with him on television right now, Rob Van Dam has a lot of respect for Sami Callihan and definitely sees the spirit of ECW in him.
RVD recently spoke with WrestleZone Managing Editor Bill Pritchard while promoting his new “Money In The Bank” themed slot machine on the new Celebrity Slots app and talked about his current IMPACT Wrestling run where he’s feuding with Sami Callihan. RVD talked about not being burnt out wrestling during his current run and he was asked if keeping this feud out of the ring and using backstage segments was an example of this. RVD agreed and said he has great respect for Sami and hopes they continue to work together for a while, adding that he knows there’s a kick-ass match that’s sure to happen between them.
“It does. I mean, I liked the way that everything’s been based and I hope that I’m working with Sami for a while. I would actually be disappointed if that was just a one-off and then they just tossed the idea to the side. I appreciate Sami’s work in the ring and I’ve watched him and it stuck out in my mind, especially lately, watching him and seeing what he has to offer with his moves and everything. He’s a great heel and watching him, I was learning to respect before he crossed my path so now I know that there’s a kick-ass match between us somewhere. I’m fine if it doesn’t happen for a couple of months or whatever, or if it happens several times, I’m fine with that too. But that doesn’t change the fact that I’ll take a day off over a day on any day.”
There have been a number of wrestlers in recent years that have been linked or compared to ECW, with Callihan being one of them. RVD says it’s fair to say Sami was inspired by ECW and he “definitely embodies the spirit and what the spirit has become today”, also explaining how that spirit lives on today in the current generation of wrestlers.
“I think it’s fair to say that he was very influenced by ECW when he was coming up and wanted to be a wrestler. I don’t know if ECW was still around when he was starting his career but a lot of the guys in different ways, you can see how they were inspired by ECW and I’ve learned that some of the guys, you never would have even guessed it, have learned from them telling me how much it impacted their lives and inspired them. Some guys I don’t even know that well and there’s no reason to assume they like me and I don’t talk to them that much, out of nowhere, one day they will just open up about ‘Oh man, I used to do all of your moves when I was a kid to my brother…’ And I get why they would or wouldn’t feel comfortable saying that because that’s how I was brought up. You weren’t allowed to be a fan; once I got into the first dressing room I wasn’t allowed to be a fan any more or act like a fan or Sheik and Sabu would have beaten me up. Times have changed and now I’m backstage taking pictures now but it’s much different than when I stepped into my first wrestling room in 1990 when The Sheik wrestled Jerry Lawler in Euclid, Ohio.”
RVD faces off with Sami Callihan on tonight’s new episode of IMPACT Wrestling on AXS TV and Twitch.
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