Robert Alexander Szatowski[1][2] (born December 18, 1970),[1][2] better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (RVD), is an American professional wrestler and actor. He is currently under contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. He is best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment, and Extreme Championship Wrestling.
Szatkowski has held 22 championships between ECW, WWE and TNA, as well as several regional titles in various promotions during his career. He is a former WWE champion, ECW champion and the TNA World Heavyweight champion once each. On the independent scene he has also won the World Heavyweight Championships for both American Wrestling Rampage and World Stars of Wrestling once each. 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.
Szatkowski 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.[5] 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.[6]
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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10]
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.[11] 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.[12][13]
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.[14] 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.[13] 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.[13][15] 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.[13][16] 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.[17] He was quickly rolled out.[13]
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.[13] 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.[18] They feuded with Furnas and Kroffat defeating them at When Worlds Collide II and High Incident.[13][19][20]
Van Dam and Sabu next feuded with The Eliminators, John Kronus and Perry Saturn. On November 1, the two teams fought to a draw.[21] Van Dam then feuded with Taz, to whom he lost at Holiday Hell via knockout.[22] 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.[23][24][25] 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.[26]
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.[27] 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.[25]
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 made speeches 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). Lawler began to call Van Dam Mr. Monday Night on an episode of Raw which became a moniker that would stay with Van Dam, changing to suit the day of the week of whichever program was being broadcast. Despite his arrogance and "betrayal" of ECW, over time Van Dam became applauded by fans recognizing his athleticism and unique maneuvers.[28]
Van Dam continued to team up with Sabu upon his return to ECW on June 13.[29] Taz's manager Bill Alfonso betrayed Taz 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.[28][30] On June 21, Van Dam and Sabu earned a victory over Dreamer and The Sandman.[31] Van Dam and Sabu emerged victorious against Dreamer and Sandman again at Orgy of Violence.[32] At Heat Wave, Van Dam, Sabu, and WWF's Jerry "The King" Lawler fought Dreamer, Sandman, and Rick Rude to a no contest.[33] 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.[30][34] 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.[30][35] Van Dam and Sabu became partners while Dreamer teamed up with Taz.[30] At Fright Fight, Van Dam lost to Dreamer in a flag match.[36] At Ultimate Jeopardy, Van Dam and Sabu faced Dreamer and Taz, a match won by Taz and Dreamer after Dreamer pinned Van Dam. At November to Remember, Van Dam faced Dreamer in another flag match which went to a no contenst.[37] At Better Than Ever, Van Dam and Sabu faced Dreamer and Taz in a rematch. This time, Van Dam pinned Dreamer to give the victory to his team and to settle their rivalry.[38] Van Dam's final encounter with Dreamer came on December 26, when Dreamer teamed up with Taz, Al Snow, and Sandman to take on Van Dam, Sabu, Doug Furnas, and Phil Lafon. Van Dam's team lost the match.[39]
In 1998, Van Dam turned face and started a feud with Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Chris Candido).[40] At House Party, Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow.[41] At Hostile City Showdown, Van Dam and Sabu defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney by disqualification.[42] The two went on to win a fatal four way elimination tag team match later that night.[42] At CyberSlam, Van Dam and Sabu fell to Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow.[43]
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.[44][45] Van Dam retained the belt in his first title defense on April 10 against Doug Furnas.[46] 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.[40][47]
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.[40][48] Van Dam and Sabu started a feud with Storm and Candido in the next month for the tag team title.[40] On June 27, Van Dam and Sabu beat Storm and Candido to win the ECW World Tag Team Championship,[49] which made Van Dam a double champion.[40] 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.[40][50] Van Dam sought revenge and at November to Remember, Van Dam and Sabu teamed with Taz to defeat Triple Threat.[40][51] 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.[40][49]
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,[52] Lance Storm at Guilty as Charged,[53] Balls Mahoney,[54] and 2 Cold Scorpio at CyberSlam.[55][56]
Van Dam and Sabu were scheduled to make a title defense on April 17, but Sabu was suspended by ECW before the match occurred.[56] 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.[57] After losing the Tag Team titles, Van Dam focused on defending the Television title.[56] He entered into a rivalry with Jerry Lynn against whom he defended the Television title at Hardcore Heaven in a "no time limit" match.[58] 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.[58] 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.[59] RVD got a big victory during a title defense against Sabu at Guilty as Charged.[60][61] 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 ECW's most lucrative pay-per-view main event, and Heyman was depending on it to bring an influx of badly needed finances, but the match never occurred because Van Dam suffered a broken ankle during a successful title defense against Rhino on January 29.[60][62] 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.[60][63] Van Dam feuded with Anton and took his revenge at Heat Wave by defeating Anton after a Van Terminator.[60][64] Van Dam then attempted to exact revenge on Rhino for forcing his injury. He received 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.[60] 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.[60][65]
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.[60] He appeared at ECW's final pay-per-view event Guilty as Charged, where he defeated Jerry Lynn.[66][67] This was Van Dam's last appearance in ECW, as ECW only held two more shows after the pay-per-view.
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.[68][69] 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.[68][69]
Despite being a heel, Van Dam was popular with the WWF fans, who were aware of his reputation in ECW. After defeating Jeff Hardy for the WWF Hardcore Championship at Invasion,[68][70][71] 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.[68][72] Van Dam lost the Hardcore Title to Hardy on the August 13 episode of Raw,[73] but regained the title from Hardy at SummerSlam.[71][74] 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.[68][75]
Van Dam became a face but lost the Hardcore Championship to The Undertaker at Vengeance.[76][77] He then entered into a rivalry with William Regal over Regal's Intercontinental title.[78] On the February 25 episode of Raw, Van Dam defeated Lance Storm and Big Show in a triple threat match to become the #1 contender to the Intercontinental title.[78][79] At WrestleMania X8, RVD faced Regal for the Intercontinental title and won the match after he hit Regal with a Five-Star Frog Splash.[78][80][81]
Van Dam after winning the Intercontinental Championship at
WrestleMania X8.
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.[82][83] After he defended his title successfully against Booker T, Eddie Guerrero returned to the WWF and attacked Van Dam.[82][84] He started a feud with Eddie Guerrero over the Intercontinental title. At Backlash, Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Title to Guerrero.[82][85] 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.[82][86] At Judgment Day, Van Dam failed to win the Intercontinental Title in another rematch.[82][87] 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.[82][88] On the May 27 episode of Raw, Van Dam defeated Eddie Guerrero in a ladder match for the Intercontinental Title.[82][89][90]
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.[82][91][92] 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 episode of Raw, Van Dam lost the Intercontinental title to Chris Benoit.[82][93]
RVD as Intercontinental Champion
At SummerSlam, Van Dam won his third WWE Intercontinental Championship by defeating Benoit in a rematch for the title.[82][94][95] As Benoit brought the title to SmackDown when he switched brands shortly after winning it, RVD brought the Intercontinental Title back to Raw.[82] On the August 26 episode 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.[71][82][96] On the September 9 episode 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.[82][97]
Van Dam started feuding with the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. On the September 16 episode of Raw, Van Dam lost the Intercontinental title to Chris Jericho after interference by Triple H.[82][98] At Unforgiven, Van Dam faced Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Due to Ric Flair's interference, Van Dam lost the match.[82][99] At No Mercy, Van Dam got his revenge on Flair by defeating him.[82][100] 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.[82][101]
Van Dam appeared on the World Heavyweight Championship scene and also formed a tag team with Kane in October 2002.[82] Van Dam defeated Jericho and Booker T in a Triple Threat match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship.[82][102] On the November 25 episode of Raw, Van Dam faced Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship. Michaels was disqualified after Triple H hit RVD with a Pedigree.[82][103] On the December 2 episode 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.[82][104]
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.[105] On the March 31 episode 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.[106][107] At Backlash, Van Dam and Kane retained the titles against The Dudley Boyz with Morley as the special guest referee.[108] At Insurrextion, Van Dam and Kane defended the World Tag Team title successfully against La Résistance,[109][110] before losing the title to La Résistance at Bad Blood.[109][111]
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.[109] On the August 18 episode 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.[112] Their rivalry led to a No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam, which Kane won.[109][113] On the September 8 episode 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.[109][114]
In September 2003, Van Dam started feuding with both Christian and Chris Jericho over Christian's Intercontinental Title. On the September 15 episode 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.[109][115] At Unforgiven in a triple threat match between Jericho, Christian, and Van Dam, Christian retained his title.[109][116][117] Van Dam, however, defeated Christian in a ladder match on the September 29 episode of Raw to win the Intercontinental Championship for a fourth time.[118]
Van Dam entered into a rivalry with Chris Jericho in October 2003, and the two faced each other in several tag team matches.[116] On the October 27 episode 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.[109][116][119] 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.[116][119][120]
At Survivor Series, Van Dam was pinned by Randy Orton during his traditional elimination match.[109][121] As a result, Orton and Van Dam started feuding with each other over Van Dam's Intercontinental title.[109] Van Dam lost the Intercontinental title to Orton at Armageddon after interference from Ric Flair.[109][116][122] Van Dam went on to feud with both Orton and Evolution. On the January 12, 2004 episode of Raw, Van Dam faced Orton in a rematch for the Intercontinental title but lost the match.[123][124]
Van Dam formed a tag team with Booker T. The two teamed for the first time on the January 19 episode 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.[123][125] On the February 16 episode of Raw, Booker T and Van Dam defeated Evolution members Ric Flair and Batista to win the World Tag Team Championship.[123][126] 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.[123][127] On the March 22 episode of Raw, Booker T and Van Dam lost the World Tag Team Championship back to Evolution.[123][128]
On March 22, Van Dam was drafted from Raw to SmackDown!.[129] 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.[129][130] 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.[129][131] On the July 1 episode of SmackDown!, Van Dam and Duprée lost to Booker in a number one contender's triple threat match.[129][132] 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.[129][133]
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.[129][134] On the December 9 episode of SmackDown!, Van Dam and Mysterio defeated Duprée and Suzuki to win the WWE Tag Team Championship,[135] and retained the title in a rematch at Armageddon.[129][136] 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 episode of SmackDown!, "injuring" Van Dam in the process.[137][138] On January 27, Van Dam underwent reconstructive knee surgery under Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.[116][137]
Van Dam during his ring entrance at WrestleMania 23
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.[139] 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.[140] 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 episode 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 underneath the ring 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. At Vengeance Van Dam defeated Edge to retain the WWE Title despite interference by Lita. 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).[141]
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.[142] 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.
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.[143][144]
Van Dam as No Limits Wrestling (NLW) Champion at
American Wrestling Rampage.
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.
| “ |
I definitely would consider them. I would weight out everything and decide what really is the best thing to do. When I knew that I was not going to re-sign with WWE, which was around WrestleMania time when I knew for sure that I was going to stick to that plan, my first thoughts were, “OK, well there’s this TNA.” I think that’s pretty funny even imagining Vince giving in to something like that for that reason. One thing that’s for sure is that WWE and I do have a good-faith understanding that if and when I’m ready to return that I’ll be talking to them. They look forward and hope that we’ll be doing business again. They hope it’s real soon. Honestly, I’m free as can be. I would also consider the lighter schedule from another company. But, honestly, giving up the prestige of the WWE would be something that I would look at as a downward move. I don’t fit with the formula – I never have. I’ve never tried to be like anybody else. I’m a non-conformist in every way, and when it comes to wrestling, that’s certainly true, too. If I won on my way out and you’re not supposed to do that, that’s just another example of how I’m one of a kind.[145] |
” |
While not under contract, Van Dam made an unannounced return on the 15th Anniversary Raw in December 2007, squashing Santino Marella with a Five–Star Frog Splash.[144][146] He made a similarly unannounced appearance at the 2009 Royal Rumble but did not win.[144][147] He returned to the independent circuit 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.[citation needed] On August 14, 2008 he won a triple threat match at the Inoki Genome Federation in Japan after defeating Kendo Kashin and Necro Butcher.[1]
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.[148] 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.[149]
On January 4, 2011, Van Dam travelled to Japan with other TNA wrestlers to take part New Japan Pro Wrestling's (NJPW) fifth annual Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome, where he defeated Toru Yano in a hardcore match.[150][151] 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.[152]
On March 8, 2010, Van Dam made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at the promotion's Monday night episode of Impact!, defeating Sting. Then just seconds after his debut victory Sting attacked him with his signature baseball bat.[153] RVD got his revenge on Sting the following week by attacking him during his entrance.[154] On the March 22 episode of Impact! RVD teamed with Jeff Hardy in a tag team match, where they defeated Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm).[155] 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.[156] On the April 5 episode 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.[157] At Lockdown Team Hogan (Van Dam, Abyss, Jeff Jarrett and Jeff Hardy) defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm).[158]
The night after Lockdown on the April 19 episode 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 .[159] After succeeding in his first televised title defense against Desmond Wolfe, Styles attacked Van Dam, announcing the invocation of the rematch clause for Sacrifice.[160] At Sacrifice Van Dam defeated Styles in a rematch.[161] The following month at Slammiversary VIII Van Dam retained his title against Sting in a rematch of his TNA debut.[162] At Victory Road Van Dam defeated Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson in a four–way match to retain the World Heavyweight Championship.[163] On the following episode 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.[164][165][166] The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice.[167] 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.[168] 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.[169][170] 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 episode of Impact!.[171][172][173] In reality, Van Dam was running out of dates per year on his contract and was therefore taken off television.[174]
Van Dam returned via telephone interview on the September 16 episode of Impact! and announced that he would return to the Impact! Zone the following week, against his doctor's orders.[175] 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.[176] 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.[177] On the October 21 episode 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.[178] 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.[179][180] At the pay–per–view Van Dam defeated Dreamer and afterwards made peace with him.[181] On the following episode of Impact! Rhino turned heel by attacking Van Dam and Dreamer, revealing himself as the traitor Van Dam had been looking for.[182] At Final Resolution Van Dam defeated Rhino in a First Blood match.[183] 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.[184] The following month at Against All Odds Van Dam defeated Matt Hardy in a rematch.[185] On the following episode of Impact!, Van Dam finally received his shot at Jeff Hardy and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was unable to regain the title.[186] 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.[187] 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.[188] The following month at Sacrifice, Van Dam again failed to regain the title, this time in a singles match with Sting.[189]
On July 10 at Destination X, Van Dam defeated longtime rival Jerry Lynn in a singles match.[190] 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.[191] On the August 18 episode of Impact Wrestling, Lynn cost Van Dam another Bound for Glory Series match against A.J. Styles in similar fashion.[192] On the September 1 episode of Impact Wrestling, Lynn turned on Van Dam, costing him his match with Gunner and, in the process, eliminating him from the finals of the Bound for Glory Series.[193] The following week Lynn explained his turn by claiming that he was tired of being in Van Dam's shadow.[194] On October 16 at Bound for Glory, Van Dam defeated Lynn in a Full Metal Mayhem match.[195]
On the October 27 episode of Impact Wrestling, Van Dam defeated Christopher Daniels by disqualification after Daniels hit him with a toolbox.[196] On the November 10 episode of Impact Wrestling, Van Dam prevented Daniels from using a screwdriver to illegally defeat A.J. Styles in a singles match which would cost Daniels the match.[197] On November 13 at Turning Point, Van Dam defeated Daniels in a No Disqualification match.[198] In retaliation, Daniels cost him his match for the TNA Television Championship against Robbie E on the December 1 episode of Impact Wrestling.[199] On December 11 at Final Resolution, Van Dam defeated Daniels again to end their feud.[200]
On the January 5, 2012, edition of Impact Wrestling, Van Dam wrestled Gunner to a double countout. After the match, Gunner made a failed attempt to piledrive Van Dam into the concrete floor after Van Dam back body dropped him onto it.[201] Three days later at Genesis, Van Dam was defeated by Gunner and was afterwards stretchered backstage, after taking a DDT onto the concrete floor.[202] After a near three month absence Van Dam resumed working live events in late March.[203][204] Van Dam returned to Impact Wrestling on April 12, being revealed as the fifth member of Garett Bischoff's team at Lockdown.[205] Three days later at the pay-per-view, Team Garett defeated a team led by Eric Bischoff.[206] On the following episode of Impact Wrestling, Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson in a three-way match to become the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship.[207] Van Dam received his title opportunity in a ladder match on May 13 at Sacrifice, but was defeated by the defending champion, Bobby Roode.[208]
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. In 2011 he worked alongside former WWE wrestler Dave Batista in a movie titled Wrong Side of Town which was released the following year.[144]
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.[209]
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.
Van Dam started up RVD Radio on October 8, 2008 with the help of Brett Cohen, a producer for BlogTalkRadio. The episodes have changed between an hour and two hour long, initially held weekly but now sporadically held at www.blogtalkradio.com/rvdradio. Guests include Sonya Van Dam, Sabu, Dr.Shawn Stasiak, Bret Hart, Chris Masters, Booker T, BTR Producer Nikki Starr, Bill Alfonso, Officer X, Kid Kash, Bruce Jingles, Justin McCully, Paul London and Hulk Hogan.[citation needed]
Szatkowski is of Polish ancestry.[citation needed] Szatkowski is married to Sonya.[210] 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.[211] She made a full recovery.[212]
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.[213] 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.[citation needed] The lift was approved by the International All-Around Weightlifting Association in 1998, and Szatkowski holds the current record, 166.5 lb (76 kg).[citation needed] 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.[citation needed]
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.[214] Both Szatkowski and Brunk were released after posting bail, and were scheduled to appear in Ironton Municipal Court on July 6, 2006.[215] 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.[216]
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.[214][217]
Van Dam performing the
Five-Star Frog Splash in 1999
- All Star Wrestling
- ASW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[210]
- American Wrestling Rampage
- AWR World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[148][223]
- NLW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)[224]
- International Wrestling Federation
- IWF Television Championship (1 time)[210]
- National Wrestling Council
- NWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bobby Bradley[210]
- Peach State Wrestling
- PSW Cordele City Heavyweight Championship (2 times, first)[210][227]
- South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
- SAPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chaz Rocco[210]
- World Stars of Wrestling
- WSW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time, current)
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.
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| Persondata |
| Name |
Van Dam, Rob |
| Alternative names |
Szatkowski, Robert; Robbie V |
| Short description |
American film actor and professional wrestler |
| Date of birth |
December 18, 1970 |
| Place of birth |
Battle Creek, Michigan |
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