Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam
Born	(1970-12-18) December 18, 1970 Battle Creek, Michigan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Robbie V Rob Szatkowski Rob Van Dam
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Billed weight	235 lb (108 kg)
Billed from	Battle Creek, Michigan
Trained by	The Sheik
Debut	1990

Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born on December 18, 1970 in Battle Creek, Michigan), better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam, is currently an inactive American professional wrestler. Van Dam is best known for his work with World Wrestling Entertainment and Extreme Championship Wrestling.

Career

Early career

Rob Van Dam made his first appearance in a wrestling ring as a teenager, when he was called up to the ring by Ted DiBiase to kiss his feet for $100 USD. Van Dam debuted in 1990 after being trained by The Sheik, wrestling his first match against Dango Nguyen in Toledo, Ohio. He went on to wrestle in many independent promotions across Michigan. He signed with World Championship Wrestling in late 1992 and was dubbed Robbie V upon his arrival. His WCW run was uneventful and largely unnoticed.

He also wrestled in several independent promotions across America, and in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he challenged for the AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship on several occasions.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Back in January 1996, Van Dam signed with promoter Paul Heyman's Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), defeating Axl Rotten in his debut match. Van Dam's mannerisms were that of a stoner, and he became a face because of his laid back attitude and unorthodox style. Van Dam initially used "Poundcake" by Van Halen as his entrance music before switching to the song "Walk" by Pantera.

He became internationally known while working for ECW. Van Dam was instantly known after a series of hardcore, high-flying matches (beginning April 20, 1996 at Hostile City Showdown) with long-time rival Sabu when Van Dam failed to show proper respect for his opponent. Eventually, Van Dam united with Sabu under the management of Bill Alfonso and formed one of the most successful tag teams in ECW history. At ECW's first pay-per-view Barely Legal, Van Dam wrestled Lance Storm as a last-minute replacement for the injured Chris Candido. Immediatly following the match, RVD expressed his distaste for being chosen as a back-up for some guy who couldnt even lace his boots. RVD went on to deliver a speech directed towards Paul Heyman which would go on to be one of his best promos. Not being originally booked on the show was a point of contention between Van Dam and Heyman for a time.

In May 1997 ECW "invaded" the World Wrestling Federation's Monday Night RAW television show, drawing the ire of color commentator Jerry Lawler. Lawler then promised he would show up at an ECW show in order to gain revenge, and when he did show up he had ECW mainstays Van Dam and Sabu with him. Van Dam would go on to cut promos about how he was too good for ECW and deserved to be in one of the "Big Two" (WWF or WCW) on one of their Monday Night programs ("Monday Night Raw" or "Monday Nitro"), while Jerry Lawler dubbed Van Dam "Mr. Monday Night" on an episode of Raw. Despite his arrogance and "betrayal" of ECW, over time Van Dam was applauded by fans recognizing his athleticism and unique maneuvers.

Van Dam's popularity culminated in a record 23-month reign as ECW World Television Champion, including one title defense against Jerry Lynn at Hardcore Heaven 1999 that was deemed so good that Paul Heyman aired it on ECW's debut on TNN in place of a shoot promo about TNN that he was planning, but was not allowed to air, according to The Rise and Fall of ECW.

Van Dam suffered a broken ankle just weeks before he was scheduled to perform in a "champion vs. champion" pay-per-view main event against ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome. This match would potentially have been the most lucrative PPV main event in company history and Heyman was depending on this mega-match to bring an influx of badly-needed cash. The injury also forced Van Dam to vacate the Television Championship.

Van Dam was not advertised and did not show for a large number of ECW events due to the large sum of money owed to him, but did appear at ECW's final pay-per-view event, where he wrestled Jerry Lynn.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

Several months after the closure of ECW, Van Dam was signed to a short term contract by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Along with fellow ECW alumnus Tommy Dreamer, Van Dam returned to WWF television on the July 9 2001 episode of RAW in Atlanta, Georgia, attacking WWF wrestlers Kane and Chris Jericho.

Despite nominally being a heel, Van Dam was popular with the WWF fans, who were aware of his reputation in ECW. After defeating Jeff Hardy for the WWF Hardcore Championship at Invasion, Van Dam became one of the most over members of the Alliance and a tweener, even challenging Alliance leader Steve Austin for the WWF Championship.

At the Survivor Series on November 18, Van Dam and four other Alliance members (Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and Shane McMahon) faced five WWF wrestlers (The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane and The Big Show) in a Winner Take All match. Team WWF won, and the members of the Alliance were fired; however, as he held the Hardcore Championship, Van Dam was able to retain his job.

Van Dam after winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania X8.

After dropping the Hardcore Championship to The Undertaker at Vengeance, Van Dam began feuds with Goldust and William Regal, the later of which concluded with Van Dam winning the Intercontinental Championship at WrestleMania X8.

RAW brand

When the WWF was divided into two "brands", RAW and SmackDown! in 2002, Van Dam was drafted to the RAW brand in the fourth round with the eighth overall pick. While there Van Dam would win the Intercontinental Championship four additional times, participate in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series 2002, unify both the European and Hardcore Championships with the Intercontinental title, and challenge The Undertaker for the Undisputed Championship. Van Dam was initially ruled the winner of the match, but the match was continued after RAW General Manager Ric Flair told the referee to continue the match due to Undertaker's foot being in the ringrope. The Undertaker would go on to win the match. He also challenged Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championshipand formed tag teams with both Kane and Booker T, winning the World Tag Team Championship with each partner. His short term contract was extended into a multi-year contract that was renewed in 2005.

SmackDown! brand

On March 22 2004, Van Dam was drafted from RAW to SmackDown!. He made his SmackDown! debut on March 25, 2004, defeating Charlie Haas. While on SmackDown!, Van Dam teamed with Rey Mysterio, winning the WWE Tag Team Championship. In January 2005, Van Dam suffered a knee injury. To explain his absence in, the Basham Brothers defeated Mysterio and Van Dam for the Tag Team Championship, injuring Van Dam in the process. On January 27, 2005, Van Dam underwent reconstructive knee surgery under Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.

While recuperating, Van Dam made an appearance at the ECW reunion pay-per-view ECW One Night Stand in the New York City Hammerstein Ballroom on June 12, 2005 (the pay-per-view itself came about as a result of a suggestion Van Dam made to WWE Chairman Vince McMahon). Accompanied by his former-manager, Fonzie, and sporting a knee brace, Van Dam delivered a scathing shoot promo, criticizing the way he had been booked in WWE, until he was attacked by Rhyno. He was saved by Sabu, who defeated Rhyno in an impromptu match. Despite his injury, Van Dam got physically involved in the match, hitting Rhyno with a chairshot and giving him a Chair Surf.

Return to RAW

On the June 27, 2005 episode of RAW, Van Dam (still healing) was drafted back to RAW in the 2005 draft lottery. He was introduced to RAW by Carlito, who insulted Van Dam before attacking him and assaulting his knee. Van Dam made his return to the ring over six months later at the Royal Rumble. He gained revenge on Carlito by eliminating him, but was in turn, and inadvertently, eliminated by Rey Mysterio. On the February 6, episode of RAW, Van Dam defeated Carlito in the first round of the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament. One week later, he defeated Chris Masters in the tournament semi-finals. On the February 20, 2006 episode of RAW, Van Dam and Big Show were defeated by Triple H in a triple threat match to determine the winner of the tournament and number one contender to the WWE Championship.

The following week, now out of the WrestleMania main event, Van Dam defeated Trevor Murdoch to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Van Dam went on to win the match, thus earning himself a guaranteed shot at either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at any time within the subsequent year.

Following the ladder match, Shelton Benjamin challenged Van Dam to put his Money in the Bank opportunity on the line in a match. Van Dam countered by requesting a match for Benjamin's Intercontinental Championship. One week later, both Van Dam and Benjamin picked mystery opponents for one another, with the loser placing their respective prize on the line in a bout at Backlash on April 30, 2006. Benjamin lost to the returning Charlie Haas, while Van Dam was defeated by all five members of the Spirit Squad. As a result, both the Intercontinental Championship and the Money in the Bank title shot were contested at Backlash. Van Dam went on to win both prizes, before dropping the Intercontinental title back to Benjamin on the May 15, 2006 edition of RAW.

On the May 22, 2006 episode of RAW, Van Dam informed WWE Champion John Cena that he would be cashing in his Money in the Bank contract at ECW One Night Stand 2006 on June 11, 2006 for a WWE Championship match.

ECW brand

On May 29 2006, Van Dam was selected by Paul Heyman to be drafted from RAW to WWE's new ECW brand. Upon being drafted, Van Dam became the new brand's flagship, mostly due to his prior history in ECW and his title shot against John Cena at One Night Stand.

At One Night Stand, Van Dam defeated Cena to win the WWE Championship, his first ever World Title. Throughout the match the fans verbally abused Cena and infamously threw Cena's t-shirt back at him in the ring as he threw it into the fans which the fans chanting "throw it back" when Cena threw the t-shirt and cheered when it was thrown back, the fans swore at cena and even threw toilet paper at cena. A fan named Kevin Maharaj had hung a banner that infamously said "If Cena Wins, We Riot" over the balcony, with ECW announcer Joey Styles noting, "Here comes the riot!" when Cena appeared to have the match won. After two referees were knocked out Edge appeared from under the ring and interfered on behalf of Van Dam, spearing Cena through a table. Van Dam then hit a Five Star Frog Splash and the pinfall was counted by Paul Heyman, who had suddenly ran down the aisle. On the following episode of RAW, Heyman confirmed that the title change was official, due to the match being held under "extreme rules." For the past few weeks, Heyman had hinted that the WWE Championship would be "rechristened" the ECW Championship when Van Dam won. On the debut of ECW on Sci Fi, Van Dam was awarded the re-instated ECW World Heavyweight Championship by Heyman. However, Van Dam decided to defend the WWE Chamionship separately and simultanously, joking that "this one spins." Thus Van Dam became the first wrestler in history to hold both the WWE Championship and the ECW World Championship, and the only one to hold them at the same time.

On the July 3 episode of RAW, Van Dam lost the WWE Championship to Edge in a triple threat match that also featured John Cena. The next night, on the July 4 episode of ECW, he lost the ECW World Championship to The Big Show after Heyman turned on him. Later on WWE.com, Heyman suspended Van Dam for 30 days without giving a reason; (in reality, WWE suspended Van Dam for 30 days as a result of his recent drug possession arrest) . He returned to house shows on August 5, and returned to television on August 8, attacking both Sabu and Kurt Angle during a match. His return to the ring came a week later, in a losing effort to Sabu in a ladder match for number one contendership to the ECW World Championship.

Van Dam slowly worked his back into the championship picture. In October, Van Dam defeated The Big Show in a non-title match to regain the number one contendership. Having the option to pick a date, Van Dam announced the title match would occur at December to Dismember. Heyman, however, had the option of picking the match type, and announced that the main event would be a six-man Extreme Elimination Chamber match. At the event, Van Dam was eliminated 3rd from the chamber.

Later in December, Van Dam would once again earn No.1 contendership to the ECW World Championship, but this time by a fan poll. Van Dam would go on to get three matches against World Champion Bobby Lashley, coming up short each time.

Rob Van Dam would later join the ECW Originals along with Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, and the Sandman. The ECW Originals would then begin a feud with the New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker). The two teams would face off at WrestleMania 23 in which the ECW Originals won. With this win, RVD tied with John Cena as one of few to go four WMs in a row without a defeat.

Following Vince McMahon winning the ECW World Championship at Backlash, RVD and the other ECW Originals made statements on WWE.com about Vince killing ECW. The ECW Originals all competed in a four way dance to decide who would take on Vince McMahon the next week on ECW in a title match, which Van Dam won after a five-star frog splash on Sandman. However, Rob Van Dam instead had to face Vince McMahon, Shane McMahon and Umaga in a 3 on 1 handicap match, which Rob Van Dam was unable to win.

Rob Van Dam received a concussion during a match with Randy Orton (kayfabe). Orton further attacked Van Dam after the match due to the comments Van Dam made on WWE.com about the lack of respect Orton displayed towards Shawn Michaels, who also suffered a concussion (kayfabe) at the hands of Orton. Van Dam once again faced Orton at One Night Stand, this time being a Stretcher Match. Although it looked as if Orton was going to win again, Van Dam gave a kick to his head, and was able to push the stretcher across the line for the win. However, despite winning the match, Orton continued to attack him, ending with a Elevated DDT off the barricade and onto the concrete floor. Van Dam's contract ran out as of the 8th of July 2007, and he declined to resign with WWE.

Hiatus

Currently Van Dam has no plans to return to the ring, stating he is on an extended hiatus and is taking time out for family and his comic store, RVD's 5 Star Comics. He has not ruled it out of the question of joining Total Nonstop Action Wrestling or returning to WWE. Despite popular belief, he would be able to use the name Rob Van Dam, as it is his characterized copyright. In an interview with the BBC in relation to attending the Birmingham Memorabilia Fair in the United Kingdom he said "I'm not ruling it out of the question, it's where, when and why it's good for me, and it's when it's time for me, R...V...D.". He also spoke on Paul Heyman, the roles within WWE, John Cena, Triple H and Stephanie McMahon with the Daily Star's Fightin' Talk column.

Although inactive and not signed with major promotions, he remains on the ECW page on WWE.com, however this is due to a lack of updates on the pages since the company reshuffle in 2007.

In wrestling

• Finishing moves
  • Five-Star Frog Splash (High elevation frog splash, turning in midair if target is not perpendicular to flight path)
  • Split-legged moonsault - Finisher in early career, later became a signature move
  • Van Daminator (Spinning heel-kick, driving a steel chair or a foreign object into the face of the opponent)
  • Van Terminator (Corner-to-corner missile dropkick, driving a steel chair or other foreign object into the face of the opponent)

File:Rollingthunder.jpg

Rob Van Dam performing his signature Rolling Thunder on Marcus Cor Von

• Signature moves
  • Air Van Dam (Somersault senton from top turnbuckle to opponent outside of ring)
  • Rolling Thunder (Forward roll into somersault senton)
  • Rolling Thunder Monkey Flip (Forward roll into monkey flip on cornered opponent)
  • Rolling Thunder Splash (Forward roll into vertical splash)
  • Skateboard / Chair Surf (Running dropkick, driving a steel chair into the face of a seated opponent in the corner of the ring)
  • Steam Roller (Rolling fireman's carry slam) followed by a jump on the top turnbuckle
  • Baseball slide to a seated opponent in the corner of the ring
  • Corkscrew leg drop
  • Crossbody - sometimes done while facing away from opponent
  • Diving leg drop
  • Falling slam
  • Fisherman brainbuster (1996)
  • Flying thrust kick (sometimes off of a barricade)
  • Inverted suplex slam onto the barricade followed by climbing onto an elevated surface and jumping off with a corkscrew leg drop to the back
  • Leg sweep
  • Lifting double underhook facebuster
  • Monkey flip
  • Moonsault (sometimes off of a barracade or guard rail)
  • Springboard Moonsault Press (sometimes springboarding of the steel steps)
  • Northern lights suplex
  • Pescado
  • Roundhouse kick
  • Superkick
  • Slingshot leg drop
  • Somersault leg drop - in ECW - sometimes done from the top rope
  • Spinning crescent kick - sometimes done when running into a cornered opponent
  • Springboard leg lariat
  • Standing moonsault - sometimes preceded by a cartwheel
  • Two turnbuckle thrusts followed by a back handspring and a running thrust
  • Various kicks and kicking combos
  • Windmill kick
  • The Tiger Facebuster - (All Japan Pro Wrestling) 80s-90s
  • 450° splash - NEWF Early 90's

• Managers
  • Stacy Keibler
  • Bill Alfonso
  • Paul Heyman
  • Jerry Lawler
  • Stephanie McMahon-Helmsley
  • The Sandman
  • Tommy Dreamer
  • Sabu
• Nicknames
  • Mr. Monday Night (Monday Night RAW)
  • Mr. Thursday Night (SmackDown!)
  • Mr. Pay-Per-View
  • Mr. Money in the Bank
  • Mr. NBC (City Guys)
  • "Magic Soldier" Rob Van Dam (All Japan Pro Wrestling)
  • RVD
  • RVD 4:20 (a parody of Austin 3:16)
  • The Whole Dam Show
  • The Whole F'n Show
  • The Whole Fucking Show

• Theme music
  • Van Dam's entrance music in the original ECW was "Walk" by Pantera. The song was covered by Kilgore for the ECW Extreme Music album; Van Dam briefly used this version as his entrance music when the album was released.
  • Van Dam's entrance music in WWE is "One of a Kind" by Breaking Point. He appears in the music video for the song, in which he loses his car to the band's lead singer, Brett Erickson, in a street race. At the end of the video, he spin kicks the keys to the car into his opponent's hands. The song appears on the WWF Forceable Entry album.
  • Van Dam's entrance music on the WWE Wreckless Intent album is "Fury of the Storm" by Shadows Fall. Possibly due to licensing issues with his "One of a Kind" theme, "Fury of the Storm" is used as Van Dam's theme in WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007.

Championships and accomplishments

Van Dam as both WWE Champion and ECW Champion.

• All Star Wrestling
  • ASW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• Extreme Championship Wrestling
  • ECW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Sabu
  • ECW World Television Championship (1 time)

• International Wrestling Federation
  • IWF Television Championship (1 time)

• National Wrestling Council
  • NWC Tag Team Champion (1 time) - with Bobby Bradley

• Peach State Wrestling
  • PSW Cordele City Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

• South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
  • SAPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Chaz Rocco

• World Wrestling Federation | World Wrestling Entertainment
  • ECW World Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Championship (1 time)
  • WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) - with Rey Mysterio
  • WWF/E Hardcore Championship (4 times) (Last Champion)
  • WWE European Championship (1 time) (Last Champion)
  • WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (6 times)
  • World Tag Team Championship (2 times) - with Kane (1) and Booker T (1)
  • Mr. Money in the Bank winner in 2006
  • Fifteenth Triple Crown Champion
  • Sixth Grand Slam Champion

• Pro Wrestling Illustrated
  • PWI Comeback of the Year award in 2001
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year award in 2001
  • PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year award in 2002
  • PWI ranked him # 1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002.
  • PWI ranked him # 152 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003.

Filmography

• Superfights (1995) as "The Mercenary"
• Bloodmoon (1997) as "Dutch Scholtz"
• City Guys (October 23, 1999) in episode "El-Trainmania IV" as "Himself"
• 18 Wheels of Justice (August 2, 2000) as "Robert Laramie"
• The X-Files (May 7, 2000) in episode "Fight Club" as "Burt's opponent"
• V.I.P. (2000) in episode "Danger Island" as "Major Ving Talbot"
• Spy TV (July 26, 2001) as "Himself"
• Ultimate Revenge (December 2, 2001) as "Himself"
• Black Mask 2: City of Masks (2002) as "Claw"
• The Backyard (2002) as "Himself"
• Rob Van Dam: One Of A Kind (2003; DVD)

Personal life

• Rob has a wife named Sonya.
• Van Dam is a trained kickboxer and martial artist. In 1990 he placed second in the Kalamazoo Heavyweight Toughman Contest. Van Dam is an outspoken advocate of vitamins and bodybuilding supplements and attributes this to his mother's influence. Van Dam participated in amateur wrestling while in high school. He is the inventor of the Van Dam Lift, a weightlifting technique that involves performing a split (which he took up in his early teens) between two benches and lifting a dumbbell from the floor to the waist. The lift was approved by the International All-Around Weightlifting Association in 1998, and Van Dam holds the current record, 166.5 lb (76 kg).

• Van Dam was featured in an article in the March 1999 issue of High Times (it is a popular misconception that he appeared on the magazine cover). His signature symbol is the Taijitu; in an interview for WWE's "Invasion" DVD, he said he uses this symbol because it represents "the use of good or evil".

2006 arrest

On July 3 ,2006, The Ironton Tribune reported that Van Dam and Sabu (one of his colleagues) had been arrested on the previous evening on U.S. Route 52 in Hanging Rock, Ohio. Van Dam had been stopped for speeding by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper, who discovered that Van Dam was in possession of 18 grams of marijuana and five Vicodin pills, while Sabu was in possession of drug paraphernalia and nine tablets of Testolactone. Both Van Dam and Sabu were released after posting bail, and were scheduled to appear in Ironton Municipal Court on July 6, 2006. On July 6 2006, The Ironton Tribune reported that the court date for Van Dam and Sabu was in limbo, as their attorneys had asked for and were granted continuances.

According to the WWE's "wellness" policy, a drug-related arrest can lead to that talent's immediate dismissal from the company. WWE Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis released a statement on WWE.com reporting that Van Dam and Sabu were still eligible to compete on the RAW and ECW tapings the following days while an investigation conducted by WWE was being undertaken. Van Dam was subsequently suspended without pay for 30 days, and an on-air segment on ECW was scripted to relay this to the fans.

On August 31, 2006, Van Dam and Sabu appeared in court. Van Dam plead guilty to possessing marijuana and was fined $140 USD, while Sabu was fined $500 USD.

References

Interviews and notes

• Rob Van Dam comments on Benoit Family tragedy (1)
• An interview with Rob Van Dam, conducted by Ken Tuccio (1)
• An interview with Rob Van Dam, conducted by Ken Tuccio (2)
• Rob Van Dam at Bodyslamming.com
• Rob Van Dam at UPW.com
• Rob Van Dam at UKEvents.net
• [1]

External links

• WWE Profile
• Official Website
• Rob Van Dam at IMDb
• Template:Myspace