Fightful Select has broken the latest inductee into the WWE Hall of Fame, which you can view behind a paywall here. It’s noted in the report that the selection is truly one of a kind.
Set to join Eric Bischoff and Molly Holly in the WWE Hall of Fame Class of 2021 is Rob Van Dam. Though Van Dam hasn’t appeared for the company since his second run ended over six years ago, he has been in the WWE spotlight recently with news of him being apart of the WWE Icons documentary series on the WWE Network. Van Dam is the definition of icon, having held both the WWE Championship and ECW World Heavyweight Championship simultaneously. He is one of only two wrestlers to have held the WWE, ECW and TNA World Championships, the other being current WWE Champion Bobby Lashley.
After a largely forgotten run in WCW, Van Dam broke out as one of the sport’s top attractions in ECW from 1996 to 2001, which included some of the industry’s most legendary feuds, such as his programs with Sabu and Jerry Lynn. He also teamed with the former, to win the ECW Tag Team Championships twice while also having an historic ECW Television Championship reign.
Van Dam entered WWE in 2001 as part of the Invasion angle with his popularity soaring to new heights, even outshining that of alliance leader Steve Austin at times. Van Dam’s highlight of the angle was his Summerslam ladder match with Jeff Hardy for the Hardcore Championship, a belt he’d hold on four occasions. Van Dam is also a six-time Intercontinental Champion, with his first reign beginning at WrestleMania 18. It was during that reign that he defeated Jeff Hardy to becoming the European Champion and unify the two championships.
RVD’s other highlights include tag championship reigns with Booker T, Rey Mysterio and Kane as well as a Money in the Bank victory at WrestleMania 22. Van Dam would cash in successfully on John Cena in one of the most memorable championship matches in WWE history. Van Dam was only the fifteenth Triple Crown winner in WWE history and seventh Grand Slam.
Van Dam’s first stint with the company ended at One Night Stand 2007 with a victory in a stretcher match over Randy Orton, but he would return for a one-off at the 2009 Royal Rumble and then return for good at Money in the Bank 2013 before returning to Impact following a loss to Seth Rollins at the end of 2014.
Perhaps the most athletically gifted superstar in WWE history, Van Dam used his “educated feet” to kick his way into the WWE Hall of Fame. Congratulations to Van Dam on a spectacular career.
