30 Things You Learn Binge Watching Every WWE Attitude Era PPV

7. RVD Was Ready To Become Champ In 2001

The Rock Stone Cold Steve Austin
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You couldn’t have blamed the WWF for being swept up by RVD fever and sticking the top prize on Van Dam in late-2001. The ex-ECW favourite headlined No Mercy that year with Steve Austin and Kurt Angle, and seriously looked like he’d be winning the belt sooner rather than later. It was only a matter of time, right?

Wrong. Well, not until 2006 anyway.

That's amazing in hindsight. Rob could've held the top belt with aplomb mere months after becoming a WWF full-timer, and nobody would've batted an eyelid. Why not? Others like The Rock and Kurt Angle earned gold fairly quickly, and RVD was over huge with the fed's fanbase.

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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.