Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970), better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD), is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE under a Legends contract.
Known for his unique ring style—which includes his variety of kicks, acrobatic movements—and flexibility, Van Dam gained mainstream popularity in ECW during the latter half of the 1990s. During his time in ECW, he was managed by Bill Alfonso and had feuds with Jerry Lynn and Sabu, also forming a tag team with the latter. They won the ECW World Tag Team Championship twice. On April 4, 1998, Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the ECW Television Championship, a title he held for 700 days until he vacated the championship due to an injury on March 4, 2000.
When ECW closed in 2001, Van Dam signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and was involved in the Invasion storyline, where several former World Championship Wrestling and ECW wrestlers joined forces against WWF wrestlers. After the Invasion ended, Van Dam wrestled the following years as singles and tag team wrestler, winning the WWE Hardcore Championship, WWE Intercontinental Championship, WWE European Championship, WWE Tag Team Championship and World Tag Team Championships. At WrestleMania 22, Rob Van Dam won the Money in the Bank ladder match. After this victory, he challenged WWE Champion John Cena to a title match at One Night Stand, an ECW-themed PPV. At the event, Van Dam defeated Cena and won his first world championship. Two days later, Paul Heyman awarded Van Dam with the reactivated ECW World Heavyweight Championship making him the only man to hold both titles at the same time.
After leaving WWE in 2007, Van Dam worked on the independent circuit until he signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) - in 2010. A few months after his debut, he defeated AJ Styles to win the TNA World Championship. He would also appear for Lucha Libre AAA World Wide and challenged Dr. Wagner Jr. for the newly created AAA Latin American Championship at Triplemania XIX, albeit in a losing effort. He remained under contract with TNA until 2013, leaving the company after a run with the TNA X Division Championship. After departing TNA, he returned to WWE, where he worked for one year. Then, he would stay in the independent circuit, also wrestling from 2019 to 2020 with TNA (at the time known as Impact Wrestling). In 2021, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and the following year he was inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame. Between ECW, WWE and TNA, Van Dam won 21 total championships, including three world championships, and is only one of two wrestlers in history (alongside Bobby Lashley) to have held the WWE, ECW, and TNA world championships.
In addition, he headlined many pay-per-view events throughout three decades between the 1990s and 2010s, including the 1998 edition of November to Remember (ECW's flagship event) and the 2011 edition of TripleMania (AAA's flagship event). In 2002, Van Dam was ranked the number one pro wrestler in the world by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He was voted "Most Popular Wrestler" by readers of the magazine in 2001 and again in 2002. WWE named him the greatest star in ECW history in 2014.
Early life Szatkowski grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan, and graduated from Pennfield Senior High School. Szatkowski 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.Ted DiBiase: The Million Dollar Man, p.1, Ted DiBiase with Tom Caiazzo, Pocket Books, New York, NY, 2008, 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. He was also in attendance at WrestleMania III as stated on The Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology DVD.
Professional wrestling career
Early career (1990–1992) Szatkowski began training as a wrestler under The Sheik in 1989. He made his wrestling debut in 1990, defeating Dango Nguyen. 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 championship, the SAPW Tag Team Championship, in July 1992 with Chaz Rocco. He also wrestled in several independent promotions across America, and in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he challenged for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on several occasions. In the World Wrestling Federation in 1992 he wrestled as an enhancement talent against The Mountie under the ring name Matt Burn.
World Championship Wrestling (1992–1993) Szatkowski signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1992, and was dubbed "Robbie V" by booker Ron Slinker upon his arrival since Bill Watts did not like the name Rob Van Dam. Robbie V made his WCW debut on the January 23, 1993, episode of WCW Saturday Night as a fan favorite, defeating enhancement talent Pat Rose. The following month, Robbie V entered a tournament for the vacant WCW World Television Championship, defeating Shanghai Pierce in the first round but losing to Vinnie Vegas in the second round, which aired on the March 20 episode of WCW WorldWide. His last televised match was on the May 22 episode of Saturday Night, a tag team loss with Erik Watts against Shanghai Pierce and Tex Slazenger. In February and March 1993, Szatkowski wrestled in Japan for All Japan Pro Wrestling; upon his return to WCW, Ole Anderson had replaced Bill Watts as booker. Szatkowski left WCW in May 1993, feeling he was "lost in the shuffle". and being "jobbed out".
All Japan Pro Wrestling (1993–1997)
From 1993 to 1997, Van Dam made 10 tours of Japan with All Japan Pro Wrestling (AJPW). While wrestling for AJPW, he was advised by promoter Giant Baba to make himself stand out, which inspired Van Dam to begin airbrushing his singlets. His first tour took place in February and March 1993 as part of the annual Excite Series, where his opponents included Dory Funk Jr., Mighty Inoue and members of the famed Super Generation Army stable such as Mitsuharu Misawa, Toshiaki Kawada, Kenta Kobashi and Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.
Van Dam returned to AJPW in February in March 1994 as part of that year's Excite Series, facing opponents like Jun Akiyama, Yoshinari Ogawa, Masao Inoue, Mighty Inoue, Tamon Honda and the aforementioned members of the Super Generation Army.
Van Dam made a third tour with AJPW in February and March 1995, again as part of the Excite Series, facing opponents including the Can-Am Express, the Holy Demon Army, and the Super Generation Army; during this tour, he teamed with Bobby Bradley as "Aerial Assault". Van Dam returned to AJPW in May and June 1995 as part of the Super Power Series, again facing the Can-Am Express and the Super Generation Army in a series of tag team matches. In his final match of the tour, he unsuccessfully challenged World Junior Heavyweight Champion Danny Kroffat in the Nippon Budokan. He wrestled his fourth tour with AJPW in October 1995 as part of the October Giant Series. Van Dam wrestled his fifth tour of the year with AJPW in November and December 1995 as part of the World's Strongest Tag Determination League, where he teamed with Johnny Smith. Van Dam and Smith finished last out of 10 teams, defeating Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori but losing their other eight matches. He'd also compete in singles matches against opponents like Satoru Asako and Kentaro Shiga
Van Dam returned to AJPW for a sixth tour in February and March 1996 as part of the annual Excite series, again facing the Can-Am Express, Holy Demon Army, and Super Generation Army. He returned for a seventh tour in June and July 1996 as part of the Summer Action Series; during this tour, he teamed with Maunakea Mossman to unsuccessfully challenge Jun Akiyama and Takao Omori for the All Asia Tag Team Championship. In September and October 1996, he made an eighth tour as part of the October Giant Series; during this tour, he unsuccessfully challenged World Junior Heavyweight Champion Tsuyoshi Kikuchi.
Van Dam returned to AJPW for a ninth tour in January 1997 as part of the New Year Giant Series, during which he mainly teamed with Sabu; towards the end of the tour, Van Dam and Sabu unsuccessfully challenged Akiyama and Omori for the All Asia Tag Team Championship in Korakuen Hall. In May and June 1997, Van Dam returned to AJPW for a tenth tour as part of the Super Power Series, during which he unsuccessfully challenged World Junior Heavyweight Champion Yoshinari Ogawa.
Extreme Championship Wrestling (1996–2001)
Rivalry and alliance with Sabu (1996–1998)
In early 1996, Van Dam signed with promoter Paul Heyman's Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), defeating Axl Rotten in his debut match at House Party. Van Dam's mannerisms were those of a stoner, and he became a face due to his laid-back attitude and unorthodox style. On March 30, he faced 2 Cold Scorpio in a match for the World Television Championship. The match ended in a draw with 2 Cold Scorpio retaining the title.
Van Dam gained attention following a series of matches with long-time rival Sabu, which began with a match at Hostile City Showdown, won by Sabu. After the match, Van Dam declined to show proper respect for his opponent, leading to a rematch at A Matter of Respect, which was won by Van Dam. Per the pre-match stipulation, Sabu then offered Van Dam a handshake, but was again ignored. Instead, Van Dam left the ring and turned heel under the management of Bill Alfonso. At Hardcore Heaven, Van Dam faced his rival Sabu once again, in a match to prove who was the better man, but Sabu won the match. The two faced each other yet again in a stretcher match at The Doctor Is In. Van Dam lost the match after missing a Plancha to the outside, hitting the railing and falling onto the stretcher. He was quickly rolled out.
At Natural Born Killaz, Van Dam defeated Doug Furnas in a match. Post-match, Van Dam offered Furnas a handshake, but Furnas instead hit Van Dam with a short-arm clothesline, starting a rivalry between the two. After his rivalry with Furnas expanded to also include Dan Kroffat, Van Dam wanted a tag team partner of his own. After losing to long-time rival Sabu once again at Unlucky Lottery, the two united and formed what was to become one of the most successful tag teams in ECW history. They feuded with Furnas and Kroffat defeating them at When Worlds Collide II and High Incident.
Van Dam and Sabu next feuded with The Eliminators, John Kronus and Perry Saturn. On November 1, the two teams fought to a draw. Van Dam then feuded with Taz, to whom he lost at Holiday Hell via knockout. Sabu and Van Dam continued to feud with The Eliminators for the World Tag Team Championship into 1997. At Crossing the Line Again and Cyberslam, the teams faced off for the ECW World Tag Team Championship in a pair of matches, both of which were won by The Eliminators. At CyberSlam, the two teams faced each other for the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, in which The Eliminators again retained their title.
At ECW's first pay-per-view event Barely Legal, Van Dam defeated Lance Storm as a last-minute replacement for the injured Chris Candido. Immediately following the match, Van Dam expressed his distaste for being chosen as a back-up for "some guy who couldn't even lace his boots." Van Dam delivered a speech directed towards Paul Heyman, and not being originally booked on the show was a point of contention between Van Dam and Heyman for a time.