WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam returned to AEW on Wednesday.
The January 31 episode of AEW Dynamite featured two Dealer’s Choice matches, as Swerve Strickland and Hangman Page were allowed to pick each other’s opponents. Page defeated Swerve’s pick, Toa Liona. He then made Strickland wait the whole show to learn who he was facing.
Strickland’s match was the main event, and Page revealed that his opponent was Rob Van Dam. Page also chose a Hardcore Match as the stipulation. Rob Van Dam then leaned into his ECW roots by bringing weapons into play throughout the match. The legend garnered plenty of “You still got it chants” with his performance. But in the end, Strickland scored the win with a decisive Swerve Stomp.
The bout marked Rob Van Dam’s fourth time competing for AEW. He made his AEW in-ring debut on the August 9, 2023, episode of AEW Dynamite, where he lost to Jack Perry. On the September 23 episode of AEW Collision, RVD and HOOK beat Matt Menard and Angelo Parker. HOOK and RVD then defeated Alex Reynolds and John Silver on the October 25 episode of Dynamite.
Check out our coverage of the January 31 episode of AEW Dynamite here.
