ECW is a professional wrestling television program for World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), based on the independent Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) promotion that lasted from 1992 to 2001. The show's name also referred to the ECW brand, in which WWE employees were assigned to work and perform, complementary to WWE's other brands, Raw and SmackDown. It debuted on June 13, 2006 on Sci Fi in the United States and ran for close to four years until it aired its final episode on February 16, 2010 on the rebranded Syfy. It was replaced the following week with WWE NXT.^[3]

Show history[link]

Launch on Sci Fi/Syfy[link]

WWE acquired Extreme Championship Wrestling and its video library in 2003 and later began reintroducing ECW through content from the ECW library and a series books, which included the release of The Rise and Fall of ECW documentary.^[4] The enormous popularity of ECW merchandise prompted WWE to organize ECW One Night Stand, an ECW reunion pay-per-view in 2005.^[4] The financial and critical success of the event motivated WWE to organize a second One Night Stand the following year. With rejuvenated interest in the ECW product, WWE began exploring the possibility of reviving the promotion full time. On May 26, 2006, WWE announced the launch of ECW as a stand-alone brand, congruous to Raw and SmackDown!, with its own show on Sci Fi (now Syfy).^[5] Despite initial concerns that professional wrestling would not be accepted by Sci Fi's demographic, network President Bonnie Hammer stated that she believed ECW would fit the channel's theme of "stretching the imagination".^{[6][dead link]} Sci Fi (now known as Syfy) is owned by NBC Universal, parent company of USA Network and exclusive cable broadcaster of Raw. ECW's weekly series was originally given a thirteen episode run as a "summer series" on Sci Fi. The premiere received a 2.79 rating, making it the highest rated show on cable in its time slot.^[7] Because of its good ratings it was granted an extended run through the end of 2007.^[8] On October 23, 2007,the network renewed the series through 2008.^[9]

Original format (2006)[link]

The ECW brand was initially produced differently from WWE's other brands. For televised events, the main ring-facing cameras were placed on a different location in the arena while the wrestling ring itself featured an ECW logo on the mat and blank turnbuckle covers. The male performers were referred to "Extremists" as opposed to "Superstars" while female performers were called "Vixens" as opposed to Divas. However, the brand steadily began being produced following the same format of the other brands, and as opposed to the original promotion, match rules, such as count outs and disqualifications, were now standard. Matches featuring the rule set of the original promotion were then classified as being contested under "Extreme Rules" and were only fought when specified. The only pay-per-view event hosted exclusively by the ECW brand since its launch was December to Dismember in December 2006. On March 14, 2007, before another one could be scheduled, WWE announced that all future pay-per-views would feature all three brands.^[10]

Former ECW owner Paul Heyman served as the on-air "ECW Representative" (a reference to how Heyman had been identified on Monday Night Raw back in 1997). According to an interview in the UK newspaper The Sun, Heyman wrote the brand's weekly scripts and submitted them to writers for possible changes, and then Vince McMahon for final approval. Following December to Dismember, Heyman was relieved from both his on and off-air duties with World Wrestling Entertainment.^[11]

Change in format (2007–2010)[link]

While the show started out a ratings success, it began drawing criticism from fans of the original ECW early on. This was most evident by the negative crowd reaction "old school" fans gave the main event of Batista vs. The Big Show at the August 1, 2006 show from Hammerstein Ballroom, which often held original ECW events while it was a company.^[12][13] After Heyman left in late 2006, there was no ECW authority figure until August 14, 2007, when Armando Estrada was announced as the General Manager.

On October 16, 2007, a "talent exchange" was started between the SmackDown and ECW brands, allowing their respective talent to appear on either brand.^[14][15] On May 6, 2008, ECW celebrated its 100th episode on Sci Fi.^[16] On June 3, 2008 Estrada was replaced by Theodore Long as General Manager of ECW. On the September 8, 2008 edition of Raw it was announced a "talent exchange" was started between the Raw and ECW brands, allowing their respective talent to appear on either brand. Following the 2009 WWE Draft, both of these talent exchanges were quietly dropped. ECW moved to 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central on September 30, 2008.^[17] ECW moved back to 10:00PM Eastern/9:00PM Central on May 5, 2009.^[18] On the April 7 edition of ECW it was announced that Theodore Long was returning to SmackDown to fulfill the role of General Manager. From this point the Interim General Manager was named as Tiffany who took over as full time General Manager on the June 30, 2009 episode.^[19] On July 7, 2009, the Sci Fi Channel renamed itself to "Syfy", prompting WWE to rename the show ECW on Syfy to reflect the changes.^[20][21] In 2009 a "superstar initiative" was established for the purpose of introducing new talent to WWE programming, mainly those from WWE's developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling to ECW's roster.^[21]

Cancellation and aftermath[link]

On February 2, 2010, WWE Chairman Vince McMahon announced that ECW would be going off the air and would be replaced with a new weekly program in its slot in which McMahon announced as "the next evolution of WWE; the next evolution of television history." It was later announced that the show would air its final episode on February 16, 2010. On the February 9, 2010 episode of ECW, the new show's name was announced as WWE NXT.^[22] With the ECW brand permanently disbanded, the ECW roster became free agents.^[23]

Online presence[link]

At ECW's launch, WWE.com introduced Hardcore Hangover, a video feature which allowed fans in the United States and Canada to stream or download video footage from the weekly show.^[24] On October 16, 2007 it was replaced by a new feature which made full episodes of the show available for streaming on WWE.com the day after they aired. After gathering a list of names from fans and conducting an online poll, the feature was named ECW X-Stream on October 31, 2007.^[25] Past episodes of ECW are now viewable on the video streaming website Hulu along with episodes of Smackdown! and NXT.^[26]

Production[link]

ECW's version of the universal WWE HD set used from January 22, 2008-February 16, 2010.

ECW brand shows were held in large arenas as a part of the taping schedules of WWE's other brands. This was in sharp contrast to the original Extreme Championship Wrestling which ran most of its events in smaller venues.^[27] The show generally aired live on Tuesdays directly before — when touring the west coast — or after SmackDown was taped,^[28][29] though it was also recorded and placed on a broadcast delay until later in the night depending on what circumstances dictated.^[30]

ECW's initial theme song was "Bodies" by Drowning Pool, which had been used by WWE for Extreme Championship Wrestling before the establishment of the brand. "Don't Question My Heart" by Saliva featuring Brent Smith, a new version of the song originally performed by Kyle Morrison of the band Shattersphere, was later used to open ECW for the rest of the program's run. The songs "Famous" by Puddle of Mudd was used for one week, and a censored version of "This Is The New Shit" by Marylin Manson was used for a few weeks.^[31] On January 22, 2008, ECW began broadcasting in HD, along with a new HD set, which is shared among all three WWE brands.^[32]

Special episodes[link]

On-air personalities[link]

Authority figures[link]

Commentators[link]

Ring announcers[link]

Recurring segments[link]

International broadcasters[link]

In addition to being broadcast on Syfy, Mun2, and Universal HD in the United States, ECW was broadcast on a number of channels in many different countries.

See also[link]

Professional wrestling portal

• Extreme Championship Wrestling
• WWE Raw
• WWE SmackDown

References[link]

External links[link]

• ECW at the Internet Movie Database
• ECW at TV.com

Rob Van Dam
Van Dam in February 2005.
Ring name(s)	Robbie V[1][2] Rob Van Dam[1][2] Rob Szatkowski[2] Rob Zakowski[2]
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1][3]
Billed weight	237 lb (108 kg)[3]
Born	(1970-12-18) December 18, 1970 (age 41)[1] Battle Creek, Michigan[1][2]
Resides	Los Angeles, California[1]
Billed from	Battle Creek, Michigan[4]
Trained by	The Sheik[1][2]
Debut	1990[1][2]

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.

Early life[link]

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]

Professional wrestling career[link]

Early career (1990–1995)[link]

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]

Extreme Championship Wrestling[link]

Debut (1996)[link]

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]

Teaming with Sabu (1996–1998)[link]

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]

RVD as both ECW World Tag Team Champion with Sabu behind him, and ECW World Television Champion.

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]

World Television Champion (1998–2001)[link]

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.

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment[link]

The Invasion (2001)[link]

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]

Intercontinental Champion (2001–2002)[link]

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]

Teaming and feuding with Kane (2002–2003)[link]

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]