Rob Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970), better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD), is an American professional wrestler and actor. Throughout his career, he has worked for multiple organizations including Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment (WWF/E), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). Van Dam has won 21 total championships, and is the only wrestler in history to have held the WWE Championship, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship (once holding the WWE and ECW titles simultaneously within WWE).
Van Dam gained mainstream popularity in ECW before also having success in WWE and TNA. Between ECW, WWF/E, and TNA, Van Dam headlined many pay-per-view events throughout three decades between the 1990s and 2010s. 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
In wrestling[]
- Finishing moves
- Five Star Frog Splash (High-angle frog splash)
- Van Daminator (Spinning heel kick to a steel chair held in front of the opponent's face)
- Van Terminator (Corner-to-corner missile dropkick with chair) – Innovated
- Signature moves
- Coup de Grâce (Split-legged moonsault) – Innovated
- Discus leg drop
- Diving crossbody, sometimes while springboarding
- German suplex
- Guillotine leg drop, sometimes while slingshotting
- Inverted surfboard, sometimes while also applying a dragon sleeper
- Lifting double underhook facebuster
- Monkey flip to a standing or cornered opponent
- Multiple kick variations
- Chair Surf / Skateboard (Running drop to a steel chair held in front of the face of an opponent seated in the corner)
- Drop
- Multiple wrist-lock assisted roundhouses followed by a jumping spin
- Leg-feed feint enzuigiri, spun into a rolling mule kick
- Spinning heel
- Step-over spinning heel, as a kick counter
- Thrust, sometimes from the top rope or while springboarding
- Van Assassinator (Flying front kick to opponent crotched on top rope, with a steel chair held in front of the opponent's face)
- Multiple Rolling Thunder variations
- Into a monkey flip
- Into a senton
- Into a splash
- Northern Lights suplex
- Plancha, sometimes while performing a somersault
- Rolling body scissors pin
- Standing moonsault, sometimes while performing a cartwheel
- Turnbuckle thrust followed by a standing backflip or and a monkey flip
- Managers
- Bill Alfonso
- Jerry Lawler
- Katie Forbes
- Paul Heyman
- Ricardo Rodriguez
- Stephanie McMahon–Helmsley
- Nicknames
- "The Battle Creek Barbarian"
- "Mr. ECW"
- "Mr. Monday / Tuesday / Thursday / Friday Night"
- "Mr. TNA"
- "Mr. Pay-Per-View"
- "One of a Kind"
- "RVD"
- "The Whole Dam Show"
- "The Whole Fucking Show"
- Entrance themes
- World Championship Wrestling
- "Scoop it Up" by Bob Taylor & James Kalamasz (as Robbie V)
- Extreme Championship Wrestling
- "Poundcake" by Van Halen
- "Wail" by The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion
- "Walk" by Pantera
- "Walk" by Kilgore
- World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment
- "Dam-Nation" by Jim Johnston
- "One of a Kind" by Breaking Point
- "Can You Dig It?" + "One of a Kind" by Jim Johnston, Booker T and Breaking Point (used while teaming with Booker T)
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling / IMPACT Wrestling
- "The Whole F'n Show!" (Edit) by Kushinator
- "Storm the Gate C" by Brian James Brasher & Sonny Del Grosso (used as a member of #CancelCulture)
- Independent circuit
- "Walk" by Pantera
- "One of a Kind" by Breaking Point
- "The Whole F'n Show!" by Kushinator
- All Elite Wrestling
- "Walk" by Pantera
- World Championship Wrestling
Championships and accomplishments[]
- All Action Wrestling
- Perth Classic Tournament (2017)
- Cauliflower Alley Club
- Lou Thesz Award (2020)
- Over the Top Wrestling
- OTT No Limits Championship (1 time)
- All Star Wrestling
- ASW North American Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- American Wrestling Rampage
- AWR Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- AWR No Limits Championship (1 time)
- Battle Championship Wrestling
- BCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Extreme Championship Wrestling
- ECW World Television Championship (1 time)
- ECW World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Sabu
- Fifth ECW Triple Crown Champion
- Hardcore Hall of Fame
- Class of 2022
- International Wrestling Federation
- IWF Television Championship (1 time)
- National Wrestling Council
- NWC Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Bobby Bradley
- No Limits Wrestling
- NLW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Pacific Coast Wrestling
- PCW Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- Peach State Wrestling
- PSW Cordele City Heavyweight Championship (2 times)
- Pro Wrestling Illustrated
- Ranked #1 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 2002
- Comeback of the Year (2001, 2010)
- Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (2001, 2002)
- South Atlantic Pro Wrestling
- SAPW Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Chaz Rocco
- Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
- TNA World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- TNA X Division Championship (1 time)
- World Stars of Wrestling
- WSW World Championship (1 time)
- World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment
- WWE Championship (1 time)
- ECW World Heavyweight Championship (1 time)
- WWF/E Intercontinental Championship (6 times)
- WWE European Championship (1 time)
- WWF/E Hardcore Championship (4 times)
- WWE Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Rey Mysterio
- World Tag Team Championship (2 times) – with Kane (1) and Booker T (1)
- Money in the Bank (2006)
- Seventh Grand Slam Champion
- Fifteenth Triple Crown Champion
- Raw X Anniversary
- Raw Greatest Matches Award (Tables, Ladders and Chairs 4 from 2002)
- WWE Hall of Fame
- Class of 2021