WWE Hall Of Famer On Will Ospreay & Kenny Omega Tiger Driver 91: ‘It Got Us Talking’

AEW

WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam has shared his take on the controversial Tiger Driver 91 spot from the IWGP US Title match at AEW X NJPW Forbidden Door 2023.

At the June 25 pay-per-view, Will Ospreay defeated Kenny Omega to win back his IWGP US Championship in a match which many believe was the best of the year so far.

One spot which got fans talking was a Tiger Driver 91, which Ospreay delivered to Omega, who looked like he landed right on his head.

While Omega was ultimately okay following the bout, some fans took issue with the spot, calling it dangerous.

Speaking on his 1 Of A Kind with RVD podcast, Rob Van Dam noted that because he was flexible, he’d put his all into bumps and sometimes spike himself.

Arguing that the risk was worth the reward in this instance, Van Dam said:

“So, you know, either way – dangerous, but I’m not going to shame anybody for it because I don’t know. I’m not gonna act like I know what I don’t know. You know, I’m not gonna assume anything.

“I know that because I was so flexible and because I always wanted to put everything into all of my bumps and because my style is so action oriented.

“I used to always tell people like if they give me a back suplex to go ahead and like, throw me on my back of my neck and have my knees overshot and have my knees bounce off the mat while I’m landing on the back of my head.

“I did that to guys like Jericho. I did that to guys in all Japan and they would really take advantage of it, you know, so they would like really put a lot into it and like, wham. And, uh, even if it did hurt sometimes my ego would never let me expose that. So I would just be like, ‘Send it in brother.’

“Did anybody go to take a stretcher ride afterwards? Then the risk is probably worth the reward. It looked pretty fucking good. It’s got us talking. Good job.”

Kenny Omega will next wrestle on the July 19 edition of Dynamite, when the Elite will battle the Blackpool Combat Club in a Blood & Guts match.

Siding with the Elite will be Kota Ibushi, with Ibushi and Omega officially reuniting in the ring.

Another AEW star has teased a singles match against Ibushi, which you can read more about right here.

Transcription via Atletifo.com. 

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• tiger driver
• rob van dam
• Will Ospreay
• Kenny Omega

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