WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam has claimed he was coached into making certain comments for Dark Side of the Ring’s Plane Ride from Hell episode.
During the episode, it appeared that RVD was claiming that he had witnessed Ric Flair force a female flight attendant to touch his genitals during the infamous 2002 journey.
On a recent edition of his “1 Of A Kind” podcast, Van Dam explained why he felt he was misinterpreted on the show. He said,
“When I did that Dark Side of the Ring, the Plane Ride from Hell episode, I had no idea they were gonna edit it to make it appear as if I said I saw Ric trying to make a girl touch his d***. Like, if you watch it, that’s the way it comes across, and that’s not what I meant.
“I didn’t see that. I didn’t say that I saw that, and I was coaxed or coached into those words, which I didn’t realize at the time. I didn’t have a problem with it because it also described what I did see, which wasn’t nearly that bad. So, I was just saying, you know, he was all up on her, crowding her space, like trying to make her touch him. She couldn’t get around him without having to touch him. Was he trying to make her touch him? Well, I mean, she would have had to, you know? But they said, ‘Can you say, “I saw him trying to make her touch it”?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, he was trying to make her touch him.’”
The episode aired in 2021 shortly after Flair wrapped up his latest run with WWE. The episode resulted in backlash on Flair for his alleged actions.
During the episode, Tommy Dreamer downplayed the seriousness of Flair allegedly forcing himself on a woman. He was suspended from TNA Wrestling after its airing.
WWE briefly removed Flair from their signature amid the backlash. Flair signed with AEW last year for Sting’s retirement tour but has since finished with the company.
