Wrestling legend Rob Van Dam recently spoke with WWE Hall of Famer Steve Austin for “The Steve Austin Show” podcast, to promote his “Headstrong” documentary, which looks at the issues he deals with stemming from brain injuries and concussions suffered in his career.
RVD told Austin that he’s suffered “hundreds, seriously, hundreds, of concussions” over the years.
Van Dam also discussed the immediate effects of hits directly to the head.
“Balls Mahoney would hit me with a chair. Then ‘crack!’ It would be like everything’s in slow motion. Sometimes the sound ‘goes out,’ sometimes you know everything’s spinning.”
RVD, who is currently working for Impact Wrestling, noted how he wasn’t aware of concussions and CTE in the early days of his career, adding that unprotected shots to the head were expected of wrestlers in ECW. RVD told Austin that he didn’t think the effects would be long-lasting, and he thought that the instant “woozyness” feeling was all that he would feel early on in his career.
“I had double vision, but I just couldn’t shake it off and I kept thinking well. You know, it’ll be gone tomorrow, so I’m not gonna let anybody know. The show must go on,” he said.
(H/T to SEScoops for the quotes)
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