Debuting in 1990, by the mid-to-late 1990s Rob Van Dam proved to be one of the most impressive performers in the squared circle, establishing a reputation for high-flying, martial arts inspired offense in Extreme Championship Wrestling. Once he moved from ECW to WWE, RVD went from cult phenomenon to stardom, eventually reaching the top of the company by capturing the WWE Championship.

RELATED: 10 Things Fans Should Know About RVD

It’s been an incredible career for Rob Van Dam and still appears to be going strong, so let’s take a look at RVD’s entire career through 10 crucial photos. These images run the gamut of RVD’s time in wrestling, from his first appearance all the way to his most recent major accolade.

10 Kissing Ted DiBiase’s Feet

Teenage Rob Van Dam kissing Ted DiBiase's feet

Interestingly, Rob Van Dam’s first television exposure wasn’t as an impressive high flyer, but rather as a fan chosen for a segment. In 1987, WWE heel Ted DiBiase was regularly taking fans out of the audience to demean them for money, and in late June of that year he had chosen a 16-year-old from the Battle Creek, Michigan crowd to kiss his bare feet. That teenager was a young Rob Van Dam, who received a crumpled-up $100 bill for his efforts and the segment was later aired on an episode of WWF Wrestling Challenge.

9 Television Exposure

Rob Van Dam as Robbie V in WCW

Five years later, Rob Van Dam would make his major televised pro wrestling debut, albeit under a different name, working as “Matt Burns” in a squash match against The Mountie in WWE in 1992. Later that year, would sign to WCW, debuting in early 1993, not as Rob Van Dam, but under the modified ring name of “Robbie V.” His run with WCW would only last about five months, but he would enter a tournament to capture the vacant Television Title.

8 Rivals And Partners With Sabu

Rob Van Dam, Bill Alfonso, and Sabu

One of the most crucial figures in Rob Van Dam’s career — especially in the 1990s — is Sabu, who Van Dam trained alongside under Sabu’s uncle, Ed Farhat, the original Sheik. In 1996, RVD debuted for ECW, impressing fans while engaging in a long-running rivalry with Sabu where the latter could never earn Van Dam’s respect.

RELATED: 10 Things You Forgot About Rob Van Dam's ECW Career

Eventually Rob Van Dam approached Sabu about becoming his partner, and the two ended up becoming a ridiculously successful tag team, holding the Tag Team Championship twice for a total of 334 days.

7 “Mr. Monday Night”

Rob Van Dam on WWE Monday Night Raw

May of 1997 saw WWE kick off a storyline in which the stars of ECW invaded WWE, and feuded with Jerry “The King” Lawler. Rob Van Dam would get not only get some major exposure on wrestling television, but turn heel in ECW, adopting the moniker “Mr. Monday Night” (a reference to Monday Night Raw) and claim that he deserved to be in WWE, not in this small-time promotion, angering the intensely loyal ECW fans. While the day would change depending on what show he was on, “Mr. Monday Night” would become one of RVD’s defining nicknames.

6 Intercontinental Champion

Rob Van Dam with the Intercontinental Championship

After ECW’s demise in 2001, Rob Van Dam finally joined up with WWE, at first as part of the more famous ECW/WCW invasion storyline, but soon became a popular babyface single star, capturing a variety of midcard titles. Most importantly, RVD would become a six-time Intercontinental Champion, winning his first in a match with William Regal at WrestleMania 18. Over the course of his six runs, he’d have rivalries with notables like Eddie Guerrero, Brock Lesnar, Christian, and Chris Jericho.

5 WWE & ECW Champion

Rob Van Dam wins the WWE Championship at One Night Stand 2006

At 2006’s WrestleMania 22, Rob Van Dam won the Money in the Bank briefcase and chose to challenge John Cena for the WWE Championship at the 2006 edition of the ECW nostalgia pay-per-view One Night Stand. There, in front of a legendarily hostile Hammerstein Ballroom crowd, RVD managed to defeat the face of WWE and not only win the WWE Championship, but also the newly revived ECW Championship. Van Dam’s reign with both belts would be cut short due to some trouble with the law, but the win was a major triumph for RVD.

4 Impact World Champion

Rob Van Dam with the Impact World Championship

After leaving WWE in 2007, Rob Van Dam would eventually make his way to rival impact Wrestling in 2010, where he’d take on Sting in his debut match and eventually defeat AJ Styles to capture the Impact World Championship. During this run, he’d also take part in an Impact-produced ECW nostalgia show, 2010’s Hardcore Justice.

RELATED: Rob Van Dam: 5 Best Title Reigns Of His Career (& 5 Worst)

RVD would eventually vacate the World Title, but would go on to capture the X Division title in 2012, holding it for 137 days before dropping it to Kenny King.

3 Returning To WWE

Rob Van Dam vs. Cesaro in WWE

In Summer of 2013, Rob Van Dam would re-sign to WWE, making his return in the Money in the Bank ladder match he helped make famous. From there, RVD would function as a midcard babyface, most notably feuding with Alberto Del Rio over the secondary title, the World Heavyweight Championship, in a rivalry that involved Van Dam stealing Del Rio’s personal ring announcer, Ricardo Rodriguez. He also feuded with Cesaro and Jack Swagger, and competed in various multi-man bouts including the 2014 Money in the Bank match.

2 Working Veteran

Rob Van Dam with Katie Forbes in Impact Wrestling

Rob Van Dam left WWE yet again in 2014, but it was not the end of his in-ring career. The year 2019 marked his return to Impact Wrestling, where he had matches with the Lucha Brothers, the North, and Sami Callihan. Notably, he would also be a source of controversy during this run, as a risque segment with real-life girlfriend Katie Forbes on an episode of Impact Wrestling got the show banned from Twitch. RVD left Impact in 2020, but has continued to wrestle, most notably in some matches for Japanese promotion Pro Wrestling NOAH in 2022.

1 Hall Of Famer

Rob Van Dam's WWE Hall of Fame induction speech

While he hasn’t wrestled for the company since 2014, Rob Van Dam has still made appearances for WWE, including at the 2019 “Raw Reunion” episode of Raw. In 2021, WWE decided to celebrate RVD’s contributions by inducting him into the Hall of Fame alongside such legends as Molly Holly and Kane, and Eric Bischoff. Notably, Rob Van Dam’s speech at the induction ceremony lasted nearly 30 minutes, which was well-received by fans but forced Molly Holly to cut her speech short.