Throughout the PG era, the fans have gotten used to seeing the WWE superstars finish the matches with what they say are the moves of doom. Most of the superstars follow a standard move set as per their abilities, and they execute the same moves repeatedly in almost all their matches.
Only a few superstars have been able to pack a variety of move sets in their arsenal and take the fans by surprise by executing them to perfection. One among those few talented superstars is Rob Van Dam.
Mr. Monday Night, as JR would call him, is a jack of all trades who can blend high flying, submission & power moves in his matches. With that said, let's take a look at ten of Rob Van Dam's deadliest moves.
10 10. Step Over Heel Kick
Taking a kick to the gut can knock the wind right out of a superstar halting his mobility and will allow his opponent to take him down while he's gasping for air. Rob Van Dam has the perfect counter to evade a kick to the gut with his step over heel kick.
RVD would catch his opponent's leg before it connects with his ribs, steps over it with one leg and does a spinning heel kick with the other. RVD targets his opponent's forehead with this move knocking them down to the mat and gets them in position for his final blow.
9 9. Diving Coss Body
Coming from the land of extreme, Rob Van Dam has executed a wide variety of hardcore moves throughout his career, and his infamous diving crossbody is one of his most extreme maneuvers.
We know RVD is a phenomenal high flying athlete, and that makes it easy for him to get to high positions like the top turnbuckle or a balcony as you see in the picture above.
He locks on to his target and makes a big dive driving his entire weight onto his opponent's torso. The blow would knock his opponent down to the ground and block their airways for a brief time.
8 8. Corkscrew Leg Drop
RVD is a master of innovation as he keeps on testing his limits by performing standard move sets in unique ways, and his corkscrew leg drop is a good example.
A superstar can perform a leg drop when his opponent lies flat on the ground, but Van Dam has executed the move with his opponents in pretty uncomfortable positions.
RVD targets the back of his opponent's head most of the time with this move. The opponent would be hanging down the barricade, and RVD will jump off the ring apron, doing a clockwise spin in mid-air before driving his thighs through the victim.
7 7. Somersault Plancha
A leaping plancha is the move a superstar performs to take down his opponent standing outside the ring. The superstar would risk his own body leaping off the top rope and crash lands onto his target outside the ring.
The move will be more difficult to execute for the heavier superstars. We have seen Roman Reigns and Keith Lee doing the move these days, but Rob Van Dam did it before it was cool. Van Dam added some spice to the move by doing a somersault after he leaps off the ring and takes out his helpless opponents.
6 6. Slingshot DDT
A DDT can be a pretty dangerous move if not executed properly, as driving a person skull-first onto the canvas can get real ugly. Rob Van Dam is one of the safest workers in the industry, and he has been able to perform the move without causing any casualties so far.
Van Dam usually takes his place on the ring apron and tackles the opponent in the gut to make them immobile. He then uses the ropes as leverage to slingshot him inside the ring, catch his opponent by the neck, and drives him skull first onto the canvas.
5 5. Split Legged Moonsault
The split-legged moonsault is one of Rob Van Dam's standard & most innovative corner attacks. A standard moonsault would involve a superstar doing a backflip off the top or second rope and crash land on their opponent in a splash position, but Van Dam does it a little different near the corner turnbuckles.
RVD positions his opponent in the corner of the ring and does a backflip with his legs split on the top rope and lands on his opponent's torso. Though this move is not enough to pin his opponents to the ground for the win, it allows him to keep them down to perform his next maneuver.
4 4. Chair Surf
Being an ECW original, Rob Van Dam exactly knows how to use a steel chair on his opponents. The chair surf is one of the best examples of his use of steel chairs, and we would've seen RVD use this move in hardcore match types.
Van Dam would position his opponent in the corner of the ring, and run around with a steel chair to pump up the crowd, before dropkicking the chair on his rival's face. Sometimes he gets even more innovative and uses the move while his opponent is holding onto other weapons like a ladder.
3 3. The Van Daminator
Rob Van Dam uses his quick reflexes to perform his infamous move, the Van Daminator. He uses this move in two different ways. The first one is to protect himself from a chair shot from his opponents, and the second is by tossing a steel chair to his opponents with them catching it.
In either way, he performs a quick spinning heel kick while his opponents hold the steel chair in front of their faces. He connects with the kick and drives the steel chair through the face of his rival.
2 2. The Five Star Frog Splash
Rob Van Dam's signature finisher, the five-star frog splash, takes the second spot on the list. A superstar delivering a normal frog splash will place his opponent in the right position before executing the move, but that's not the case with Van Dam.
Van Dam would execute the move irrespective of the position his opponent lies down in the ring as he can turn in mid-air to adjust himself for the proper impact.
Sometimes he takes the move to another level by leaping halfway through the ring to land on his helpless rival.
1 1. The Van Terminator
We've seen Shane McMahon doing this move under the name "Coast to Coast," but everyone will agree that he doesn't do it better than Rob Van Dam. WWE normally uses a 20-foot by 20-foot ring, and leaping from one end to the other is never an easy job.
Van Dam locks down his opponents in one corner of the ring with weapons like a ladder, steel chair, or a trash can. He leaps off the top turnbuckle from the other corner of the ring and drives his feet through the weapon which is holding his opponent down.