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WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam has shed light on why there won’t be an episode of Dark Side of the Ring about Mike Awesome, despite his willingness to contribute to the project.
RVD explained during an installment of 1 of Kind podcast, that he had discussed the possibility of an episode about Mike Awesome with the producers of Dark Side of the Ring and would have been a significant part of it. Mike Awesome was RVD’s road companion for a period in 2001 and possibly 2002, and they traveled together along with Shawn Stasiak.
“My thoughts on that are that it’s not gonna happen,” RVD said. “I talked to them about it. I would have been a big part of it. Mike was my road wife for a while in 2001, maybe 2002. We traveled together, he and I and Shawn Stasiak when Shawn Stasiak was on the road. For some reason sometimes I guess we were split up between RAW and SmackDown back in the day on different shows, but me and Mike traveled together.”
“I knew him very well from spending so many hours with him and stuff. I was very happy to hear from Dark Side of the Ring when they wanted to know if I would be willing to talk to them. Absolutely. I feel like let’s get Mike’s story out. That’s what immortalizes us and for celebs, a lot of people that want to be celebs anyway and don’t just stumble upon it, that’s kind of the goal, isn’t it? If you’re building your fan base, you’re building your fame. That’s increasing your stature and thereby in your profession, your value goes up.”
Rob Van Dam was enthusiastic about the idea of telling Mike Awesome’s story and felt that it would be a fitting tribute. However, he revealed that the episode didn’t materialize because Mike Awesome’s ex-wife did not want it to happen. RVD expressed disappointment at this outcome and emphasized that Mike Awesome missed his children deeply, even though his relationship with his ex-wife was not as strong. Van Dam couldn’t fathom why Awesome would take his own life and leave his children behind.
“As I understand it, Mike Awesome’s ex-wife put the kibosh on the whole project. I was very bummed to hear that because like I said, I mean, without that, it’s just like, bury him and forget about him. Personally, I know that he missed his kids so much. I can’t believe he hung himself and would do that to his kids. He loved his kids and missed his kids all the time, not his wife so much and he would be very upfront about that. I would poke him and grill him, ask him some questions, and he missed his kids.”
While RVD was willing to contribute to the project, the decision ultimately rested with Mike Awesome’s ex-wife, who chose not to proceed with the Dark Side of the Ring episode about the late wrestler.
What do you think about Mike Awesome’s ex-wife nixing the idea of a Dark Side of the Ring episode? Let us know in the comments below.
January 23, 2024 12:03 pm
