Somewhat unbelievably, Rob Van Dam would never capture the ECW Heavyweight Title during the promotion's original run as a standalone company. Van Dam did have a 2-year stint as the TV Champion in ECW, but he'd never bag the big one, something Paul Heyman has since said was the plan all along. Instead of simply hot-shotting the title onto RVD, Heyman wanted to wait until ECW had a better TV platform before making Van Dam the focal point of the product. Realising that the guy was one of the most popular stars he had under contract, the ECW head honcho was playing the waiting game, but by the time he would be ready to put the belt on Van Dam, it was too late. Showing remarkable restraint, even when fans were complaining about the fact RVD had never been champion, Heyman intended for it to be a huge moment when Van Dam would finally hit his patented Five-Star Frog Splash and capture the title. It would have been, but it wasn't to be, and Rob Van Dam never held the ECW Heavyweight Title during his tenure with the promotion.