Another wrestling legend criticizes AEW in bad faith

That spot caused a split among the wrestling community. One half loved it, as they believed it was a throwback to the more extreme days of the '90s and early 2000s. The other half thought it was too dangerous and lacked the necessary impact to justify such a moment, as that spot didn't even end the match.

Both sides of the argument have valid points. However, things took another turn on March 25, when ECW and WWE legend Rob Van Dam revealed his distaste at the risky move.

“It's not my thing, not my kind of thing," Van Dam said on the "1 of a kind with RVD" podcast. "That's not wrestling to me, but obviously that is sacrificing a lot for the business, I mean that could be said about it. But the more AEW has been doing stuff like that, the more personally I feel like I would rather be associated with WWE than AEW you know? I personally look at it as being lower than the standard, substandard because it's going to draw only a certain niche crowd that's into that kind of stuff. I didn't like it. It's really crazy dangerous."

Van Dam made his name as a core part of ECW, known for it's extreme and often brutal matches. Furthermore, it wasn't that long ago that Van Dam appeared in AEW programming. Yet, suddenly, he wants to distance himself from the company?

The frustrating thing for AEW fans is that no matter what Tony Khan does, some of the biggest names in wrestling find a negative angle to push into the public eye. There's a concerted effort to crush the brand with consistent and widespread negative press. 

Casual wrestling fans who don't tune into AEW have a preconceived notion of the product due to former talents like Van Dam, Bully Ray, Booker T and Eric Bischoff — all of whom are seen as legends of the business — consistently finding flaws and issues with the product. 

The whole point of AEW is to offer something different from WWE. Khan's product is aimed at an older generation of fans. It's brutal but incredibly entertaining. Sure, there have been teething issues, but as a young company, those should be expected. 

Unfortunately, the consistent barrage of negativity aimed at AEW is limiting its potential growth. Yet, considering Van Dam has been part of that locker room, his decision to berate and distance himself from the company came as a shock. Unfortunately for AEW, it seems everyone is out to get the company. 

Perhaps that's a sign that it's doing something right.