The career of Rob Van Dam has been a full one seeing as many highlights as lowlights and he continues to stake his claim as one of wrestling's most respected and tenured veterans to this day.
Having wrestled for practically every major American wrestling company (and other notable overseas ones) over three decades, RVD has engaged in memorable rivalries with some of wrestling's most legendary figures, as well as in feuds that are best forgotten in the grand scheme of things. Let's take a look at 5 of RVD's best feuds from his wrestling career and 5 of his worst.
10 Best: Jerry Lynn
The most famous of RVD's rivalries in ECW is what helped put them both on the map in America. Van Dam's matches with then up-and-comer Jerry Lynn were incredibly well received by audiences, so much so that their fight at Hardcore Heaven 1999 was presented in full on an episode of ECW on TNN.
The speed and kinetic energy that both men wrestled with would go on to influence what audiences wanted to see from wrestling for the decade ahead and would put forth both men (RVD especially) as exciting and influential wrestlers.
9 Worst: Goldust
Easily one of RVD's most forgettable feuds was against Goldust in 2002, one so disposable that it's hardly worth mentioning. In between losing the Hardcore Championship at the end of 2001 and challenging for the Intercontinental Championship in 2002, Van Dam needed a filler feud to tide him over between reigns. H
is one match with Goldust at No Way Out 2002 is barely a blip on either men's career path, and the feud encompassing it is a classic example of one of WWE's many feuds that are simply beneath the talents of both involved. If you don't know this one, you're almost better off not knowing.
8 Best: John Cena
During the revival of ECW in the mid-2000s, RVD was an easy pick to be the representative of the brand and WWE poster boy John Cena ably played his counterpart.
Van Dam and Cena played off each other very well representing both of their brands and would have a terrific match in New York's Hammerstein Ballroom in front of one of the most raucous crowds at a WWE event ever seen. Although their rivalry was not as personal as others, Van Dam and Cena fought over ideologies and it would be a notable stop on the careers of both, especially for newly-crowned WWE and ECW champion RVD.
7 Worst: Kane
Although both men found a fun act together as a tag team, the ensuing feud between RVD and Kane hardly set the world on fire. It was during their association together that Kane lost his mask and entered into a new phase of his career, further marked by his destruction of Van Dam for his perceived role in Kane losing his mask.
The one-sided feud was nothing more than a way to heat up Kane for a prolonged singles run ahead and establish his character as monstrous, with nothing for RVD to grab onto in a meaningful sense. For partners in a comedy tag team to come to blows with such an unsatisfying story is a loss for audiences, but both would eventually go on to bigger and better things.
6 Best: Sabu
Large swaths of Rob Van Dam's career has been marked by his association with ECW original Sabu, whether on a team or facing each other down. The two came to blows over a lack of respect shown by Van Dam to Sabu and the two would fight throughout 1996 and beyond in a war to settle the score.
Even after teaming together consistently in the late 90s, Van Dam and Sabu would still find themselves opposite one another in special circumstances, proving that they had the kind of chemistry together that shone whether as partners or as opponents. There would not have been an RVD in ECW as we knew it if it wasn't for his time fighting over respect with Sabu.
5 Worst: Triple H
Many times in his career did RVD seem poised to take the top spot in wrestling only to be waylaid for one reason or another. In 2002, Van Dam entered into a feud with newly crowned World Heavyweight Champion Triple H, and it would take him years to recover. The focus was put more on Van Dam's less rich speaking abilities than his superior in-ring acumen, and he came across as bush league in comparison to the almighty Triple H.
His ultimate loss against him at Unforgiven further communicated that WWE did not see RVD as a main event level star, even though wrestling fans grew tired of Hunter's stranglehold at the top. A brush with greatness this was not, but thankfully, Van Dam's talents would take him back to the top eventually.
4 Best: Jeff Hardy
Upon his arrival in WWE in the midst of the Invasion angle, Van Dam found himself across from another noted daredevil, Jeff Hardy. The two would find tremendous chemistry together as two acrobatic and fearless workers who relied more on spectacular moves than words, and fans would quickly take to the infectious laid-back attitude of RVD as a result.
Their matches at events like Invasion and Summerslam in 2001 helped put Van Dam on the map for a whole new spectrum of wrestling fans and are still fondly remembered today as bright spots in the muddied affair that was the Invasion.
3 Worst: Alberto Del Rio
After his career peak in the mid-2000s, RVD found his way back to WWE a few more times for brief stints, but none of them particularly captivating. One such instance saw him face off with rising star and World Heavyweight Champion Alberto Del Rio in 2013 in a series of matches that weren't highlights of either men's careers.
The feud also saw Van Dam gain former Del Rio gain Ricardo Rodriguez as a manager, which seemed an unnecessary wrinkle to an already uninspired story. Van Dam's involvement with Del Rio at the time made him feel like an annoyance more than a treat, which is not the best use of the time of anyone involved.
2 Best: Eddie Guerrero
A sleeper feud that deserves to be spoken of more, Van Dam's matches in 2002 with Eddie Guerrero were a highlight of WWE programming. Both talents were in the peak of their abilities when they fought over the Intercontinental Championship and their rivalry even sparked the rare occurrence of a ladder match on Monday Night Raw.
Van Dam and Guerrero were crisp and seemingly incapable of putting on a bad match, their performances standing today as underrated gems in the catalogs of both. Feuds like these helped audiences further warm to the likable RVD as he slowly rose in the ranks to superstardom.
1 Worst: The New Breed
RVD has never been a great bit player, as his in-ring skill and charisma aren't suited for a backseat role. Nevertheless, Van Dam would find himself on a team of ECW Originals in 2007 fighting against the younger talent of the fledgling third brand of WWE, dubbed The New Breed.
Though likely meant to put over the younger talent, the rivalry between both teams didn't exactly produce compelling television or matches, although it did lead to a clash at Wrestlemania that saw Van Dam and the Originals emerge triumphantly. RVD and ECW will always be inexorably linked, but this feud hardly seemed worthy of someone of his talent.