WWE Hall of Fame 2021: Rob Van Dam will be inducted next week

ECW legend Rob Van Dam is set to be inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.

The former world champion – also known as the Whole F’N Show and Mr. Monday/Tuesday/insert-weekday-here Night – will be honoured at the prestigious annual ceremony on April 6 alongside some huge names in the wrestling world.

He told Fox Sports: ‘It’s a pretty awesome feeling. Just like you probably would imagine, it feels like I’m being acknowledged and appreciated for my body of work. It feels very good. I’m honoured.

‘[Fans have] been calling me future Hall of Famer for years and I always just shrug and say, “All right, man. As long as you think so.” But, glad to be among the chosen few this year.

‘I’m glad for me and for all the fans. I feel like them being behind me and wanting to see this happen is a win for them as well.’

RVD will take his place in history alongside the likes of John ‘Bradshaw’ Layfield, Kane and Jushin Thunder Liger – and the latter had a profound impact on the high flying superstar.

‘I think that the whole list is a bunch of characters. We all represent images that people can translate into their minds, fill in all the blanks, and then figure out that they know each of us,’ he added.

‘Having said that, I think about when I was getting into wrestling watching Jushin “Thunder” Liger wrestling against Brian Pillman, for one.

‘They just opened up my mind to a whole new kind of wrestling, because I wasn’t seeing that with the limited amount of wrestling that I had been exposed to that early on. They really helped me think outside the box of what could really be done with some athleticism.’

And it was fitting that WWE’s Head of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis was the one to call Rob and tell him about his upcoming induction.

RVD explained: ‘I’ve known him since 93, because I used to wrestle with him in Japan. From ’93 to ’97, I spent many, many long hours on long bus rides, sitting in cold arenas in the winter, hot in the summer and ferry boat rides.

‘We did a lot of traveling around Japan that time. You get to know somebody a little better when you’re stuck with them all the time like that. So, I’m proud to call Johnny a friend, and it was really cool to get the call from him.’

This year’s ceremony will feature last year’s previously announced class, as well as a new 2021 group which also includes Kane, The Great Khali, Molly Holly and Eric Bischoff.

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