During the ill-fated WCW/ECW vs. WWE storyline of 2001, Rob Van Dam was one of the only guys as part of the Alliance faction who wasn't treated like an absolute douchebag by the writing team. Connecting instantly with WWE fans, RVD rapidly established himself as one of the hottest new acts on the roster. Going from facing Jeff Hardy for the Hardcore Title at the Invasion PPV of July, to squaring off with Steve Austin and Kurt Angle at No Mercy in October, Van Dam's rapid rise through the ranks happened because he was simply an incendiary talent. Briefly holding the WWE Title in the Summer of 2006, RVD bagged the belt at ECW One Night Stand, cashing in his Money In The Bank privileges and defeating John Cena. Losing the title to Edge just one month later on Raw proved that WWE didn't see him as a long-term champion, but Rob Van Dam stands tall as the first top line regular from the original ECW to come over and fight his way to the top of WWE so quickly.
Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.
