Columns - Online World of Wrestling

WRESTLING COLUMNS

The Greatest Wrestler Never To Hold a World Championship
May 16, 2006 by Dirk Mason

Editor's Notes: There are lots of columns posted on various topics, and sometimes there are multiple columns with similar topics. If you read a column (ANY column) and decide to send in feedback, PLEASE be sure to indicate which column you are responding to by typing the TITLE of the column in the subject line. Also, DO NOT FORGET to sign your name. Thanks!

In my opinion, Rob Van Dam is one of the greatest wrestling performers ever to step foot in the squared circle. He has had many classic matches during his career. I am sure he his happy with all he has accomplished in his career, but there is one thing he has not done. That one thing is he has never held the richest prize in wrestling and that is The World Heavyweight Title. He has been the ECW TV Champion, WWF Hardcore Champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, and both the WWE and ECW Tag Team Champions. Those are all great accomplishments but I'm sure the fact that he has not won a World Championship is just eating away at him.

RVD is now in a situation where he can receive a title shot any time he'd like before WrestleMania 23. He gained that right by winning the Money In The Bank ladder match at WrestleMania 22. In that match he squared off against five other wrestlers and was victorious; in the end he was the one at the top of the ladder at the grand daddy of them all in front of thousands of fans in the city of Chicago with the MITB briefcase grasped firmly in his hands. This gives him a huge advantage over the champion because he gets to have a title shot on his terms, by that I mean he gets to choose when he wants his title shot. He can be like Edge - who was the MITB winner last year at Wrestlemania 21. Edge won his title by cashing in his money in the bank back at New Years Revolution and defeating the WWE Champion John Cena. John Cena was forced to compete against a fresh Edge directly after he had already gone through a very grueling Elimination Chamber match. Edge picked up this victory without even breaking a sweat. What's to keep RVD from doing the same type of thing" I know RVD is not like that, though; when he wins the title he will want to leave his opponent with no excuses.

RVD is beloved by the fans and would make an awesome WWE Champion. He truly is the greatest wrestler never to hold a world title. This guy goes out and puts on an amazing performance every night. This guy has a goal when he fights and that is to give the fans their monies worth; to give the fans what they paid for and he does. This is why he has been given nicknames like Mr. Monday Night, The Whole FN Show, and The Whole Damn Show.

Hey, ECW One Night Stand is just around the corner and what would be better than to have that night be his night. Don't be shocked if it goes down just like that June eighteenth.

Many people who are only fans of the WWE don't know everything there is to know about RVD. With this article I want to show to these people who probably only think of RVD as a good wrestler that he is indeed a great wrestler. I will attempt to show to you the best I can the career of the one of a kind RVD.

Robs story starts back when he was 18 years old and an aspiring wrestler. His dream was to one day make it to the big time. Back then he wasn't RVD he was Rob Szatkowski. Rob received his wrestling training from a legendary wrestler named the Sheik. Rob was always a great athlete and was also trained in martial arts as you can tell by watching some of his wrestling matches. One small known fact about RVD was that he participated in tough man contests before his professional debut as a wrestler.

His professional debut as a wrestler came in 1990 with a victory against Dango Nguyen in Toledo, Ohio. From this point on he was a rising star in the wrestling business. For several years more he continued and wrestled for several independent wrestling organizations. Rob got his first big chance to show what he is all about as a wrestler in my opinion when he started to wrestle in ECW. Some would say he got his big break when he got a chance to wrestle in the USWA wrestling circuit. In the USWA he was a fill in for Chris Candido in a match against the homicidal, suicidal, genocidal Sabu. Sabu is one of the most extreme and one of the most feared wrestlers in wrestling history. This is funny because RVD later in ECW was Tag Team Champions with Sabu. For the next couple of years he wrestled for several other small (and I say small because most fans of him have followed him only since he started wrestling in ECW or WWF) promotions. Before ECW he did wrestle for bit in WCW; he was now getting seen by a much larger audience because of WCW and the fact they were on national television.

In 1996, RVD debuted in ECW. ECW was a promotion built for RVD because of his extreme style of wrestling; he could truly show the skill set that he had in this company. He defeated Axl Rottin in his first match in Extreme Championship Wrestling. He became the star of this promotion real quick. One of his most memorable periods in ECW was his crazy TV Championship run; he held the TV Title longer then any other wrestler in the history of ECW. Rob Van Dam had some very classic matches in ECW. He had many great matches against Sabu including a stretcher match. Through these matches with Sabu, RVD gained his respect and they together then formed an almost unbeatable tag team which resulted in them capturing the ECW Tag Titles. Along with his matches with Sabu he also had several very popular matches with Jerry Lynn. RVD Through his career in ECW had numerous career making matches and the ones I mentioned are not all his great matches, I only scratched the surface. You would need to write a book to cover the career of RVD during his time with ECW. His ECW career ended when the company went out of business in 2001. During his time in ECW he wrestled one time for the WWF/WWE against a young Jeff Hardy in 1998.

His main run with the WWF/WWE started later in 2001 when he was one of the invaders from ECW. RVD had some very good matches with the WWF/WWE but I just don't think he was used correctly early on. In my mind he was a main event any night no matter what and he was just not used that way. He could have been used like a Rock, or Austin, or HHH, and Undertaker and he deserved to be on that pedestal but the company didn't do that. What he is with the WWF/WWE is a really good wrestler.

He was recently injured and was out for some time. His comeback was at the Royal Rumble and many thought he may come back better that ever and win the Rumble, but he didn't. Despite losing at the Rumble, he did manage to put on a good showing. He did get his title shot anyway by winning at Wrestlemania. We are just going to wait and see what he does with it.

The WWE needs a guy like RVD to be the man in the WWE. WWE is lacking in superstars and it wouldn't hurt to create another one. In my opinion RVD is the type of guy that could carry the company. The fans for many years have been on the side of RVD and would embrace him more when he gets the WWE title.

In my opinion by looking at his career with ECW and WWF/WWE you can make a strong case that RVD is a legend. You can therefore say that he is the greatest wrestler never to win a World Championship. I challenge anyone to come up with someone that has never won the big one that is more deserving of a championship. The one good thing is that it may just be a matter of time until he is champion of the world. I just want to be there when it happens because you know it's going to be good.

by Dirk Mason..

Dominick Violi wrote:
When it comes to ones who are labeled "Best Ever To Never Win World Title", I really couldn't put RVD as the top person. There have been many wrestlers through many eras who had all the talent and tools to become not only world champion but a "Long Term" world champion. Now I'm not saying I don't enjoy RVD work because I do. I first saw him during his Robbie V days in WCW and enjoyed his work mainly because it was something different at the times. But to call him the best to never hold a world title is way off. I'll give the names of few who not only deserved but could be ones who could be labeled as long term champs instead of say a transitional champion (Iron Sheik being the best example). And when talking about legitimate world titles, the 2 main ones are the WWE/F titles and the NWA world title.

1) Ted Dibiase- Was screwed out of becoming WWF world champ in 88 and was scheduled to become NWA world champ in the 80's. Hell he was even supposed to become UWF World Champion. In baseball you'd call him a 5 tool player. In wrestling he was a complete worker, face or heel, scientific or dirty, can talk your way into the building.

2) Rick Rude- There wasn't a better heel in the early 90's before the back injury ended his career and no, I do not consider the WCW International title fiasco as a real world title.

3) Barry Windam- Again, the NWA title bs during the Watts era does not count. He wasn't the #1 man in the company at the time, that was Vader as WCW World Champ. Even Dusty said he should have been world champ a number of times but too much of a free spirit. One of the top 10 worker in the world at one time but his knees ended that chance.

4) Bruiser Brody- Wherever he went he was money. Not just in his work but at the pay window too. He and the company always made cash with brody. Just too much of his own man to be a long term champ.

5) Roddy Piper- No brainer here, don't need to explain myself here

Aaron Tolles wrote:
I think that RVD is highly overrated.Sure he is super over with the fans,but his skills are not all that great.His best matches tend to be when he is carried by his opponent.I have never found his skills to be overly impressive and feel that they have deminished severely from his ECW days.Sure WWE is a different ballpark and he may even be watered down,but it shows how much faith they have in his style.On top of all of this his mic skills aren't all that great either.I feel that there are far more better wrestlers who never held a world championship...Owen Hart,Tito Santana,Ted DiBiase just to name a few.Call me crazy but I feel that with the state WWE is in right now that he is not the best option at this time,to be honest not much of anyone is.

Dustin wrote:
World Champion and RVD do not belong in the same sentence. Van Dam has proven time and time again to be careless in the ring with others (Triple H's Trachea, multiple black eyes to everyone.) and himself (How many times has this guy injured himself that kept him out for more than 5 months") Then there's the microphone factor, no matter what anyone says, RVD on the stick is pretty freakin' bad. You can say whatever you want about his ECW promos or his "shoots." It's all lame, the guy can't finish a sentence without stuttering profusely. The only thing he has going for him there is pointing to himself. Then we have the one that's going to start a flame war in all likelihood, RVD can't wrestle. Wait, don't jump down my throat yet. Think about it. RVD does a bunch of pretty moves and high spots to make people go "ooooh" and "aaaaaah." But is there any substance in anything he does" No. No storytelling in his matches whatsoever, he wrestles the indy style "exchange holds, wait for applause, do pretty highspots" to perfection, but that's not going to cut it in the top wrestling promotion ever. There's a reason guys like Triple H and Kurt Angle are on top and guys like RVD and Shelton Benjamin are down in the midcard. Triple H and Kurt Angle are great wrestlers, they do it right, they tell a story in the ring and have a reason for every move they do, they dissect the body part and work it to perfection, those guys could go an hour every night if need be. Rob Van Dam... not so much. He has his little routine, he doesn't work, and odds are he doesn't know how (Case & Point ECW Living Dangerously 1999, Jerry Lynn "Hurts" leg and starts overselling like nuts, and Rob does not execute ONE move, not one, to target that hurt leg, he throws a chair at Jerry's head and does rolling thunder instead, go figure.) A world champion can be one of three things in my view, the total package; a guy who can work, talk, draw, and make guys look better (Your Ric Flair's, Triple H's, Kurt Angle's, Harley Race's.) The uber charismatic larger than life champion (Hogan, Rock, Nash.) or a "Wrestlers Wrestler" who doesn't necessarilly have the talking part or drawing part down, but can put on one helluva match (Bret Hart, Chris Benoit.) Nowhere there is "Spot Monkey who can't cut an interview" on that list, and god forbid it ever is. Van Dam's a nice guy, i've met him, but fact of the matter is, RVD does not deserve to be World Champion.

Oh, and as for the topic of this column, let me direct you to Arn Anderson, Ted Dibiase, Curt Henning, Owen Hart, Tully Blanchard, Magnum TA, Rick Rude, (The bogus International Title notwithstanding.) Roddy Piper, Jimmy Snuka, Paul Orndorf, Tito Santana, Greg Valentine, Dynamite Kid, Davey Boy Smith, and Jake Roberts, just off the top of my head.

Jeff wrote:
I agree that RVD deserves a shot at a title run soon, but I don't think that he is the greatest to never hold it. There are countless amounts of guys in years past who didn't hold the world title because guys like Hogan would have it for a year at a time. In this day of age, a lot of guys hold the belt undeservingly, in my opinion. Some of the men I would say deserved it in their glory days would be Ted Dibiase, Roddy Piper, Scott Hall, and Curt Henning, for a short list. Some of those guys did win World Titles in smaller productions, but not in WWE, WCW, NWA, ECW, or aywhere of that magnitude.

Chris P. wrote:
There are many people above RVD for the title of your article. Owen Hart, Mr. Perfect, Arn Anderson just to name a few. RVD can talk and he can jump that is about it. He's not a great worker. There are some great misconceptions about how "great" Rob Van Damn is. He is not a great worker any of his good matches are because he was carried through them. He should NOT be world champion EVER. It would do nothing but hurt the WWE. Ya I have poped for RVD, when i saw the VanTerminator for the first time it was cool to see. But the second Shane O'Mac does it BETTER for the circumstances to be considered "Mr Monday Night" doesnt look as good. RVD is a novelty with a bit too much staying power. I can't wait for the new ECW when guys like CM Punk run circles around him. IF RVD cashes in the MITB and wins the belt at ONS he will throw down the WWE Title and declare himself the ECW champion and furthur ruin everything good about both the WWE and the new ECW.

Ken wrote:
Wow! I may be stretching a little bit but I think you're a RVD fan! I have always enjoyed watching RVD wrestle. He is one of the reasons why TNA makes me so angry. I used to wish that he was with them and had Dream Matches with AJ Styles, Christopher Daniels and Samoa Joe. He could have been in that X Division and took them to another level. But TNA sucks and they wouldn't know what to do with him anyway. But I digress. I would love to see RVD get a title run but I don't see him getting it for any reason other than bringing attention to a new ECW. I'm not saying that he doesn't have the talent to be World Champion what I'm saying is he is with the wrong company. The things that he does well WWE doesn't reward or acknowledge. The things that he doesn't do well they place high emphasis on. But if they are serious about bringing back ECW I think he would make the perfect inaugural champion. He carried that company and had the best match every night. He put Jerry Lynn on the ECW map the same way that Sabu put him on the ECW map. If I had confidence in WWE I would be salivating over the potential matchups for RVD in a renewed and replenished ECW with a complete roster of some familiar faces and some new faces like CM Punk. Kudos to you on your RVD article.

Brian Simpson wrote:
THE ORIGINAL ICON HIMSELF, ROWDY RODDY PIPER. Piper never held the title but he did more for wrestling than 95% of the wrestling community today. What's more astonishing is that he did not NEED the championship in order to cement his place in the history of any wrestling promotion. There's one person who I believe is more important and deserving of his own world championship. He and Vince MADE the legend that is Hulk Hogan. He I personally believe is the most UNDESERVING Icon in wrestling history. But that's just my opinion, I could be right!!!

Brien Jackson wrote:
You want a guy who never won a World Title who's better than RVD" I'll name 3 without even thinking about it: Scott Hall, Ted Dibiase, and Owen Hart.

Now I like RVD, but a lot of the RVD marks get on my nerves when they talk up how great he is. As much as I like watching him, the guy has almost no mic skills, and gets away with it by being somewhat charismatic in the ring. He's Jeff Hardy, but he can get the fans to to chant "R-V-D" when he points to himself.

By contrast, the three guys I named had it all. All of them had charisma, could talk, and were talented in the ring to boot. Why the three of them, with the exception of Scott Hall, were never WWF or World Champion still blows my mind. I truly believe had Scott Hall stayed with WWF and got over his alcohol problems, he probably would have been the champion at some point.

However great RVD might be, he's nothing but a career Upper-mid carder at this point who made a name for himself with insane spots, but to call him the greatest to never hold a world title is a stretch and short changes many of the truly greats that have never achieved that either.

Marco wrote:
Van Dam made himself a legend in ECW. And because of some unbelievable stuff he did back then he deservedly gained a big following. The success of One Night Stand his long absence and the lack of big face wrestlers made the fans eagger for his return. Because of that he�s been geting a big push. But since he came back his matches have been poor, considering the stuff he did in ECW. Very basic matches just doing his routine moves. The match he had with Shelton at Backlash proved that Shelton is way above Van Dam. Shelton is far more gifted. As far as the best wrestler never to have been world champion my top choices would have to be Davey Boy Smith, Curt Henning, Dynamite Kid and Owen Hart. Other names that deserve it more just to say a few Rick Rude, Brian Pillman, Tito Santana Paul Orndorff and certainly a lot more names that i dont remember right now.

Will Cherrell wrote:
With multiple victories over legends such as Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and Brett Hart not to mention main-eventing Wrestlemania 1, I would say that Roddy Piper is more deserving of a championship than RVD. I do agree with your statement that RVD greatest wrestling performers ever to step foot in the squared circle.

Richard Palma wrote:
Over the course of 20 years, so many superstars have never held the World Heavyweight Championship.

This first that comes to mind is none other than Scott Hall. A wrestler who could have well been a major player halfway through the nineties. Wether it was his personal problems or not, he would have boosted the business in anyway he could because he cared.

It's still not too late for him, but the NWA TNA prefer to have a fast wrestler to hold all of their titles, not the old school guys!

Freddy Sturguess wrote:
Don't worry. I'm sure that this summer when WWE gives ECW its yearly bottle with the "One Night Stand" pay-per-view, Rob Van Dam's Money in the Bank title shot will surely be in effect. And, yet another undeserving superstar will get a world title handed to him simply because he's been around long enough to earn it...regardless of whether he's still boring or not.

Dave Barton wrote:
This is a very touchy subject, one I've thought about several times over the past 10 or 15 years. I think the biggest question to ask when contemplating this subject is: which World Title"

Wanna talk ECW" I've gotta agree with RVD. The guy was like no one else in the ring & was their top star, both in drawing power & in his spot on every show's lineup, for 2 years straight. Cactus Jack was also taylor-made for an ECW Title, ala Sandman. I also felt that Chris Benoit would have made a phenomenal ECW Champion as well, and maybe Chris Candido had he not gone from "No Gimmicks Needed" to "The Hypochondriac", both ala Shane Douglas. Al Snow was at the top of his game, too, right when he got the call to come back to WWF.

(W)WWF/E Title" Curt Hennig, Ricky Steamboat, Jake Roberts, and Paul Orndorff all come to mind. All four were great talkers, huge draws, and awesome ring psychologists. Any one of them could've been very successful in my eyes. But, seeing as Vince Jr usually preferred the gimmicky face over the talented heel, I think he may have missed the boat on Jimmy Snuka (couldn't give a coherant interview, but was great in the ring & a huge crowd-favorite), and Jim Duggan (another huge crowd-favorite, could've been much bigger in WWF had they not saddled him with an excess of goofiness).

NWA (not WCW!) Title" Barry Windham, Ted DiBiase, and Ricky Steamboat all could've carried that title like nobody's business. All were great talkers, tremendously skilled, and major draws during their time.

AWA: Without question, Hulk Hogan. Despite his limited ring skills, his charisma was clearly enough to bring attention to whatever title was around his waist. Had Verne Gagne realised this before Vince Jr, wrestling history might have gone in another direction completely. But to go with someone who was more of a traditional candidate to hold the AWA Title, I have to go with Billy Robinson. Fantastic wrestler who, if pushed properly, I feel would've been accepted as AWA Champion.

Jose Aguirre wrote:
Aaron Tolles and Dustin are complete idiots. Sure RVD has crappy mic skills but he is an amazing wrestler. He does deserve a title shot, I am not a big fan of "shoot" promos either but RVD has the ring skills to be champion.If he dosen't win the title I will stop watching wrestling.

Vince wrote:
Am I the only person who's mentioning Andre the freakin Giant"!"!" Maybe it's because he technically held a world championship for a split second before giving it to Ted DiBiase, but he deserved at least a couple months with the belt.

Merrill T. Slaven, D.C. wrote:
Sad, with all the greats mentioned, that not a single one mentions the one person most often cited. "The Enforcer" "Double A" Arn Anderson. A hard worker, multiple titles (both singles and tag-team), awesome in-ring abilities and chemistry, and a superb mic psychologist. He may not be an "icon" like some of those mentioned, but I think he deserves top billing in this category.

Dirk Mason (Original Author) wrote:
I am writing to address all of the wrestlers listed. The one thing I must say is when I wrote this article I considered the NWA, WWE/WWF, WCW, and ECW World Titles. That eliminates two guys Jimmy Snuka and Barry Windham. Jimmy won the ECW Title and Windham won the NWA Title. Now its time to get down to business, the one thing I wish some of you would have done is say when any of these wrestlers should have been champion, not one of these guys ever were the top guys in their respected promotion. RVD was the man in ECW and probably if he wasn't the TV champion would have won the World Championship; he was the holder of that title for a long time.

Brian Pillman: was a lightweight, never held any singles title other then the Lightweight title in WCW.

Tito Santana: you're joking... right! This man not even a good mid carder in my mind.

Scott Hall: in the WWF was an IC Champ, in WCW was a Tag Team and the fact of the matter is this guy wasn't even good enough to win the title when WCW was going down the toilet.

Arn Anderson: This guy was a good tag team wrestler and was in the four horsemen but as a singles wrestler, and that is what we are talking about here his greatest feat was the TV Title. If not for the four horsemen he was nothing.

Curt Henning: This guy was the AWA Title holder but after that he called him self perfect but wasn't (this got so old) but was a mid carder and a waste of space in my opinion.

Jake Roberts: I like this guy but can you imagine a promotion with Jake as their champion. There is a reason it never happened, he was just simply unreliable.

Rick Rude: same as Jake Roberts, and he thought too much of himself.

Bruiser Brody: Most fans I know don't even know who he is. I want to quote the person who brought him up, "wherever he went he was money". He lost his chance to do something when he got into a scuffle with Gorilla Monsoon and was essentially blackballed from the WWF.

Dynamite Kid: Was best as a tag team wrestler and was just not good or popular enough to ever be a World Champion.

Magnum T.A. and Tully Blanchard: Both were alright, possibly could have been NWA champion at some point (only one time) but it wouldn't have worked well there were always guys better in the NWA. RVD was the best in ECW and was never Champion.

Greg Valentine: Was a nice little wrestler, had that nice little nickname, the hammer. Come on you really think this guy could have been World Champion.

Davy Boy Smith: Just didn't do enough to as a singles wrestler to be a champion. Had a great match with Bret Hart, but Hart had to carry him in that match.

Now the Others: Owen Hart, Paul Orndorf, Roddy Piper, and Ted Dibiase do not and have never deserved to have been World Champion. These men all seen their 15 minutes of fame in the spotlight and it was only to help the "good guys" along.

Mike Adams wrote:
Oh my gosh there are tons of guys who are and have been more deserving of a World Heavyweight Championship than RVD in the WWE alone. Don't get me wrong, I like RVD, he can be very entertaining at times. He has a natural Fonz factor that makes him popular. However, RVD is nothing but a glorified spot monkey and his move set can get pretty repetitious at times. RVD is really not that good of a technical wrestler, he oversells at times and his ring psychology just isnt there. RVD was a better wrestler in ECW, and that is where he deserved to hold a World Title, but apparently even Heyman saw something in him back them that made him think he was more valuable where he was as the TV champion. Otherwise, RVD would been ECW champion as he was one of the most popular guys in that company.

I am not a person like many internet smarks who rag on Spot wrestlers, Spot wrestling certainly has its place and can be very entertaining if done well, as in the case of alot of TNA's X divison guys like Sonjay Dutt or Chris Sabin. However, as the main champion, and focus of your company you really need someone who can do more than just spots and highspots. Most of RVD's really good matches have always been carried by someone who can add psychology. People need to realize that not every popular wrestler can be a World Champion, RVD is one of these guys who are better suited to the mid-card and there is nothing wrong with that. You need guys like RVD on your roster. Guys who can be really entertaining at the mid-card level, and popular enough that they can be used on the uppercard from time to time.

RVD fits that role perfectly, the Intercontinental Title is a perfect title for him. As everyone knows to be a World Heavyweight Champion, especially in the WWE, a wrestler must also be able to draw in the crowds, or at least be able to carry some matches. (Anyone can say what they want about Cena, but the fact is he does draw in fans, especially the young kids and ladies,even if he can't wrestle to save his life.) I have yet to find a convincing argument as to who's butt RVD would keep in the seats, that

already wouldn't be there to begin with. In a very desperate situation RVD could be used as a transitional World Champion until someone better came along, but he is just not a guy who can carry a company.

Marco wrote:
You are probably one of those guys that thinks Hulk Hogan is the best wrestler ever. Some of the names you throw away like a piece of garbage are some of the best technical wrestlers ever. the commentaries you make about some of them are just sad. A complete lack of respect for some legends of the squared circle.

And you missed out the point everyone was making. The fact that some of those wrestlers were great or more deserving than RVD doesn�t necessary mean they could carry a big company. It just means they were better than him.

The reason some of those wrestlers were never champions is because they had problems outside the ring like drugs and alcohool addiction.

Just watch the matches RVD had since he returned. A piece of garbage. He looks tired and old. Far, far away from what he could do at ECw.

Dustin Jeffords wrote:
Magnum was one of the NWA's most popular wrestlers, and very talented, to say he wouldn't have gotten over as champion is asinine. Tully Blanchard was also very good in the ring and on the stick, a transitional champion maybe, but not to be discredited. Valentine also fit a champion's mold, he had the pedigree, looked like a champion, could go an hour, and could cut an interview, yes, I could see him as World Champion. As for unreliability, wasn't Kerry Von Erich NWA champion" Yes. Jake could have had a short reign ala Tommy Rich. Dynamite is one of the best in ring performers ever, and the Bulldogs one of the best tag teams ever, unfortunately Dynamite never worked singles for Vince, so we'll never know how high he could have risen. As for Owen, Dibiase, Piper, and Mr. Wonderful "Not being good enough" to be World Champion...coming from an RVD supporter, it's laughable to no end. I think I spoke of RVD's lack of ring savvy and lack of direction in his matches, those four guys above as well as the rest of them had it. Oh yeah, one more thing, as for Double A "only being TV champion", what title did RVD dominate in ECW" I'll let you get back to me...

Jon Rosaler wrote:
You know edward. Everyone here has told us people besides Rob Van Dam who have never won World titles. They forgot one: DEAN MALENKO. This man was in ECW,WCW and WWF. Yet he has never won a world title. He was a absolute Wrestling machine until Kurt Angle made the scene. Even if he won a Indy World title at one point it's never really a glory if you never won The WWE World titles, WCW title, ECW title or NWA title. Dean, you are a champion to us regardless of the belt.

Dirk Mason (Original Author) wrote:
This one is to Dustin Jeffords, I wanted to say thank you because you made my point when you wrote that RVD dominated the TV title in ECW. Normally the TV Championship is not a great feat except when you dominate it (and in ECW it was the only other singles title other than the World Title) , With Arn Anderson held that belt it was the only singles titles he held and it wasn't even an impressive run if I remember correctly. When RVD was the TV Champion he was what the fans tuned in to see.

This one is to Marco, On a side note I do believe Hulk Hogan is one of the best wrestlers ever. Hulk Hogan made wrestling what it is today. Hogan was able to be one of the biggest faces ever and one of the biggest bad guys ever, he was always in control that way. He was also the man that carried wrestling and the WWF while it was gaining popularity in the 1980's. That I don't see how you can argue.

This one is to Mike Adams, You said it yourself the man is entertaining, last time I checked wrestling should be entertaining. You also said that is move set is repetitive, I disagree somewhat the man has a move set and he uses it, he has a lot of signature moves and he shows them off in most of his matches. I would like to have someone tell me why they hate on guys like RVD. It seems that since he's high flying, entertaining, and gets the crown on their feet that he sucks. In today's WWE if a guy like Rey can win the World Title I can't see why a wrestler like RVD doesn't deserve it. You also said that you never heard a good argument stating what type of fans in the seats, RVD would put anyone who wants to be entertained in the seats, hey do you hear the fans scream RVD when he points at himself.

This one is to Jon Rosaler, Dean Malenko is a lightweight he has never deserved to be World Champion, end of discussion. Right now Rey is a joke as champion and so would have Malenko.

I just turned 17 years old and have been a wrestling fan as long as I can remember. When someone asks me how long I have been a wrestling fan I would say something like 40-50 years because I have watched thousands of wrestling tapes from every promotion and every era, I own about 300 wrestling movies myself. Therefore even though I am only 17 I have seen them all and I am sure that RVD is the best wrestler to never hold a World Title. What you have to do when you ask yourself who is the best man never to hold the World Title is, when was this man deserving of being the World Champion, if you don't have an answer then he is not an example of a man deserving of a World Title. The guy must have been the best in his promotion in order to be champion. It's just a shame that he was never at least Champ in ECW when he was the biggest draw. Anyway at One Night Stand he will be WWE Champion.

Mickiel Allende wrote:
Edward, what the heck are you thinking when you say that Owen Hart do not and have never deserved to have been World Champion" He was as good as his brother Bret, if not, better. Stop talking about RVD deserving a World Title when a more deserving superstar like Owen Hart did. He had some classic matches in Japan, Canada and in the WWF/WWE. Seriously, you must be high when you say something like that.

sTARR wrote:
I have TWO "cents" to add to this discussion: (1) RVD, (2) who *really should" be considered for the accolade in question.

1. I know that popular opinion is pretty much mixed on whether or not RVD is "The Greatest Wrestler Never To Hold a World Championship", but I'd like to throw in this factual tidbit and see if it'll change minds:

FACTUAL TIDBIT: Rob Van Dam was #1 in the 2002 PWI [Pro-Wrestling Illustrated] 500. (Matter of fact, OWW has a link to the entire list for said year --> http://www.OnlineWorldofWrestling.com/information/pwi500/2002.html)

Now that I put that RVD tidbit out there...

2. I know that the guy I'm about to mention has mentioned at least one time that he doesn't want the WWE or World title at the moment because it's a chore to carry a company, but he's one title short of becoming a Grand Slam Champion (i.e. WWE/World, Intercontinental, European, Tag Team -- I believe you know which title he's missing).

((I'm about to get "Ahh, why him"!!" several times for just *mentioning* the name...))

William Regal === I know his redcoat attitude would make the French, Irish, Welsh, Scottish, Germans, French-Canadians, Australians, U.S. Americans, chivalry-hating feminazis, etc. (Damn, those limeys love to make enemies!) all want to jump him without needing even a *small* bounty to motivate them (just a reminder of their history with the English people). I know about some of the stupid stuff he's done (e.g. drugs and drink, Vinnie Mac's Kiss My Ass Club, playing dress-up with "Pirate Paul" Burchill, etc.), but I have some *good* things to point out.

- WRESTLING STYLE: Shoot wrestling (If Regal were in TNA, he would turn some of the X-Division guys into human pretzels, as well as guys like Abyss, Samoa Joe, and Scott D'Amore -- the last one is just for kicks -- if he felt like it.)

- SPEAKING VOICE: His accent (even the one he uses on TV) really isn't irritating since he actually grew up around the Black County/West Midlands area of England (even though he got his start and is *billed* from Blackpool) -- either way, his voice gives plenty of indication that he's not a p**sy like Hugh Grant and *definitely* not a p**sy like Hulk Hogan. (You anti-Hulk Hogan types should know what I mean.)

- EXPERIENCE: Whether he went for carnival wrestling or decided to train in a school (depending on which one you decide to believe), just starting at 15 years old (in 1983) is what you *really* call a start. He already went around the world before coming to WCW and WWE, so those two were/are basically upgrading his plane tickets (even though other WWE guys and gals may have something else to say about that). 23 years of *Regal's* experience, and some punk named Cena is holding the WWE title"! (Oh, that reminds me, if Regal wanted to, he could take the title -- or any other one, for that matter -- and put a sticker of the St. George's Cross flag on the main gold plate, which would be guaranteed to p*ss off the Scottish, Welsh, and Irish upon going to their respective countries.)

- PHYSICAL APPEARANCE: He's basically Buddy Rogers (the inaugural WWE Champion back in 1963) fast-forwarded to 2006 and with shorter, more mousy brown hair. (The Knee Trembler would be better without the knee pads.)

- ALIGNMENT (i.e. face, heel, neutral, or tweener"): As a heel, he's the *English* Bastard with plenty of tricks up his sleeves. As a face, he's the old veteran with plenty of tricks up just *one* sleeve.

I think I said enough. Thank you for letting me speak, guys.

Jon Rosaler wrote:
Eddie, why you gotta be like that, man" Dean was awesome, there people saying they would like Cena more if he trained him. He's smart enough to find your article. Ever go to the WWE.com's Power 25" Well, look what "The Academy" said about what the fans think of RVD. "Many think he is the best to never hold the world title". Sounds almost like your column hmm" And Dean Malenko works for WWE.com

Joe Aguinaldo wrote:
While I like RVD and do find him entretaining, I disagree that RVD is the 'Greatest Wrestler Never To Hold a World Championship'. There have been a number of responses with names that I agree with...the most noteable being Ted DiBiase who was promised both the NWA (original) and WWF titles but never got them.

When you say the words 'Greatest Wrestler' names like Flair, Hogan, Michaels, Steamboat, Andre, Kurt, Austin, the Rock, Jericho, Benoit, Misawa, Kobashi, Kawada and Thesz come to mind (and those are just off the top of my head). RVD is nowhere near that category....he still has a way to go to hit that status. I'm not saying he isn't entertaining but entertaining doesn't necessarily make you a great wrestler and certainly doesn't mean you deserve the title. Case in point, Eugene is very entertaining and he actually can work when you get around his gimmick but he ain't gonna come close to the title (or at least I hope not).

Also, if you're going to compare RVD to guys like Dean Malenko or Arn Anderson then don't just compare popularity because yeah...RVD will probably beat these guys out....but there's more to being a great wrestler than popularity. If you do in fact have all these wrestling videos, then you need to watch them a little more closely and really look at some of the guys your dissing with a more objective eye...not as an RVD fan.

As much as I like RVD, I'd be an idiot to say this guy was the same caliber of worker as Malenko, Anderson, Dibiase, Scott Hall (when he was sober), Owen Hart, Brian Pillman, Davey Boy Smith, Dynamite Kid (80s version), Tully Blanchard, Barry Windham, Greg Valentine, Wahoo McDaniels (who was stupid intense), David Von Erich (who would've held the NWA title for awhile if he hadn't died), Terry Gordy (who was once one of the best workers in the world before his addictions caught up with him), Steve Williams and there are way more guys that I'm missing. And some of these guys I'd have a problem giving a world title run to not because of their workrates but because they are missing a peice of the puzzle.

Anyways, back to RVD...First off, forget the frogsplash or rolling thunder or the VanDaminator (which are all very impressive and athletic moves)....look at the way he punches (a very basic move) compared to AA (or even Kurt Angle or SCSA)...his punches look weak. Also, the point was already made that he is careless with his opponents. There was a streak of matches he had with Chris Jericho where RVD 'potatoed' him every week. Also, while you're right that wrestling is entertainment, part of that entertainment is being able to tell a story which RVD isn't very good at either. Take a look at a Ric Flair match (specifically from the 1980s).....the only 'high spot' he did was when his opponent would throw him off the top turnbuckle....not a big deal by today's standards but he knew how to build to that high spot. Look at Steve Austin, Kurt Angle or the Rock...again, not a high flyers but they know proper ring psychology and how to tell a story with just a look or a gesture (and there are guys in Japan that could do it even better than these guys but that's another argument). Look at even AA (a guy you seem to have some disdain for)....he could get a crowd reaction by a facial gesture or by begging off or by selling a big move....I don't see RVD doing that very well. Take away his high spots and you have a very average worker at best...Also, part of being a great wrestler is making your opponent look better than he actually is....this is where RVD needs work to say Double A. Arn Anderson made a career of making guys look like world beaters...like Sting, Lex Luger and the Road Warriors....guys who weren't necessarily the best workers. I think RVD would be hard pressed to carry an opponent to a good match if he was in the ring with someone who wasn't a good worker as well....When he was working with Jericho, Benoit, Shelton Benjamin and Jerry Lynn he looked awesome because those guys KNOW HOW TO WORK and put an opponent over.

Finally, the most important reason why RVD probably has not been given the title (and why alot of great wrestlers were never given the opportunity) is because RVD is not proven draw (ECW days not withstanding) and what's arguably the most important thing for a wrestler" The ability to bring fans to the building and buy a ticket. I'm not saying he isn't popular but let's face it, he doesn't have the same appeal as the Rock, SCSA, Kurt Angle or HHH have. Heck, Lou Thesz who wasn't necessarily the most popular wrestler or Hogan who was one of the worse workers both held their titles for long periods of time why" Because they could both draw huge houses. Until RVD can prove that ala Thesz, Hogan, Flair, Austin or the Rock...I can't put RVD and 'Greatest' in the same breath let alone the same sentence!

Damon wrote:
Remember, Dean Malenko was #1 on the 1997 edition of the PWI 500, so he was also held in high regard. I agree he had great wrestling talent, but personally I didn't see him as a World Champion. He never came off as having the charisma to be the top guy. That's just my opinion. I think his size was possibly what hurt him though. It didn't effect his ability to execute, just that he was probably considered more of a Lightweight/Cruiserweight. If he was say 6'0", 235lbs a la Bret Hart, I think he could have gone a lot further, and even been considered on the level of Bret Hart. Imagine if they were both in the WWF together during their peak! Those would have been some great matches, although Dean peaked (1997) a bit after Bret did (earlier 1992-94) in my opinion.

wrote:

If you have any comments, reactions, rebuttles or thoughts on this column, feel free to send them to the email below,
PLEASE INCLUDE THE NAME OF THE COLUMN YOU'RE REPLYING TO AND SIGN YOUR NAME..
We at OnlineWorldofWrestling want to promote all points of view, and that includes YOURS.