Rob Van Dam has never been afraid to say exactly what is on his mind, and his take on male friendships in wrestling is about as blunt as it gets.
Speaking on The Dirty Secrets Podcast with Kate Shelor, the WWE Hall of Famer tore into the “bros before hoes” mentality and explained why the whole concept has always made him uncomfortable. RVD used some strong language to describe it, while making it clear that he was talking about his own discomfort—not attacking gay people.
“I’ve always thought the whole ‘bros before hoes’ thing was so gay. Not that I’m gay bashing—it’s just that I’m not gay. So, to me, I look at so much of what my peers do, and it strikes me as being, like, too gay.”
The former WWE and ECW Champion said he also does not understand men who trade intimate details about their girlfriends or wives with their buddies. For RVD, that kind of conversation crosses a line he has no interest in approaching.
“When a guy asks another guy about his girl, like, ‘How is she?’ or worse, asking about intimate details—that’s just something I don’t want to experience with another guy. The whole thing is weird to me.”
RVD then pulled the curtain back on the relationships formed while wrestlers spend most of the year traveling together. He said some wrestlers become closer to the men on the road than the women waiting for them at home. He also claimed that some wives barely know what their husbands are really doing while they are away.
“A lot of my peers—their wife doesn’t even know them. They’re on the road, they have all their secrets, they’re banging hoes, doing coke, whatever. And then when they go home, they’re there for just a few days. They’re closer to the other dudes on the road.”
That is a brutal picture of wrestling road life. According to RVD, the brotherhood is not always built around matches and long drives. It can also involve drugs, cheating and secrets that never make it back home.
RVD has always marched to his own beat, and he clearly does not buy into the idea that loyalty to the boys should come before everything else. His comments may rub plenty of people the wrong way, but he left no confusion about where he stands.
What do you make of Rob Van Dam’s take on the “bros before hoes” mentality and wrestling road culture? Leave your feedback in the comments and let us know where you stand.
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