Rob Van Dam, frequently referred to as RVD, grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan and made his first
television appearance in 1987 on WWF TV with Ted DiBiase. Before coming to WWE, he was already
an established name in ECW. He got the name Rob Van Dam from Ron Slinker in 1991 because of his
resemblance to actor Jean-Claude Van Damme. Throughout his early days, Rob Van Dam
participated in numerous independent promotions in USA.
After Vince McMahon bought off ECW, Rob Van Dam along with a few others from ECW came to
WWE in around 2001. Despite being introduced as a heel, RVD was a huge fan favourite and
remained so throughout his career. During his time in WWE, he won multiple small championships,
participated in the first Elimination Chamber match, and competed in matches against big names
like Kane, The Undertaker and The Rock.
Rob Van Dam was on the radar of World Heavyweight Championship and formed a tag team with
Kane, which dissolved when the latter turned heel after losing to Triple H. This led to a feud between
the two which ended with Kane defeating RVD in a steel cage match.
He finally won the WWE Championship in 2006 cashing in the money in the Bank Contract against
John Cena in a standalone ECW pay-per-view. But he was made to lose it to Edge in a triple threat
match, as well as the ECW World Championship to Big Show. Later he was suspended for 30 days on
the website by Heyman, which was to match his actual suspension from WWE for drug possession
and usage. He returned to WWE multiple times but could never regain his previous position, despite
remaining a fan-favourite. His last WWE run was in 2014, after which he continued wrestling in the
Independent Circuit.
