Rob Szatkowski
File:RobVanDamWWE.jpg
Born	(1970-12-18) December 18, 1970 (age 53) Battle Creek, Michigan
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)	Robbie V Rob Szatkowski Rob Van Dam
Billed height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Billed weight	235 lb (108 kg)
Billed from	Battle Creek, Michigan
Trained by	The Sheik
Debut	1990

Robert Alexander "Rob" Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970), is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rob Van Dam (abbreviated to RVD). Van Dam is currently signed to World Wrestling Entertainment wrestling on its ECW brand.

Career

Early career

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

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

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

He became internationally known while working for ECW. Van Dam was instantly known after a series of hardcore, high-flying matches (beginning April 20, 1996 at Hostile City Showdown) with long-time rival Sabu when Van Dam failed to show proper respect for his opponent. Eventually, Van Dam united with Sabu under the management of Bill Alfonso and formed one of the most successful tag teams in ECW history. At ECW's first pay-per-view Barely Legal, Van Dam wrestled Lance Storm as a last-minute replacement for the injured Chris Candido. Not being originally booked on the show was a point of contention between Van Dam and Heyman for a time.

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

Van Dam's popularity culminated in a record 23-month reign as ECW World Television Champion, including one title defense against Jerry Lynn at Hardcore Heaven 1999 that was deemed so good that Paul Heyman aired it on ECW's debut on TNN in place of a shoot promo about TNN that he was planning, but was unhappy with.

Van Dam suffered a broken ankle just weeks before he was scheduled to perform in a "TV champion vs. World champion" pay-per-view main event. Many ECW fans have cited this event as the beginning of the end for the promotion. This match would potentially have been the most lucrative PPV main event in company history and Heyman was depending on this mega-match to bring an influx of badly-needed cash.

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

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

Several months after the closure of ECW, Van Dam was signed to a short term contract by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF - later WWE) in order to take part in The Invasion, a storyline that saw former WCW and ECW wrestlers form an alliance in a bid to take over the WWF. Along with fellow ECW alumnus Tommy Dreamer, Van Dam returned to WWF television on the July 9, 2001 episode of RAW in Atlanta, Georgia, attacking WWF wrestlers Kane and Chris Jericho.

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

At the 2001 Survivor Series on November 18, Van Dam and four other Alliance members (Steve Austin, Kurt Angle, Booker T, and Shane McMahon) faced five WWF wrestlers (The Rock, Chris Jericho, The Undertaker, Kane and The Big Show) in a match to determine the ownership of the WWF. The WWF team won, and the members of the Alliance were fired (kayfabe); however, as he held the WWF Hardcore Championship, Van Dam was able to retain his job. Van Dam eventually dropped the Hardcore Championship to The Undertaker at Vengeance 2001.

RAW brand

When the WWF (now renamed WWE) was divided into two "brands", RAW and SmackDown! in 2002, Van Dam was drafted to the RAW brand in the fourth round with the eighth overall pick. While there Van Dam would win the WWE Intercontinental Championship five times, participate in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series 2002, unify both the WWE European Championship and the WWF Hardcore Championship with the Intercontinental title and challenge The Undertaker for the WWE Undisputed Championship, on May 20, 2002, and was initially ruled the winner of the match, yet the match was continued after Ric Flair, WWE Raw General Manager at the time, told the referee to continue the match due to Undertaker's foot being in the ringrope, Undertaker would go onto win the match.link pic. He also challenged Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship, and formed tag teams with both Kane and Booker T, winning the World Tag Team Championship with each partner. His short term contract was extended into a multi-year contract that was renewed in 2005.

SmackDown! brand

On March 22, 2004, Van Dam was drafted from RAW to SmackDown!. Many questioned the logic behind this decision, as Van Dam ended up wrestling mid-card matches and soon was considered a threat to few in terms of a title-hunt. He made his SmackDown! debut on March 25, 2004, defeating Charlie Haas. While on SmackDown!, Van Dam teamed with Rey Mysterio (with whom he won the WWE Tag Team Championship) until suffering a knee injury in January 2005. To explain his absence in (kayfabe) the heel tag team of Doug and Danny Basham injured his knee on an episode of SmackDown!, resulting in Van Dam and Rey Mysterio losing the WWE Tag Team Championship as Van Dam had to be taken out of the arena, leaving Rey Mysterio alone. On January 27, 2005, Van Dam underwent reconstructive knee surgery under Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.

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

Return to RAW

On the June 27, 2005 episode of RAW, Van Dam (still healing) was drafted back to RAW in the 2005 draft lottery. He was introduced to RAW by Carlito, who insulted Van Dam before attacking him and assaulting his knee. Van Dam made his return to the ring over six months later at the 2006 Royal Rumble on January 29. He gained revenge on Carlito by eliminating him, but was in turn, and inadvertently, eliminated by Rey Mysterio. On the February 6, episode of RAW, Van Dam defeated Carlito in the first round of the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament. One week later, he defeated Chris Masters in the tournament semi-finals. On the February 20, 2006 episode of RAW, Van Dam and Big Show were defeated by Triple H in a triple threat match to determine the winner of the tournament and number one contender to the WWE Championship.

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

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

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

ECW brand

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

At ECW One Night Stand, the pay-per-view used to kick off the ECW brand, Van Dam defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship (his first World Title in his career). Throughout the match the ECW fans verbally abused Cena. Fans had hung a banner that said "If Cena Wins, We Riot" over the rafters, and ECW announcer Joey Styles said, "Here comes the riot!" when Cena appeared to have the match won. After two referees were knocked out Edge appeared from under the ring and interfered on behalf of Van Dam, spearing Cena through a table. Van Dam then hit a Five Star Frog Splash and the pinfall was counted by Paul Heyman, who was not a real referee, who suddenly ran down the aisle. On the following episode of RAW, Heyman confirmed that the title change was official (due to the match being held under ECW rules) and hinted that the WWE Championship would be renamed the ECW Championship at the debut of ECW on the Sci Fi Channel. However, on the first episode of ECW on Sci Fi, Van Dam was awarded the re-instated ECW World Championship by Heyman and subsequently announced that he would be keeping both titles, thus making him the first wrestler in history to have held both the WWE Championship and the ECW World Championship, and the only one to hold them at the same time. He was also the first ECW World Heavyweight Champion in five years since the revival.

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 on Sci Fi, he lost the ECW World Championship to The Big Show after Heyman turned on him; this incident would later be referred to as the South Philly Screwjob. Later on WWE.com, Heyman suspended Van Dam for 30 days without giving a reason. (In reality, WWE (legitimately) suspended Van Dam for 30 days as a result of his recent drug possession arrest (see below) ^[1]. He returned to house shows on August 5, and returned to television on August 8, attacking both Sabu and Kurt Angle during a match. His return to the ring came a week later, in a losing effort to Sabu in a ladder match for number one contendership to the ECW World Championship. On the October 17 episode of ECW, Van Dam defeated The Big Show in a non-title match to regain the number one contendership. On December 3, Van Dam was in the Elimination Chamber for the ECW World Championship at December to Dismember. He was eliminated 3rd from the chamber. Later in December, Van Dam would once again earn No.1 contendership to the ECW World Championship, but this time by a fan poll. Van Dam would go on to get three matches for the ECW World title against Bobby Lashley, the third being a triple threat match featuring Test, the first two going to a no-contest for injury and interference respectively, and the third being won by Lashley, who pinned Van Dam.

Rob Van Dam would later join the ECW Originals along with Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, and Sandman. The ECW Originals would then begin a feud with the New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von and Matt Striker). The two teams would face off at Wrestlemania 23 in which the ECW Originals won.

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

Rob Van Dam now has a (kayfabe) concussion, brought on during a match with Randy Orton.Cite error: A <ref> tag is missing the closing </ref> (see the help page). and attributes this to his mother's influence. Van Dam participated in amateur wrestling while in high school. He is the inventor of the Van Dam Lift, a weightlifting technique that involves performing a split (which he took up in his early teens) between two benches and lifting a dumbbell from the floor to the waist. The lift was approved by the International All-Around Weightlifting Association in 1998, and Van Dam holds the current record, 166.5 lb (76 kg).

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

2006 arrest

On July 3, 2006, The Ironton Tribune reported that Van Dam and Sabu (one of his colleagues) had been arrested on the previous evening on U.S. Route 52 in Hanging Rock, Ohio. Van Dam had been stopped for speeding by an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper, who discovered that Van Dam was in possession of 18 grams of marijuana and five Vicodin pills, while Sabu was in possession of drug paraphernalia and nine tablets of Testolactone. Both Van Dam and Sabu were released after posting bail, and were scheduled to appear in Ironton Municipal Court on July 6, 2006.^[2] On July 6, 2006, The Ironton Tribune reported that the court date for Van Dam and Sabu was in limbo, as their attorneys had asked for and were granted continuances. ^[3]

According to the WWE's "wellness" policy, a drug-related arrest can lead to that talent's immediate dismissal from the company. WWE Vice President of Talent Relations John Laurinaitis released a statement on WWE.com reporting that Van Dam and Sabu were still eligible to compete on the RAW and ECW tapings the following days while an investigation conducted by WWE was being undertaken. Van Dam was subsequently suspended without pay for 30 days, and an on-air segment on ECW on Sci Fi was scripted to relay this to the fans.^[4]

On August 31, 2006, Van Dam and Sabu appeared in court. Van Dam plead guilty to possessing marijuana and was fined $140 USD, while Sabu was fined $500 USD. ^[5]

References

• An interview with Rob Van Dam, conducted by Ken Tuccio (1)
• An interview with Rob Van Dam, conducted by Ken Tuccio (2)
• Rob Van Dam at Bodyslamming.com
• Rob Van Dam at UPW.com
• Rob Van Dam at UKEvents.net

External links

• WWE Profile
• The official website of Rob Van Dam
• Rob Van Dam at IMDb
• Template:Myspace