“I’m a big fan of non-fiction, and I am a believer that fact is much more exciting than fiction.”
― Rob Van Dam
“WWE didn’t want RVD to get over when I was there. They tried so much to… to… not get me… to… to… keep me from that. They didn’t understand why the fans liked me, because I don’t fit the cookie cutter formula, because I am a non-conformist.”
― Rob Van Dam
“You can’t patent a move. It’s challenging enough to come up with a move that nobody else does… I try and do things that I would want to see done that I haven’t seen other people do. Most wrestlers obviously don’t think that way, and instead they steal somebody’s move as soon as they’ve gone on to the next company.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I was a very intelligent kid. I used my intelligence to support my passions. When it came to comic books, I became enthralled in the whole universe. I had to know all the facts and timelines. The whole fictional universe was real to me.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve had hundreds and hundreds of concussions, but I don’t think that I have any permanent damage. A lot of my peers do.”
― Rob Van Dam
“To try to be a professional athlete and work out when you’re not sleeping right, you’re traveling day to day, not to mention the bumps and bruises in the ring, and you’re trying to eat right – it’s a very, very challenging job.”
― Rob Van Dam
“ECW fans were original. They were part of the show. They were a big part of the show, and other fans in other towns in other countries would imitate the fans that were on ECW television.”
― Rob Van Dam
“In front of millions of people that paid to see you at your best, who expect you to be in action-figure shape and condition on that particular night for that moment, you’ve got to deliver.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I have an incredibly dry sense of humor.”
― Rob Van Dam
“When I was In high school, I became interested in Greek mythology. I had to know all about the exact dates of all the history.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I grew up really being a comic book geek, and that was a really big part of my childhood.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I am really thankful for my career.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I don’t enjoy the road life or WWE’s really hectic schedule.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Philadelphia’s awesome. It’s one of my top home-away-from-homes. When I walk around on the streets there, people recognize me. They think I’m from Philadelphia, because I was there so much and because I’m so associated with Philadelphia through ECW.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I attribute my longevity to my extensive stretch routine that I do before every single match or any physical activity. I put myself thought a regimen that really puts my body to the test so I’m not cold, tight, or ready to be injured when I start slamming my body around.”
― Rob Van Dam
“If my spirit is down, then so are the physical and mental levels. That’s always been the case. When I’m motivated, my body feels great and I’m ready and excited to go. When I get burned out, I feel it in all three categories – mind, body and spirit. I’m aware and in touch with all three categories.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve always been tough my whole life. I’m able to take a lot of punishment, and that might be an even greater asset than my offense. I’m the guy that can take your best shot, and I’m not going to go down.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Obviously, I have a lot of respect for Curt Hennig, and I say ‘obviously’ because I just assumed that anybody would know that ‘Mr. Perfect’ Curt Hennig was a legend, and someone of that stature is someone that everybody looks up to.”
― Rob Van Dam
“When I started out, there were many different companies… you could leave and go to a different territory, and there were so many different styles. What we have now is WWE has survived the test of time, and all the other companies have fallen off the face of the earth.”
― Rob Van Dam
“If you’re not in the WWE and bouncing around in the Indy shows, you’re not with the best.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Anyone in the entertainment business, respectively, is a show-off.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I was told my style was supposed to give me a short career.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve been so willing to stay strong and stick to my guns for so long when it comes to my beliefs.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I have an open door with WWE as far as wrestling goes.”
― Rob Van Dam
“For me, the fans missing me and wanting to see me on TV is very important, but the business end of it also has to be right.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I don’t think all the other wrestlers hear the same love from the fans that I do – they are extreme about it.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Professional wrestling was almost like a secret society when I started, like a Mafia, and it would destroy the Sheik to see how much that has changed.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I stretch for a full hour before a fight because I know I’m going to take a lot of punishment in the ring. That’s my secret.”
― Rob Van Dam
“The more exciting, flying wrestlers are not going to be your 300-pound wrestlers.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Acting is fun. I especially like the action sequences. That’s what I do best.”
― Rob Van Dam
“The energy from the fans in Boston is always something we can count on for support.”
― Rob Van Dam
“In ECW, the fans would warm me up. I’d walk around the ring and slap hands with everyone and get ready for the match. I’d feed off that energy, I would use that to create positive energy. In WWE, it’s different. It’s a timed show; everything is timed. We know – when we get to the ring, we know when there’s a commercial.”
― Rob Van Dam
“The 18-year-old me wouldn’t understand the 43-year-old me because then I wanted to travel and see the world. But I love being home.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Some guys are on the road and can’t wait to get home; others are at home and can’t wait to get on the road. I’m definitely the one who wants to be home.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I prefer ECW’s style as far as the actual matches I’m capable of having.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve been wrestling for many years; I’ve accomplished a lot – but I take pride in being genuine, honest, and down-to-earth. Those are the qualities I really respect about myself, so I’m really pleased when I see that the energy that I want to exude is well received.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m like the opposite of an ‘office guy.’ I don’t want to be at the arena until right before my match.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m a huge fan of mafia history – mostly the Italian mafia but also their associates, as well as Whitey Bulger and the Winter Hill Gang.”
― Rob Van Dam
“ECW was the most fun for me artistically. And then, WWE, it was also very fun, but that was part of it. It was also a very stressful, monotonous schedule. There was a lot of politics, adjusting to that, and I am not a politician, and I don’t play those games. So that was very frustrating for me as well.”
― Rob Van Dam
“A lot of celebrities are afraid of being out of sight, out of mind. I’m the complete opposite.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve always been trying to do as little as possible, and I’m getting better at it all the time.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I really want to pop the crowd. I want to show off. That is the one thing that I’ve always loved about my career is I just want to show off. I always hated the storylines.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I always hated when I had to do the promos, especially because I got to push their agenda and try to tell you that this championship match is more important than anything in the world to me. Come on. No, it’s not.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve never tried to be like anybody else. I’m a non-conformist in every way, and when it comes to wrestling, that’s certainly true, too.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Really, I didn’t even want to go to WWE in 2001. I knew that it wasn’t my favorite style, my favorite showcasing of my abilities, but it was definitely the best business move. At the time, there was nowhere else to go anyway – ECW was gone, WCW was gone. So, when I first came in, I was seriously frustrated trying to adapt.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m proud of my independence. And certainly from a business perspective, that’s always been a main agenda for me – to make my own position, don’t try and be like somebody else, because there already is that somebody else.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I stand behind what I say and what I do.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m a strong believer in modern medicine. I think it has its use in society. I think it adds longevity to our life expectancy.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Somebody like CM Punk, who stands up and says he’s completely sober – he doesn’t even take a drink of champagne in a toast because that’s just not him – he’s a man that’s completely full of integrity; you’ve got to respect that.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve impacted peoples’ lives in such a way that they’ll never forget.”
― Rob Van Dam
“It’s very important to me I get my autobiography out before I die and someone else writes it and screws up my life.”
― Rob Van Dam
“What you see is what you get. I’m the real deal. That’s why I can step into the ring after having many months off and not have any rust. I’m still working out, stretching.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m a real-life action hero.”
― Rob Van Dam
“In any business that you pursue, if you belong at the top, and you’re perceived as having that caliber, and you do qualify, then it’s something that you want to hold on to.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m not afraid of fear tactics. They don’t work on me.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Paul Heyman has always been the only guy from the office that ever really had my best interest and really understood me. The other agents and promoters seemed confused why the fans liked me so much, because I was so non-typical for their idea of a wrestler, so they just tried to capitalize on it without owning it.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Since Sabu was the first guy that I was in the ring with professionally, we have the longest history in my career, and also, we were like minded.”
― Rob Van Dam
“You have to believe in yourself and have to believe you are a little bit crazy to be the best.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m one of the biggest Ghost Rider fans ever. He’s been a hobby of mine ever since I was seven years old. I actually have a whole room in my house dedicated to Ghost Rider memorabilia.”
― Rob Van Dam
“When it comes to X-Men, Ice Man is my favorite.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Samoa Joe is a good friend of mine, and I’m very impressed with his in-ring abilities.”
― Rob Van Dam
“If somebody is willing to take some advice, then I have some, and that’s just life in general. A lot of people don’t want to hear anything.”
― Rob Van Dam
“The battle royals are usually among my least favorite matches.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Single matches, I feel, have always been the ones where I can shine more. Three-way, four-way, you have to split your attention with some other guys, and it can be totally great, but when you get into a battle royal with 20 or 30 other guys, it’s just so different from what your agenda is when it’s one on one competition.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I love a match like Money in the Bank; I love a hardcore match, and that’s what the Money in the Bank ladder matches are. Throw the rule book out and let out your imagination.”
― Rob Van Dam
“In Total Nonstop Action, individual wrestlers have a lot more freedom to artistically express themselves versus WWE.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’m so confusing to wrestling promoters, and I’m used to that, but because I stayed in ECW and learned how to express myself the way, ah, that I could connect with my fans, it made my strong Rob Van Dam character uncompromising… and I owe that to ECW.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I don’t remember a Rob Van Dam versus Mick Foley hardcore match. There should have been one.”
― Rob Van Dam
“Even when I’m not wrestling, I still appreciate all my fans. I take all the compliments to heart.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I am a professional when I get in the ring.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve been Intercontinental Champion lots of times, Television Champion. One of my favorites has been the Hardcore Championship because it reflected my favorite style, and I feel that the X Division belt does that, too.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I came into ECW in Philadelphia in 1996 and left in 2001 – a much bigger, worldwide star than I arrived – and I thank ECW for that.”
― Rob Van Dam
“When I hit that Five-Star Frogsplash, I’m pretty confident that if I can crawl over in time, I’m going to get the three-count. So that’s kind of always in my back pocket; the fans always know it.”
― Rob Van Dam
“I’ve always taken care of myself, and I’m a non-conformist, so I don’t accept the negativity that comes with birthdays.”
― Rob Van Dam
“When I was with WWE, people would have me sign merchandise that I didn’t even know existed.”
― Rob Van Dam
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