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What does it take to become a professional wrestler? One of the critical requirements is mental toughness. Another is physical strength to tackle opponents in the ring. A wrestler must also have speed because the outcome of a match can change in a split second. Rob Van Dam, a professional wrestler, has won many wrestling matches because he possesses these attributes.

Rob Van Dam was given the name Robert Alexander Szatkowski at birth. He was born on the 18th of December 1970 in Battle Creek, Michigan, United States of America. Sagittarius is his Zodiac sign, and his nationality is American. How old is Rob Van Dam? Rob Van Dam age is 48 years. He is a professional wrestler and actor who is currently in a working contract with Impact Wrestling. His name is often abbreviated to RVD.

Profile summary

• Name: Robert Alexander Szatkowski (commonly known as Rob Van Dam)
• Nicknames: Rob Van Dam, RVD, Mr. Monday Night, Mr. Thursday Night, Mr. PPV, The Whole Dam Show, The Whole F'n Show, Robbie V
• Age: 48 years
• Date of birth: 18th of December 1970
• Place of birth: Battle Creek, Michigan, United States of America
• Zodiac sign: Sagittarius
• Nationality: American
• Ancestry: Belgian-Polish
• Height: 6 feet 1 inch (185.42 centimetres/ 1.8542 metres)
• Weight: 107 kilogrammes (235.4 lbs)
• Eye colour: Blue
• Hair colour: Light brown
• Ex-spouse: Sonia Delbeck (1998- 2018)
• Relationship: Katie Forbes
• Alma mater: Pennfield Senior High School
• Net worth: $5 million
• Profession: Wrestler, actor

Rob Van Dam background

RVD was raised in Battle Creek, Michigan. He comes from Belgian-Polish heritage. He went to Pennfield Senior High School. He started his training in kickboxing and martial arts when he was a young man. He trained in martial arts at two Battle Creek-based dojos. Tae Kwon Do, Kickboxing, Kendo, Karate and Aikido were the classes he took.

In 1990, he contested the Kalamazoo Heavyweight Toughman Contest and emerged in the second overall position. Although many people assume that Kris Van Damme, an expert in marial arts, is Rob Van Dam brother, the two are not related.

Rob Van Dam height and measurements

RVD’s height is 6 feet 1 inch (185.42 centimetres/ 1.8542 metres). He weighs about 107 kilogrammes (235.4 lbs). He has blue eyes and light brown hair.

Rob Van Dam nicknames and trademark

RVD has several other nicknames. These include;

• Mr. Monday Night
• Mr. Thursday Night
• Mr. PPV
• The Whole Dam Show
• The Whole F'n Show

The wrestler has several trademarks that help him to stand out amongst other wrestlers. These include;

• He raises his arms and uses his thumbs to point to his head. He repeats this while calling out his Rob Van Dam name.
• His trademark move involves doing a split-legged moonsault, cartwheel moonsault, corkscrew leg drop, flying thrust kick, corkscrew dropkick or the VanTerminator move.
• His finishing move is a frog splash.

Wrestling career

RVD has been a wrestler for close to three decades now. The timeline of his wrestling career is as follows;

The novice period

RVD's first appearance on WWE was in his teenage years. At the time, DiBiase was known for offering selected audience members some money to do demeaning activities. He spotted 16-year-old Rob from the audience and offered him $100 to kiss his foot. Rob entered the ring and did as ordered. Little did he know that he would soon be king of the boxing ring.

Professional wrestling

In 1990, Szatkowski entered the ring for the first time as a professional wrestler. The following year, he got his nickname, Rob Van Dam. Promoter Ron Slinker gave him the nickname. It was a perfect choice because he closely resembled the famous actor, Jean-Claude Van Damme. He also had a lot of experience in martial arts.

His career started with numerous independent promotions across his home state, Michigan. He won his first championship in July 1992, that is, the SAPW Tag Team Championship. He participated in the World Junior Heavyweight Championship at the All Japan Pro Wrestling.

World Championship Wrestling

Towards the end of 1992, Szatkowski signed a contract with World Championship Wrestling. He took the name Robbie V and made his debut in the ring on the 23rd of January 1993. He won his debut match against Pat Rose. In February, he contested the World Television Championship belt where he beat Shanghai Pierce in the first round. He lost the second to Vinnie Vegas.

Extreme Championship Wrestling

At the beginning of 1996, he signed a contract with Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW). He defeated Axl Rotten in the first match. He had, at this point in his career, established the demeanour of a man with a laid-back attitude and one who used unorthodox styles. On the 30th of March, he faced 2 Cold Scorpio in a match where the two drew.

In 1996, RVD was very popular, especially after his widely publicised rivalry with Sabu. The two faced each other in different matches. Each of them was trying to prove that they were better than the other. Later, RVD and Doug Furnas became rivals. He also became Dan Kroffat's rival. After he lost a match to Sabu, the two teamed up to face Kroffat and Furnas. They won in a match against the two.

After the win, the duo became the rivals of John Kronus, The Eliminators, and Perry Saturn. They drew in one match, but the rivalry did not end there. The duo competed for the 1997 World Tag Team Championship belt against The Eliminators. The Eliminators won. In the next ECW competition, Van Dam beat Lance Storm.

In the subsequent matches, RVD continued teaming up with Sabu. Together, they entered the ring for various games including the Ultimate Jeopardy, Better Than Ever, Heat Wave and Orgy of Violence. In December 1997, the duo won the World Tag Team Championship again.

Other championships

After contesting the ECW, Van Dam featured in the following championships;

• World Television Champion: He was in this competition from 1998 until 2001.
• World Wrestling Federation: Under this company, he competed for The Invasion in 2001. Between 2001 and 2002, be fought to get the Intercontinental Champion belt. Between 2002 and 2003, he participated in the World Heavyweight Championship. He teamed up with Kane in 2002.
• ECW and WWE World Heavyweight Championships
• Independent Circuit: In February 2008, he signed a contract with Independent Circuit. He participated in the Nu-Wrestling Evolution, Associação Portuguesa de Wrestling, American Wrestling Rampage, No Limits Wrestling and World Stars of Wrestling.
• Total Nonstop Action Wrestling: Under this brand, he participated in the World Heavyweight Championship, EV 2.0, Championship pursuits and X Division Championship.
• WWE return: In June 2013, RVD made a WWE comeback. He was a WWE member until 2014. In July 2019, he made a one-time appearance on the WWE special dubbed Raw Reunion.
• Independent Circuit (return): After WWE, he made a comeback on Independent Circuit in 2015. He has been working with this brand to date.
• Impact Wrestling (return): In February 2019, RVD signed a contract with Impact Wrestling.

Acting career

RVD is a seasoned actor who has starred in many different television shows and films. Among the shows and movies he has starred in are;

• Superfights (1995): This was RVD's first movie. He was Mercenary in the film.
• Blood Moon (1997): He acted as Dutch.
• City Guys (1999): He featured as himself in the episode, El Trainmania IV.
• 18 Wheels of Justice (2000): He starred in one episode of this show as Robert Laramie. The title of the episode was Outside Chance.
• The X-Files (2000): He featured in the episode, Fight Club, as Burt's opponent.
• V.I.P. (2000): He acted as Mjr Talbot in the episode, Survi-Val.
• Spy TV (2000): He starred in one episode of the show.
• Ultimate Revenge (2001): He featured in two episodes as himself.
• Black Mask 2: City of Masks (2002): He acted as The Claw.
• The Backyard (2002): He had a cameo role in this movie.
• One Of A Kind (2005): He appeared as himself.
• Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling (2008)
• Sketch Of Life (2009): He featured as himself.
• Bloodstained Memoirs (2009): He featured in this show as himself.
• Wrong Side of Town (2010): He portrayed the character of Bobby Kalinowsky.
• Family Feud (2010): He featured in five episodes as himself.
• Saints Row: The Third (2011): He was the voice actor for the character of Bobby.
• Olympic Trials With Kurt Angle (2012): He appeared on the show as himself.
• 3-Headed Shark Attack (2012)
• Saints Row IV (2013): He was the voice of Bobby.
• Nine Legends (2016)
• Sniper: Special Ops (2016): He portrayed the character of Vasquez.
• Traveling the Stars: Action Bronson and Friends Watch Ancient Aliens (2016): He featured on the show as himself. His appearance was in the episode, Alien Devastation.

In 2008, the wrestler and actor launched RVD Radio. Producer Brett Cohen assisted him in establishing the venture. He has also appeared in many WWE video games so far.

Rob Van Dam net worth

Szatkowski has a successful career. He has participated in numerous paid matches under different brands and featured in movies and television shows. Presently, his net worth is estimated at $5 million.

Relationships and marriage

WWE Rob Van Dam was formerly married to Sonia Delbeck. He married her on the 6th of September 1998. In December 2015, the couple separated. In July the following year, Rob Van Dam wife filed for divorce from the famous wrestler. The divorce was granted after two years. RVD has been in a romantic relationship with Katie Forbes since 2016. Katie is also a professional wrestler.

Controversies

Rob Van Dam WWE advocates for the legalisation of marijuana. He has openly discussed his views on different media platforms. He admits that he consumes it, and believes that it is an athletic enhancer. Rob believes that the benefits of legalising cannabis outweigh its prohibition.

In early July 2006, RVD and Sabu were arrested. The two were driving at high speed, so an Ohio State Highway Patrol officer stopped their vehicle. The officer discovered that the two were in possession of drugs. RVD had 18 grammes of hashish as well as five Vicodin tablets. Sabu, on the other hand, had nine Testolactone tablets and drug paraphernalia.

The two were released after they posted bail. During a court hearing on the 31st of August 2006, RVD pleaded guilty for both overspeeding and possessing hashish. The charge of possessing Vicodin was dropped after he presented a prescription for the drug in the courtroom.

The arrest put his career at WWE at stake. According to the brand's wellness policy, drug-related arrests can lead to dismissal. Through John Laurinaitis, the Vice President of Talent Relations at the time, the company announced that both RVD and Sabu were still allowed to record ECW and Raw tapings. Investigations by WWE officials were underway.

Szatkowski dropped out of the WWE Championship in a live Raw episode and also did the same at the ECW Championship the following day. The relevant authorities gave him a 30-day suspension from work. He did not receive any payment during his suspension period. ECW scripted a segment explaining to fans that RVD had been suspended.

Years later, people still talk about his arrest. Here are some comments from different people about the issue;

Social media

RVD is active on social media. He has an Instagram account with over 443k followers. He also has a Twitter account with 1.07 million followers. His fans get to know his career milestones and his daily activities via these platforms.

Who is Rob Van Dam? He is a professional wrestler and actor who has been wrestling since the '90s. He is known for his signature pose where he raises both his arms then uses both thumbs to point at his head. Usually, he does this three times while saying his name, Rob Van Dam. The 48-year-old is currently dating Katie Forbes, who is also a professional wrestler.

Source: Legit.ng

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