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My favorite PPV was SummerSlam 97, because of how much we all loved Bret Hart. All of the neighborhood kids erupted when Shawn Michaels hit The Undertaker with a chair and made the stalled 3 count. Nothing was better on that hot summer day than Bret Hart being the champion and us being full of pizza. It was a good day.
- 10 Trained with Sabu
- 9 Becoming RVD
- 8 Early TV Appearances
- 7 Rivalry and Tag Team with Sabu
- 6 Managed by Bill Alfonso
- 5 Legendary TV Title Run
- 4 Decorated WWE Star
- 3 Beating John Cena
- 2 The Incident That Changed His Career
- 1 Impact Wrestling Run
Rob Van Dam is known for — among other things — having a tag team/rivalry with Sabu (see below), but the two stars also started out together, training in Michigan under Sabu’s uncle, Ed Farhat, otherwise known as the original Sheik. This training period wouldn’t just establish their partnership in pro wrestling, but also their in-ring styles, as th...
Rob Van Dam debuted in 1990, but didn’t work under that name until the following year. At first, he often worked as “Rob Zakowski,” but once he started working in the Florida wrestling scene, Rob Slinker — a wrestler-turned-promoter and martial artist — dubbed him Rob Van Dambased on his resemblance to martial artist/actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, wh...
By 1992, Rob Van Dam started appearing in major televised promotions. His first would be for WWE, wrestling two squash matches: a handicap match against Sid Justice, followed by another loss to The Mountie. However, he’d end up signing with the competition. RELATED: 10 Wrestlers Who Competed In WWE, WCW, TNA & ECW In early 1993, Van Dam debuted for...
Rob Van Dam finally made his debut for ECW in 1996, where his style and karate stoner persona made him a popular act. Over the ensuing months, RVD would have several clashes with his old training buddy Sabu in a rivalry that would eventually lead to the two deciding to team up. By mid-1998, Rob Van Dam and Sabu would become Tag Team Champions, defe...
The duo weren’t on their own, however — they were represented by Bill Alfonso, a referee turned heel manager who managed Taz until he betrayed his client at Barely Legal 1997 in favor of RVD and Sabu. Alfonso managed the partners to their tag team success as well as in Van Dam’s singles victories, and even teamed up with RVD to take on Tommy Dreame...
Rob Van Dam never won the ECW World Title while in ECW, but he does have a major achievement in the promotion as far as titles go. On the 4/8/1998 episode of ECW Hardcore TV, Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to capture the Television Title, kicking off an epic 700-day runthat made RVD a major star in the company. Over the course of that near-two-ye...
Van Dam stuck with ECW to the bitter end, performing even at the company’s last show, Guilty As Charged, in January 2001. Following ECW’s demise, he debuted for WWE later in 2001 as part of the WCW/ECW Invasion storyline, but proved to be a popular act despite being presented as a heel. RELATED: 10 Things Most Fans Forget About Rob Van Dam's WWE Ca...
Rob Van Dam used his MITB contract to challenge WWE Champion John Cena in RVD’s home turf: at the Hammerstein Ballroom for the ECW reunion show One Night Stand in 2006. The match was a classic thanks to the high drama, notoriously hostile crowd, and the finish, where Van Dam successfully defeated Cena (via Edge interference) to become new WWE Champ...
Unfortunately, Rob Van Dam’s time at the top of WWE didn’t last long. In early July of 2006, RVD and Sabu were pulled over for speeding and arrested on a drug charge,after which Van Dam was subsequently booked to drop both of his titles. Van Dam stuck around in the company until 2007, joining with his fellow ECW Originals to feud with the New Breed...
After a few years on the indie scene, Rob Van Dam debuted for Impact Wrestling, defeating Sting in his first match. Eventually he’d dethrone AJ Styles for the World Title, a reign that would be cut short by Van Dam quickly running out of dates on his contract. But RVD would continue to wrestle for Impact until 2013, capturing the X Division title a...
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- Senior Staff Writer
- His WWE Returns. Rob Van Dam did return to WWE in both 2013 and 2014, and he reflected on those runs, admitting they were very different experiences. RVD says he loved the 2013 return and he had a blast performing with the company again.
- Having To Be Torn Apart. Rob Van Dam spoke openly about the negatives of his life as well within the documentary, and 2016 saw one of his darkest points.
- Losing The WWE Championship. RVD's time as WWE Champion was short-lived, and he also lost the ECW Championship the next night too. This was because he was caught speeding and in possession of marijuana, and Vince McMahon revealed he was disappointed with him.
- ECW One Night Stand. The One Night Stand event that WWE put together is often praised as being one of the best PPVs of all time. However, what a lot of people didn't know was that it was actually RVD's idea.
Aug 20, 2021 · Rob Van Dam was considered by many to be the face of ECW, and a large reason for that is because RVD took the ECW TV TItle and made it ECW's best. No wrestler represented the ECW spirit more than Rob Van Dam when he seized the opportunity presented to him. The diehard fans fell in love with the unique nature of Van Dam’s wrestling style.
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1990 [2] [4] Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD ). He is currently making appearances for All Elite Wrestling (AEW). He is known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Wrestling Entertainment ...
RVD added that he talked to some old friends at the show, including Johnny TV and Taz. Furthermore, the AEW roster enjoyed having the WWE Hall of Famer around.
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Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski (December 18, 1970), better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (RVD), is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is known for his time in Impact Wrestling, Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). Szatkowski has held twenty-eight championships in various promotions during his career, and is a three-time World ...
