Rob Van Dam was known as Mr. ECW to a lot of people because the promotion was really built around guys like him that came up with the company and he thrived there. Paul Heyman has told the story that if ECW didn't die in 2001 they were going to do a major storyline with Rhino as the ECW Champion and RVD as the top contender. At that point, RVD hadn't won the ECW Title yet. He was the TV Champion for a long time, but not the World Champion. When he finally became the ECW Champion it wasn't because he won a match for it. He was given the title by Heyman after RVD beat John Cena to become the WWE Champion in June 2006. It was WWE's way of giving the ECW Title credibility by putting it on the man that was also the WWE Champion. Confusing? A bit, but it was a good idea that could have worked. There was a problem, though. A few weeks after RVD held both titles, he was arrested along with Sabu for possession of marijuana and other drug paraphernalia. Because of that, he was suspended. But first he had to drop the titles. RVD lost the WWE Title and the ECW Title in back to back nights. It's likely that he would have had a long reign as ECW Champion if he didn't get arrested, but we'll never really know. He makes it at #10 just because it wasn't a good reign although in terms of his talent and people that deserved to be ECW Champ, nobody really deserved it more than him.
John wrote at WhatCulture from December 2013 to December 2015. It was fun, but it's over for now. Follow him on Twitter @johnreport. You can also send an email to mrjohncanton@gmail.com with any questions or comments as well.
