How Long Should We Expect Rob Van Dam to Stick Around in WWE This Time?

Rob Van Dam is, of course, scheduled to make his return to WWE at this month’s Money in the Bank pay-per-view.

But how long should we expect to see him as a regular character? Will his return be a fleeting thing or will he become a permanent fixture on television?

Unfortunately for all you Van Dam fans, the latter seems less likely than the former.

Similar to Chris Jericho, Van Dam has a few side projects, and wrestling isn’t really the main thing at this stage in his life. He has spoken out in the past in interviews about his reluctance to work a full-time schedule ever again.

For one thing, back in his own town of Los Angeles, Van Dam runs his own alternative-brand clothing line, “Nonconformity.” He also produces RVD-TV, a popular Internet-only talk show.

Oh, and as crazy as it sounds, Van Dam also has an interest in performing stand-up comedy, having performed at various shows in the past (“and what is the deal with Triple H playing politics all the time? Am I right, guys? Am I right?”).

Like so many wrestlers before him, Van Dam has also picked up the odd acting role here and there. That he is, in fact, a laughably bad actor—as anyone who has seen so-bad-it’s-good cult classic The Wrong Side of Town can attest to—apparently hasn’t hindered his movie career at all.

So, Van Dam has got other things going on. While they may be fulfilling for him personally—nobody wants WWE to be 100 percent of their life, after all—they will also serve to complicate things with the company.

It was one thing for Van Dam to have a more lax approach to wrestling in TNA, a company known for requiring less of a commitment from wrestlers, but WWE is a different story altogether.

It has an extremely hectic schedule, as is well-known, and if Van Dam isn’t willing to make every house show, every autograph appearance, etc. will that cause problems between the two?

Just look at Jericho’s case: sure, he comes back now and again—sometimes even sticking around for months—but it seems that, sooner or later, something in his mainstream entertainment career comes up and he’s off again.  And when he does come back? WWE usually treats him as a midcard act. Because it know it cannot rely on him.

Another factor to consider is that there seems to be a limit to what WWE can do with Van Dam. 

He’s probably not going to be in the title picture—again, his unwillingness to do the schedule is a major obstacle—and it seems a waste of his talent to have him wrestle the likes of Fandango or Heath Slater in the midcard.

After a couple of months of going without any meaningful program or storyline, Van Dam may start to wonder just why he bothered coming back.  

RVD's heavily hyped WWE return? Enjoy it while it lasts, folks, because it really is hard to see him sticking around long-term.