8 Differences Between Rob Van Dam In WWE & ECW

Rob Van Dam became an iconic performer mostly due to his time in WWE and ECW. There were stints in TNA and international promotions, but the rise in ECW and bigger stage of WWE spotlighted him to define his career. Fans loved the exciting in-ring work of Van Dam, along with the generally likable persona he portrayed on television.

There were some complaints from RVD about WWE changing small things that he felt were needed for bigger success. However, WWE believes that they got the best mainstream version of Van Dam. Find out just what small or big things were changed throughout the two biggest chapters of his career. The following differences show what exactly was different for RVD in ECW and WWE.

8 Fewer Words In WWE

One complaint from Rob Van Dam about his time in WWE was the lack of talking. The infamous ECW One Night Stand 2005 reunion show saw Van Dam “shooting” about his vocabulary being limited to the word “dude”, rather than getting to speak his mind.

ECW didn’t have lengthy RVD promos, but he was able to showcase more of his sense of humor. Fans loved hearing from Van Dam since he represented the ECW spirit. WWE didn’t trust RVD to talk viewers into buying PPVs or believing in his matches the way Paul Heyman did.

7 Longer Matches In ECW

Paul Heyman had a smaller roster in ECW and typically gave his workhorses time to have great matches. Rob Van Dam was arguably the best overall wrestler in ECW, getting over and finding his identity as a major part of the show.

The Television Championship reign of Van Dam was legendary, with most of his matches easily going over twenty minutes and some even going past thirty. WWE didn’t give that much time to 95% of their roster. RVD had a few long matches, but most would fall in the fifteen-minute window.

6 Ladder Matches In WWE

The use of weapons from Rob Van Dam in ECW made him gain the reputation as a strong hardcore wrestler. Van Dam however, would find one weapon becoming more associated with him during his WWE career.

The ladder match was perfect for RVD’s skills and he continued to up the game of the stipulation’s already spectacular legacy. Van Dam had two stellar ladder matches against Eddie Guerrero and Christian for the Intercontinental Championship.

The second Money in the Bank match was another huge victory for him, utilizing the ladder to climb to the top of WWE literally and figuratively.

5 WWE Not Referencing His Outside Interests

Rob Van Dam’s love of marijuana remains a huge part of his identity in and out of the ring. ECW went all in with the references to Van Dam’s biggest passion and even allowed him to participate in interviews with magazines dedicated to it.

WWE didn’t want RVD to discuss this even though he tried to skirt around it. Van Dam often referenced things that Vince McMahon did not understand from his catch phrases to one-liners. A funny twist would see RVD gifting Vince rolling paper during his Hall of Fame induction night.

4 Natural Heel Persona In ECW

Many fans forget that Rob Van Dam first got over as a heel in ECW despite his biggest success coming as a face. Van Dam initially played into his natural personality, that was either arrogant or confident depending on who you asked.

The tag team run with Sabu saw them uniting with Jerry Lawler during his invasion on ECW. However, RVD organically turned face due to the audience loving his work that much. WWE used Van Dam almost primarily as a face outside of his start in the Invasion, which saw the heel run end after a few weeks due to fan response.

3 More Tag Partners In WWE

The tag team with Sabu was great for Rob Van Dam in ECW, but he wasn’t viewed as a “tag team wrestler.” WWE eventually started to paint Van Dam in that light when having him bounce from makeshift tag team to makeshift tag team over a couple of years.

RVD won tag titles with Kane, Booker T and Rey Mysterio over that time of his career. WWE had no idea what to do with Van Dam, so he was paired in teams with fellow faces. RVD eventually got another major singles run as the top ECW star, when the brand was relaunched under WWE’s umbrella.

2 Getting Jobbed Out In WWE

Rob Van Dam remained a relevant player in ECW once he got over, and never looked back. ECW never treated Van Dam as anything less than one of the most important people on each show. WWE started off like that before things changed.

An argument can be made RVD was the hottest face in 2002, until he lost his World Championship match to Triple H during his “reign of terror.” Van Dam would fall into obscurity a few times after that. The end of RVD’s first run on the ECW brand saw him putting over others, with nothing benefiting him. Much of Van Dam’s second stint was meant to elevate others, rather than raising his own value back up.

1 Bill Alfonso In ECW

ECW used Bill Alfonso as a top manager for most of the run, after his stint as referee. Taz and Sabu each had relevant runs with Alfonso before he prioritized Rob Van Dam as his top wrestler. The two had strong chemistry, with Alfonso blowing the whistle and handing weapons to Van Dam.

Alfonzo never had a chance in WWE, despite RVD claiming he vouched for him to reunite as a manager many times. WWE didn’t like the managing style of Alfonso and never placed a manager with Van Dam in the long term. The absence of Alfonso was the biggest difference for RVD in WWE after ECW.

NEXT: WWE Icons: 10 Things We Learned About RVD