The Trials & Tribulations of Rob Van Dam

When I first heard a few weeks ago that Rob Van Dam's contract with the WWE was up for renewal, a large part of me wished he wouldn't sign an extension.

I first saw Rob Van Dam wrestle during the ECW invasion of Monday Nght Raw in 1997. I was immediately impressed. Showing a great combination of skills and charisma, it was obvious that he would go far in the wrestling world. I continued to watch his career with great interest during his long ECW TV title reign, a championship run that was only ended when he broke his ankle in a match with Rhyno.

When he joined the second ECW invasion of Raw in 2001, this time teaming with the WCW faction to form The Alliance, RVD once again showed the flashes of brilliance that captured my imagination four years previously. His high-flying, hard-hitting, hard-core style made him the most popular member of the Alliance faction, even though he was meant to be a hated heel.

After an excellent bout with Jeff Hardy at the Invasion pay-per-view, in which he captured the Hard-core title, Van Dam continued to impress the fans with some great outings against the likes of Kurt Angle, both Hardys, Chris Jericho, and many, many more. However, even though he was impressing the fans with his performances, he wasn't impressing his employers. Certain moves performed with steel chairs, moves that he had performed with great regularity during his ECW days, were now causing concern with the WWF powers-that-be. Superstar after super was busted wide open, having been on the receiving end of Van Daminators and Van Terminators. Because of the concern from the boys in the back, Van Dam was asked to tone his style down a little.

After the end of the Alliance's invasion at the 2001 Survivor Series, Van Dam's push continued. Several Intercontinental title reigns followed, although his pairing with one particular opponent, William Regal, didn't make for pretty viewing, mainly because of their vastly different wrestling styles. The highlight of these title reigns were probably his series of matches with Eddie Guerrero, who returned to the company after the brand extension.

But while many fans and pundits said that Van Dam was worthy of a World title reign, one thing stood in his way - Triple H. Van Dam and Triple H were paired together in a brief feud over the World title, but it was obvious to all that Van Dam was just there to make up the numbers. With Triple H having a tight hold over the booking committee, there was no way that RVD would become World Heavyweight Champion.

Having enjoyed multiple IC title reigns, and having unified the belt with the Hard-core and European titles, and having failed to win the World title, there didn't seem much more for Van Dam to do, except to form hybrid tag-team title winning teams with Kane and Booker T. But much like his World title matches, at times he just seemed to be there to make up the numbers.

Seeming like a man with nothing left to work for, Van Dam's performances seemed to go downhill. It was as if he was wrestling like a man without a plan.; There seemed to be a certain something missing from his performances.

The reintroduced IC title meant another title reign, which seemed to elevate Van Dam's performances a little, but after an outstanding losing effort to Randy Orton, there was only one place left for RVD to go - Smackdown.

Van Dam made his way to the lesser of the WWE's brands as part of the draft lottery. Fans had been saying for months that this was the only way that RVD could put some spark back into his career, by moving him on to face different opponents. Many of us were hopeful, but in the beginning it didn't work out that way. For the first few weeks of his Smackdown tenure, Van Dam once again looked like a man who was just going through the motions.

When news broke that his WWE contract was coming to an end, Van Dam was given a run at John Cena's U.S. title, a run that also involved his former Raw comrades Rene Dupree and Booker T. At The Great American Bash, RVD put in his best performance since his IC title loss to Orton, but he still walked away empty handed.

When I first heard that Van Dam had verbally agreed to a new contract, I felt that perhaps he had made the wrong decision. Career wise, there just isn't anywhere that Rob Van Dam could go in the WWE. A reign as United States Champion would be just like his IC title reigns, and there doesn't seem to be a chance that he'd wrestle for the WWE title sometime soon.

I truly believe that Rob Van Dam would do better for himself away from the WWE. Imagine if some of the larger independents in America got their hands on him. In TNA, he would go down a storm in the X division against someone like A.J. Styles or Low Ki, and he would also get a run at Jeff Jarrett and the NWA World title.

He'd go down a storm in Ring of Honor as well. And how about Japan as well? Imagine matches between the likes of Kanemoto & Van Dam, or Nagata & Van Dam.


Rob Van Dam has chosen to stay in Vince McMahon's employ because of the security the WWE can offer him. By sticking with the WWE, by signing a new contract, he is guaranteed a safe job and financial security for at least another three years. But the question is, can he last another three years. Away from the WWE, wrestlers such as Raven and D'Lo Brown have thrived, and have earned just as much money working for the independents and overseas as they did in the WWE.

Will the creatives suddenly have a change of heart and give him a meaningful run with the WWE title? At this moment in time I can't see that happening. Which means that for another three years we may have to watch one of the world's most talented wrestlers just going through the motions.