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Rob Van Dam was an iconic member of ECW, and later joined WWE to continue a successful career in which he proved to constantly be one of the most naturally popular wrestlers no matter which company he was in, achieving many huge accomplishments in that time, including a reign with the WWE Championship. Many fans would likely be of the impression that he made his televised WWE debut during the ECW invasion of the company in 1997, when the two promotions had a working relationship. However, his actual TV debut in WWE came an entire decade prior to this, all the way back in 1987 at the first ever Survivor Series PPV event.

Many Fans Will Likely Think RVD Made His WWE Debut In 1997

RVD rose to prominence in the 1990s in ECW, becoming arguably their most popular star at times, especially during his reign as the World Television Champion. In 1997, ECW struck up a deal with WWE, which meant a crossover of talents, with RVD being a part of the collection of wrestlers who invaded WWE. This was where he was branded with the nickname of “Mr. Monday Night”. He only had a handful of matches though, competing in a tag team match alongside Jerry Lawler to take on The Headbangers, and in a singles match against Flash Funk.

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Rob Van Dam

It would take until 2001 for RVD to return to WWE television, with him becoming involved with the Invasion era of WWE following their purchase of WCW. This would be his home for the next six years, where he won several belts, including the Intercontinental, European, Hardcore, World Tag Team, WWE Tag Team Titles, in addition to becoming a two-time World Champion as he won the WWE Championship and the re-established ECW Championship. Despite fans being familiar with his appearance in 1997, they may be less familiar with his actual debut in 1987, which involved “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase.

The first ever Survivor Series event was a historic night, with the PPV becoming one of WWE’s iconic “Big Four” PPV events, offering many incredible moments and matches over the years. The inaugural show proved to be a success, though some of that must go down to the fact that Vince McMahon allegedly threatened cable companies to not air Starrcade, and instead show Survivor Series, resulting in a huge viewership and buyrate for the show. A small but still notable part of the show was a series of vignettes which aired for Ted DiBiase.

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Ted DiBiase Basketball Kid WWE

At the time, “The Million Dollar Man” Ted DiBiase was a brand-new act who had been steadily introduced to WWE, being shown through various vignettes and video packages. Some of these showed clips from his appearances at live events too, in which he would use his money to humiliate fans and others. The video packages included infamous moments in which he would pay for entire hotels and swimming pools for himself, in addition to one notable segment in which he offered a kid $500 to bounce a ball 15 times, only to kick it away himself after the 14th bounce. DiBiase was also shown tipping $100 for tiny purchases such as gum, in addition to a whole array of other things as well. Someone who was included in the video package which aired at Survivor Series, was none other than Rob Van Dam.

RVD Kissed Ted DiBiase’s Feet

Although RVD didn’t wrestle his first match until 1990, he had been a fan of the business for many years before that, with a 16-year-old him sometimes attending shows. A clip was aired at the PPV which showed DiBiase, alongside Virgil, offering out money to members of the crowd to come into the ring and kiss his feet, which was a humiliating act. The person chosen was RVD, who entered the ring, fairly unrecognizable to what he would eventually look like throughout his career. He did in fact end up kissing DiBiase’s feet, earning himself some cash.

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RVD kisses Ted DiBiase's foot

It is quite surreal to think that just 10 years later he would compete in WWE, and would even go on to compete in the huge Team WWE vs Team Alliance Traditional Survivor Series Elimination match at the 2001 version of the event, then compete in the first ever Elimination Chamber match at Survivor Series 2002, and later in less high profile bouts at the 2003, 2004, and 2006 events. It may not have been an entirely noteworthy appearance, but it is a fun little fact, with there not too many wrestlers, aside from maybe Haku, who are still wrestling in 2022, who can say they appeared at the first ever Survivor Series.