Athletes - Rob Van Dam

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	Athletes - Rob Van Dam

Robert Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970 in Battle Creek, Michigan), is an American professional wrestler, better known by his ring name, Rob Van Dam. He is currently wrestling on the RAW brand of World Wrestling Entertainment.

Career

Rob made his first appearance in a wrestling ring at age 12, whilst attending a show he was called up to the ring by the Million Dollar Man to kiss his sweaty feet for $100. 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 1992 and was dubbed "Robbie V" upon his arrival. His WCW run was uneventful and largely unnoticed; he left in 1994.

He wrestled in several independent promotions across America, and in All Japan Pro Wrestling.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

In 1996, Van Dam signed with promoter Paul Heyman's recently re-invented, Philadelphia-based promotion -- Extreme Championship Wrestling, defeating Axl Rotten in his debut match. ECW openly targeted testosterone-charged males in their teens and twenties with ultra-violent (but also unusually athletic) matches, plus sexually aggressive female-sidekick characters. His mannerisms were that of a stoner, and became an unlikely hero, because of his laid back attitude, and unorthodox style.

He became nationally (and internationally) known in ECW. RVD was an instant hit after a series of hardcore, high-flying matches (beginning April 20, 1996 at Hostile City Showdown) with long-time rival Sabu where Van Dam failed to show proper respect for his opponent. Eventually, RVD united with Sabu under the management of Bill Alfonso and formed one of the most successful duos in ECW history. They later teamed with Jerry Lawler to "invade" Monday Night Raw in May of 1997. Despite his arrogance and "betrayals" of ECW, "Mr. Monday Night" was thoroughly applauded by fans recognizing his athleticism and unique maneuvers. People soon recognized him as "The Whole Fuckin' Show".

Van Dam's popularity culminated in a record 23-month reign as ECW World Television Champion. One title defense was against Jerry Lynn, and that was so incredibly athletic, that Paul Heyman aired it one week on TNN. He suffered a broken leg just weeks before he was scheduled to perform in a "TV champion vs. World champion" pay-per-view broadcast's main event. Many ECW fans have cited this unfortunate event as the beginning of the end for the trendsetting, yet financially shaky, promotion. This match would have been the most (potentially) lucrative PPV main event in company history; Heyman was depending on this mega-match to bring an influx of badly-needed cash. Business problems aside, "RVD" was arguably the most popular wrestler to ever grace an ECW ring.

He stayed with ECW until its 2001 demise.

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 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. Allong with fellow ECW alumnus Tommy Dreamer, Van Dam returned to the WWF 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 WWF fans. 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 (unsuccessfully) challenging Alliance leader "Stone Cold" Steve Austin for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship. At the 2001 Survivor Series on November 18, 2001, Van Dam and four other Alliance members faced five WWF wrestlers in a match to determine the ownership of the WWF. The WWF team won, and the members of the Alliance were "fired". However, as he held the WWF Hardcore Championship, Van Dam retained his job. He went on to turn face in late 2001, unsuccessfully challenging The Undertaker for the WWF World Heavyweight Championship and Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. His short term contract was extended into a multi-year contract that was renewed in 2005.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Rob Van Dam ]

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Athletes - Rob Van Dam

Career

Extreme Championship Wrestling

World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment

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