Rob Van Dam Annoyed By Wrestlers Not Properly Kicking Out, Says WWE Needs A Kick Out “Credibility Check”

Professional wrestling legend Rob Van Dam recently expressed his frustration with a common issue he sees in today’s wrestling landscape. During the latest episode of his “1 Of A Kind” podcast, the Hall of Famer discussed the lack of proper kick-outs by wrestlers.

Van Dam emphasized that simply kicking out by lifting the feet is not enough if the wrestler’s shoulders are still pinned to the mat. He expressed his annoyance at witnessing this mistake repeatedly when watching wrestling matches.

“You know what I hate now is when people don’t kick out. Every time I watch wrestling, I see it. They think just by kicking their feet that they kick out. But their shoulders are still down, and the person’s still on top of them. I hate that. It’s one of those things that annoys me when I watch wrestling,” Van Dam said.

Van Dam believes that a proper kick-out should involve lifting both the feet and the shoulders off the mat, ensuring a clear separation from the opponent. He revealed that during his time in WWE, the company emphasized the importance of the referee’s count as a credibility check.

“From now on, you count them down if they don’t kick out. They haven’t done that in a while, and they need to. Credibility, they haven’t done a credibility check in years, and it used to be cycled all the time when I was there. But I guess it doesn’t matter anymore, I don’t know,” Van Dam explained.

This issue with kick-outs has become a topic of discussion among wrestling fans and industry insiders. Van Dam’s comments shed light on the importance of maintaining credibility and realism in professional wrestling matches.

On a separate episode of his podcast, Van Dam also shared his thoughts on Impact Wrestling’s decision to rebrand back to TNA. He expressed skepticism about the impact of the rebranding on the promotion’s long-term success.

For more details on Van Dam’s thoughts on Impact Wrestling’s rebranding, you can read the article on Wrestling Headlines.

(H/T and transcribed by Fightful)