Rob Van Dam says the worst part about AEW is the Internet Wrestling Community fans that are “so ignorant”

As seen during the March 19th 2025 edition of AEW Dynamite, Jon Moxley defeated Cope (Adam Copeland) in a street fight (hardcore match) to retain his AEW world title. While speaking on his podcast, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam criticized Moxley taking a bump onto Cope’s “spike” bat covered in nails by saying it was “not wrestling” to him.

Fans on social accused RVD of being a “hypocrite” and he issued a response in a video published to his RVDTV.com website…

“Now, I didn’t bash AEW. I wouldn’t bash AEW. And it seems to me by far, the worst part about AEW, and I hope this quote gets picked up, is the fans on IWC. The fans are so ignorant. Here’s what I said. I’m going to say it again. So if it hurt to hear it the first time, you’re going to hear it again. I’m going to tell you what I did say. My whole career in ECW, even before that, the matches that Sabu taught me were garbage matches, which included all the weapons and gore and had wrestlers that didn’t even have to know how to wrestle to be in the match. Those have always been the bottom of the list of my favorite matches. That’s my opinion. If you don’t think I have a right to say that because I was in ECW. So here’s the thing. Those matches, especially the ones that have like thumb tags, glass, fire, fish hooks. And when they have the competitors in there that don’t do a single wrestling move, and they don’t even have to know how to wrestle, quote, ‘to me, that’s not wrestling.’ The more AEW does things like that, like the Jon Moxley, Spike Bat thing, and I think that they’re heading in that direction more.

I think WWE is heading into more like old-school WWE storytelling in the ring and less of ‘let’s stick a knife through someone’s cheek, burn their house down, go for shock value,’ the more that they seem to be two separate styles, which I’m fine with, the more I personally would rather have RVD, the wrestler, associated with WWE. Now, if you heard that and you still feel like I’m bashing AEW, you need to check yourself. You’re way too defensive because I’m not, and I’m not even bashing that spot. I don’t like that spot. But the people don’t understand. The fans are so challenged that they hit me with things like, ‘well, if you did that stuff and you’re saying you don’t like it, you’re a hypocrite.’ That’s not what a hypocrite is. You know what? I don’t like to be in mixed tag matches, but I did them. Does that make me a hypocrite?”

“Okay, now I didn’t bash AEW, I wouldn’t bash AEW and it seems to me by far, the worst part about AEW and I hope this quote gets picked up, is the fans on IWC. The fans are so ignorant.” [RVDTV.com]
byu/TonyGrapevine inSquaredCircle