RVD Details Issues Working Under Bill Watts And Ole Anderson In WCW

Bill Watts is a controversial figure in the wrestling business, with Jake Roberts describing him as an "ugly, racist bully." However, Rob Van Dam doesn't have any issues with him. On a recent edition of "1 of a Kind," the WWE Hall of Famer explained that Watts brought him into WCW, but he wasn't a fan of his wrestling persona. However, he was more positive toward him than Ole Anderson was.

According to Van Dam, Watts made him change his name to Robbie V to avoid any confusion with the actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. However, RVD didn't want to give it up as he felt he was gaining some momentum, but Watts forced him to change his moniker anyway, and he reluctantly accepted the suggestion.

"I stayed there until May of '93, and then I quit WCW on my own because working conditions were better for me outside of WCW... While I was there, there was a change in the office at the beginning of the year, like in February, from Bill Watts — he left — and Ole Anderson took over. Ole Anderson didn't have the same like for RVD that Bill Watts did... That was a lot of why I ended up leaving."

RVD said that he got lost in the shuffle under Anderson's regime in WCW. He was mainly used in dark matches and tryout bouts, and the low pay wasn't worth it. He then returned to the subject of Watts, noting that he banned top-rope maneuvers in the company as he felt too many wrestlers were doing them to the point where they didn't mean anything. The rules were strange to Van Dam because he has a high-flying style, but Watts still allowed him to do his trademark split-legged moonsault.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "1 of a Kind" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.