Rob Van Dam has now weighed in on the controversy surrounding AJ Styles’ son Avery Styles, and he’s firmly siding with AJ when it comes to the idea that young wrestlers need to set up rings and chairs to “pay their dues.”
The issue started after Arik Cannon criticized Avery following a GCW show in Minneapolis, claiming the young wrestler avoided helping with setup work. AJ Styles fired back and argued that his son was booked to wrestle, not work as part of the ring crew. Cannon stood his ground, saying Avery needed to earn respect from his peers instead of leaning on being “AJ’s kid.”
Now RVD has joined the conversation on his podcast, and he made it clear he doesn’t subscribe to the old-school belief that wrestlers should automatically be expected to handle setup work just because they’re young. RVD first brought up Perry Saturn’s take on the controversy, saying he initially expected Saturn to support the traditional “pay your dues” mentality. Instead, Saturn rejected the idea entirely — and RVD said he agrees.
“His take is hilarious, I think, because he’s like, ‘F*ck no.’ Like, you’re there to wrestle, not to set a ring up and take a ring down. And the promoter should have somebody that he pays, someone that’s an expert that knows how to do it really well. He said it’s hard enough, especially when you’re starting out, to have a match and to be concentrating and worried about everything going right. You shouldn’t have to worry about setting a ring up and taking it down.”
RVD then explained that he understands why the tradition exists, especially in wrestling schools and certain promotions, but said it was never something he believed every wrestler had to do simply to prove themselves.
“I got to agree. I’m not from the school of you should do that to pay your dues, but I understand it and it is how certain traditions that I am used to are kept.”
RVD also pointed out that he never regularly set up rings during his own professional career after his earliest days in wrestling. In his view, there’s a difference between students helping a promoter as part of their training and wrestlers who are specifically booked and paid to perform. When the discussion shifted directly to Avery Styles, RVD agreed that wrestlers brought in as talent shouldn’t automatically be treated like trainees.
“I mean, if they’re unless they’re students, then probably shouldn’t be their job either if they’re just booked there to wrestle. But if they are students then and they are paying their dues then yeah I’m okay with helping out the promoter.”
RVD acknowledged that Avery potentially receiving different treatment because he is AJ Styles’ son could upset other wrestlers backstage. He didn’t deny that favoritism and politics exist in wrestling — he argued that they always have. That led RVD to make his strongest point, saying pro wrestling is ultimately a business built around who can draw money, not creating equal treatment for everybody on the roster.
“I’ve always said, you know, that it’s a business and it’s all about who can sell tickets and how can you complain you’re not being treated fair if no one’s ever bought a ticket to come and see you and you’re not marketable and this guy is. What do you expect us to do? We’re trying to turn a dollar here, you know?”
The original dispute erupted after Cannon reacted to praise Natalya gave Avery Styles and Marcus Mathers following their GCW match. Cannon claimed he watched Avery avoid helping at the Minneapolis event.
“As someone who watched this kid skirt away from helping with a single thing at this very show…I’d just like to say: L O F’ING L!”
AJ immediately defended his son.
“He was paid to wrestle at GCW, not help you put up and take down the ring. That sounds like your job. You just sound like a jealous douche.”
Cannon later claimed Avery had been asked twice by a veteran and promoter to help with chairs but stayed in the locker room until the work was finished. AJ argued that any veteran who had an issue should have spoken to Avery privately instead of dragging him on social media.
With RVD now speaking out, AJ Styles has another veteran firmly backing his side of the argument. RVD isn’t denying that wrestling has traditions or that young wrestlers sometimes need to help out, but he clearly doesn’t believe Avery Styles should be required to work ring crew simply to prove that he has “paid his dues.”
Do you agree with RVD and AJ Styles that Avery was booked to wrestle and shouldn’t be expected to handle setup work, or does Arik Cannon have a point about young wrestlers paying their dues? Let us know what you think in the comments.
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