Coordinates	39°35′36″N174°16′42″N
Championshipname	ECW World Heavyweight Championship
Promotion	NWA Eastern Championship Wrestling (April 25, 1992 - August 27, 1994)Extreme Championship Wrestling (August 27, 1994 - April 10, 2001)World Wrestling Entertainment (June 13, 2006 - February 16, 2010)
Created	April 25, 1992
Mostreigns	The Sandman (5 official reigns)
Firstchamp	Jimmy Snuka
Longestreign	Shane Douglas
Shortestreign	Ezekiel Jackson
Oldest	Mr. McMahon
Youngest	Mikey Whipwreck
Heaviest	The Big Show )}}

|lightest=Jerry Lynn )}} |pastnames= |titleretired=February 16, 2010 |pastlookimages= }} The Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) World Heavyweight Championship was a professional wrestling world heavyweight championship in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). It was the original world title of the Extreme Championship Wrestling promotion, later used in WWE as the world title of the ECW brand and one of three in WWE, complementing the WWE Championship and World Heavyweight Championship. The championship also briefly appeared as the only world title featured on the Raw brand in 2008. It was introduced in ECW while it was a National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) affiliate, Eastern Championship Wrestling in 1992. The championship was generally contested in professional wrestling matches, in which participants execute scripted finishes, competing indirectly rather than contend in direct competition.

History

Origin

The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was introduced originally in 1992 as the NWA-ECW Heavyweight Championship with Jimmy Snuka becoming the inaugural champion on April 25. However, its origin is attributed to events that began in the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA), a promotion with various subsidiaries. In the early 1990s, Eastern Championship Wrestling (ECW) was a subsidiary to the NWA and by 1994, the NWA World Heavyweight Championship, the world title of the NWA and its subsidiaries, was vacant. Consequently, a tournament was organized to crown a new NWA World Heavyweight Champion and on August 27, NWA-ECW Heavyweight Champion, Shane Douglas, defeated 2 Cold Scorpio in the finals to win the title. However, Douglas immediately relinquished the NWA World Heavyweight Championship and instead proclaimed himself the new ECW World Heavyweight Champion. ECW subsequently seceded from the NWA and became Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). The ECW World Heavyweight Championship was thus established, spun off from the NWA title. It remained active until April 11, 2001 when ECW closed and World Wrestling Entertainment subsequently purchased its assets.

Recommission

By 2005, WWE began reintroducing ECW through content from the ECW video library and a series of books, which included the release of ''The Rise and Fall of ECW'' documentary. With heightened and rejuvenated interest in the ECW franchise, WWE organized ECW One Night Stand on June 12, a reunion event that featured ECW alumni. Due to the financial and critical success of the production, WWE produced the second ECW One Night Stand on June 11, 2006, which served as the premiere event in the relaunch of the ECW franchise as a third WWE brand, complementary to Raw and SmackDown. On June 13, Paul Heyman, former ECW owner and newly appointed figurehead for the ECW brand, recommissioned the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to be the brand's world title and awarded it to Rob Van Dam as a result of winning the WWE Championship at One Night Stand 2006. Heyman had originally stated that either the WWE Championship or the World Heavyweight Championship would "become" the ECW World Heavyweight Championship if a competitor designated to the ECW brand became WWE Champion or World Heavyweight Champion at the event. However, Rob Van Dam later declared that he would hold both titles simultaneously instead. The title became known as the ECW World Championship in July 2006, and later simply as the ECW Championship in August 2007.

Brand designation

thumb|right|200px|[[Christian (wrestler)|Christian, with the ECW Championship.]] Following the events of the WWE Brand Extension, an annual WWE Draft was established, in which select members of the WWE roster are reassigned to a different brand. After two years on the ECW brand, the ECW Championship was briefly moved to the SmackDown brand when Chavo Guerrero, a member of the SmackDown brand, defeated the ECW Champion CM Punk on January 22, 2008 to win the title. On March 30 at WrestleMania XXIV, the ECW Championship returned to ECW when Kane defeated Chavo Guerrero to win the ECW Championship and defected to the ECW brand. After the 2008 WWE Draft, Kane was drafted to Raw, moving the ECW Championship to the Raw brand. On June 29 at Night of Champions, Mark Henry defeated Kane and The Big Show in a Triple Threat match to win the ECW Championship. Henry's status as a member of the ECW brand resulted in the championship returning to ECW. The brand would continue to operate until February 16, 2010, rendering the title inactive once again.

Belt designs

Soon after its recommissioning, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship belt design was updated to a design similar to the belt used prior to ECW's original closure in 2001, which featured a black leather strap with a snakeskin pattern on the rear, snaps to wrap around the waist of the wrestler who wore it, and five pieces made of gold. In the middle of the strap was a large center piece, which featured a design of a blue globe in the center, and to the left and right of the globe were a pair of baseball bats wrapped in barbed wire. At the top of the piece, a purple ECW logo and the words "World Heavyweight Wrestling Champion" were engraved with the words "Heavyweight Wrestling" in red, which gave the text a blood-like appearance. In addition, the entire piece was engraved with a pattern similar to that of a steel cage. Along the strap, on both ends, were four smaller pieces which featured a design similar to that of the center piece. The new belt was differentiated by a full black strap with barbed wire tooling, red ECW logos, and the innards of the steel cage pattern outlined in black.

On July 22, 2008, ECW General Manager Theodore Long introduced a new 17 pound platinum belt design for the ECW Championship belt. This current design features a large black leather strap with five platinum pieces. The large center piece features a design of a phoenix over a globe in the center with its wings expanded and rays of light emitting from it. At the top of the piece, the WWE logo and the words "World Wrestling Entertainment" are engraved with "ECW" in large letters engraved prominently over the phoenix. A nameplate, which has the name of the champion etched, is located below it and at the bottom of the piece, the word "Champion" is engraved. Additionally, the entire piece is bordered by a jagged saw-like pattern. Along the strap, on both ends, are four small biker cross-shape pieces which feature a design similar to that of the center piece.

Reigns

Overall, there have been 49 ECW World Heavyweight Championship reigns shared among 32 individuals. The inaugural champion was Jimmy Snuka, who won the title by defeating Salvatore Bellomo in April 1992. The Sandman holds the most reigns as champion, with five. Shane Douglas, in his fourth reign, had the longest reign in the title's history which lasted 406 days, while Ezekiel Jackson, in his first (and only, due to his defeating of Christian on the television finale of ''ECW'') reign, had the shortest as the title was retired immediately. Jackson is recognized as the final ECW Champion.

References

External links

The ECW Championship at WWE.com

CygyWrestling.com - ECW World Heavyweight Title History

Wrestling-Titles.com

Category:Extreme Championship Wrestling championships Category:World heavyweight wrestling championships Category:WWE championships

ca:ECW World Heavyweight Championship da:ECW World Heavyweight Championship de:ECW Championship es:ECW Championship fr:ECW Championship it:ECW Championship nl:ECW World Heavyweight Championship ja:ECW王座 pl:ECW Championship pt:ECW World Heavyweight Championship ro:ECW World Championship simple:ECW Championship fi:ECW World Heavyweight Championship th:อีซีดับเบิลยู แชมเปี้ยนชิพ vi:ECW World Championship

Coordinates	39°35′36″N174°16′42″N
Name	Rob Van Dam
Names	Robbie VRob Van DamRob Szatkowski
Height
Weight
Birth date	December 18, 1970
Birth place	Battle Creek, Michigan
Resides	Los Angeles, California
Billed	Battle Creek, Michigan
Trainer	The Sheik
Debut	1990 }}

Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970), better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (RVD), is an American professional wrestler and actor who is currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

Szatkowski has held 22 championships between ECW, WWE and TNA, as well as several regional titles in various promotions during his career. He is officially recognized by TNA as a six-time World Champion having held the WWE Championship, ECW World Heavyweight Championship, albeit under the WWE banner, and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship once each. On the independent scene he had three additional World Title reigns being a former two time AWR World Heavyweight Champion and is the current WSW World Heavyweight Champion. He is the only man to hold the ECW and WWE Championships simultaneously and the only man to have won the ECW, WWE, and TNA World Heavyweight titles in his career. He is the only man to achieve both WWE and ECW's version of the Triple Crown. Part of ECW's Triple Crown included the ECW World Television Championship, of which RVD's 700 day reign was the longest.

Early life

Rob grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan and graduated from Pennfield High School. Rob made his first appearance on WWF television in 1987 in a skit with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. At the time, DiBiase was selecting plants from the audience and offering to pay them to perform degrading acts and offered the 16 year old Szatkowski $100 to enter the ring and kiss his foot, which he did. This early appearance was later included as a bonus feature on WWE's ''Before They Were Superstars'' DVD and on WWE's ''Rob Van Dam: One of a Kind'' DVD.

Professional wrestling career

Early career (1990–1995)

Szatkowski debuted in 1990 after being trained by The Sheik, wrestling his first match against Dango Nguyen in Toledo, Ohio. The name Rob Van Dam was given to Rob in 1991 by Ron Slinker, a promoter in Florida, possibly because of his martial arts experience and his resemblance to actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. He wrestled in many independent promotions across Michigan, including the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) and South Atlantic Pro Wrestling (SAPW). In SAPW, he won his first wrestling title, the SAPW Tag Team Championship, in July 1992 with Chaz Rocco. He signed with World Championship Wrestling in late 1992 and was dubbed Robbie V by Ron Slinker upon his arrival since Bill Watts didn't like the name Rob Van Dam. 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

Debut (1996)

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 at ''House Party''. Van Dam's mannerisms were those of a stoner, and he became a face due to his laid-back attitude and unorthodox style. On March 30, he faced 2 Cold Scorpio in a match for the ECW World Television Championship. The match ended in a draw with 2 Cold Scorpio retaining the title.

Van Dam gained attention following a series of matches with long-time rival Sabu, which began with a match at ''Hostile City Showdown'', won by Sabu. After the match, Van Dam declined to show proper respect for his opponent, leading to a rematch at ''A Matter of Respect'', which was won by Van Dam. Per the pre-match stipulation, Sabu then offered Van Dam a handshake, but was again ignored. Instead, Van Dam left the ring and turned heel under the management of Bill Alfonso. At Hardcore Heaven, Van Dam faced his rival Sabu once again, in a match to prove who was the better man. Sabu won the match. The two faced each other yet again in a stretcher match at ''The Doctor is In''. Van Dam lost the match after missing a Plancha to the outside, hitting the railing and falling onto the stretcher. He was quickly rolled out.

Teaming with Sabu (1996–1998)

At ''Natural Born Killaz'', Van Dam defeated Doug Furnas in a match. Post-match, Van Dam offered Furnas a handshake, but Furnas instead hit Van Dam with a short-arm clothesline, starting a rivalry between the two. After his rivalry with Furnas expanded to also include Dan Kroffat, Van Dam wanted a tag team partner of his own. After losing to long-time rival Sabu once again at ''Unluckily Lottery'', the two united and formed what was to become one of the most successful tag teams in ECW history. They feuded with Furnas and Kroffat defeating them at ''When Worlds Collide II'' and ''High Incident''.

Van Dam and Sabu next feuded with The Eliminators, John Kronus and Perry Saturn. On November 1, the two teams fought to a draw. Van Dam then feuded with Taz, to whom he lost at ''Holiday Hell'' via knockout. Sabu and Van Dam continued to feud with The Eliminators for the ECW World Tag Team Championship into 1997. At ''Crossing the Line Again'' and Cyberslam, the teams faced off for the ECW World Tag Team Championship in a pair of matches, both of which were won by The Eliminators. At CyberSlam, the two teams faced each other for the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, in which The Eliminators again retained their title.

At ECW's first pay-per-view event Barely Legal, Van Dam defeated Lance Storm as a last-minute replacement for the injured Chris Candido. Immediately following the match, Van Dam expressed his distaste for being chosen as a back-up for "some guy who couldn't even lace his boots". Van Dam delivered a speech directed towards Paul Heyman, and 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 (who turned heel) and Sabu with him. Van Dam 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 became applauded by fans recognizing his athleticism and unique maneuvers.

Van Dam continued to team up with Sabu upon his return to ECW on June 13. Tazz's manager Bill Alfonso betrayed Tazz and joined Sabu and Van Dam. Van Dam started a new rivalry with Tommy Dreamer, who wanted to gain revenge on Van Dam for his betrayal of ECW. On June 21, Van Damn and Sabu earned a victory over Dreamer and The Sandman. Van Dam and Sabu emerged victorious against Dreamer and Sandman again at ''Orgy of Violence''. At Heat Wave, Van Dam, Sabu, and WWF's Jerry "The King" Lawler fought Dreamer, Sandman, and Rick Rude to a no contest. Van Dam and Dreamer faced each other in a hardcore match at ''Born to Be Wired'', won by Van Dam after he performed a leg drop on Dreamer with a trashcan. At ''As Good as it Gets'', the team of Van Dam and Alfonso lost to Dreamer and Beulah McGillicutty in a mixed tag team match. Van Dam and Sabu became partners while Dreamer teamed up with Tazz. At ''Fright Fight'', Van Dam lost to Dreamer in a flag match. At Ultimate Jeopardy, Van Dam and Sabu faced Dreamer and Tazz, a match won by Tazz and Dreamer after Dreamer pinned Van Dam. At November to Remember, Van Dam faced Dreamer in another flag match, which went to a no contest. At ''Better Than Ever'', Van Dam and Sabu faced Dreamer and Tazz in a rematch. This time, Van Dam pinned Dreamer to give the victory to his team and to settle their rivalry. Van Dam's final encounter with Dreamer came on December 26, when Dreamer teamed up with Tazz, Al Snow, and Sandman to take on Van Dam, Sabu, Doug Furnas, and Phil Lafon. Van Dam's team lost the match.

In 1998, Van Dam turned face and started a feud with Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Chris Candido). At ''House Party'', Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow. At ''Hostile City Showdown'', Van Dam and Sabu defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney by disqualification. The two went on to win a fatal four way elimination tag team match later that night. At CyberSlam, Van Dam and Sabu fell to Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow. Van Dam's popularity increased when he got his first taste of ECW gold, on April 4 when he defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the ECW World Television Championship. Van Dam retained the belt in his first title defense on April 10 against Doug Furnas. Sabu also expressed interest in Van Dam's championship, leading to a title match between the two at Wrestlepalooza. Van Dam retained the title as the match ended in a time limit draw.

At ''A Matter of Respect'', Van Dam and Sabu were forced to face each other in a tag team match as they both teamed up with ECW World Tag Team Champions. Van Dam teamed with the one half of the champions, Lance Storm, while Sabu teamed with the other half, Chris Candido. Van Dam and Sabu reconciled and instead took out Storm and Candido making it a no contest. Van Dam and Sabu started a feud with Storm and Candido in the next month for the tag team title. On June 27, Van Dam and Sabu beat Storm and Candido to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship, which made Van Dam a double champion. On October 24, Sabu and Van Dam lost the title to the Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray and D-Von) after interference from Triple Threat. Van Dam sought revenge and at November to Remember, Van Dam and Sabu teamed with Taz to defeat Triple Threat. On December 13, Van Dam and Sabu won the ECW World Tag Team Championship for a second time by beating the Dudley Boyz in Japan at a Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling (FMW) show.

World Television Champion (1998–2001)

Van Dam remained the Television champion for the rest of 1998, and he started 1999 by making successful title defenses against the likes of Spike Dudley, Lance Storm at Guilty as Charged, Balls Mahoney, and 2 Cold Scorpio at CyberSlam.

Van Dam and Sabu were scheduled to make a title defense on April 17, but Sabu was suspended by ECW before the match occurred. Instead, Van Dam faced D-Von Dudley in a singles match and as a result of losing the match, Van Dam also lost the Tag Team Title to the Dudleyz. After losing the Tag Team titles, Van Dam focused on defending the Television title. He entered into a rivalry with Jerry Lynn against whom he defended the Television title at Hardcore Heaven in a "no time limit" match. Van Dam retained the title, and the match 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. Van Dam continued to defend the ECW World Television Championship for the remainder of the year.

Van Dam began a feud with Rhino in the beginning of 2000. RVD successfully defended the ECW World Television Championship against Rhino on January 7. RVD got a big victory during a title defense against Sabu at Guilty as Charged. Van Dam was scheduled to perform in a "champion vs. champion" pay-per-view main event against ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome. This match potentially could have been the most lucrative pay-per-view main event in company history, and Heyman was depending on this mega-match to bring an influx of badly needed cash, but the match never occurred because Van Dam suffered a broken ankle during a successful title defense against Rhino on January 29. The injury also forced Van Dam to vacate the ECW World Television Championship.

He returned to ECW at Hardcore Heaven and faced long-time rival Jerry Lynn. Van Dam was supported by his real-life friend Scotty Anton who eventually turned on him when Van Dam was going to perform a Five-Star Frog Splash on Lynn. Anton pushed him from the top rope, which helped Lynn win the match. Van Dam feuded with Anton and took his revenge at Heat Wave by defeating Anton after a Van Terminator. Van Dam then attempted to exact revenge on Rhino for forcing him into injury. He got many opportunities to win the ECW World Television Championship back from Rhino, but Rhino's allies usually attacked Van Dam, causing disqualifications and allowing Rhino to retain the title. At Anarchy Rulz, Van Dam faced Rhino for the ECW World Television Championship but was screwed when a heel referee made a fast count during a pinfall attempt made by Rhino.

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. He appeared at ECW's final pay-per-view event Guilty as Charged, where he defeated Jerry Lynn. This was Van Dam's last appearance in ECW, as ECW only held two more shows after the pay-per-view.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

The Invasion (2001)

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 as a heel, and attacking WWF wrestlers Kane and Chris Jericho. Later that night, five wrestlers from WWF and five wrestlers from WCW took on ten ECW wrestlers, including Van Dam. The match never took place as instead the WCW wrestlers aligned themselves with the ECW wrestlers. Van Dam became one of the most over members of the Alliance and even challenged Alliance leader Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship including a triple threat match at No Mercy. Van Dam lost the Hardcore title to Hardy on the August 13 edition of ''Raw'', but regained the title from Hardy at SummerSlam. At Survivor Series on November 18, Van Dam and four other Alliance members faced five WWF wrestlers 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.

Unifying championships (2001–2002)

Van Dam became a babyface but lost the Hardcore Championship to The Undertaker at Vengeance. He then entered into a rivalry with William Regal over Regal's Intercontinental title. On the February 25 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam defeated Lance Storm and Big Show in a triple threat match to become the #1 contender to the Intercontinental title. At WrestleMania X8, RVD faced Regal for the Intercontinental title and won the match after he hit Regal with a Five-Star Frog Splash.

When the WWF was divided into two "brands", Raw and SmackDown! in 2002, Van Dam was drafted to the Raw brand as the fourth pick. After he defended his title successfully against Booker T, Eddie Guerrero returned to the WWF and attacked Van Dam. He started a feud with Eddie Guerrero over the Intercontinental title. At Backlash, Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Title to Guerrero. At Insurrextion, Van Dam and Guerrero had a rematch for the Intercontinental Title. Guerrero was disqualified after hitting the referee with the Intercontinental title; as a result, Van Dam won the match but not the title because a title cannot change hands by disqualification. At Judgment Day, Van Dam failed to win the Intercontinental Title in another rematch. The following night he defeated The Undertaker for the Undisputed Championship but authority figure Ric Flair restarted the match, which Van Dam then lost negating the title win. On the May 27 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam defeated Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title.

After facing each other in the final round of the King of the Ring tournament, Van Dam and Brock Lesnar began feuding with each other. Van Dam defended his Intercontinental Title against Lesnar twice and retained his title both times by disqualification. On July 21, 2002, Van Dam unified the WWE European Championship into the WWE Intercontinental Championship after he defeated European Champion Jeff Hardy in a title unification ladder match. As a result, the European title was abandoned. On the July 29 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam lost the Intercontinental title to Chris Benoit. At SummerSlam, Van Dam won his third WWE Intercontinental Championship by defeating Benoit in a rematch for the title. As Benoit brought the title to ''SmackDown'' when he switched brands shortly after winning it, RVD brought the Intercontinental Title back to ''Raw''. On the August 26 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam also unified the WWE Hardcore Championship into the WWE Intercontinental Championship by defeating Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore title unification match. As a result, the WWE Hardcore Championship was abandoned. On the September 9 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam became the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, and Big Show in a fatal four-way elimination match.

Van Dam started feuding with the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. On the September 16 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam lost the Intercontinental title to Chris Jericho after interference by Triple H. At Unforgiven, Van Dam faced Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Due to Ric Flair's interference, Van Dam lost the match. At No Mercy, Van Dam got his revenge on Flair by defeating him. At Survivor Series, Van Dam participated in the first-ever Elimination Chamber match for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship, but it was won by Shawn Michaels, during the match Rob Van Dam performed a Five-Star Frog Splash off of one of the pods/chambers onto Triple H accidentally landing with his knee onto HHH's throat.

Teaming and feuding with Kane (2002–2003)

Van Dam appeared on the World Heavyweight Championship scene and also formed a tag team with Kane in October 2002. Van Dam defeated Jericho and Booker T in a Triple Threat match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the November 25 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam faced Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship. Michaels was disqualified after Triple H hit RVD with a Pedigree. On the December 2 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam lost to Triple H in a #1 contender's match with World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels acting as the special guest referee.

In 2003, Rob Van Dam continued to team up with Kane. RVD participated in the Royal Rumble, and was one of the final five participants before being tricked and eliminated by his tag team partner Kane. The two faced Lance Storm and William Regal at No Way Out for the World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the title when Kane mistakenly chokeslammed RVD. On the March 31 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam and Kane defeated World Tag Team Champions Lance Storm and Chief Morley and The Dudley Boyz in a 3-way elimination tag team match to win the World Tag Team Championship. At Backlash, Van Dam and Kane retained the titles against The Dudley Boyz with Morley as the special guest referee. At Insurrextion, Van Dam and Kane defended the World Tag Team title successfully against La Résistance, before losing the title to La Résistance at Bad Blood.

After Kane was forced to take his mask off when he lost to Triple H, he turned heel, and the team with RVD dissolved. The two then started feuding with each other. On the August 18 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam faced the Intercontinental Champion Christian for the title, but Kane interfered in the match and knocked Van Dam out after hitting him with a chair. Kane then took Van Dam to the backstage where he was restrained and was about to be set on fire. Kane changed his mind at the last minute, however, and said that he wasn't going to do what "they" want. Their rivalry led to a No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam, which Kane won. On the September 8 edition of ''Raw'', the rivalry ended when Rob Van Dam defeated Kane, when Kane threw RVD through the Steel by mistake in a steel cage match. Eric Bischoff came out and restarted the match, saying RVD didn't escape through the door or climb out Bischoff ordered the referees to put Rob Van Dam's body back inside the cage Kane eventually hit a chokeslam from the side of the cage to pick up the victory.

In September 2003, Van Dam started feuding with both Christian and Chris Jericho over Christian's Intercontinental Title. On the September 15 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam faced Jericho in a number one contender's match for the title. The match ended in a double disqualification when Intercontinental Champion Christian interfered and hit both men with the title belt. At Unforgiven in a triple threat match between Jericho, Christian, and Van Dam, Christian retained his title. Van Dam, however, defeated Christian in a ladder match on the September 29 edition of ''Raw'' to win the Intercontinental Championship for a fourth time.

Various feuds (2003–2004)

Van Dam entered into a rivalry with Chris Jericho in October 2003, and the two faced each other in several tag team matches. On the October 27 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam lost the Intercontinental title to Jericho. Van Dam reached the ropes when the challenger had him in the Walls of Jericho, but Eric Bischoff distracted the referee while Jericho dragged the champion back into the middle of the ring. Van Dam submitted and Jericho became the new champion. Austin came out and immediately ordered Jericho to face Van Dam in a rematch inside the Steel Cage for the title. Van Dam won the rematch and his fifth Intercontinental Championship.

At Survivor Series, Van Dam was pinned by Randy Orton during his traditional elimination match. As a result, Orton and Van Dam started feuding with each other over Van Dam's Intercontinental title. Van Dam lost the Intercontinental title to Orton at Armageddon after interference from Ric Flair. Van Dam went on to feud with both Orton and Evolution. On the January 12, 2004 edition of ''Raw'', Van Dam faced Orton in a rematch for the Intercontinental title but lost the match.

Van Dam formed a tag team with Booker T. The two teamed for the first time on the January 19 edition of ''Raw'' when they defeated Christian and Matt Hardy to qualify for a battle royal where the winner of the battle royal would get the #30 spot in the 2004 Royal Rumble match. On the February 16 edition of ''Raw'', Booker T and Van Dam defeated Evolution members Ric Flair and Batista to win the World Tag Team Championship. At WrestleMania XX, Booker and Van Dam defended the World Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way elimination tag team match against the Dudley Boyz, La Résistance, and the team of Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade. On the March 22 edition of ''Raw'', Booker T and Van Dam lost the World Tag Team Championship back to Evolution.

On March 22, Van Dam was drafted from ''Raw'' to ''SmackDown!''. He made his ''SmackDown!'' debut on March 25 defeating Charlie Haas. Van Dam and Rey Mysterio began a feud with the Dudley Boyz, defeating them at Judgment Day. In June, Van Dam left the tag team division and began a pursuit for the United States Championship. At The Great American Bash, John Cena defended the title against RVD, Booker T, and René Duprée in a fatal four-way match and retained his championship. On the July 1 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Van Dam and Duprée lost to Booker in a number one contender's triple threat match. Four weeks later, Van Dam participated in an 8-way elimination match for the vacant US Championship, and was the last man to be eliminated by eventual winner Booker.

Van Dam began teaming up with Mysterio again in the summer and feuded with René Duprée and Kenzo Suzuki. At No Mercy, Van Dam and Mysterio failed to win the Tag Team Championship from Dupree and Suzuki. On the December 9 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Van Dam and Mysterio defeated Duprée and Suzuki to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, and retained the title in a rematch at Armageddon. In January 2005, Van Dam suffered a knee injury. To explain his absence, the Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny) defeated Mysterio and Van Dam for the Tag Team Championship, in a fatal four-way elimination tag team match on the January 13 edition of ''SmackDown!'', "injuring" Van Dam in the process. On January 27, Van Dam underwent reconstructive knee surgery under Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.

Reviving ECW (2005–2007)

While recuperating, Van Dam made an appearance at the ECW reunion pay-per-view ECW One Night Stand. Accompanied by his former manager Bill Alfonso and sporting a knee brace, Van Dam delivered a worked shoot promo, standing up for ECW and 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. Van Dam, while still healing, was drafted back to the Raw brand 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 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, but lost in the final round to Triple H, in a triple threat match, which also featured Big Show. Later, 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. 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 edition of ''Raw''.

On May 29, Van Dam was selected by Paul Heyman to be drafted from ''Raw'' to WWE's new ECW brand. At One Night Stand, Van Dam cashed in his Money in the Bank Contract, and defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship. After two referees were knocked out, Edge appeared from the crowd to attack Cena, spearing him through a table. Van Dam then hit a Five Star Frog Splash and the pinfall was counted by Paul Heyman, who suddenly ran down the aisle. On the following episode of ''Raw'', Vince McMahon 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 World Heavyweight Championship when Van Dam won. On the debut of ''ECW on Sci Fi'', Van Dam was awarded the reinstated ECW World Heavyweight Championship by Heyman. Van Dam, however, decided to defend the WWE Championship separately and simultaneously, joking that "this one spins". Thus, Van Dam became the first wrestler in history to hold both the WWE Championship and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, and the only one to hold them at the same time. Van Dam retained the WWE title when he faced Edge at Vengeance. 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 Heavyweight 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 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 way 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 the third participant eliminated. Later in December, Van Dam once again earned the number one contendership to the ECW World Championship, but this time by a fan poll. Van Dam got three matches against ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley, coming up short each time.

Rob Van Dam later joined the ECW Originals along with Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, and The Sandman. The ECW Originals began a feud with the New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von, and Matt Striker). The two teams faced off at WrestleMania 23 in a match which the ECW Originals won. After Vince McMahon won the ECW World Championship at Backlash, RVD and the other ECW Originals made statements on WWE.com about McMahon killing ECW. The ECW Originals all competed in a four way dance to decide who would take on McMahon the next week on ECW in a title match, which Van Dam won after a five-star frog splash on Sandman. Van Dam, however, had to face McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga in a 3 on 1 handicap match, which Van Dam was unable to win.

Van Dam received a concussion during a match with Randy Orton. 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 at the hands of Orton. Van Dam once again faced Orton at One Night Stand, this time in a Stretcher match. Although it looked as if Orton was going to win again, Van Dam gave him a roundhouse kick to the head and was able to push the stretcher across the line for the win. Despite winning the match, Orton continued to attack Van Dam, ending with an elevated DDT off the barricade and onto the concrete floor. After the match, Van Dam left WWE due to a family issue, as his wife had recently been diagnosed with cancer.

Independent circuit (2007–2010)

The day after Van Dam's WWE contract expired, he was in the United Kingdom on a promotional tour and to record scenes for the wrestling documentary, ''Bloodstained Memoirs''. He also took part in interviews for the BBC.

On December 10, 2007, Van Dam made a special appearance on the ''Raw'' 15th Anniversary, to accept a challenge made by Santino Marella and defeated him in a squash match lasting less than a minute with a Five–Star Frog Splash. In an interview with the ''Baltimore Sun'', Van Dam stated that while WWE would be the first choice and that he would definitely talk to them, he would definitely consider Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) if he returned full time to pro wrestling. He also spoke his thoughts regarding his choice between both companies.

}}

Van Dam wrestled for the first time on the independent circuit since his departure from WWE by competing for Associação Portuguesa de Wrestling (APW) in February 2008. He then also appeared for Nu-Wrestling Evolution (NWE) throughout countries such as Spain. During his stint in NWE, Van Dam also trained with The Ultimate Warrior for his wrestling return. On August 14, 2008 he won a triple threat match at the Inoki Genome Federation in Japan after defeating Kendo Kashin and Necro Butcher.

At the 2009 Royal Rumble, Van Dam made a surprise appearance as the 25th entrant in the Royal Rumble match before he was eventually eliminated by Chris Jericho.

On March 9, 2009, it was announced that RVD would be competing in American Wrestling Rampage (AWR) on their European Tour, during which he won the promotion's No Limits Wrestling (NLW) World Heavyweight Championship in a three way bout versus Sabu and former champion Shawn Maxer. He lost the title to René Duprée after three successful defences. In November he regained the title, renamed the AWR World Heavyweight Championship at this point, from Duprée on November 29 winning two decisions in a Two Out Of Three Falls match.

On September 11, 2009 in the World Stars of Wrestling (WSW) European Championship events in Portimão, Portugal, RVD won the WSW World Championship, by defeating Joe E. Legend. On the following night he defended his newly won title against Lance Cade.

On January 30, 2010, RVD made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla as part of WrestleReunion 4, defeating Chris Hero and Roderick Strong in a "Sky High" three-way match.

On January 4, 2011, Van Dam made his debut for New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW) at ''Wrestle Kingdom V in Tokyo Dome'', with other TNA wrestlers, where he defeated Toru Yano in a hardcore match. On June 18, 2011, Van Dam represented TNA at Mexican promotion Asistencia Asesoría y Administración's (AAA) TripleManía XIX pay-per-view. In the main event of the show, Van Dam was defeated by Dr. Wagner, Jr. in a match to determine the first ever AAA Latin American Champion.

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

World Heavyweight Champion (2010)

On March 8, 2010, Van Dam made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at the promotion's Monday night edition of ''Impact!'', defeating Sting. Then just seconds after his debut victory Sting attacked him with his signature baseball bat. RVD got his revenge on Sting the following week by attacking him during his entrance. On the March 22 edition of ''Impact!'' RVD teamed with Jeff Hardy in a tag team match, where they defeated Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm). The following week the two of them teamed with Eric Young and defeated The Band of Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac in a six man tag team steel cage match. On the April 5 edition of ''Impact!'' both Van Dam and Hardy were introduced as members of Team Hogan for the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they would face Team Flair. At Lockdown Team Hogan (Van Dam, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm).

The night after Lockdown on the April 19 edition of ''Impact!'' he first defeated Jeff Hardy in a number one contender's match and then, in the main event of the evening, A.J. Styles to become the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion . After succeeding in his first televised title defense against Desmond Wolfe, Styles attacked Van Dam, announcing the invocation of the rematch clause for Sacrifice. At Sacrifice Van Dam defeated Styles in a rematch. The following month at Slammiversary VIII Van Dam retained his title against Sting in a rematch of his TNA debut. At Victory Road Van Dam defeated Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson in a four–way match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Van Dam aligned himself with fellow ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Brother Devon, Pat Kenney, Al Snow and Mick Foley, who saved him from a beating at the hands of Abyss. The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice. At the event on August 8 Van Dam defeated former tag team partner and rival Sabu in a non-title Hardcore Rules match, after his originally planned match with Jerry Lynn was scrapped due to Lynn suffering a back injury. After successfully defending the championship against Abyss in a Stairway to Janice match on the following special edition of ''Impact!'', named ''The Whole F'n Show'', Van Dam and the other former ECW wrestlers were assaulted by Abyss and Fourtune. In the attack Van Dam suffered multiple serious storyline injuries at the hands of Abyss including the need for stitches, spinal trauma and possible acute brain damage, which would force him to vacate the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on August 10 at the taping of the August 19 edition of ''Impact!''. In reality, Van Dam was running out of dates per year on his contract and was therefore taken off television.

Feud with Immortal; Championship pursuits (2010–present)

Van Dam returned via telephone interview on the September 16 edition of ''Impact!'' and announced that he would return to the Impact! Zone the following week, against his doctor's orders. Van Dam returned the following week, confronting Abyss and demanding a match against him at Bound for Glory, which Eric Bischoff agreed to give him. At Bound for Glory Van Dam defeated Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. At the end of the event it was revealed that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff had sent Abyss after Van Dam in order to get the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on their own representative, Jeff Hardy. Van Dam confronted the group, later named Immortal, after Hardy had won the World Heavyweight Championship, only to get hit with the title belt. On the October 21 edition of ''Impact!'' Bischoff claimed that someone from EV 2.0 had been calling him, trying to get to be a part of Immortal, which led to Van Dam getting paranoid about his stablemates, first accusing Raven of being the traitor. Later, he and Sabu were defeated in a tag team match by Beer Money, Inc., after Sabu accidentally hit him with a chair. After the match Van Dam and Sabu began shoving each other and had to be separated from each other by the rest of EV 2.0. After two more weeks of dissension between Van Dam and the rest of EV 2.0, Tommy Dreamer challenged him to a match at Turning Point. At the pay–per–view Van Dam defeated Dreamer and afterwards made peace with him. On the following edition of ''Impact!'' Rhino was revealed as the traitor within EV 2.0 as he turned on Van Dam and cost him the number one contendership in a match against Fortune member Kazarian. At Final Resolution Van Dam defeated Rhino in a First Blood match. At Genesis Van Dam was defeated by Immortal's surprise opponent, the debuting Matt Hardy, when referee Jackson James missed Van Dam's foot under the ropes, thus failing to earn a shot at his brother Jeff's World Heavyweight Championship. During the main event Van Dam prevented Matt from interfering in Jeff's match with Mr. Anderson, which led to Jeff losing the title. The following month at Against All Odds Van Dam defeated Matt Hardy in a rematch. On the following edition of ''Impact!'', Van Dam finally received his shot at Jeff Hardy and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was unable to regain the title. On March 13 at Victory Road, Van Dam wrestled Mr. Anderson to a double countout in a World Heavyweight Championship number one contender's match. On April 17 at Lockdown, Van Dam failed in his attempt to regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Sting in a three–way steel cage match, which also included Anderson. The following month at Sacrifice, Van Dam again failed to regain the title, this time in a singles match with Sting. On July 10 at Destination X, Van Dam defeated longtime rival Jerry Lynn in a singles match. On August 7 at Hardcore Justice, Van Dam, at the time ranked number two in the Bound for Glory Series, faced Crimson, ranked number one, in a tournament match. Van Dam lost the match via disqualification, when Jerry Lynn entered the ring, costing him not only the match, but also several places in the tournament's standings. On the August 18 edition of ''Impact Wrestling'', Lynn cost Van Dam another Bound for Glory Series match against A.J. Styles in similar fashion.

Other media

Van Dam has appeared on numerous television shows and in films. In 1995, he was in ''Superfights'' as "The Mercenary", and in 1997 he appeared in ''Bloodmoon'' as "Dutch Scholtz". On October 23, 1999, he appeared in ''City Guys'', in the episode "El-Trainmania IV" as himself. In 2000 he appeared in ''18 Wheels of Justice'', on August 2 as "Robert Laramie", and in ''The X-Files'' on May 7 as "Burt's opponent" in the episode "Fight Club". He also appeared on ''V.I.P.'' in the episode "Survi-Val" as "Major Ving Talbot" that year. On July 26, 2001, he appeared as himself on ''Spy TV'', and again later that year he appeared as himself in ''Ultimate Revenge'' on December 2. In 2002, he was featured in the music video for Breaking Point's "One of a Kind" while also starred in two films, ''Black Mask 2: City of Masks'' as "Claw", and made a cameo appearance in ''The Backyard'' as himself. In 2005, the ''Rob Van Dam: One Of A Kind'' DVD was released. He also appeared on ''Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling'' in 2008 teaching finishing moves to the celebrities.

He recently finished working alongside former WWE superstar Dave Batista in a movie titled ''Wrong Side of Town''.

In November 2010 he was a contestant on an all TNA week of ''Family Feud'', teaming with Jay Lethal, Matt Morgan, Mick Foley and Mr. Anderson against Angelina Love, Christy Hemme, Lacey Von Erich, Tara and Velvet Sky.

Filmography

2010: ''Family Feud'' - as Himself (5 episodes)

2010: ''Wrong Side of Town'' - as Bobby Kalinowsky

2009: ''Bloodstained Memoirs'' - as Himself

2009: ''Sketch Of Life'' - as Himself

2008: ''Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling'' - as Himself (1 episode, Train with the Pros)

2005: ''One Of A Kind'' - as Himself

2002: ''The Backyard'' - as Himself (cameo)

2002: ''Black Mask 2: City Of Masks'' - as The Claw

2001: ''Ultimate Revenge'' - as Himself (2 episodes)

2001: ''Spy TV'' - as Various (1 episode)

2000: ''V.I.P'' - as Mjr Talbot (1 episode, Survival)

2000: ''The X-Files'' - as Burts opponent (1 episode, Fight Club)

2000: ''18 Wheels Of Justice'' - as Robert Laramie (1 episode, Outside Chance)

1999: ''City Guys'' - as Himself (1 episode, El Trainmania IV)

1997: ''Blood Moon'' - as Dutch

1995: ''Superfights'' - as a Mercenary

RVD–TV

Van Dam officially announced on his website's blog that he is in the process of creating an online show entitled ''RVD-TV''. On this show, he will give his fans a glimpse at what his life is like outside of the wrestling business. A preview for this upcoming series can now be found on the homepage of his website. Some of Van Dam's friends will appear on the show, such as Samoa Joe, Chris Mordetzky and Sabu. The show will be filmed at his home in California where he has been spending most of his time since temporarily retiring. Van Dam is expected to announce some of his other future projects through the show, such as his upcoming DVD.

RVD Radio

Van Dam started up RVD Radio on October 8, 2008 with the help of Brett Cohen, a producer for BlogTalkRadio. The first episode was an hour long but now it's a two hour weekly radio show at www.blogtalkradio.com/rvdradio. Guests include Sonya Van Dam, Sabu, Dr.Shawn Stasiak, Bret Hart, Chris Masters, BTR Producer Nikki Starr, Bill Alfonso, Officer X, Kid Kash, Bruce Jingles, Justin McCully, Paul London and Hulk Hogan.

Video games

Van Dam has been featured in the following video games:

1999: ''ECW Hardcore Revolution''

2000: ''ECW Anarchy Rulz''

2001: ''Legends of Wrestling''

2002: ''WWE WrestleMania X8''

2002: ''WWE SmackDown! Shut Your Mouth''

2003: ''WWE SmackDown! Here Comes The Pain''

2003: ''WWE Crush Hour''

2003: ''WWE WrestleMania XIX''

2004: ''WWE Day of Reckoning''

2004: ''WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw''

2005: ''WWE Day of Reckoning 2''

2005: ''WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006''

2006: ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2007''

2010: ''WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2011''

2011: ''Saints Row: The Third''

Personal life

Szatkowski is married to Sonya, who is an aspiring photographer. During his wrestling career, Sonya often traveled on the road with Szatkowski and appeared at ringside during events in which Szatkowski took part. On April 23, 2008, Szatkowski revealed that his wife was suffering from cancer. She made a full recovery.

Training

Szatkowski is a trained kickboxer and martial artist. In 1990, he placed second in the Kalamazoo Heavyweight Toughman Contest. Szatkowski is also an outspoken advocate of vitamins and bodybuilding supplements and attributes this to his mother's influence. Szatkowski 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 Szatkowski holds the current record, 166.5 lb (76 kg). Growing up in Battle Creek, Michigan, Szatkowski studied martial arts at two local dojos. He received instruction in Karate, Tae Kwon Do, Aikido, Kendo, and Kickboxing.

Szatkowski was featured in an article in the March 1999 issue of ''High Times''. His signature symbol is the Taijitu which is commonly associated with Taoism ; 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 Szatkowski and Terry Brunk (Sabu) had been arrested on the previous evening on U.S. Route 52 in Hanging Rock, Ohio. Szatkowski had been stopped for speeding by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper, who discovered that he was in possession of 18 grams of marijuana and five Vicodin pills, while Brunk was in possession of drug paraphernalia and nine tablets of Testolactone. Both Szatkowski and Brunk 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 Szatkowski and Brunk 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 Szatkowski and Brunk were still eligible to compete on the ''Raw'' and ''ECW'' tapings in the following days while an investigation conducted by WWE was being undertaken. This resulted in Szatkowski dropping the WWE Championship at the live ''Raw'' one night and the ECW Championship the next night at the ''ECW'' taping. Van Dam was subsequently suspended without pay for 30 days, and an on-air segment on ''ECW'' was scripted to relay this suspension to the fans. On August 31, 2006, Szatkowski and Brunk appeared in court. Szatkowski pled guilty to possessing marijuana and was fined $140, while Brunk was fined $1,000.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Five-Star Frog Splash'' (High-angle frog splash, sometimes while turning in mid-air)

Surfboard – TNA

''Van Daminator'' (Spinning heel kick to a steel chair held in front of the opponent's face)

''Van Terminator'' (Corner-to-corner missile dropkick, usually with a chair positioned on the opponent's face)

Signature moves

*450° splash – AJPW

*Bridging northern lights suplex

*Diving splash

Monkey flip to a standing or cornered opponent

*Multiple kick variations

**''Chair Surf'' / ''Skateboard'' (Running dropkick, driving a steel chair into the face of a seated opponent in the corner of the ring)

*Diving super

**Roundhouse

*Spinning crescent

*Step-over spinning wheel, as a kick counter

*Multiple leg drop variations

*Corkscrew

**Diving

**Slingshot

*One-Handed Bulldog

Plancha

Rolling Thunder transitioned into either a monkey flip, a somersault senton or a vertical splash

Standing moonsault, sometimes preceded by a cartwheel

*Springboard into a either a clothesline, a leg lariat or a moonsault

*Two turnbuckle thrusts followed by a back handspring and finished either with a monkey flip or a final running turnbuckle thrust

With Rey Mysterio

:*''4:20'' (Van Dam lifts Mysterio up and drops him while simultaneously dropping himself into a seated position, resulting in a double ''Droppin' Da Dime'' to an opponent's throat and chest) :*''619'' (Tiger feint kick by Mysterio followed by a ''Five Star Frog Splash'' by Van Dam) :*Catapult by Van Dam into a diving hurricanrana by Mysterio :*''Rolling Thunder'' by Van Dam followed by a ''Droppin' Da Dime'' by Mysterio

Managers

*Bill Alfonso

*Paul Heyman

*Jerry Lawler

*Stephanie McMahon–Helmsley

Nicknames

"Mr. Monday / Tuesday / Thursday / Friday Night"

"Mr. TNA" (In Total Nonstop Action Wrestling)

"Mr. Pay-Per-View" (In Extreme Championship Wrestling)

"Mr. Money in the Bank"

"The Battle Creek Barbarian"

"RVD"

"The Whole Dam Show"

"The Whole F'n Show"

Entrance themes

*"Poundcake" by Van Halen (ECW; 1996–1997)

*"Wail" by John Spencer Blues Explosion (ECW; 1997)

*"ECW Main Theme" by Harry Slash and The Slashtones (WWF; 1997)

"Walk" by Pantera (ECW; 1997–2001)

*"Walk" by Kilgore (ECW; 1998–2001)

*"The Whole Dam Show" by Jim Johnston (WWF; July 9 2001–January 3 2002)

"One of a Kind" by Breaking Point (WWF/E; January 7 2002–September 2007, January 25, 2009)

"The Whole F'n Show!" by Kushinator (IGF, AWR, WSW, TNA; March 2010–present)

Championships and accomplishments

All Star Wrestling

ASW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

American Wrestling Rampage

AWR World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

NLW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Extreme Championship Wrestling

ECW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Sabu

ECW World Television Championship (1 time)

*Fifth ECW Triple Crown Champion

International Wrestling Federation

IWF Television Championship (1 time)

National Wrestling Council

NWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bobby Bradley

Peach State Wrestling

PSW Cordele City Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Comeback of the Year (2001, 2010)

PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2001, 2002)

PWI ranked him #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002

Pro Wrestling Report

*Match of the Year (2006) vs. John Cena at ECW One Night Stand II

South Atlantic Pro Wrestling

SAPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chaz Rocco

Total Nonstop Action Wrestling

TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Stars of Wrestling

*WSW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

ECW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kane (1) and Booker T (1)

WWE Championship (1 time)

WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rey Mysterio

WWF/E Hardcore Championship (4 times)

WWE European Championship (1 time)¹

WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (6 times)

Mr. Money in the Bank (2006)

*Fifteenth Triple Crown Champion

*Seventh Grand Slam Champion

¹Rob Van Dam's WWE European Championship win is not listed on WWE's European Championship history page, however it was acknowledged on his alumni page, Michael Cole's SmackDown Vs. Raw 2011 commentary, and is listed in WWE's official encyclopedia.

Notes

References

An interview with Rob Van Dam, conducted by Ken Tuccio (1)

An interview with Rob Van Dam, conducted by Ken Tuccio (2)

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCO/is_3_2/ai_65858908

Rob Van Dam Radio Interview

Rob Van Dam Interview on World Talk LIVE!

Rob Van Dam interview on The Brutal Truth

External links

RVD Radio

TNA Wrestling profile

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:1970 births Category:American film actors Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American television actors Category:American people of Polish descent Category:American weightlifters Category:Living people Category:People from Battle Creek, Michigan Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:Actors from California

bar:Rob Van Dam da:Rob Van Dam de:Rob Van Dam es:Robert Szatkowski fr:Rob Van Dam it:Robert Szatkowski nl:Robert Szatkowski ja:ロブ・ヴァン・ダム no:Rob Szatkowski pl:Rob Van Dam pt:Rob Van Dam ro:Rob Van Dam ru:Роб Ван Дам simple:Rob Van Dam fi:Rob Van Dam sv:Rob Van Dam th:ร็อบ แวน แดม uk:Роб Ван Дам vi:Rob Van Dam

Coordinates	39°35′36″N174°16′42″N
Name	John Cena
Names	John CenaThe Prototype
Height
Weight
Birth date	April 23, 1977
Birth place	West Newbury, Massachusetts
Resides	Tampa, Florida
Billed	Classified (UPW)West Newbury, Massachusetts (WWE)
Trainer	Ultimate Pro WrestlingOhio Valley Wrestling
Debut	2001 }}

John Felix Anthony Cena (; born April 23, 1977) is an American actor, professional wrestler and rapper. He is currently signed to WWE as a member of its WWE Raw brand.

In WWE, Cena has won 19 championships in total, including 12 World Titles (having won the WWE Championship a record 10 times and the World Heavyweight Championship twice). In addition, Cena has also won the WWE United States Championship three times, and is a four-time Tag Team Champion, having held the World Tag Team Championship twice (once each with Shawn Michaels and Batista), and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice (once each with David Otunga and The Miz). Cena also won the 2008 Royal Rumble match, and is a two-time Superstar of the Year Slammy Award winner (2009 and 2010). He also has the fourth highest number of combined days as WWE Champion behind Bob Backlund, Hulk Hogan & Bruno Sammartino.

Cena started his professional wrestling career in 2000, wrestling for Ultimate Pro Wrestling, where he held the UPW Heavyweight Championship. In 2001, Cena signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was sent to Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) where he held the OVW Heavyweight Championship and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino).

Outside of wrestling, Cena has released the rap album ''You Can't See Me'', which debuted at No.15 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, and starred in the feature films ''The Marine'' (2006), ''12 Rounds'' (2009), and ''Legendary'' (2010). Cena has also made appearances on television shows including ''Manhunt'', ''Deal or No Deal'', ''MADtv'', ''Saturday Night Live'', ''Punk'd'', and ''Psych''. Cena was also a contestant on ''Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race'', where he made it to the final round before being eliminated, placing third in the overall competition.

Early life

Cena, who is of part Italian descent was born April 23, 1977, in West Newbury, Massachusetts, the son of Carol and John Cena, Sr. He is the second eldest of five brothers – Dan, Matt, Steve, and Sean. After graduating from Cushing Academy, Cena attended Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. In college he was a Division III All-American center on the college football team, wearing the number 54, which is still used on some of his WWE merchandise. He graduated from Springfield in 1998 with a degree in exercise physiology, after which he pursued a career in bodybuilding, and also worked as a chauffeur for a limousine company.

Professional wrestling career

Training (2000–2001)

UPW

Cena started training to become a professional wrestler in 2000 at the California-based "Ultimate University" operated by Ultimate Pro Wrestling. Once he was placed into an in-ring role, Cena began using a semi-robotic character known as The Prototype. Some of this period of his career was documented in the Discovery Channel program ''Inside Pro Wrestling School''. While in UPW, Cena held the UPW Heavyweight Championship for just shy of a month in April 2000.

OVW

In 2001, he signed a developmental contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was assigned to its developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW). During his time there, Cena wrestled as both The Prototype and Mr. P, and held the OVW Heavyweight Championship for three months and the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (with Rico Constantino) for two months.

World Wrestling Entertainment (2002–present)

Debut (2002–2004)

Cena made his television debut answering an open challenge by Kurt Angle on June 27, 2002. Inspired by a speech given by WWE Chairman Vince McMahon to the rising stars of the company, exhorting them to show "ruthless aggression" to earn a place among the legends, Cena took advantage of the opportunity and almost beat Angle kicking out of his finishing move, the Angle Slam and enduring the ankle lock submission hold. Cena ultimately lost to a hard amateur wrestling-style pin. Following the near-win, Cena became a fan favorite and started feuding with Chris Jericho. In October, Cena and Billy Kidman took part in a tag team tournament to crown the first WWE Tag Team Champions of the SmackDown! brand, losing in the first round. The next week, Cena turned on and attacked Kidman, blaming him for their loss, becoming a villain.

Shortly after the Kidman attack, on a Halloween themed episode of ''SmackDown'', Cena dressed as Vanilla Ice performing a freestyle rap. The next week, Cena received a new character: a rapper who cut promos while rhyming. As the gimmick grew, Cena began adopting a variant of the 1980s WWF logo – dropping the "F" – as his "signature symbol", along with the slogan "Word Life". Moreover, he was joined by an enforcer, Bull Buchanan, who was rechristened B-2 (also written B² and pronounced "B-Squared"). Buchanan was later replaced by Red Dogg, until he was sent to the Raw brand in February.

For the first half of 2003, Cena sought the WWE Championship and chased the reigning champion, Brock Lesnar, performing weekly "freestyles" challenging him to matches. During the feud, Cena unveiled a new finishing maneuver: the FU, a Fireman's carry powerslam, named to mock Lesnar's F-5. Cena won a number one contenders tournament against Lesnar at Backlash. However, Cena was defeated by Lesnar. At Vengeance Cena lost a singles match against The Undertaker. At the end of the year, Cena became a fan favorite again when he joined Kurt Angle as a member of his team at Survivor Series.

United States and WWE Champion (2004–2005)

In early 2004, Cena participated in the Royal Rumble match at the 2004 Royal Rumble, making it to the final six before being eliminated by Big Show and the Match being won by Chris Benoit. The Royal Rumble elimination led to a feud with Big Show, which Cena won the United States Championship from Big Show at WrestleMania XX. During his reign, Cena came into contention with SmackDown General Manager Kurt Angle over issues arising with René Duprée and Torrie Wilson. The reign ended almost four months later, when he was stripped of the belt on July 8 by Angle after he accidentally knocked him over, thus attacking an official. Cena won the championship back defeating Booker T in a best of five series that culminated at No Mercy, only to lose it to the debuting Carlito Caribbean Cool the next week. After the loss to Carlito, the duo began a feud, which Cena was stabbed in the kidney while at a Boston-area nightclub by Carlito's bodyguard, Jesús. This worked injury was used to keep Cena out of action for a month, while Cena was filming ''The Marine''. Immediately on his return in November, Cena won the United States Championship back from Carlito debuting a "custom made" spinner-style championship belt.

Cena took part in the 2005 Royal Rumble match, making it to the final two. Cena and Raw brand wrestler Batista went over the top rope at the same time, ostensibly ending the match. Vince McMahon, however, appeared on stage and re-started the match in sudden death rules, with Batista eventually eliminating Cena. The next month, Cena defeated Kurt Angle to earn a spot in the SmackDown brand's WrestleMania 21 main event match, beginning a feud with WWE Champion John "Bradshaw" Layfield (JBL) and his Cabinet in the process. In the early stages of the feud, Cena lost his US belt to Cabinet member Orlando Jordan, who proceeded to "blow up" the spinner championship with JBL and returning a more traditional style belt. Cena defeated JBL at WrestleMania winning the WWE Championship, giving Cena his first world championship. Cena then had a spinner WWE Championship belt made, while JBL took the original belt and claimed to still be WWE Champion,

Cena was drafted to the Raw brand on the June 6, 2005, becoming the first wrestler selected by General Manager Eric Bischoff in the annual draft lottery. Cena immediately entered a feud with Bischoff, after refusing to participate in the "war" against the Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) roster at One Night Stand. With Bischoff vowing to make Cena's stint on Raw difficult, he hand picked Jericho to take Cena's championship from him. During their feud, even though Cena was portrayed as the fan favorite and Jericho as the villain, a vocal section of live crowds, nonetheless, were booing Cena during their matches. More crowds followed suit during Cena's next feud with Kurt Angle, who took over as Bischoff's hand-picked number-one contender after Cena defeated Jericho in a You're Fired match on the August 22 ''Raw''. As the feud continued and the dissenters grew more vocal, sometimes seeming to outnumber fans by wide margins, the announce team was forced to acknowledge the booing on television and began calling Cena a "controversial champion", claiming some people disliking him on account of his "in-ring style" and his chosen fashion. Despite the mixed and negative reactions, Cena held on to his championship through his feud with Angle, losing to him by disqualification – which titles do not change hands in WWE – at Unforgiven and pinning him at Survivor Series. The feud with Angle also saw Cena add a secondary, submission based, finishing maneuver – the STFU (a Stepover Toehold Sleeper, though named for a Stepover Toehold Facelock) – when he was put into a Triple Threat Submissions Only match on the November 28 ''Raw''.

WWE Championship feuds and injury (2006–2007)

Cena lost the WWE Championship at New Year's Revolution, but not in the Elimination Chamber match that he had been advertised to participate in beforehand. Instead, immediately after winning the Elimination Chamber, he was forced into a match against Edge, who cashed in his Money in the Bank contract – a "guaranteed title match for the WWE Champion at a time and place of the owners choosing." After two quick spears pinned Cena, winning the championship. Three weeks later, Cena won the championship back at the Royal Rumble. After winning the championship, Cena began feuding with Triple H, which the crowd began booing Cena and cheering the intended villain, Triple H. Cena beat Triple H at Wrestlemania 22 to retain his WWE Title. The negative reaction towards Cena intensified when facing Rob Van Dam at One Night Stand. Taking place in front of a crowd of mostly "old school" ECW fans at the Hammerstein Ballroom, Cena was met with raucous jeering and chants of "Fuck you, Cena", "You can't wrestle", and "Same old shit". When he began performing different moves into the match, the fans began chanting "You still suck". Cena lost the WWE Championship at One Night Stand, with Van Dam pinning Cena after interference from Edge.

In July, after Edge won the championship from Van Dam in a Triple Threat match that also involved Cena, re-ignited the feud between him and Cena from earlier in the year. After Edge went about retaining the title by dubious means – getting himself disqualified (for which Championships do not change hands) and using brass knuckles – he introduced his own version of Cena's "custom" belt, this one with his logo placed on the spinner. Cena eventually won the championship back in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match at Unforgiven. The match had an added stipulation that had Cena lost he would leave the Raw brand and go to SmackDown. Cena returned his version of the spinner belt on the next night's ''Raw''.

On the heels of his feud with Edge, Cena was placed in an inter-brand angle to determine the "Champion of Champions" – or which was the most dominant champion in WWE's three brands. Cena, the World Heavyweight Champion King Booker, and the ECW World Champion The Big Show engaged in a mini-feud leading to a Triple Threat match at Cyber Sunday, with the viewers voting on which of the three championships would be placed on the line. At the same time, Cena became involved in a storyline with non-wrestler Kevin Federline, when he began appearing on Raw with Johnny Nitro and Melina. After getting into a worked physical altercation with Federline on ''Raw'', Federline appeared at Cyber Sunday to hit Cena with the World Heavyweight Championship during the match, helping King Booker retain his championship. 2006 ended with Cena beginning a feud with the undefeated Umaga over the WWE Championship, while 2007 began with the end of his storyline with Kevin Federline. On the first ''Raw'' of the new year, Cena was pinned by Federline with an assist from Umaga, although later in the night he was able to get his hands on Federline performing an FU on him.

One night after the Royal Rumble, an impromptu team of Cena and Shawn Michaels defeated Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton) for the World Tag Team Championship, making Cena a double champion. On the April 2 episode of ''Raw'', after losing a WWE Championship match to Cena at WrestleMania 23, Michaels turned on Cena, costing them the championship in the second of two 10 team battles royals, by throwing Cena over the top rope and eliminating the team. The Hardys (Matt and Jeff) eventually won the match and the championship. For the rest of the month, Cena feuded with Michaels, Orton, and Edge until The Great Khali declared his intentions to challenge for Cena's championship attacking and "laying out" all three of the top contenders before assaulting Cena himself and stealing the physical belt. For the next two months, Cena feuded with Khali over the championship, eventually becoming the first person in WWE to defeat him by submission at Judgment Day and then by pinfall at One Night Stand. Later that summer, Randy Orton was named the number one contender for the WWE championship, starting a feud between the two. Leading up to SummerSlam, Orton delivered a number of sneak-attacks, performing three RKOs to Cena, but in the actual match, Cena retained the championship. A rematch between the two occurred at Unforgiven, with Orton winning by disqualification after Cena ignored the referee's instructions and continued to beat on him in the corner.

During a match with Mr. Kennedy on the October 1, 2007 episode of ''Raw'', Cena suffered a legitimate torn pectoral muscle while executing a hip toss. Though finishing the match and taking part in the scripted attack by Randy Orton after the match, surgery the following day found that his pectoralis major muscle was torn completely from the bone, estimating at the time to require seven months to a year of rehabilitation. As a result, Cena was stripped of the title in an announcement by Vince McMahon on the next night's episode of ''ECW'', ending what was the longest WWE Championship reign in over 19 years. Cena's surgery was performed by orthopedic surgeon James Andrews at St. Vincent's Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. Two weeks later, in a video update on WWE.com, Dr. Andrews and Cena's physical trainer both said that he was several weeks ahead of where he was expected to be in his rehabilitation at that time. Despite his injury, Cena attended the annual WWE Tribute to the Troops show filmed at Camp Speicher in Tikrit, Iraq on December 7, and aired on December 24.

Return and various feuds (2008–2010)

Cena made an unannounced return as the final participant of the Royal Rumble match, winning the match, and the traditional WrestleMania title shot, by last eliminating Triple H. Instead of waiting until WrestleMania, the title shot was cashed in against WWE Champion Randy Orton at February's No Way Out pay-per-view in a match where Cena won by disqualification, resulting in him not getting the championship. The night after No Way Out, Cena was placed back into WrestleMania XXIV's WWE Championship match, making it a Triple Threat match also involving Triple H, during which he was pinned by Orton. At Backlash, Cena failed to regain the title in a Fatal Four-Way elimination match, in which he was pinned by Orton. Triple H won the title during that match. During the match, Cena eliminated JBL, renewing their feud from 2005. Cena defeated JBL at Judgment Day and then at One Night Stand in a First Blood match. JBL, however, defeated him in a New York City Parking Lot Brawl at The Great American Bash in July.

On the August 4 episode of ''Raw'', Cena became a World Tag Team Champion for a second time, teaming with Batista to defeat Cody Rhodes and Ted DiBiase, but failed to retain the titles the following week against the former champions. Batista defeated Cena at SummerSlam; shortly after, he was named one of four contenders for CM Punk's World Heavyweight Championship in the Championship scramble match at Unforgiven. He was replaced by Rey Mysterio, however, after announcing Cena had suffered a herniated disc in his neck, which would require surgery. Cena underwent successful surgery to repair the injury.

Cena made his in-ring return at the November pay-per-view event, Survivor Series, defeating Chris Jericho to win his first World Heavyweight Championship. The two continued their rivalry up to Armageddon, where Cena retained his championship. Cena lost the championship at No Way Out, to Edge after Kofi Kingston was attacked by Edge, who took his place in the Elimination Chamber match. Cena was given an opportunity to regain the title at WrestleMania XXV in a Triple Threat match also involving Big Show, which Cena won.

Cena lost the championship back to Edge in a Last Man Standing match at Backlash after interference from Big Show, who chokeslammed Cena through a big spotlight. This angle resulted in Cena beginning a feud with Big Show. Cena defeated Big Show at Judgment Day and at Extreme Rules in a Submission match by applying the STFU.

At the July pay-per-view, Night of Champions, he participated in a Triple Threat match for the WWE Championship, which also involved Triple H and WWE Champion Randy Orton. Cena, however, did not win the match. Two months later, at Breaking Point, Cena defeated Randy Orton for the WWE Championship in an "I Quit" match to win his fourth WWE Championship. At Hell in a Cell, Cena dropped the title to Orton in a Hell in a Cell match. Three weeks later, at WWE Bragging Rights, Cena defeated Orton in a 60-minute Iron Man match.

Two months later, Cena would lose the title to Sheamus at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Tables match.

In February 2010, Cena regained the WWE title at the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view in an Elimination Chamber match after last eliminating Triple H. However, immediately after the match Mr. McMahon declared that he would immediately defend his title against Batista, who had been involved with Cena in Vince McMahon and Bret Hart's rivalry. Cena lost that match to Batista, and the WWE Championship and marking one of the shortest WWE Championship reigns in history. The following night after the Elimination Chamber pay-per-view, Cena asked for a rematch for the title at WrestleMania, which McMahon gave him the opportunity to as long as he defeated Batista that night. Later that night, Batista intentionally got himself disqualified by kicking Cena in the groin to set up their match at WrestleMania XXVI. At the event, Cena defeated Batista to win back the WWE title. At the April pay-per-view, Extreme Rules, Cena defeated Batista in a rematch for the WWE title in a Last Man Standing match. He faced Batista one more time in an I Quit match at Over the Limit which he successfully won.

Feuding and joining Nexus (2010–2011)

On the June 7, 2010 episode of ''Raw'', Cena was suddenly thrust into a new storyline when during his main event match against CM Punk, he was attacked by all eight former contestants of WWE NXT Season 1, with Wade Barrett as their leader. Punk, his follower Luke Gallows, and other personnel around the ring were attacked as well, but Cena took the worst of the attack and was carried out on a stretcher. This group would later refer to themselves as The Nexus.

At June's Fatal 4-Way event, Cena lost the WWE title to Sheamus in a fatal four-way match that also involved Edge and Randy Orton due to interference by Nexus. The following month, in a WWE title rematch against Sheamus in a steel cage match at the Money in the Bank pay-per-view, the group interfered, thus costing Cena the chance of regaining the championship. Cena later formed an alliance with Edge, Chris Jericho, John Morrison, R-Truth, The Great Khali and Bret Hart to face the Nexus at SummerSlam, where Cena's team defeated Nexus with the returning Daniel Bryan, a former member of Nexus, who replaced Khali after getting injured.

Nexus's actions, however, did not stop after SummerSlam. Hoping to end Nexus for good, Cena challenged Wade Barrett to a match at "Hell in a Cell" only to lose due to interference by two fans, later identified as Husky Harris and Michael McGillicutty. Due to the stipulations in place, Cena was forced to join Nexus. Cena had originally planned to destroy Nexus from within as a member of the group, but the Raw general manager ordered him to follow orders from Barrett, or else he would be fired. At Bragging Rights, Cena and Nexus member David Otunga defeated "Dashing" Cody Rhodes and Drew McIntyre to win the Tag Team Championship.

Later in the show Cena was forced to help Barrett to win his WWE Championship match against Randy Orton. If Barrett didn't win the match Cena would be fired. Cena twisted his words around and attacked Barrett, giving Barrett the win via disqualification but not Orton's title. The following day, Cena and Otunga lost the Tag Team Championship to fellow Nexus members Heath Slater and Justin Gabriel, when Barrett ordered Otunga to lay down and lose the title. At Survivor Series, Cena officiated a match for the WWE Championship between Wade Barrett and Randy Orton. As a part of a pre-match stipulation, if Barrett didn't win the championship, Cena would be fired from the WWE.

Orton defeated Barrett to retain the title, thus ending Cena's career in the WWE. The following day on ''Raw'', Cena gave a farewell speech, before costing Wade Barrett the WWE Championship by interfering in his rematch with Randy Orton. A week later, Cena invaded ''Raw'', first as a spectator, but he then attacked members of Nexus, explaining that he would still take down Nexus one by one, despite not having a job in the WWE anymore. On the December 13 episode of ''Raw'', Cena was rehired by Barrett, in exchange that he would face him at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs in a Chairs Match. Prior to TLC, Cena teamed up with Randy Orton and Rey Mysterio to defeat Wade Barrett, The Miz and Alberto Del Rio at The WWE Tribute to the Troops. On December 19 at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs, John Cena was victorious against Wade Barrett in a Chairs match in the main event of the evening.

On the December 27 episode of ''Raw'', The Nexus, minus Wade Barrett, announced they were under new management and offered to bury the hatchet with John Cena, to which Cena refused. The Nexus attacked Cena, leaving a Nexus armband in the ring during the process. As the group retreated, CM Punk, who had attacked Cena with a steel chair twice the week before, came to the ring to, what looked like attack John Cena, but instead put on the armband left behind to symbolically announce his allegiance with The Nexus. The next week, Wade Barrett returned to ''Raw'' and confronted CM Punk over the issue of who the leader of The Nexus was and who was responsible for Cena's attack the week before. Barrett was placed into a Triple Threat Steel Cage Match that night that would determine the No. 1 contender for the WWE Championship. CM Punk added his own stipulation to the match saying if Barrett lost, he would be banished from the group, but if he won he would remain leader. Wade Barrett would lose the match after CM Punk interfered by ripping of Barrett's armband.

On the January 17 episode of ''Raw'', Cena returned and faced Punk in a match. During the match, a man, who would later be revealed to be Mason Ryan, attacked Cena. During the 2011 Royal Rumble match, Cena would eliminate most of the Nexus, ending his feud with them.

WWE Champion and various feuds (2011)

Cena competed in the 2011 Royal Rumble match at the pay-per-view, making it to the final five before being eliminated by The Miz, the current WWE Champion at the time, who wasn't an official participant in the match. On the January 31 episode of ''Raw'', Cena competed in a 7-man ''Raw Rumble'' match, where the winner would challenge The Miz for his WWE Championship at Elimination Chamber, but Cena was eliminated by Sheamus. As a result, Cena was entered into the Elimination Chamber match with the other five competitors who lost the match, to determine the number one contender for the title at WrestleMania XXVII. At the pay-per-view, Cena won the match, earning his title shot at WrestleMania against The Miz. On the February 21 episode of ''Raw'', Cena replied to The Rock's comments about him from the previous week, as The Rock returned as the announced guest host of WrestleMania, where he made a rap about Rock. That same night, Cena was placed into a WWE Tag Team Championship match, with him teaming with The Miz, where they defeated Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater to become WWE Tag Team Champions. After the match, Wade Barrett invoked Gabriel and Slater's rematch clause straight away, where they won their titles back, after Miz attacked Cena. After weeks of insults to each other, Cena met Rock face-to-face on the March 28 episode of ''Raw'', where Cena would hit his Attitude Adjustment finishing move on Rock. At WrestleMania, Cena and Miz would fight to a double count-out, but guest host Rock would restart the match, only for him to hit his Rock Bottom finishing move on Cena, allowing Miz to retain his title. The next night on ''Raw'', Cena and Rock agreed to face each other at WrestleMania XXVIII, making it the first match to be set up at WrestleMania one year in advance. At Extreme Rules, Cena would defeat Miz and Morrison to become WWE Champion. Cena would then defend his title successfully against Miz at Over the Limit in an "I Quit" match and against R-Truth at Capitol Punishment.

Cena was scheduled to defend his title against CM Punk at Money in the Bank, but Punk would deliver a shoot promo on-air on the June 27 episode of ''Raw'', concerning the way in which the company is run and owner Vince McMahon. This would then result in Punk being suspended from televised WWE events. Cena would petition against McMahon to reinstate Punk, to which McMahon would agree, adding that Cena would get fired if he were to lost the WWE Championship to Punk at the pay-per-view. At the pay-per-view, McMahon tried to recreate the Montreal Screwjob by sending John Laurinaitis down to ringside to end the match as Cena had Punk in the STF submission move. Cena would hit Laurinaitis before he could, only for Cena to lose the match as he re-entered the ring. The following night on ''Raw'', before McMahon announced Cena was fired, Triple H returned, announcing he is the new COO of the WWE, which would see him run the day-to-day operations of the company. Triple H then announced that McMahon was relived of his duties. On the July 25 episode of ''Raw'', Cena defeated Rey Mysterio to become WWE Champion for a record breaking ninth time. Following the match, CM Punk returned to the company, with the WWE Championship he won at Money in the Bank. The following week, Triple H would announce that Cena and Punk where both recognized as WWE Champion, which would lead to a title unification match at SummerSlam, with Triple H serving as special guest referee for the match, where the winner would become "undisputed" WWE Champion. At the pay-per-view, Punk defeated Cena to become "undisputed" WWE Champion. Punk would lose the championship following the match, after Kevin Nash returned and attacked him, with Alberto Del Rio then cashing in his Money in the Bank briefcase to win the title. On the August 22 episode of ''Raw'', Cena defeated Punk to become number one contender for the WWE Championship, where Cena would defeat Del Rio at Night of Champions to become WWE Champion. Cena would then lose the title back to Del Rio two weeks later at Hell in a Cell, in a Triple Threat Hell in a Cell match also involving Punk, after Ricardo Rodriguez and Del Rio locked Cena outside of the Cell. Cena would get a rematch with Del Rio at Vengeance in a Last Man Standing match, where Del Rio defeated Cena after The Miz and R-Truth would attack Cena during the match. After a few weeks of Miz and Truth attacking Cena and other employees, Cena was allowed to choose his partner to challenge Miz and Truth at Survivor Series. Cena would announce that he had chosen The Rock to be his partner. At the pay-per-view, after Cena and Rock defeated Miz and Truth, Rock gave Cena another Rock Bottom.

On the December 12 episode of ''Raw'', during his match with Mark Henry, Cena was attacked by the returning Kane. The following week on ''Raw'', Cena would call out Kane for his actions last week, but Henry would come out instead. Kane would then come out soon after, and once again attacked Cena. The following week, Kane would explain to Cena that the reason he had attacked him was in disgust of Cena's "Rise Above Hate" t-shirt slogan, stating that hate is a "natural impulse" and shouldn't be contained. He then lead the fans in attendance who were not fond of Cena into chanting "Cena Sucks!" as RAW went off the air.

Other media

Film

WWE Studios, a division of World Wrestling Entertainment which produces and finances motion pictures, produced Cena's first movie — ''The Marine'', which was distributed theatrically by 20th Century Fox America beginning on October 13, 2006. In its first week, the film made approximately US$7 million at the United States box office. After ten weeks in theaters, the film grossed $18.7 million. Once the film was released on DVD, it fared better, making $30 million in rentals in the first twelve weeks. His second film, also produced by WWE Studios, was ''12 Rounds''. Filming began on February 25, 2008 in New Orleans; the film was released on March 27, 2009.

Cena co-starred in his third film produced by WWE Studios, titled ''Legendary'', which was played in selected theaters starting on September 10, 2010, for a limited time, then it was released on DVD on September 28, 2010.

That same year, Cena starred in the children's film ''Fred: The Movie'', a film based on Lucas Cruikshank's YouTube videos of the same name, where he plays Fred's father. The movie was released on the Nickelodeon channel in September 2010.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2000	''Ready to Rumble''	Gym Trainer	Extra
2006	''The Marine''	John Triton	Lead role
2007	''Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race''	Himself	Reality TV series
2009		Danny Fisher	Los Angeles Film Festival Award for Best Actor
2010	''Psych''	Ewan O'Hara	"You Can't Handle This Episode" (season 4: episode 10)
2010	''True Jackson, VP''	Himself	"Pajama Party" (season 2: episode 12)
2010		Mike Chetley	Nominated—Nevada Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
2010	''Hannah Montana''	Himself	"Love That Let's Go" (season 4: episode 7)
2010	''Fred: The Movie''	Fred's (imaginary) Dad	TV film
2010	''Generator Rex''	Hunter Cain	Voice role"The Hunter" (season 1: episode 13)
2011		Sam Cleary
2011	''Fred 2: Night of the Living Fred	Fred's (imaginary) Dad	TV film

Guest appearances

Before his WWE debut, Cena made an appearance on the Internet stream show ''Go Sick'' as Bruebaker, an angry, cursing wrestler in 2001.

During his WWE career, Cena has appeared on ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'' three times. Cena has also appeared on morning radio shows; including the CBS and XM versions of Opie and Anthony as part of their "walkover" on October 10, 2006. Other appearances have included ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien'', Fuse's ''Celebrity Playlist'', Fox Sports Net's ''The Best Damn Sports Show Period'', ''MADtv'', ''G4's Training Camp'' (with Shelton Benjamin), and two appearances on MTV's ''Punk'd'' (August 2006 and May 2007), as the victim of a practical joke. He also served as a co-presenter, with Hulk Hogan, at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, as a guest judge during the third week of the 2006 season of ''Nashville Star'', and appeared at the 2007 Nickelodeon UK Kids Choice Awards.

In January 2007, Cena, Batista, and Ashley Massaro appeared representing WWE on an episode of ''Extreme Makeover: Home Edition'', giving the children of the family whose house was being renovated WWE merchandise and eight tickets to WrestleMania 23. Two months later, he and Bobby Lashley appeared on the NBC game show ''Deal or No Deal'' as "moral support" to long time WWE fan and front row staple, Rick "Sign Guy" Achberger. Edge and Randy Orton also appeared, but as antagonists. On April 9, 2008, Cena, along with fellow wrestlers Triple H and Chris Jericho, appeared on the ''Idol Gives Back'' fund-raising special. In March 2009, Cena made an appearance on ''Saturday Night Live'' during the show's cold opening sequence. On March 7, 2009, he was a guest on NPR's quiz show ''Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!'' in a Not My Job sequence titled "Sure, pro wrestling is a good gig, but when you win, do they throw teddy bears into the ring?"

Television

In 2001, between his training in Ultimate Pro Wrestling and Ohio Valley Wrestling, Cena was involved in the UPN produced reality show ''Manhunt''. Cena portrayed Big Tim Kingman, leader of the group of bounty hunters who chased down the contestants who acted as fugitives. The show, however, was mired in controversy when it was alleged that the portions of the show were rigged to eliminate certain players, scenes were re-shot or staged to enhance drama and contestants read from scripts.

Cena was also featured on the ABC reality series ''Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race'', which aired in June 2007, making it to the final round before being eliminated on June 24, placing third in the competition overall.

In 2007 Cena was also interviewed for the ''CNN Special Investigations Unit'' documentary, "Death Grip: Inside Pro Wrestling", which focused on steroid and drug use in professional wrestling. When asked if he had taken steroids he was heard to reply, "I can't tell you that I haven't, but you'll never prove that I have." The day after the documentary aired WWE accused CNN of taking Cena's comments out of context to present a biased point of view, backing up their claim by posting an unedited video of his answering the same question—filmed by WWE cameras from another angle—in which he is heard beginning the same statement with "Absolutely not". A text interview on the website with Cena later had him saying the news outlet should apologize for misrepresenting him, which CNN refused in a statement, saying they felt the true answer to the question began with the phrase "My answer to that question". They did, however, edit the documentary on subsequent airings to include the "Absolutely not".

Cena hosted the Australian Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards with Natalie Bassingthwaighte on October 11, 2008 in Melbourne, Australia.

He guest starred as Ewan O'Hara in an episode of the fourth season of the comedy drama ''Psych'', as the brother of Juliet O'Hara, played by Maggie Lawson.

He also guest starred in the seventh episode of Disney Channel's Hannah Montana Forever as himself.

Make-A-Wish Foundation

John Cena has granted over 200 wishes for the Make-A-Wish Foundation and in 2009 was a recipient of the Chris Greicius Celebrity Award.

Endorsements

Before his professional wrestling career, Cena appeared in an advertisement for Gold's Gym. As a wrestler he has endorsed the energy drink YJ Stinger, appearing in commercials beginning in October 2003, and Subway, for whom he filmed advertisements with their spokesperson Jared Fogle in November 2006 that began airing the next January. For a time in 2007 he also endorsed two "signature collections" of energy drinks and energy bars sold by American Body Builders. In 2008, Cena filmed a commercial as part of Gillette's "Young Guns" NASCAR campaign.

In 2009, Cena expanded his relationship with Gillette by introducing a new online campaign called "Be A Superstar" featuring himself alongside WWE Superstars Chris Jericho and Cody Rhodes. The campaign features motivational videos.

Fashion

For the extent of his WWE career, Cena's attire has attempted to reflect the most current thug fashions and stylings within the hip hop culture that his character represents. Cena started out wearing "throwback jerseys" until WWE produced specific Cena merchandise which he began wearing. While Cena was a member of the ''SmackDown!'' brand, one of his WWE produced t-shirts bore the suggestive spoonerism "Ruck Fules". Whenever it appeared on television the image was censored, not by the network, but by WWE to sell more shirts under the premise that it was "too hot for TV." He also wore a chain with a large padlock, occasionally using it as a weapon, until WrestleMania 21, when it was replaced with a chromed and diamond studded "Chain Gang" spinner medallion—reminiscent of the ones worn by members of G-Unit—matching his spinner title belt.

Around the time ''The Marine'' was released, Cena began wearing attire more military related, including camouflage shorts, dog tags, a Marine soldier cap and a WWE produced shirt with the legend "Chain Gang Assault Battalion." Shortly after WrestleMania 23, when promotion for The Marine ended, the military attire diminished and was replaced with apparel bearing his new slogan "American Made Muscle" along with denim shorts, not seen since he was a member of the SmackDown roster. He then wore shirts that promoted Cenation and his trademark line "You Can't See Me." In late 2011, Cena again switched to wearing camo shorts (to honor the U.S. Armed Forces), coininciding with his new black "Rise Above Hate" T-shirt promoting WWE's "Be a Star" anti-bullying campaign.

Music

In addition to his wrestling career, Cena is a rapper and a hip hop musician. Cena performed his fifth WWE theme song, "Basic Thugonomics," himself, and it was featured on the WWE soundtrack album ''WWE Originals''. He also recorded a song,"Untouchables", for the company's next soundtrack album ''WWE ThemeAddict: The Music, Vol. 6''. He collaborated on the song H-U-S-T-L-E remix along with Murs, E-40, and Chingo Bling.

Cena's debut album, ''You Can't See Me'', was recorded with his cousin Tha Trademarc. It features, amongst other songs, his entrance theme, "The Time is Now", and the single "Bad, Bad Man", for which a music video was made that parodied 1980s culture, including the television show ''The A-Team''. A video was also made for the second single, "Right Now," and premiered on the August 8 ''Raw''. Cena and Tha Trademarc were later featured on a track by The Perceptionists named "Champion Scratch." Cena will appear on Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins' upcoming album ''Still Cool'' featuring other guests.

;Albums

''You Can't See Me''

* Released: May 10, 2005

Chart positions: 15 U.S. ''Billboard'' 200, 10 U.S. Top R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums, 3 U.S. Rap, 103 UK Albums Chart

* Singles: "The Time Is Now", "Bad Bad Man" (featuring Bumpy Knuckles), "Right Now"

Personal life

Cena writes left-handed. He is a fan of Japanese animation and has mentioned that his favorite animated movie is ''Fist of the North Star''. He has also said he is a fan of the video game series ''Command & Conquer'' and noted that it was his favorite game. Cena is also a fan of the Boston Red Sox, New England Patriots, Boston Celtics, Cena collects muscle cars and has over 20, some of which are one-of-a-kind.

While promoting his 2009 film, ''12 Rounds'', Cena announced his engagement to his girlfriend Elizabeth Huberdeau. They were married on July 11, 2009.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

''Attitude Adjustment'' (formerly ''FU'') (Fireman's carry transitioned into a takeover or a powerslam, sometimes from the second rope) – 2003–present

STF (formerly ''STFU'') – 2005–present

Signature moves

Diving leg drop bulldog

Dropkick, sometimes from the top rope

* Emerald Flowsion

Fisherman suplex

''Five Knuckle Shuffle'' (Running delayed fist drop, with theatrics, sometimes diving from the top rope)

* Gutwrench suplex

* ''Protobomb'' (OVW / UPW) / Spin-out powerbomb (WWE)

Running leaping shoulder block

Running one–handed bulldog

Sitout hip toss

''Rapper Punch'' ("You can't see me!" taunt followed by haymaker)

Spinebuster - 2002 - 2005 used rarely there after

''Throwback'' (Running neck snap to a bent–over opponent)

Twisting belly to belly suplex

Nicknames

"The Doctor of Thuganomics"

"The Champ" (as either the WWE Champion or the World Heavyweight Champion) – 2005–present

* "The Chain Gang Commander"

"The Chain Gang Soldier"

*"The CeNation Commander-in-Chief"

"The Marine"

* "Superman"

* "The Voice of Little Jimmys" (while feuding with R-Truth)

Managers

Kenny Bolin

* B–2

* Redd Dogg

Entrance themes

"Slam Smack" by R. Hardy (FirstCom Production Music) (June 27, 2002–November 7, 2002)

"Insert Bass Here" by DJ Case (FirstCom Production Music) (November 14, 2002–February 13, 2003)

* "Basic Thuganomics" by John Cena (March 27, 2003–March 10, 2005; April 5, 2009 for his entrance at WrestleMania XXV)

*"We Are One" by 12 Stones (WWE; October 3, 2010-November 21, 2010; Used While a part of Nexus)

* "The Time is Now" by John Cena and Tha Trademarc (March 17, 2005–present)

Championships and accomplishments

Ohio Valley Wrestling

OVW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rico Constantino

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Feud of the Year (2006)

PWI Feud of the Year (2011)

PWI Match of the Year (2007)

PWI Match of the Year (2011)

PWI Most Improved Wrestler of the Year (2003)

PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2004, 2005, 2007)

PWI Wrestler of the Year (2006, 2007)

PWI ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2006 and 2007

Pro Wrestling Report

*Match of the Year (2006) vs. Rob Van Dam at ECW One Night Stand II

Ultimate Pro Wrestling

UPW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Entertainment

World Heavyweight Championship (2 times)

World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Shawn Michaels (1) and Batista (1)

WWE Championship (10 times)

WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with David Otunga (1), and The Miz (1)

WWE United States Championship (3 times)

* Royal Rumble (2008)

* Slammy Award winner – 2009 and 2010 Superstar of the Year

Slammy Award for Holy $#!+ Move of the Year (2010)

*Slammy Award for Game Changer of the Year (2011) – with The Rock

'''Wrestling Observer Newsletter

Wrestler of the Year (2007, 2010)

* 5 Star Match vs. CM Punk at WWE Money in the Bank on July 17, 2011

Best Box Office Draw (2007)

Best on Interviews (2007)

Most Charismatic (2006–2010)

Most Charismatic of the Decade (2000–2009)

Best Gimmick (2003)

References

Further reading

External links

John Cena at WWE.com

Professional wrestling record for John Cena from The Internet Wrestling Database

John Cena at Online World of Wrestling

Category:1977 births Category:American film actors Category:American football offensive linemen Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers of Italian descent Category:Columbia Records artists Category:Drifting drivers Category:Formula D drivers Category:Living people Category:People from Essex County, Massachusetts Category:People from Tampa, Florida Category:Rappers from Florida Category:Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni Category:Springfield Pride football players

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Coordinates	39°35′36″N174°16′42″N
Name	Ezekiel Jackson
Names	Big Ryck HytzEzekielEzekiel JacksonRicky AtlasRycklonRycklon Stephens
Height
Weight
Birth date	April 22, 1978
Birth place	Linden, Guyana
Billed	Guyana, South America
Trainer	HomicideTom PrichardSteve Keirn
Debut	2007
Retired	}}

Rycklon Stephens (born April 22, 1978) is a Guyanese bodybuilder and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, working on its SmackDown brand under the ring name Ezekiel Jackson, where he is the most recent WWE Intercontinental Champion before losing the title to Cody Rhodes. He is a one time world champion, having won the ECW Championship, and is recognized by WWE as the final ECW Champion.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE (2007–present)

Florida Championship Wrestling (2007–2008)

Stephens signed a developmental contract with World Wrestling Entertainment in March 2007 and debuted in Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) in late June. In his debut match on June 27, he teamed with Keith Walker to defeat Kofi Kingston and Eric Pérez. He continued to compete in the promotion in both tag team and singles matches. On February 8, 2008 he competed in a match with tag partner Bryan Kelly in a losing effort against Steve Lewington and Heath Miller in a mini-tournament to face WWE Tag Team Champions John Morrison and The Miz. On May 6, 2008, Stephens wrestled his final match in FCW before being called up to WWE's main roster.

SmackDown (2008–2009)

After being trained in FCW, Stephens debuted on the July 18, 2008 episode of ''SmackDown'' under the name Ezekiel, as bodyguard to The Brian Kendrick. On the August 8, 2008 edition of ''SmackDown'', his ring name was tweaked to Ezekiel Jackson, and he was revealed as being Kendrick's "advisor". He then began interfering in Kendrick's matches against Jeff Hardy, Finlay, and WWE Champion Triple H. On the October 17 episode of ''SmackDown'', Jackson made his official in-ring debut by quickly defeating Super Crazy, after replacing a supposedly sick Kendrick. In late 2008, Jackson began teaming with Kendrick and both began feuding with the WWE Tag Team Champions The Colóns (Carlito and Primo), although Kendrick and Jackson failed to win the championship. He suffered his first defeat on the February 13, 2009 episode of ''SmackDown'', when he lost a singles match to R-Truth. Jackson made his final appearance on the SmackDown brand in a losing effort against Jeff Hardy on the April 3, 2009 episode.

ECW (2009–2010)

On April 15, 2009, Jackson was drafted to the ECW brand as part of the 2009 Supplemental Draft, therefore breaking up the team of himself and Kendrick. Jackson returned to FCW for further training, however, without making an immediate appearance for the brand. He made his ECW debut defeating Jack Meridol on the July 9, 2009 episode. Jackson then began an angle with Vladimir Kozlov in which, week after week, after one of them had squashed a local competitor, the other would come out and hit their finishing move on the fallen opponent in a game of one-upmanship. On the August 18 episode of ''ECW'', Jackson formed an alliance with Kozlov and William Regal after betraying the ECW Champion, Christian, during a tag team match to side with them, and attacking Christian at Regal's request. Kozlov and Jackson aided Regal in his feud with Christian over the ECW Championship, but Regal was unable to capture the title.

On the November 24 episode of ''ECW'', Jackson attacked both Regal and Kozlov after Kozlov accused Jackson of costing Regal a match. The following week, Jackson once again betrayed Kozlov and Regal by walking out on Kozlov during a tag team match against Christian and Shelton Benjamin. Jackson, however, realigned himself with Regal, when he was aided by Regal in defeating Kozlov on an episode of ''ECW''. On the January 12, 2010 episode of ''ECW'', Jackson won the ECW Homecoming battle royal to earn a match for the ECW Championship. He faced Christian for the ECW championship at the Royal Rumble pay-per-view but was unsuccessful. On the final episode of ''ECW'' on February 16, Jackson defeated Christian to win the ECW Championship in an Extreme Rules match. He is credited by WWE as the final ECW Champion.

Brands switches and The Corre (2010–2011)

On the February 19 episode of ''SmackDown'', a video package aired, promoting Jackson's return to the brand. He made his return on the March 5 episode of ''SmackDown'' without Regal, who instead joined ''Raw'', and defeated Jimmy Wang Yang. On April 10, 2010 at a house show in Glasgow, Scotland, Jackson suffered a tear in his right quadriceps muscle during a match against Kane, and was expected to be inactive for approximately six months.

During his injury, Jackson was drafted to the Raw brand as part of the 2010 WWE Supplemental Draft. Jackson made his return to the ring on September 13, 2010, defeating Zack Ryder in a dark match prior to the ''Raw'' tapings. He returned to television on the October 18 episode of ''Raw'', this time as a face where he was revealed as a member of Team Raw for the Bragging Rights pay-per-view. At Bragging Rights, Jackson was one of the final two remaining members of Team Raw, but they lost to Team SmackDown. On the November 22 episode of ''Raw'', Jackson qualified for the 2010 edition of the King of the Ring tournament by defeating Alex Riley, who replaced Jackson's original opponent The Miz. He faced Drew McIntyre in the quarter-finals, but the match ended in a double countout, so neither advanced.

In December 2010, Jackson returned to the SmackDown brand. On the January 12, 2011, taping of the January 14 edition of ''SmackDown'', Jackson turned heel, and joined Wade Barrett, Justin Gabriel and Heath Slater in assaulting The Big Show, appearing to form an alliance with the three. The following week the group was named The Corre. At WrestleMania XXVII, The Corre were defeated in an eight-man tag team match by the team of Kingston, The Big Show, Kane, and Santino Marella.

Intercontinental Champion, feud with The Corre and The New Legacy (2011)

On the May 6 episode of ''SmackDown'', Jackson defeated The Big Show in a singles match, and refused to celebrate with the other members of The Corre afterward. Backstage, his teammates attacked him in retaliation, thus turning Jackson into a fan favorite once again. Jackson went on to face Barrett for the Intercontinental Championship at Over the Limit, and won by disqualification, which meant that Barrett retained the championship. Jackson continued to gain a DQ win over Heath Slater when his Corre cohorts interfered again on the May 27 episode of ''SmackDown''. The next week on ''SmackDown'', Jackson gained a countout win over Wade Barrett and fought off Slater and Gabriel's post-match attack. On the June 10 episode of ''SmackDown'', Jackson would team with The Usos to defeat The Corre and was also the end of the group. On June 19, 2011 at Capitol Punishment, Jackson defeated Barrett in a rematch to win the Intercontinental Championship. Jackson retained the title against Barrett on the following edition of Smackdown and also successfully defended it against Ted DiBiase on the July 15th edition of Smackdown.

On August 12, episode of ''SmackDown'', Jackson lost the Intercontinental Championship to Cody Rhodes. After his defeat, he stood up and ripped off a bag on his head placed by Ted DiBiase, and then brutally assaults DiBiase while Rhodes watched. He would then go on to feud with The New Legacy since losing the Intercontinental Championship to Rhodes. On the August 19 episode of Smackdown, he tried to regain the Intercontinental Championship from Cody Rhodes in a losing effort. On that same night, he was one of the 20 men who would compete in an over the top rope battle royal for the Number Contender's spot for the World Heavyweight Championship, which was won by Mark Henry. On the next edition of Smackdown, he would go on to defeat The Great Khali via submission despite outside interference from Jinder Mahal.

Personal life

Jackson is a graduate from the University at Buffalo. He has two children and is married to a woman named Jennifer.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

*''The Book Of Ezekiel'' (Modified ura-nage slam) - 2009- present

*''Torture Rack'' (Shaking Argentine backbreaker rack, usually preceded by multiple scoop slams) – 2011–present

Signature moves

Bearhug

Big boot

Left arm clothesline

Running shoulder block

Multiple scoop slams

*One-handed spinebuster

Managers

William Regal

*Wade Barrett

Wrestlers managed

The Brian Kendrick

Nicknames

'''"(Big) Zeke"

"End of Days" (January 2011–May 2011; Used while a part of The Corre, later used as Wade Barrett's theme in singles competition)

Championships and accomplishments

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI ranked him #93 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2010

World Wrestling Entertainment / WWE

ECW Championship (1 time, final)

WWE Intercontinental Championship (1 time)

References

External links

WWE profile

Online World of Wrestling profile

Category:1978 births Category:Guyanese professional wrestlers Category:Living people Category:Guyanese people of Black African descent

ar:ايزكيل جاكسون ca:Ezekiel Jackson de:Ezekiel Jackson es:Rycklon Stephens fr:Ezekiel Jackson ko:이지키엘 잭슨 it:Rycklon Stephens nl:Ezekiel Jackson ja:エゼキエル・ジャクソン pl:Ezekiel Jackson pt:Ezekiel Jackson ru:Иезекиил Джексон sco:Rycklon Stephens simple:Ezekiel Jackson fi:Ezekiel Jackson th:อีเซเคียล แจ็คสัน

Coordinates	39°35′36″N174°16′42″N
name	Shelton Benjamin
names	Shelton Benjamin
height
weight
birth date	July 09, 1975
birth place	Orangeburg, South Carolina
resides	Spring, Texas
billed	Orangeburg, South Carolina
trainer	Ohio Valley Wrestling
debut	November 14, 2000 }}

Shelton Benjamin (born July 9, 1975) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler best known for his tenure in WWE. Benjamin has an amateur wrestling background, including wrestling in high school and at the University of Minnesota. In addition, Benjamin has acted as an assistant coach in amateur wrestling. He first spent time in Ohio Valley Wrestling, where he held the Southern Tag Team Championship four times. WWE then moved him to the main roster and put him into an alliance with Kurt Angle and Charlie Haas, known as Team Angle (and later the World's Greatest Tag Team). During his tenure with the company, he has won the Intercontinental Championship three times, the United States Championship once, and the WWE Tag Team Championship twice with Haas. He currently wrestles for Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is currently one half of the World Tag Team Champions with Charlie Haas.

Amateur wrestling

Benjamin grew up in Orangeburg, South Carolina. He began wrestling while in the tenth grade at Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School. While in high school, Benjamin achieved a 122–10 win-loss record and was a two-time South Carolina state high school heavyweight wrestling champion, earning the title in both 1993 and 1994. Benjamin also was a Junior College National Track Champion in the 100 meter and won the junior college national wrestling heavyweight title in 1996 while attending Lassen Community College in Susanville, California. He was then accepted to attend the University of Minnesota, where he achieved a 36–6 win-loss record. Moreover, while attending the university, Benjamin was a two-time All-American heavyweight wrestler. After graduation, he served as an assistant coach at the University and trained with future OVW tag team partner Brock Lesnar. In 1997, Benjamin went 36–6 with 12 pins and placed sixth in the Big Ten Championship. Instead of trying to qualify for the 2000 Summer Olympics, Benjamin decided instead to try and pursue a professional wrestling career.

Professional wrestling career

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment (1999–2010)

Ohio Valley Wrestling (2000–2002)

Benjamin was offered and accepted a contract from the World Wrestling Federation (WWF) and was placed in Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) as one half of a tag team with Brock Lesnar, who was a wrestling teammate at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. Together they were known as the "Minnesota Stretching Crew," and they held the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions. The first two reigns occurred during February and July 2001. They were scripted to win the title for a third time from Rico Constantino and The Prototype on October 29, 2001. After Lesnar was called up to the main roster in November 2001, Benjamin formed a tag team with Redd Dogg Begnaud called "The Dogg Pound" and once again won the OVW Southern Tag Team Title on July 17, 2002. Throughout the remainder of 2002, Benjamin wrestled at several house shows for the main WWE roster and eventually on ''Sunday Night Heat'' as a face character.

The World's Greatest Tag Team (2002–2004)

Benjamin was offered a full-time World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) contract in September 2002. He joined WWE's Smackdown brand as a villain on December 26, 2002, forming Team Angle along Charlie Haas, with Olympic gold-medalist wrestler Kurt Angle as their on-screen mentor. Their first official match together in WWE was on the January 2, 2003 edition of ''Smackdown'' against Edge and Chris Benoit.

They continued their storyline feud with Benoit until No Way Out, when Benoit teamed with Brock Lesnar to defeat Team Angle. The duo were scripted to win their first WWE Tag Team Championship just a month after their debut by defeating the champions, Los Guerreros (Eddie and Chavo Guerrero) on February 6, 2003. The two then went on to compete in their first WrestleMania match at WrestleMania XIX, retaining their tag title in a Triple Threat match against Los Guerreros, and Chris Benoit and Rhyno. Team Angle later lost the title to Eddie Guerrero and his new partner Tajiri at Judgment Day in a ladder match. The storyline concluded on the June 12, 2003 episode of ''SmackDown!'', when Angle confronted Benjamin and Haas and fired them from Team Angle. They began referring to themselves as The World's Greatest Tag Team and won the tag title back on the July 3 edition of ''Smackdown''. They lost the title on September 18, after Benjamin suffered a legitimate knee injury during a match against Los Guerreros. Benjamin was sidelined for approximately one month, but the pair competed together again, taking part in a Fatal Four-Way match at WrestleMania XX.

Raw and Intercontinental Champion (2004–2007)

On March 22, 2004, Benjamin was drafted to the WWE Raw brand as part of the 2004 WWE Draft. After arriving, Benjamin quickly became a face when he scored an upset pinfall victory over Triple H with the help of then World Heavyweight Champion Chris Benoit. Benjamin then feuded with Triple H, beating him three times in total all: once by pinfall, once by count-out, and once by disqualification. As part of the storyline, Benjamin then feuded with the other members of Triple H's stable Evolution. Benjamin defeated Ric Flair at Backlash and lost to Randy Orton in an Intercontinental Championship match at Bad Blood.

During a match with Garrison Cade on ''WWE Heat'', Benjamin punched Cade's knee brace, legitimately breaking his hand in the process and briefly taking him out of action. Benjamin returned in the fall of 2004 and was chosen by the fans to compete for the Intercontinental Championship in a match against then-champion Chris Jericho at Taboo Tuesday. Benjamin was scripted to win the match, giving him his first singles title in the company. During his reign as Intercontinental Champion, Benjamin retained the title against challengers such as Christian at Survivor Series, Maven at New Year's Revolution, and Chris Jericho at Backlash. Benjamin lost the title to Carlito when he debuted on ''Raw'' during the June 20, 2005 episode, ending the longest Intercontinental Championship reign of the decade.

Benjamin's next storyline began on the December 5, 2005 edition of ''Raw'', when Shawn Michaels was scripted to give Benjamin a speech to get him "psyched" for their tag match together later in the night. As a part of the scripted ending to the match, Michaels was preparing to finish the match when Benjamin tagged himself in and missed a crossbody, allowing Carlito to pin Benjamin. Benjamin was then depicted as having a "losing streak" over the next several weeks, which led to Benjamin's noisy, scolding, and domineering "Momma" (played by comedian/actress Thea Vidale) coming to ''Raw'' to confront Benjamin. Momma slapped and yelled at Benjamin every time he lost a match. Before long, she assisted Benjamin in his matches, often interfering on his behalf. This led to Benjamin once again becoming a villain. In 2006, Benjamin had a staged on-screen rivalry with then-Intercontinental Champion Ric Flair. On the February 20 edition of ''Raw'', Benjamin defeated Flair to regain the Intercontinental Championship after Momma faked a heart problem, causing enough of a distraction to allow Benjamin to cheat and win the title. Benjamin continued to feud with Flair, but Momma no longer accompanied him to ringside. As part of the scripted events, Benjamin stated that she was undergoing heart surgery in the hospital and that he held Flair responsible.

Benjamin competed in the second Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22. Benjamin then had an on-screen rivalry with the winner of that match, Rob Van Dam, in an attempt to take Van Dam's Money in the Bank contract. During this time, Benjamin emphasized his new heel persona with a new gimmick: wearing shades, jewelry, and occasional colored shirts while entering the ring. At one point, Benjamin was defeated by his former tag team partner, the returning Charlie Haas, during an episode of ''Raw''. A predetermined stipulation added to this loss meant that Benjamin had to defend the Intercontinental Title in the same match as his shot at Van Dam's contract, meaning at Backlash it would be a "Winner Takes All" match. Rob Van Dam won at Backlash and became Intercontinental Champion. Benjamin regained the title from Rob Van Dam in a Tornado Tag Team match, pitting Benjamin, Triple H and Chris Masters against Van Dam and WWE Champion John Cena; both the WWE Championship and WWE Intercontinental Championship could be won by whoever pinned the appropriate champion. After Triple H Pedigreed Van Dam, he turned his attention to John Cena and went for the pin on the WWE Champion. Benjamin got to Van Dam first, picking up the pin and his third Intercontinental Championship. Subsequently, Benjamin feuded with Carlito and others for his Intercontinental Championship before losing the title to Johnny Nitro in a Triple Threat match also involving Carlito at Vengeance.

During December 2006, Benjamin's former tag team partner Charlie Haas came out to celebrate with Benjamin after he defeated Super Crazy. The World's Greatest Tag Team was officially reunited when they defeated The Highlanders on the December 11, 2006 episode of ''Raw''. The duo feuded with Cryme Tyme and competed mainly on ''Heat''.

The Gold Standard And Departure (2007–2010)

On the November 20, 2007 airing of ''ECW on Sci Fi'', Elijah Burke introduced Benjamin as the newest ECW superstar. Benjamin, who had dyed his hair blond before leaving ''Raw'', began wearing gold wrestling attire and referring to himself as "The Gold Standard". On ECW, Benjamin began once again receiving more airtime and higher profile matches, defeating Tommy Dreamer in his debut. Benjamin then qualified for the Royal Rumble match and won an over the top rope preview. Benjamin appeared in the Rumble match, entering at number 17, but was eliminated by Shawn Michaels. He suffered his first loss since coming to ECW to Kane by count-out, on the January 29, 2008 edition of ''ECW on Sci Fi''. On the February 22 edition of ''SmackDown!'', Benjamin defeated Jimmy Wang Yang in a qualifying match for the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXIV, which was won by CM Punk. After WrestleMania, Benjamin briefly feuded with Punk, before he began an on-screen rivalry with Kofi Kingston, who defeated Benjamin on the April 22 edition of ''ECW''. On ECW's 100th episode, however, Benjamin defeated Kingston, thus ending the latter's undefeated streak. To end the feud, Kingston then defeated Benjamin in an ECW Extreme Rules match.

As part of the 2008 Supplemental Draft, Benjamin was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. On the July 11, 2008 airing of ''SmackDown!'', Benjamin defeated United States Champion Matt Hardy in a non-title match, earning himself a future title shot. At The Great American Bash, Benjamin once again defeated Hardy to win the United States Championship. Throughout his reign as champion, he retained the title several times against competitors such as R-Truth and Hurricane Helms. On the 500th episode of ''SmackDown!'', on March 20, 2009 Benjamin lost his United States Championship to Montel Vontavious Porter, ending Benjamin's reign at 243 days. Benjamin then participated in the Money in the Bank ladder match at WrestleMania XXV, but failed to win as CM Punk won the match for the second year in a row. On June 29, 2009, Benjamin was traded back to the ECW brand. The following night, Benjamin returned to the brand in a losing effort to the debuting Yoshi Tatsu. However, he would defeat Tatsu in a rematch the following week on ''ECW''. After a tag team match, Benjamin was attacked by his partner Sheamus after Benjamin was pinned. Over the following weeks, Benjamin and Sheamus began feuding with and traded wins against each other on ''ECW'' and ''Superstars'', resulting in Benjamin becoming a face character. The feud lasted until Sheamus was moved to the Raw brand on October 26. The next night on ''ECW'', Benjamin lost to Sheamus in Sheamus' final match on the brand. Benjamin wrestled Christian at TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs for the ECW Championship in a Ladder Match, but came up on the losing end. On the final episode of ECW on Syfy, Benjamin formed an alliance with Vladimir Kozlov. Together, they defeated three members of the ECW roster: Vance Archer, Caylen Croft and Trent Barreta. On the February 26th edition of Smackdown, Shelton Benjamin debuted, once again qualifying for the Money in The Bank Ladder Match at WrestleMania 26, beating CM Punk. However Benjamin failed to win the Ladder match. He defeated the returning Joey Mercury in his last match at the ''SmackDown'' tapings on April 20 in a dark match. On April 22, 2010, Benjamin was released from his WWE contract, along with Jimmy Wang Yang, Kung Fu Naki, Slam Master J and WWE Divas Mickie James and Katie Lea Burchill.

Independent circuit and Ring of Honor (2010–present)

Benjamin made his independent circuit return on July 24, 2010, in San Diego, California against Scorpio Sky. On July 31, 2010, during the World Wrestling Council's "La Revolución" show in Puerto Rico Benjamin defeated Ray González to win the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship.

On September 11, 2010, at Glory By Honor IX, Benjamin and Charlie Haas made their Ring of Honor debuts in a match, where they were defeated by The Kings of Wrestling (Chris Hero and Claudio Castagnoli).

At Crossfire, 27 November, Benjamin lost the WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship to Carlito.

Benjamin and Haas returned to ROH at the ''Ring of Honor Wrestling'' television tapings on December 9, where they defeated the Bravado Brothers. The following day, at the second set of television tapings, they defeated the All-Night Express of Kenny King and Rhett Titus, and participated in an eight-man tag team match, teaming with the Briscoe Brothers against the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Xpress, which ended in a no contest. On December 18 at the Final Battle 2010 pay-per-view Benjamin and Haas announced that in 2011 they would be wrestling regularly for Ring of Honor. At the following pay-per-view, 9th Anniversary Show, on February 26, 2011, Benjamin and Haas defeated the Briscoe Brothers in the main event of the evening to earn another shot at the Kings of Wrestling and the ROH World Tag Team Championship. On March 8, 2011, Benjamin wrestled in a dark match prior to the ''SmackDown'' tapings in Houston, Texas, defeating Curt Hawkins. On March 9, 2011 Shelton Benjamin won the MWF Heavyweight Championship. On April 1 at Honor Takes Center Stage, Benjamin and Haas defeated the Kings of Wrestling for the ROH World Tag Team Championship. On June 26 at Best in the World 2011, Benjamin and Haas successfully defended the ROH World Tag Team Championship in a four-way match against the Briscoe Brothers, the Kings of Wrestling and the All-Night Express. The following day ROH announced that both Benjamin and Haas had signed contracts with the promotion.

Personal life

Benjamin is an avid video gamer, winning WWE's THQ Superstar Challenge, a video game tournament that takes place every year during WrestleMania weekend, four years in a row before retiring in 2007. He spends time every day playing. Benjamin is also proficient in art, creating comic book level work. He almost considered a career in the field.

Benjamin, along with Dave Batista and Josh Mathews, represented WWE at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in an effort to encourage fans to register to vote in the 2008 Presidential election.

In wrestling

Finishing moves

450° splash – 2000–2002

Dragon whip / ''Money Clip'' / ''Shell Shocka'' – 2003; used as a regular move from 2004–present

''Paydirt'' (Jumping reverse STO) – 2007–2010

Superkick – 2003–2006; used as a regular move from 2007–present

''T-Bone Suplex'' (Exploder suplex lifted and twisted into a modified powerslam pin) – 2005–present

Signature moves

Arm trap backbreaker

Diving clothesline

Hammerlock front powerslam

*Multiple suplex variations

*Belly to belly

*German

*Northern Lights

Samoan drop

Stinger splash

Turnbuckle powerbomb

Springboard into either a bulldog or a somersault neckbreaker

Managers

Nidia

Paul Heyman

Momma Benjamin

Nicknames

"The Gold Standard" (WWE)

Entrance themes

*"Medal" by Jim Johnston (WWE; Used while a part of Team Angle)

*"Desperate Times" by Jim Johnston

*"Shout Out" by Jim Johnston

*"Vapor Rock" by Jim Johnston

"Ain't No Stoppin' Me" by Lou$tar (WWE; 2004–2008)

"Ain't No Stoppin' Me (Remix)" by Axel (WWE; 2008–2010)

"T.N.T." by AC/DC (ROH; Used while teaming with Charlie Haas)

Championships and accomplishments

Black Athlete Sports Network

African–American Wrestler of the Year (2005)

Ohio Valley Wrestling

OVW Southern Tag Team Championship (4 times) – with Brock Lesnar (3) and Redd Dogg (1)

Millennium Wrestling Federation

MWF Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

PWI Tag Team of the Year (2003) with Charlie Haas

PWI ranked him #9 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2005

Ring of Honor

ROH World Tag Team Championship (1 time, current) – with Charlie Haas

World Wrestling Council

WWC Universal Heavyweight Championship (1 time)

World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE Intercontinental Championship (3 times)

WWE Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Charlie Haas

WWE United States Championship (1 time)

Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards

* Most Underrated Wrestler (2005–2007)

Footnotes

External links

WWE Alumni Profile

Benjamin at Online World of Wrestling

Benjamin's page at The National Wrestling Hall of Fame

Shelton Benjamin Returns to WWE at The Wrestling Cafe

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:People from Orangeburg, South Carolina Category:African American professional wrestlers Category:American professional wrestlers Category:American sport wrestlers Category:University of Minnesota alumni

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