Debuting in 1990, the mid-to-late 1990s Rob Van Dam proved to be one of the most impressive performers in the ring, establishing a reputation for high-flying martial arts-inspired offense in extreme championship wrestling. Once he moved from ECW to WWE, RVD rose from cult phenomenon to superstardom, ultimately rising to the top of the company by capturing the WWE Championship.
It’s been an incredible run for Rob Van Dam and he still seems to be going strong, so let’s take a look back at RVD’s entire career through 10 pivotal photos. These images span the gamut of RVD’s time in wrestling, from his first appearance to his last big win.
10 Kissing Ted DiBiase’s feet
Interestingly, Rob Van Dam’s first television exposure was not as an impressive flyer, but as a fan chosen for a segment. In 1987, WWE heel Ted DiBiase regularly pulled fans out of the audience to cheapen them for money, and in late June of that year, he picked out a 16-year-old from the Battle Creek, Michigan, crowd. to kiss her bare feet. That teenager was a young Rob Van Dam, who received a crumpled $100 bill for his efforts and the segment was later aired on an episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge.
9 TV exposure
Five years later, Rob Van Dam would make his big televised professional wrestling debut, albeit under a different name, working as “Matt Burns” in a squash match against The Mountie in WWE in 1992. Later that year, he would sign with WCW, debuting. in early 1993, not as Rob Van Dam, but under the modified ring name of “Robbie V”. His run with WCW would only last about five months, but he would enter a tournament to capture the vacant television title.
8 Rivals and partners with Sabu
One of the most crucial figures in Rob Van Dam’s career, especially in the 1990s, is Sabu, with whom Van Dam trained under Sabu’s uncle Ed Farhat, the original Sheikh. In 1996, RVD debuted for ECW, impressing fans while engaging in a long-running rivalry with Sabu, where the latter was never able to earn Van Dam’s respect.
Eventually, Rob Van Dam approached Sabu to become his partner, and the two ended up becoming a ridiculously successful tag team, holding the Tag Team Championship twice for a total of 334 days.
7 “Mr. Monday night”
In May 1997, WWE began a storyline in which ECW stars invaded WWE and feuded with Jerry “The King” Lawler. Rob Van Dam would not only gain major exposure on wrestling television, but would turn heel in ECW, adopting the moniker “Mr. Monday Night” (a reference to monday night raw) and claim that he deserved to be in WWE, not this small-time promotion, angering ECW’s intensely loyal fans. While the day would change depending on which show he was on, “Mr. Monday Night” would become one of RVD’s defining nicknames.
6 Intercontinental Champion
After ECW’s demise in 2001, Rob Van Dam eventually joined WWE, at first as part of the more famous ECW/WCW invasion storyline, but soon became a popular baby-faced singles star. capturing a variety of midcard titles. Most importantly, RVD would go on to become a six-time Intercontinental Champion, winning his first time in a match with William Regal at wrestling 18. Over the course of his six careers, he feuded with such notables as Eddie Guerrero, Brock Lesnar, Christian and Chris Jericho.
5 WWE and ECW Champion
in 2006 WrestleMania 22Rob Van Dam won the Money in the Bank briefcase and chose to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship at the 2006 ECW Nostalgia pay-per-view. one night standing. There, in front of a legendarily hostile crowd at Hammerstein Ballroom, RVD managed to defeat the face of WWE and not only won the WWE Championship, but the recently revived ECW Championship as well. Van Dam’s reign with both belts would be cut short due to some run-ins with the law, but the win was a big win for RVD.
4 Impact World Champion
After leaving WWE in 2007, Rob Van Dam would eventually make his way to rival Impact Wrestling in 2010, where he would face Sting in his debut match and ultimately defeat AJ Styles to capture the Impact World Championship. During this run, he would also participate in an Impact-produced ECW nostalgia show, 2010. harsh justice.
RVD would eventually vacate the world title, but would go on to capture the X Division title in 2012, holding it for 137 days before handing it over to Kenny King.
3 Returning to WWE
In the summer of 2013, Rob Van Dam would re-sign with WWE, making his return in the Money in the Bank ladder match he helped make famous. From there, RVD would function as a mid-card babyface, most notably feuding with Alberto Del Rio for the secondary title, the World Heavyweight Championship, in a rivalry that involved Van Dam stealing Del Rio’s personal ring announcer. Ricardo Rodriguez. He has also feuded with Cesaro and Jack Swagger, and competed in several multi-man matches, including the 2014 Money in the Bank match.
two hardworking veteran
Rob Van Dam left WWE once again in 2014, but it wasn’t the end of his in-ring career. The year 2019 marked his return to Impact Wrestling, where he had matches with the Lucha Brothers, The North and Sami Callihan. Notably, he would also be a source of controversy during this run, such as a racy segment with his real-life girlfriend, Katie Forbes, on an episode of impact wrestling banned the show on Twitch. RVD left Impact in 2020, but has continued to wrestle, most notably in a few matches for Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2022.
1 hall of fame member
While he hasn’t wrestled for the company since 2014, Rob Van Dam has still made appearances for WWE, including on the 2019 “Raw Reunion” episode of WWE. Raw. In 2021, WWE decided to celebrate RVD’s contributions by inducting him into the Hall of Fame alongside legends like Molly Holly and Kane, and Eric Bischoff. In particular, Rob Van Dam’s speech at the induction ceremony lasted nearly 30 minutes, which was well received by fans, but forced Molly Holly to cut her speech short.