UPDATE x 3: For what it’s worth, we’ve had two different fans email us saying they spotted Rob Van Dam at an airport in Greenville, SC last night. Greenville is the site of tonight’s WWE RAW broadcast. The fans were waiting at the airport trying to see if they could catch a glimpse of the WWE talents arriving. It could be purely a coincidence that he was there but it’s worth noting.
UPDATE x 2: Sam Roberts spoke with Rob Van Dam at this year’s Ringside Fest in New York City. During the interview, Van Dam discussed his WWE contract status and more. Here are the highlights…
“A lot of it has to do with what else is going on. There are a few projects that might possibly come to pass within this timeframe. The action movie that I’m not trying to talk about so much in case it doesn’t happen. I had one starring role in this movie “The Wrong Side of Town.” The same production crew has been trying to pick up the pieces since then because producers were fighting on the set and nobody wanted to work together.
It may possibly be that if that happens, it could prolong a return. Just based on wrestling, what’s the right amount of time to take off, it’s a mutual decision. My deal is done. I still consider myself in the WWE family, but technically on paper I am now without contract.”
UPDATE: During a new podcast on his IPadio account, Rob Van Dam said that no one in the company was surprised by him taking time off this time.
He said his run n the WWE is “cooler” now and “more relaxed.” He said he’s enjoying himself more now and was miserable in his last run. He said he has an easier schedule and it’s more manageable at this point in his career.
When a fan asked on on Twitter when he would be back, he said: “I’ll be back soon…ish.”
He also talked about his TNA departure and cusses a lot.
ORIGINAL: WWE has provided a direct quote regarding the current status of Rob Van Dam with the company stating, “Rob Van Dam is currently not under a performance contract with WWE.”
This clears up conflicting reports on some websites (not us) that had speculated that RVD was still under contract and was taking time off. Although he is taking time off, he is not under contract and it remains to be seen if he’ll return as we reported.
On October 9, 2013, we reported that Rob Van Dam’s contract structure of working 90 days then getting time off was something he and Triple H came up with. Vince McMahon approved the idea when it was pitched to him. RVD has other projects he wants to work on, which is why he didn’t want to work for extended periods. He is allowed to work with other wrestling companies during his time off but can’t appear on their TV or DVD releases. The original contract was for 90 days and then they’d re-evaluate things.
As of the Monday after WWE Battleground, RVD had not signed a new short-term WWE contract and still has not signed a new contract as WWE confirmed our original report with the above statement.
WWE creative wants to have Van Dam back for the Royal Rumble and book him through Extreme Rules. This would be longer than 90 days. Once again, they would need to come to terms on another short-term contract and as of now, that has not happened and nothing has been agreed upon. It remains to be seen if he’ll re-sign with the company with some saying Van Dam was not all that thrilled with his latest WWE run. According to a backstage source, someone recently said something to RVD about WWE being “better than TNA” and Van Dam gave an odd reaction, basically giving the impression that it was “sort of the same”.