Rob Van Dam

Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling.

Van Dam gained mainstream popularity in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the latter half of the 1990s, where he became one of the most famous wrestlers in the industry. 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 would win 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 WCW 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 Hardcore, Intercontinental, European, Tag Team 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 Heavyweight Championship. He would also appear for AAA and even challenged Dr. Wagner Jr. for the inaugural 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 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, now 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.

Van Dam is one of the only two wrestlers in history to have held the WWE, ECW, and TNA world championships, alongside Bobby Lashley. 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.

Outside of professional wrestling, Van Dam has performed as an actor in a number of TV shows, including an episode of ''The X-Files''. He also starred in the 2010 movie ''Wrong Side of Town'' and the 2015 movie '' 3-Headed Shark Attack''.

Background

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. 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 (1990–1995)

Szatkowski 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 WWE 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 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 '' Saturday Night'' as a fan favorite, defeating enhancement talent Pat Rose. The following month, Robbie V entered a tournament for the vacant World Television Championship, defeating Shanghai Pierce in the first round but lost to Vinnie Vegas in the second round, which aired on the March 20 episode of '' 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.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

Storyline with Sabu (1996–1998)

In the summer of 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.

In May 1997, ECW "invaded" the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) ''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.

Van Dam continued to team up with Sabu upon his return to ECW on June 13. 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. On June 21, Van Dam and Sabu earned a victory over Dreamer and The Sandman. Van Dam and Sabu emerged victorious against Dreamer and Sandman again at Orgy of Violence. At Heat Wave, Van Dam, Sabu, and WWF's Jerry "The King" Lawler fought Dreamer, Sandman, and Rick Rude to a no contest. 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. Van Dam and Sabu became partners while Dreamer teamed up with Taz. At Fright Fight, Van Dam lost to Dreamer in a flag match. 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 contest. 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. Van Dam's final encounter with Dreamer came on January 5, 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.

In 1998, Van Dam turned face and started a feud with Triple Threat ( Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Chris Candido). At House Party, Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow. At Hostile City Showdown, Van Dam and Sabu defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney by disqualification. The two went on to win a fatal four-way elimination tag team match later that night. At CyberSlam, Van Dam and Sabu lost to World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow.

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 World Television Championship. Van Dam retained the belt in his first title defense on April 10 against Doug Furnas. 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.

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 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. Van Dam and Sabu started a feud with Storm and Candido in the next month for the tag team title. On June 29, Van Dam and Sabu beat Storm and Candido to win the World Tag Team Championship, which made Van Dam a double champion. 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. Van Dam sought revenge and at November to Remember, Van Dam and Sabu teamed with Taz to defeat Triple Threat. On December 13, Van Dam and Sabu won the World Tag Team Championship for a second time by beating the Dudley Boyz in Japan at a Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ECW/FMW Supershow.

Longest-reigning World Television Champion (1998–2001)

Van Dam remained the World Television Champion for the rest of 1998, and he started 1999 by making successful title defenses against the likes of Spike Dudley, Lance Storm at Guilty as Charged, Jerry Lynn at Crossing the Line '99, Balls Mahoney at Anarchy Rulz, and 2 Cold Scorpio at CyberSlam.

Van Dam and Sabu were scheduled to make a title defense on April 17, but Sabu was suspended by ECW before the match occurred. Instead, Van Dam faced D-Von Dudley in a singles match and as a result of losing the match, Van Dam also lost the ECW World Tag Team Championship to the Dudleyz. After losing the tag team titles, Van Dam focused on defending the Television title. He entered into a rivalry with Jerry Lynn against whom he defended the Television title at Hardcore Heaven in a "no time limit" match. 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. 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. Van Dam successfully defended the ECW World Television Championship against Rhino on January 7. Van Dam got a victory during a title defense against Sabu at Guilty as Charged which was Sabu's last match in the promotion. Van Dam was scheduled to perform in a "champion vs. champion" pay-per-view main event against the 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. 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. Van Dam feuded with Anton and took his revenge at Heat Wave by defeating Anton after debuting his new finisher called the " Van Terminator". 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. 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.

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. He appeared at ECW's final pay-per-view event Guilty as Charged, where he defeated Jerry Lynn. 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

The Invasion (2001)

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. 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.

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, Van Dam lost the Hardcore Championship to Hardy on the August 13 episode of ''Raw'', but regained it at SummerSlam in a ladder match. During this time Van Dam had defeated wrestlers such as Kane, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, The Rock and even Alliance leader Stone Cold Steve Austin in singles and tag team matches. Van Dam became one of the most popular members of the Alliance who faced The Rock for the WCW Championship on multiple occasions, and even challenged Alliance leader Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship including a triple threat match at No Mercy also involving Kurt Angle, but did not win. 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.

Intercontinental Champion (2001–2002)

Van Dam became a face, but lost the Hardcore Championship to The Undertaker at Vengeance. He then entered into a rivalry with William Regal over Regal's Intercontinental Championship. 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 Championship. At WrestleMania X8, Van Dam faced Regal for the Intercontinental Championship and won the match after he hit Regal with a Five-Star Frog Splash.

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. On the April 1 episode of ''Raw'', after Van Dam defended his title successfully against Booker T, Eddie Guerrero returned to the WWF and attacked Van Dam. He started a feud with Guerrero over the Intercontinental title. At Backlash, Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Guerrero. At Insurrextion, Van Dam and Guerrero had a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship. Guerrero was disqualified after hitting the referee with the Intercontinental Championship; as a result, Van Dam won the match but not the title because a title cannot change hands by disqualification. At Judgment Day, Van Dam failed to win the Intercontinental title in another rematch. The following night he defeated The Undertaker for the WWE Undisputed Championship but Raw owner Ric Flair restarted the match (due to The Undertaker's foot being on the bottom rope), which Van Dam then lost negating the title win. On the May 27 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam defeated Guerrero in a ladder match for his second Intercontinental Championship.

After facing each other in the final round of the 2002 King of the Ring tournament (which he lost), Van Dam and Brock Lesnar began feuding with each other. Van Dam defended his Intercontinental Championship against Lesnar twice and retained his title both times by disqualification on the June 24 episode of ''Raw'' and at Vengeance. On the July 22 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam won the WWE European Championship for the first and only time after he defeated then-European Champion Jeff Hardy in a championship unification ladder match. As a result, the European Championship was deactivated upon being unified with the Intercontinental Championship. On the July 29 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Benoit.

At SummerSlam, Van Dam won his third Intercontinental Championship by defeating Benoit in a rematch for the title. As Benoit brought the title to ''SmackDown!'' when he switched brands shortly after winning it, Van Dam brought the title back to ''Raw''. On the August 26 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam won the Hardcore Championship for the fourth and final time after he defeated then-Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer in a championship unification hardcore match. As a result, the Hardcore Championship was deactivated upon being unified with the Intercontinental Championship. 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.

Van Dam started feuding with the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. On the September 16 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Jericho after interference by Triple H. At Unforgiven, Van Dam faced Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Due to Ric Flair's interference, Van Dam lost the match. At No Mercy, Van Dam got his revenge on Flair by defeating him. 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, Van Dam performed a Five-Star Frog Splash off of one of the pods/chambers onto Triple H, and accidentally landed his knee onto Triple H's throat.

Teaming and feuding with Kane (2002–2003)

Van Dam appeared on the World Heavyweight Championship scene and also formed a tag team with Kane in October 2002. Van Dam defeated Jericho and Booker T in a Triple Threat match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the November 25 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam faced Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship. Michaels was disqualified after Triple H hit Van Dam with a Pedigree. 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.

In 2003, Van Dam continued to team up with Kane. Van Dam participated in the Royal Rumble, and was one of the final five participants before being tricked and eliminated by Kane. The two faced Lance Storm and William Regal at No Way Out for the World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles when Kane mistakenly chokeslammed Van Dam. 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. At Backlash, Van Dam and Kane retained the titles against The Dudley Boyz with Morley as the special guest referee. At Insurrextion, Van Dam and Kane defended the World Tag Team Championship successfully against La Résistance, before losing the titles to La Résistance at Bad Blood.

After Kane was forced to take his mask off when he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match to Triple H on the June 23 episode of ''Raw'', he turned heel by chokeslamming Van Dam, and the team dissolved. The two then started feuding with each other. 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. Their rivalry led to a No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam, which Kane won. On the September 8 episode of ''Raw'', the rivalry ended when Kane defeated Van Dam in a steel cage match. Kane threw Van Dam through the steel cage by mistake (causing Van Dam to win), but Eric Bischoff came out and restarted the match, saying Van Dam did not escape through the door or climb out of the cage and ordered the referees to put Van Dam back inside the cage where Kane eventually hit a chokeslam from the side of the cage to pick up the victory.

Championship reigns (2003–2005)

In September 2003, Van Dam started feuding with both Christian and Chris Jericho over Christian's Intercontinental Championship. 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. At Unforgiven in a triple threat match between Jericho, Christian, and Van Dam, Christian retained his title. 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. Van Dam entered into a rivalry with Chris Jericho in October 2003, and the two faced each other in several tag team matches. On the October 27 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jericho. Van Dam reached the ropes when the challenger had him in the Walls of Jericho, but Raw Co-General Manager Eric Bischoff distracted the referee while Jericho dragged Van Dam back into the middle of the ring. Van Dam submitted and Jericho became the new champion. Raw Co-General Manager Stone Cold Steve 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.

At Survivor Series, Van Dam was pinned by Randy Orton during the traditional elimination match between Team Austin and Team Bischoff that Van Dam's team would lose. As a result, Orton and Van Dam started feuding with each other over Van Dam's Intercontinental title. Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Orton at Armageddon after interference from Ric Flair. 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 Championship but lost the match.

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. 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. 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. On the March 22 episode of ''Raw'', Booker T and Van Dam lost the World Tag Team Championship back to Evolution.

On March 22, Van Dam was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. 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. 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 Van Dam, Booker T, and René Duprée in a Fatal Four-Way match and retained his championship. On the July 1 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Van Dam and Duprée lost to Booker in a number one contender's Triple Threat match. Four weeks later, Van Dam participated in an 8-way elimination match for the vacant United States Championship, and was the last man to be eliminated by eventual winner Booker.

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 WWE Tag Team Championship from Dupree and Suzuki. On the December 9 episode of ''SmackDown!'', Van Dam and Mysterio defeated Duprée and Suzuki to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, and retained the title in a rematch at Armageddon. 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 WWE 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. On January 27, Van Dam underwent reconstructive knee surgery under Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.

WWE Champion and ECW Champion (2005–2006)

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. On the June 27 episode of ''Raw'', Van Dam, while still healing, was drafted 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 seven months later at the Royal Rumble. He gained revenge on Carlito by eliminating him, but was in turn inadvertently eliminated by Rey Mysterio in the final moments. 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.

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 the former, before dropping the Intercontinental Championship back to Benjamin on the May 15 episode of ''Raw''.

On May 29, Van Dam was selected by Paul Heyman to be drafted to WWE's new ECW brand. At ECW 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'', Van Dam was awarded the reinstated ECW World Heavyweight Championship by Heyman and decided to defend the WWE Championship separately and simultaneously, joking that "this one spins", becoming the first wrestler in history to hold both the WWE Championship and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship as well as the only one to hold them at the same time, making him a double world champion. He would become the fifteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion as a result of his WWE Championship win.

At Vengeance, Van Dam defeated Edge to retain the WWE Championship. Two nights later on ''ECW'', Van Dam defeated Kurt Angle to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. 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 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).

He returned to television on the August 8 episode of ''ECW'', 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 now renamed ECW World Championship. Van Dam slowly worked his way back into the championship picture. In October, Van Dam defeated 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. However, Heyman had the option of picking the match type and announced that the main event would be a six-man Extreme Elimination Chamber match. At December to Dismember, 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.

The ECW Originals (2006–2007)

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, Van Dam and the other ECW Originals made statements on WWE.com about McMahon killing ECW. On the May 1 episode of ''ECW'', the ECW Originals all competed in a fatal four-way match to decide who would take on McMahon the next week 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 on the May 28 episode of ''Raw''. 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, in which Van Dam was carried out on a stretcher. After the match, Van Dam left WWE due to being burnt out and needing time away.

Return to the independent circuit (2007–2010)

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
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