RVD Calls AEW Creative 'Inmates Running the Asylum'

Rob Van Dam responded to accusations of hypocrisy after he criticized AEW's booking of talent and Jon Moxley's use of a club with spikes. Van Dam recalled being written off TNA television in 2010 after exceeding the number of appearances in his contract.

In that storyline Abyss killed him using Janice, a wooden plank with nails. Speaking on Wrestling with Rip Rogers, Van Dam called the TNA exit a stupid way to write him off and compared it to Moxley's weapon in AEW.

He described AEW's creative approach as inmates running the asylum. He stated that this freedom leads to more variety but makes the overall style more amateurish like backyard matches compared to WWE's focus on simple storytelling that makes sense. Van Dam mentioned past AEW segments including burning someone's house down and putting staples in a face as examples he never liked.

Reflecting on changes in wrestling since his early career, he criticized modern performers for using elaborate setups that disrupt match flow and kill the feeling of competition. Van Dam noted that AEW is the smaller company of the two where it seems the inmates are running the prison and the boys have more control and power.