Rob Van Dam had an underrated WWE career when looking back at how consistently over he was. Few wrestlers built that strong of a connection with Van Dam to almost always play the face role. ECW ending led to RVD signing and having a lengthy run with WWE. Even his TNA stint ended with Van Dam eventually coming back to WWE.
Any wrestler to spend that much time in Vince McMahon’s promotion is bound to get placed into some odd moments. RVD was no different with some forgettable moments that likely made the audience scratch their heads at the time. The following instances will remind fans of Van Dam’s stranger WWE memories.
10 Vince McMahon Recruiting Him During Invasion
WWE witnessed Rob Van Dam becoming the most over talent from The Alliance in the Invasion storyline. ECW getting added to join WCW against WWE saw RVD and Tommy Dreamer debuting together kickstart the angle. Van Dam became a natural face to the fans loving his work, and it led to a few character changes.
Vince McMahon started recruiting RVD to WWE when he became a challenger to Steve Austin. A hilarious moment of McMahon doing the RVD gesture pointing to himself was odd but added to the build of the Van Dam vs Austin vs Kurt Angle title match.
9 Legion Of Doom's Hawk No Sells Finish
The tag team run between Rob Van Dam and Kane set up one of WWE’s greatest makeshift team success stories. WWE decided to get wild during an episode of Raw where the Legion of Doom returned for one night only as the challengers to Kane and RVD.
The tag title defense went as expected with Van Dam and Kane retaining the World Tag Team Championship in front of a hot crowd. However, there was a strange aftermath when Hawk stood up right after getting pinned to no-sell Kane and RVD’s finishers. Kane was visibly upset in the ring at such an unprofessional action.
8 Putting Over Neville In NXT
Triple H first starting NXT as a developmental brand led to names from the main roster coming down for the rare attraction. Rob Van Dam wrestled two matches in NXT during his various WWE returns in the 2010s for a veteran role.
The first appearance was a win over newcomer Aiden English, but there was a bigger surprise in the second match against Neville. Van Dam cleanly put over Neville since he was the top face in NXT. It was a rare instance of a legendary name losing in NXT, but Neville aka Pac certainly benefited.
7 Trading Intercontinental Championship With Chris Jericho On Same Night
WWE tried to make Raw feel like a can’t miss show in 2003 during a strange series of events between Rob Van Dam and Chris Jericho. Both men were representing the opposing teams of Team Austin vs Team Bischoff in what turned into an all-time great Survivor Series match.
A match between Jericho and Van Dam was made for the Intercontinental Championship to sell the Survivor Series PPV. Jericho won the title, but co-General Manager Steve Austin booked a rematch that same night. RVD won the Intercontinental Championship within that hour in a steel cage match.
6 Fan Jumping In Ring During Ladder Match Vs Eddie Guerrero
An unfortunate moment in an outstanding ladder match between Rob Van Dam and Eddie Guerrero presented danger. Both men were taking part in a match full of risky spots that grew riskier when a fan jumped into the ring.
The fan entered when Eddie was climbing the ladder and shoved the ladder down. Guerrero landed on his feet and delivered a few shots to the fan before security took him away. The duo finished the match, but it was an all-time shocking Raw moment for the wrong reasons.
5 Vince McMahon Retaining ECW Championship Over Him
Rob Van Dam has admitted that Vince McMahon winning the ECW Championship was something that upset him. Segments of McMahon talking down to the ECW originals as their champ held real resentment that upset anyone with emotional attachment to the original brand.
Things got worse for Van Dam when he was one of the challengers to Vince’s title reign. An episode of ECW TV saw Vince teaming with Shane and Umaga in a handicap match to defeat RVD. Bobby Lashley was the bigger rival to McMahon, and it made Van Dam a placeholder to embarrass.
4 Kane Abducting Him After Unmasking
The shocking moment of Kane unmasking after losing to Triple H started an instant heel turn. Rob Van Dam came out to show support to his tag team partner and was attacked. Kane made the attacks more personal in the following weeks.
One segment featured Van Dam getting abducted and tied up backstage by Kane. The now monster heel was threatening to set him on fire since the character change made him more dangerous. RVD ended up getting free, but he still ultimately lost that feud.
3 Defeating Randy Orton Before Getting Written Out
Rob Van Dam was leaving WWE in the summer of 2007 when his contract expired, and he wanted to leave that grueling schedule. One Night Stand 2007 ended up being the final match of Van Dam during that time against Randy Orton.
The stretcher match stipulation even created the perfect way to write RVD off. That made it even more shocking when Van Dam won the match by putting Orton on the stretcher and pushing him past the line. WWE had Orton attack RVD after to write him off, but it was strange to see the win going Van Dam’s way.
2 Ricardo Rodriguez Becoming His Manager
WWE struggled to find ideal storylines for Rob Van Dam during his returns in the 2010s as an older veteran. Alberto Del Rio feuding with Van Dam over the World Championship turned out to be a strange angle that got Ricardo Rodriguez involved.
The personal ring announcer of Del Rio grew tired of being disrespected and verbally abused. Rodriguez turned face by becoming the manager of RVD. It didn’t work the same as fans had no idea how to react to Ricardo wearing RVD’s merchandise and doing his personal ring introductions.
1 Weird Mixed Theme Song During Tag Team With Booker T
The entire tag team run of Rob Van Dam and Booker T should be considered a weird thing that fans barely remember. WWE placed them together to win the World Tag Team Championship in 2004 during a short face run.
The idea of a random face tag team wasn’t that crazy, but their mashed entrance theme was too bizarre to accept. Van Dam’s “One of a Kind” song played with Booker rapping his own theme in between. Their tag run was a regretful idea to lose momentum for both beloved faces.