Rob Van Dam On Wrestling Samoa Joe 14 Years After Their First Meeting

Originally posted on SE Scoops | By Dominic DeAngelo | Last updated 2/20/24

It's been almost a decade-and-a-half since Rob Van Dam first grappled up with Samoa Joe in TNA and now the roles are somewhat reversed this Wednesday on AEW Dynamite.

RVD first wrestled Samoa Joe on the July 8, 2010 episode of TNA Impact. Back then, Van Dam was the World Heavyweight Champion of the promotion and he took on Samoa Joe in a non-title match main event.

RVD came out victorious after he pulled a "Bret Hart to Roddy Piper at WrestleMania VIII" 1-2-3 when Joe had him in the Kokina Clutch, but Van Dam used the turnbuckle to flip over and pin the then "Samoan Suplex Machine."

RVD on Working with Samoa Joe in 2010

On his latest "1 Of A Kind With RVD" podcast, Van Dam commented on that previous bout.

"Samoa Joe is awesome by the way, you know, and it doesn't seem like that long ago to me having that match. So when you put the year in like that it makes sense, then it's like, 'Wow, okay.' So I guess 14 years ago, that's a pretty big chunk of time. You only get so many 14 [year] blocks of time in your life."

Now this Wednesday RVD will tag up once again with HOOK and the wild card, Hangman Page as they take on Joe, Swerve Strickland and Brian Cage. However, this time, it's Joe who's the World Champion in this full-circle situation.

Does Van Dam Have His Eyes On AEW Gold?

RVD later makes note that he isn't one to shy away from making firsts in pro wrestling and getting hold of the AEW "Big Platinum" isn't something he's ruling out of the cards forthcoming.

"So if I go after the AEW Championship, say I collect that f***ing gold and add that and become the only wrestler to have held the WWE, TNA, ECW and AEW Championship. I mean, I do s*** like that. I'm always finding new ways to stand out and be one of a kind. Imagine if that happened, how inspired people would be in general to think they grew up watching me decades ago. And then here at 53, they're seeing me, perspectively, maybe having the best matches or the best year of my career."

An AEW World Title match could certainly fit the bill for Rob Van Dam forthcoming as Mr. Monday Night is scheduled for Saturday night when AEW Collison takes place on 4/20.