MID-Tier Match Reviews: A Collection of ROB VAN DAM Matches

Rob Van Dam is one of the most interesting pro wrestlers to make it big in the business. He spent many years cultivating a martial arts-inspired style and had a fairly unique look for most of his career. Many fans loved his personality as a laidback stoner. But if there was one word that really encapsulated him it would be “unorthodox”. RVD couldn’t really be pigeonholed into any specific category or typecasting, which helped elevate him in the eyes of many fans. While I’m not the biggest fan of his personally I’ve seen quite a few of his most notable matches and I thought I’d share a random collection with all of you here.

Rob Van Dam vs. Abyss – Monster’s Ball – TNA Bound For Glory 2010

The Story: Two months earlier Abyss and Fortune attacked RVD and his fellow ECW alumni after RVD defeated Abyss in a Stairway to Janice match (“Janice” being the name for Abyss’s nail-covered 2×4, which is a clear reference to Cactus Jack’s “Barbie” gimmick).

The Match: RVD rushes Abyss and takes him down repeatedly with kick variations. He lands a Van Daminator but Abyss rolls to ringside so he lands a crossbody to the floor. He introduces a barbed wire table into the ring but suddenly Abyss trips him on a charge. Abyss attempts both a Chokeslam and a scoop slam onto said table, fails, and gets thrown face-first onto it with a bulldog. RVD attempts Rolling Thunder onto a still-prone Abyss but the monster dodges causing RVD to hit the wires back-first. Abyss sets up a table platform ringside and cracks RVD’s head with a garbage can. He sets up another barbed wire table in platform position and then we get a punch exchange. Abyss suplexes RVD over the top rope and he ends up near the first table. Abyss clotheslines RVD back into the ring but RVD fights back and hits an over-the-rope Rolling Thunder through the table, breaking it in the process.

RVD ducks a chair-shot and hits a chair-assisted spinkick. He teases a Van Terminator but Abyss throws the chair at his head, sending him through the barbed wire table. Abyss sets up the first barbed wire table and attempts to throw RVD into it but RVD counters. RVD improvises a successful Van Terminator using that table and attempts a Five-Star Frog Splash but misses. Abyss finds “Janice” but RVD throws the chair at him. RVD grabs the nail-covered 2×4 instead and smashes Abyss with it. He follows with a successful frog splash to get the win and his revenge.

Winner after 13:00: Rob Van Dam

You can watch the full match here.

Review: A solid hardcore match with RVD stuck trying to take down someone much bigger than himself. It was a bit slow and setup-heavy but they made up for this with heavy narrative and drama around the biggest hardcore spots and particularly “Janice”. It was a bit underwhelming, though, with the barbed wire coming across as a bit fake and lacking in impact. If they were going for gruesome then this match failed to hit those higher notes. Most of the craziness built towards RVD getting his hands on Janice which, despite making story sense, didn’t have that much emotional satisfaction. All in all, there’s nothing outwardly bad about this but in terms of a big blow-off this left a bit to be desired.

Final Rating: **3/4

WWF Hardcore Championship Match: Rob Van Dam [c] vs. The Undertaker – Vengeance 2001

The Story: This took place during Undertaker’s heel “Big Evil” run where he was bitter for being disrespected by management and thus took his frustrations out on younger and smaller wrestlers around him.

The Match: ‘Taker shoves RVD into a corner but RVD retaliates with kicks. A big boot gets ‘Taker a one-count but RVD retaliates with a senton for two. RVD lands a wheel kick for two and applies a headlock but ‘Taker crotches him on the top rope and boots him to ringside. RVD blocks a shot into the post and clotheslines ‘Taker into the stands. He attempts to use the barricade as a springboard but ‘Taker hits first with a right hand. They brawl among the fans and ‘Taker uses a fan’s Mexico flag to choke his challenger. Flag spots are always appreciated. RVD hits back with a quebrada for two but ‘Taker sends him into a piece of barricade hard. That piece falls onto RVD so ‘Taker stands on it to choke him. ‘Taker grabs a chair but RVD sprays him with fire extinguisher chemical first. He smashes ‘Taker with a garbage can and then climbs some stairs onto an entryway. RVD dives from like ten feet up onto ‘Taker and they crash onto what looks like a pile of wood – for a two-count.

They fight onto part of the stage and RVD lands a spinning leg drop following a garbage can lid shot for another two-count. ‘Taker hits back with punches and launches RVD head-first into a metal frame. RVD escapes a Last Ride but ‘Taker clotheslines him back down. He blocks a chair-shot and lands Rolling Thunder for two. A chair-assisted kick to the face gets RVD another near-fall. RVD misses a Van Daminator which allows ‘Taker to smash him with the chair. RVD escapes a Tombstone and attempts another Van Daminator. ‘Taker dodges it and Chokeslams RVD off the stage through two tables setup below for an easy three-count and the title.

Winner and NEW WWF Hardcore Champion after 11:08: The Undertaker

You can watch the full match here.

Review: A good brawl with a few wild spots and lots of throwing hands and feet. RVD played the hits while Undertaker did a great job as the remorseless villain for him to overcome, alas to no avail. In a vacuum this was okay but against the larger backdrop of the Invasion Storyline it was another example of questionable booking. Of the five members of Team Alliance at the much-hyped Survivor Series winner-take-all match, only two were actual WCW/ECW wrestlers and one of them was RVD – and here he was losing to WWF’s most institutional figure in the middle of the card. I get they were trying to elevate him to the IC title level but there could’ve been another way for RVD to not follow suit like other Alliance wrestlers and get thoroughly browbeaten before the biggest match of the year.

Final Rating: **3/4

Extreme Rules Match: Rob Van Dam vs. Hardcore Holly – WWECW #16, September 26, 2006

The Story: After spending many years in mostly undercard situations, Holly debuted for ECW a month earlier and aligned with the now-villainous Paul Heyman in his pursuit to create a new ECW from the one fans remembered. Meanwhile, RVD was positioned as the franchise player for ECW, at least for the moment, as resurrecting the brand/promotion was his idea in the first place. Given that association, it was rightfully expected that RVD would defend ECW against any who sought to change it, hence this Extreme Rules match pitting an ECW original against a WWE veteran.

The Match: They start with basic knock-downs and stiff shots. RVD lands a big side kick and poses for the crowd but Holly drags him to ringside. RVD quickly takes over, drapes Holly on the barricade, and hits a spinkick/leg drop from the apron. He sets up a table but Holly cuts him off, leading to some generic brawling. They trade corner shots in the ring until Holly gets a boot up. Holly with a chinlock. Since there are no ropebreaks, RVD has to use the ropes to lift himself up, only for Holly to clothesline him. RVD tries fighting out but Holly lands a back elbow. Holly rakes the eyes but RVD fights back and sends Holly onto the apron. Holly teases a suplex to the table. They struggle back-and-forth, but Holly wins the exchange. Both men crash through the table – and Holly suffers a NASTY gash in his back.

We come back from commercial and the camera zooms in on Holly’s deep, open wound. Holly doesn’t care, though, and continues like nothing happened. Holly opens a chair and drops RVD onto the back of it throat-first for two. Holly puts a chair on RVD’s head and lands a second-rope leg drop but takes massive recoil damage. He covers but only gets two. Holly teases a suplex onto the chair but RVD reverses and lands his own. They slug it out and RVD begins a comeback and lands a monkey flip and a diving side kick. RVD follows with a chair-assisted dropkick in a corner followed by a chair-assisted Rolling Thunder. RVD attempts another monkey flip. Holly counters with a powerbomb onto the chair for two. RVD blocks a turnbuckle smash and attempts a chair-assisted Five-Star Frog Splash. He dives but Holly throws the chair at him as he’s in midair for another near-fall. RVD blocks an Alabamaslam and dropkicks the chair into Holly’s face. The frog splash connects and despite taking serious recoil damage RVD manages to cover Holly and secure the three-count.

Winner after 17:42: Rob Van Dam

You can watch part one here and part two here.

Post-match, RVD bails to ringside to celebrate while doctors attend to Holly. They cover his torso in thick bandages and medical gauze and the audience gives him a standing ovation.

Review: This started off slow and somewhat boring but turned around significantly after the superplex. Sadly it took a very real and very painful injury for this match to kick into high gear; without it I don’t think this match would’ve been as interesting. Still, Holly made the most out of a terrible situation, fought through considerable pain like a boss, and added a ton of much-needed emotion into proceedings. They traded heavy bombs and crazy high-spots afterwards, escalating in risk and impact with each passing one. Eventually, RVD’s tenacity brought him the three-count but Holly was the star of the match. If you love wild weapons-based craziness then you’ll be satisfied with this, especially since it took place before WWE became too sanitized and had to stop any blood from being shown on TV.

Final Rating: ***1/2

WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Chris Benoit [c] vs. Rob Van Dam – SummerSlam 2002

The Story: RVD lost the Intercontinental title to Benoit about two months earlier on an episode of RAW. Benoit then took the title with him to SmackDown after being drafted which infuriated then-RAW General Manager Eric Bischoff. Determined to get the title back, Bischoff declared “open season” on Benoit and mandated he defend the title against as many RAW wrestlers as possible despite being on SmackDown. RVD took advantage of Bischoff’s enthusiastic pursuit of the title to defeat Jeff Hardy for a #1 Contender’s spot, which in turn made this into a true battle of the brands on SummerSlam’s undercard.

The Match: RVD scores first blood with some stiff kicks to the chest. Benoit catches his leg on subsequent kicks, takes him down, and works a headlock. RVD escapes and bounces out of the opposite corner with a crossbody for a one-count and hits a spinkick. They duck attacks from each other until Benoit folds RVD in half with a German Suplex. Benoit follows with a short-arm clothesline and a pendulum backbreaker, getting a two-count from each. Benoit gets another near-fall from a snap suplex and works RVD’s left shoulder. RVD fights out and gets another two-count from a small package. He gets two from a backslide and launches Benoit overhead with a monkey flip but Benoit knocks him down. RVD boots out of a corner and attempts the Split-Legged Moonsault but Benoit gets his knees up. Benoit hits a diving head-butt but RVD gets up first, lands a spin leg drop, and misses his Five-Star Frog Splash. Benoit applies the Crippler Crossface. RVD gets a ropebreak and blocks a corner charge, only for Benoit to shove him from the post to the floor. He collides with the barricade weakened-arm-first.

Benoit drives RVD shoulder-first into a post and then lands a standing shoulderbreaker. RVD channels Kobashi and tries fighting out of a double-arm stretch but fails and Benoit turns it into a cross-arm sleeper hold. But then RVD pulls off a clever reversal only for Benoit to power out. RVD lands a sudden heel trip and charges to the ropes. Benoit dodges a Moonsault Splash and locks in another Crossface. RVD elbows out so Benoit rolls into a cradle for a close two-count. Benoit drives RVD’s arm into another post and lands a bridging arm-trap Northern Lights Suplex. Rather than pin, Benoit keeps floating over to tighten the hold on the bad arm until he wrestles into yet another Crossface. RVD reaches out with his free hand. Benoit floats over to block him and transitions into a Dragon Sleeper. RVD reverses this into his own Crossface but Benoit easily fights out and dropkicks his face. RVD blocks another corner attack and hits a jumping side kick for two. A counter wheel kick/Rolling Thunder combo gets another near-fall. RVD hits a corner shoulder thrust and another big kick but Benoit kicks out. Benoit counters a monkey flip attempt and crotches RVD on the top rope. He attempts an Avalanche Backdrop but RVD counters with a midair press. RVD bounces onto the top turnbuckle and does the midair-position-change Five-Star Frog Splash. One, two, three! RVD wins the title!

Winner and NEW WWE Intercontinental Champion after 16:30: Rob Van Dam

You can watch the full match here.

Review: A great match that suffered a bit due to a clash in styles. Benoit dominated for the most part and worked RVD over strategically and methodically, only for RVD to make a sudden comeback. Benoit once again showed something drastically different from everyone else on the roster as he worked RVD’s arm over cleverly. Meanwhile, RVD stayed in his lane for the most part but pulled out a few surprises by trying to reverse Benoit’s holds and use some of his techniques against him. RVD, meanwhile, didn’t have to hit back in equal force to get ahead; he simply survived an extensive beatdown, had a few false comebacks, and eventually found his opportunity to use Benoit’s momentum against him and destroy him with his spectacular finisher. Although the crowd wasn’t as into this as you’d expect, as a midcard display of wrestling know-how this is as good as it gets.

Final Rating: ***3/4

AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Championship Match: Dan Kroffat [c] vs. Rob Van Dam – June 9, 1995

The Story: So here’s a bit of a footnote/trivia situation with RVD wrestling for AJPW’s junior title against one half of the Can-Am Express. All Japan’s junior division isn’t as well-known stateside since most of the English-language coverage and industry attention focused on New Japan’s instead. This stands to reason as Baba put significantly more attention on the heavyweight main-events in keeping with his core idea of wrestling as big bodies clashing dramatically. To that end, AJPW’s juniors were mostly there to fill the card or generate some energy out of the audience while still saving the biggest pops and moves for the headlining position. Though these wrestlers were technically sound, they were never given the same opportunities as NJPW’s when it came to breaking barriers, pushing the envelope, or stealing the show. Though in this particular case there was nothing either Kroffat or RVD could do to steal the show on this night since it included the unquestioned single-greatest tag team match of all time.

The Match: RVD’s wrestling in a nondescript black singlet here. Some basic lock-ups and chain wrestling start things off. RVD blocks a punch with a headlock and keeps it in until Kroffat powers him into the ropes. RVD counters an Irish whip with a split-legged arm drag and a second-rope springboard crossbody for a one-count. RVD works a headlock until a counter sequences ensues and ends with a hook kick from Kroffat. RVD flips out of a hiptoss and goes for a monkey flip out of a corner. Kroffat lands on his feet but turns around to see RVD flipping him the bird. After a respectful handshake RVD applies another deep headlock which leads to more countering so Kroffat pulls RVD’s ponytail to get an unfair advantage. Another quick reversal sequence ends with a sunset flip for two. Kroffat attempts a corner counter out of yet another headlock but RVD pulls him back by his leg and locks in a surfboard stretch. Kroffat bails to and stalls at ringside so RVD kicks him from behind to send Kroffat into the barricade, almost wiping out a photographer in the process.

RVD lands a snap suplex on the ringside mats and a senton from the ring to the floor and then covers for two. Kroffat counters the neck headlock with a snap Backdrop Suplex. Despite RVD’s resistance, Kroffat suplexes his challenger to the floor and then hits a gourdbuster at ringside. Back in the ring Kroffat works the ribs and applies a back stretch using RVD’s ponytail once again. A second-rope senton gets two. RVD escapes a chinlock and dumps Kroffat to the floor. RVD lands a running flip senton, fires up, and lands a diving side kick/standing moonsault splash combo. That gets two, as does RVD’s float-over suplex. Kroffat counters a corner whip with a DDT for a near-fall. RVD resists a Tiger Driver so Kroffat knees his head. RVD counters a dive with a capture suplex for a near-fall. Slingshot leg drop. Two-count. RVD lands a front slam and goes for a dive but Kroffat kicks his knee, only for RVD to kick back HARD. He lands another slam followed by the split-legged Moonsault for two. Kroffat collapses midway through a corner whip so RVD covers for yet another near-fall. RVD follows with some sort of powerbomb-lift side slam and goes to the top rope. A 450 Splash misses. RVD counters another Tiger Driver with a backslide for two and then blocks Kroffat’s follow-up spinkick with a takedown. RVD charges off the ropes but Kroffat demolishes him with a Lariat that would make Stan Hansen proud. One, two, kick-out. Kroffat with a Senton Bomb. Another kick-out. Tiger Driver. RVD survives. Kroffat lands an Avalanche Inverted DDT which is enough to secure the three-count.

Winner and STILL AJPW World Junior Heavyweight Champion after 17:10: Dan Kroffat

You can watch the match here for the YouTube version or here if you want the full uncensored version, which includes an extra three seconds of the Japanese commentator saying “FAKKYUU” to describe Van Dam flipping the bird.

Review: That was definitely a sleeper hit and quite possibly the best singles match of RVD’s career. It was almost like an early ROH-style match with fast-paced and back-and-forth action, different styles of wrestling, and a mix of emotion and pure sportsmanship. Seeing RVD showcase solid fundamentals and technique outside of his ECW wheelhouse was a welcome surprise and Kroffat did an excellent job of being the clever heel who cheated and riled the challenger up by using shortcuts. Van Dam credited Kroffat for teaching him how to pace and structure a match with this being the result. The crowd was largely silent at the start but by the end they had come alive. The wrestlers earned the fan’s praise and respect by building, teasing, and countering enough to leave even skeptics satisfied. An absolute must-see for any fan of Rob Van Dam’s.

Final Rating: ****1/2

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