How did WWE miss with this guy? Rob Van Dam was arguably the most popular wrestler in the world in 2001 and was one of WWE's only real success stories that year. He got over during the disappointing Invasion angle based on his unique, laid-back character and routinely excellent matches. When RVD first came to WWE, it was hard to see where he would fit in. He was a big fish in a small pond in ECW, but now he had to share the ring with megastars like The Rock and Steve Austin. There was a lot of resistance from the WWE guys where the ECW and WCW wrestlers came aboard and they weren't about to let them steal their spots. But RVD nearly did, by stealing the show night after night. He got so over that WWE really had no choice but to insert him in the Ausitn/Kurt Angle feud in October, making the main event of No Mercy a triple threat match. RVD was so damn over and that overness continued long after the Invasion angle was finished. But RVD had made some enemies in WWE. He'd busted open more than a few guys with his stiff striking and reckless, chair-based offense. The old guard weren't exactly thrilled to work with him and his easygoing approach rubbed people the ring way as well. After his brief run at the top of the card he very quickly moved down it and by early 2002 he was wrestling scrubs like Goldust and William Regal. The Whole F'N Show looked poised to become a genuine star in late 2002, until Triple H got his hands on him. His Championship run in 2006 was cut short due to his and Sabu's famous drug bust, but he was only pencilled in for a transitional reign anyway. Van Dam never became the true superstar that he should have, thanks in large part to WWE's reluctance to elevate him.
