Rob Van Dam

"RVD" redirects here. For other uses, see RVD (disambiguation).
"The Whole F'n Show" redirects here. For the episode of Impact! that aired in 2010, see Hardcore Justice (2010) § The Whole F'n Show.

Rob Van Dam
Van Dam in 2021
Birth nameRobert Alexander Szatkowski[1]
Born (1970-12-18) December 18, 1970 (age 53)[2][3]
Battle Creek, Michigan, U.S.[2][4]
Spouse(s)
Sonia Delbeck
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2018)​
Katie Forbes
​
(m. 2021)​
Websiterobvandam.com
Professional wrestling career
Ring name(s)Robbie V[4]
Matt Burn[5]
Rob Szatkowski[4]
Rob Van Dam[6]
Billed height6 ft 0 in (183 cm)[6]
Billed weight235 lb (107 kg)[6]
Billed fromBattle Creek, Michigan[7]
Los Angeles, California[8]
Trained byThe Sheik[2][4]
Sabu
Debut1990[2][4]
Signature

Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is currently signed to WWE under a Legends contract. He is also known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

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 Heavyweight 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.[9]

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.

  1. ^ Hornbaker, Tim (2012). Legends of Pro Wrestling: 150 Years of Headlocks, Body Slams, and Piledrivers. Skyhorse Publishing Inc. p. 538. ISBN 978-1-61321-075-8. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d Cite error: The named reference SLAM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Baines, Tim (April 7, 2002). "The Sheik kept Van Dam sharp". SLAM! Sports. Archived from the original on June 30, 2015. Retrieved August 19, 2012.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Rob Van Dam « Wrestlers Database « CAGEMATCH - The Internet Wrestling Database". www.cagematch.net.
  5. ^ "Former WWE Champion Reveals He Worked For WWE As A Jobber". WrestleTalk. December 24, 2020. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "RVD - WWE Profile". WWE. Retrieved February 7, 2019.
  7. ^ Powell, Jason (November 24, 2002). "5 Yrs Ago: ECW Arena - Dreamer, Tazz, Storm, Snow, Lynn, Dudleys". Pro Wrestling Torch. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
  8. ^ "TNA Wrestling profile". Total Nonstop Action Wrestling. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved March 10, 2010.
  9. ^ "Top 30 ECW stars". WWE. Retrieved November 12, 2014.