Rob Van Dam, wife Katie Forbes, communicate with fans through new website

Rob Van Dam loves interacting with fans.

He always did this.

The WWE Hall of Fame wrestler, who made a name for himself by becoming one of the most popular wrestlers in first ECW and then WWE, was a huge fan favorite because he put on great matches.

When he walked into the ring, the entire arena chanted “RVD”, pointed at themselves and did everything they could to get a high five from everyone’s favorite wrestler.

But that’s not the only way Van Dam could connect with fans.

He was one of the first wrestlers to have a website and used it to communicate with fans. He later presented Rob Van Dam TV and Rob Van Dam Radio.

Combine these ventures with his social media presence, and Van Dam, as well as his wife and pro wrestling star Katie Forbes, will always be engaging with their supporters. They always liked it.

“Over the years, I tried different platforms, one was called Tweet Secret, several wrestlers signed up for it and made videos,” Van Dam said. “I would put together an amazing video, I did it every single day when I was in WWE, but no one ever saw the tape.”

Now they are taking it to the next level.

The pair recently announced Only Wrestlers, a place where fans can connect with their favorite wrestlers and favorite promotions.

Described as “Fans Only” with no adult content, the platform gives wrestlers the opportunity to meet their fans. More importantly, it’s a chance for fans to learn more about their favorite wrestlers.

“It’s almost like many platforms combined,” Van Dam said. “Tweet Secret, Instagram, Cameo, but this is a platform where followers can follow, support and stay in touch with their favorite wrestlers. This strengthens the connection with the wrestlers who are the content creators. They set their own terms and conditions regarding content. It could be training tips at the gym, or maybe it’s going to the shooting range. Whatever. It’s all about going behind the scenes and making it exclusive.”

Van Dam and Forbes helped plan the project as both are extremely active on social media where they interact with their fans. They know what fans like and are aiming to please them with this new venture.

“We’ll be doing live chats on websites,” said Van Dam, who also said he’ll soon be bringing his popular podcast “One of a Kind” online. “We want to make it the center of attention. Community chat where everyone can chat. Something new is added every couple of days. We have a list and in the meantime we are receiving registrations with patience.

How much or little you spend will be determined by the fan.

Van Dam and Forbes will become free followers.

Wrestlers like Brian Cage, Sabu, John Morrison, Greg “The Hammer” Valentine and Violent Jay of the Insane Clown Posse have already signed up, and many more do the same every day.

Van Dam is pleased with the progress but is looking forward to continued growth. He’s also excited about the other features.

“The whole other part is all the followers, they become part of the association,” Van Dam said. “This is a community of fans and fighters. We are going to grow and so is the strength of the association. They will vote on things that will gradually become bigger and more important, moving in the direction of the (Wrestlers Only Association). We want to bring live wrestling events and the fans will have a voice, we will change it and it will grow. They will vote on which cities we will go to to fight. And from there we plan to grow. It has so much room to grow, and as we grow, we have room to grow. We have followers from 30 countries and everyone loves it.”

This venture is special to Van Dam because he is still a wrestling fan. It’s also special because he works with Forbes.

The happy couple work together in the ring, with Forbes usually accompanying Van Dam to the ring, although she is a more than capable in-ring performer.

This gives them another chance to spend time together working on a project they are both passionate about.

“It’s amazing, Katie has been a huge part of it,” Van Dam said. “Having a lot of fans vote was my idea. One of my partners wants to help independent people do this. So we have groups that create pages and this will help introduce the wrestlers and help them grow. (Katie’s) point of view is her own. and she looks forward to everyone being able to enjoy it from both sides. We have questions that she helps with. She’s familiar because she’s worked on other platforms.”

Van Dam is very busy with his new venture, but he is very busy. And this project could change the wrestling industry.

And for this it is enough for him to be RVD.

“I’ve always connected with the fans and always heard and understood that not everyone is like that,” he said. “It’s a very organic approach to getting involved in the project. When I was in WWE, I almost always, after the fans saw me when I arrived, I would come back and almost always sign autographs and take pictures. Fans said, “You’re the only one who did it.” I liked it.

“I would volunteer to do meet and greets, whether it was kids from the Make-A-Wish competition or radio winners, if you needed someone to do a meet and greet, I would volunteer so much that they said, “Let’s do it.” Let’s do a rotation.”

“I’ve always enjoyed being in touch with the fans. This is what I like. I like to share my point of view. This is our agenda. It brings fans and wrestlers together.”

This article originally appeared at Asbury Park Press: RVD “Wrestlers Only” creates a wrestling community