All language subtitles for EP-11 - Rob Van Dam

[birds chirping]

- This is my wall
of RVD action figures.

You know, I was signing
autographs of so many figures,

I thought, well, I should
I have my own collection.

I have the figures grouped,
you know, by my career.

These are the original
EC-dub, right here.

This is one of the more
expensive action figures.

It's the, uh, variant
Micro Brawler with red eyes.

[laughs]

Those go for several
hundred dollars.

It shows how big my career was.

This is one of standard
to measure success by.

- From Battle Creek, Michigan,
Rob Van Dam.

- Oh, my God.

- What made Rob cool is that
he was cool without

trying to be cool.

- Hey, whatever.

- He's not the Showstopper.

He's the show.

- His move set was
revolutionary.

Those matches changed the game.

They became a blueprint
actually for what you're seeing

in WWE nowadays.

- What an ovation for RVD.

- I think he could have gone to
the moon and back if it wasn't

for a little speed bump.

- Even as a kid he didn't like
anything organized and he didn't

wanna be told what he had to do.

- Unbelievable athleticism.

- RVD one of the most popular
yet unorthodox competitors

we've ever seen.

- Everybody looks at me as being
different and I loved it.

I did everything my way
and I ended up at the very top.

I was born December 18th, 1970.

I would say that growing up
I liked to risk safety.

I liked to thrill myself
by jumping my bike.

We're always building ramps
higher and higher.

- He isn't afraid
of very much.

Never has been.

- When he was old enough,
I'd say maybe three,

he would jump off the boat
in the water.

He just- he just loved
the water.

- He liked the diving boards.

You can't get hurt
that way if you-

if you go off the diving board.

- He did all kind of stupid
things off of that diving board.

I mean flips back, flips
forward, flip, double flips,

you name it he did them.

- I'm a bit of superstar in my
own mind trying to outdo

whatever I saw anybody else do.

- He was a great student
at first.

- Academically gifted, is
what one of his teachers told

us, but then he kinda slacked
off a little bit later on.

- I think I always had issues
with fitting in to structures

and categories.

I always I think pushed back
against being forced to fit in

to a position that was
predetermined for me.

Still do.

Some of my earliest memories of
professional wrestling were from

the other kids that
enjoyed watching it.

I thought that the idea sounded
silly, but I watched wrestling

one time to hang out with
everybody and right away

I was into it.

"Leaping" Lanny Poffo was
a very big influence on me.

He became my favorite wrestler
because he thought so far

outside the box that I just
enjoyed watching him and-

and his moves.

- Beautiful maneuver.

Hooks the leg.

- Started watching wrestling
every week, became a really big

fan and really enjoyed going
to the live shows.

It was like the coolest
thing ever for me.

One night Ted DiBiase was
in the ring.

- Here he is, the
self-proclaimed

Million Dollar Champion,
Ted DiBiase.

- The Million Dollar Man's
character was based on how much

more he had than everybody else.

One of the ways that he
demonstrated that was he'd offer

money to people in the crowd
to humiliate themselves.

- And, uh, Ted DiBiase
points at me.

I jumped over the guardrail.

I was so excited.

Slid into the ring.

I already kissed his foot before
he was done with the sentence.

I was so excited to be there.

- From my perspective, that was
basically like the whole town

in the stands watching me
when I was in the ring.

I was the center of attention
and I knew that was gonna

be my platform, you know.

I wasn't gonna dance.

I wasn't gonna sing.

And this was a way to express
myself and hold the spotlight,

entertain, show off.

From that moment on, I thought
about nothing else.

- He built his own little gym
thing to really bulk himself.

He took an old swing set
and he had a-

a weight bench with weights.

I mean, he was really rocking
it down there.

- Really studying wrestling
a lot, you know,

like watching it.

Me and my buddies would wrestle
each other and actually had

matches at one of my friend's
houses and it wasn't too long

until we found out that there
was a guy in town right there

in Battle Creek that had
an actual ring.

So, that became our next step.

Our-our goal is we got
to get in that ring.

- 10 o'clock at night somebody
knocks on my door, it's these

two kids and they're like,
"Dude, can we get in your ring?"

- We need to get in it,
you know.

We're-we're gonna be wrestlers
when we grow up.

This dude is like what?

It turns out he's
a kickboxer promoter and

he runs kickboxing shows.

- I was like, we do
kickboxing, karate and boxing.

We don't do wrestling,
but I'll make a deal with you.

If you do karate, I'll let you
guys practice in the ring.

He stuck his hand out
and said "Deal."

So the next day they were there
and they never left.

He fought just like my team.

Push-ups, sit-ups,
a lot of actual sparring.

He's very skilled.

He's 15 whopping grown men
in night clubs.

[crowd cheering]

- I could take a lot of abuse,
I took a lot of hard shots and

was able to keep smiling
while I was knocking guys out

left and right.

- Rob Szatkowski.

I learned that I was really
good at kickboxing.

- He had all the physical stuff,
but a lot of guys have that,

but what you can't teach
is drive and

determination and willpower.

You got those or you don't.

But his-his total focus
even when he was that

little was wrestling.

- I got into kickboxing through
Kit because that was mandatory

in order for us wrestlers
to use the ring.

I spent as much time
in that ring as possible.

I lived in that ring.

I had it in my own yard for
a very long time.

- He had a grant to go
to Western Michigan University.

He turned it down because
he says "I'm gonna wrestle."

- We made a deal.

I said, "Dad, give me two years.

I'm gonna know if I'm gonna
make it or not.

If I don't make it, you know,
I'll still be young enough

to go to college."

and he thought
that sounded fair.

- I always told my kids,
whatever you do,

be the best at it,
be the best you can do it,

and I couldn't ask for anything
more than that,

and, uh, he did.

[laughs]

- I ended up learning there's
actually a wrestling school

not too far from my town.

It's not just some school
because I had things that were

important to me, who's training,
the longevity of the school,

who have they trained
that's successful.

Turns out, the original Sheik
was gonna be the guy for me

and he checked all the boxes.

The original Sheik was
just that, OG.

He was a top box office
attraction

in the 50s and the 60s.

It wasn't like a wrestling
school, it was uh Sheik

throwing us in the ring and

telling us to beat each
other up.

It was only rougher,
squeeze harder, bring the bodies

in closer to each other because
Sheik was old school and we were

taught the number one rule is
to protect the business.

- Ladies and gentlemen
our next match,

let me introduce the first,
Rob Zakowski.

- I wrestled under many
different names.

Rob Zat, Robbie Z,

different forms
of my last name.

- Back flip out of the corner.

There came that savate kick.

A karate move with a flash
of brilliance from Zakowski.

Eventually, a wrestling promoter
named Ron Slinker gave me

the name Rob Van Dam.

Pretty sure because he thought
I looked like the actor.

- Jean-Claude Van Damme was
an action movie icon

who could do amazing martial
arts, kicks, he could do splits

and could do all kinds of stuff.

So, in comes this wrestler,
he can also do splits,

he can also do kicks, and he
kinda looks like

Jean-Claude Van Damme.

- It could have just been for
the night as far as I was

concerned, but it stuck.

[Japanese language]

Rob Van Dam

[Japanese language]

- Pretty soon,
I'm wrestling all over.

I'm wrestling in Japan.

Everything is about getting your
name out and your reputation

at that point.

- I saw a couple of matches that
Rob had had in Japan and knew we

really had to get
our hands on him.

[crowd chants "ECW"]

- I remember one time flipping
through the channels and

I caught a commercial for ECW,
and I couldn't believe

that this was
professional wrestling.

[crowd cheers]

- ECW was very raw,

gritty, in your face.

- ECW were the renegades,
they were the misfits.

It was everything that

WCW and WWE
wasn't at that time.

- WCW sucks.

- It was a breath of fresh air
for the wrestling industry.

- Oh, my God.

- They broke the ring.

- Paul Heyman was
running ECW,

and he calls me and he talks
about me coming up

to work for him.

- Rob Van Dam making
his ECW debut,

a well-travelled
world-class wrestler.

- I thought he was a tremendous
talent that needed a little bit

more seasoning,
but that he certainly had

main event potential.

- Fans here in the ECW
arena not sure what to make

of Rob Van Dam yet.

- It was not what I was used to
when it came to pro-wrestling.

The crowd just waiting for you
to slip so they can jump on you.

- The ECW fans don't take
to newcomers too well.

- You had to be a really good
wrestler by the standards of the

ECW crowd, it was intimidating.

- Split-legged moonsault,

Press two, he got him.

Rob Van Dam is now extreme.

Welcome to ECW.

- Here you go.

Five, four, three-

- The Eliminators,-

- Stop.

- -you're a great team.

- Ok, shh.

Alright here we go.

- When I first got to ECW, I
didn't wanna go anywhere near

the camera to cut promos.

Eliminators,
you're a great team.

--

Sorry.

I was just too green,
uncomfortable with it,

didn't think that I could
convince people

that I believed in myself.

- When Rob first came in,
his promos weren't the best,

but he grew into that character
and he had the best coach

in Paul Heyman.

- My advice to Rob Van Dam
was just be authentic.

Just be yourself.

Just be Rob Van Dam.

- I got the idea of actually
posing, showing my awesome arms

without it looking like
I'm posing because I saw

Jean-Claude Van Damme do it
in a movie, he knocks the guy

out, he looks up at the
promoters and he says,

"I want Tong Po."

- I want Tong Po.

Give me Tong Po.

- I ripped it off a little bit,
but I never knew that I was

making anything special.

I just thought, you know, hey,
I'm just posing and the fans

started doing this back to me.

Then I realized that that's me,
like they're identifying me

with 'cause I do that.

It was just something that
I was doing that became me.

You know, I really discovered
who RVD was in ECW.

I learned how
to just bring myself out.

9 out of 10 of viewers agree,
Rob Van Dam's face belongs

on a television camera.

- It was Jeff Spicoli from Fast
Times at Ridgemont High meets

Jean-Claude Van Damme.

- Rob Van Dam is a spectacular,
breathtaking,

world-class athlete.

And he knows it.

- For the time, like, what-what
were you even watching?

You know what I mean?

It was so different from how
anybody else had ever wrestled.

- The more I understood ECW
and the crowd,

it flowed in my blood.

I mean, I understood it,
I knew what was a good decision

and what wasn't.

Being called the whole -- show-

- Whoa-ho, yeah.

- -put a lot of pressure
on a guy, you know.

- Look at the belts, baby.

Luckily, I back it up.

Always outdoing myself.

Always getting better.

- Oh, my God, there it is.

- Ron Van Dam was an artist.

I knew that if Rob Van Dam
was in the main event,

the audience would go home
satisfied with the ECW product,

and that our main event would be
different than anything else WWE

or WCW could offer.

[crowd cheers]

[crowd chants "RVD"]

- I was married since a couple
of years after I started ECW,

and of course, that makes
it a lot more challenging

to be on the road,
but I believed in loyalty.

I believed in commitment
and it was important to me

to see all that through.

At the same time, this was a
very good part of my career.

It was pretty apparent everybody
was watching our product.

- Rob did have opportunity
to go other places.

He could have went to WCW,
he could have went to WWE.

- There was interest
in signing Rob.

Rob had a very unique look,
a very unique style and was

someone that we felt would
really fit on our roster.

- I think it was assumed
that I was just gonna go

'cause that's what you do.

You go and get more exposure,
bigger crowds, bigger TV,

bigger money,
but I really didn't want to.

I felt like they-they could
erase my entire history of

everything that I've done and
start me over as a new character

because they did business
in that kind of way.

- I wasn't afraid of losing Rob
to WWE or WCW because

the constraints that they were
going to put on him betrayed

an artist's sensibility.

And as long as he had the
opportunity to be an artist,

Rob Van Dam would stay with ECW.

- This is my perfect showcasing,
this is where I wanna be.

I don't wanna go somewhere else.

I wanna bring all the eyes here
so everyone can see me being

the whole effing show here
in ECW.

[crowd cheers]

- Rob Van Dam.

[crowd cheers]

- I can stay here the rest
of my career,

but ECW is headed downhill.

[crowd chants "ECW"]

- I was the guy.

I was the king at the time.

Sitting in the throne.

I am ECW.

[crowd cheers]

- Damn he's good.

- But then checks
started bouncing.

Paul didn't have the, uh, funds
to finance the company.

- The last year of ECW was

a brutal struggle to stay alive,

so we all had a little bit
of time to prepare for the

inevitable, but once you
hit that flatline,

it's still shocking.

[crowd cheers]

- In April of 2001, ECW
officially declares bankruptcy.

That was only a month after WWE
had officially acquired WCW.

The Sports Entertainment
industry had gone from

three major players
to just one.

- When ECW went out of business,
it really gutted me,

so ultimately, I knew that
if I wanted to be

a TV wrestler in the United
States, that meant going to WWE.

[crowd cheers]

- Welcome, ladies and
gentlemen, to Monday Night Raw.

- I actually came in
representing ECW

which was great for me.

- Hey, wait a minute.

What the hell?

That's-

[bell rings]

- That's Rob Van Dam
and Tommy Dreamer.

They're former ECW guys.

- Yes, they are.

- What the hell are they
doing here?

- When WWE acquired ECW,
fans still wanted to see

the battle play out, and Rob
Van Dam was brought in

to fight for ECW's side.

- It's a Five-Star Frog Splash
from Rob Van Dam.

- The invaders are supposed
to be heels,

but he was the babyface within
the heel group who stood out.

You kinda had to like that guy.

- And here comes Rob Van Dam.

This guy is the real deal.

No doubt about it.

- Jeff Hardy,

steel chair in hand.

And look at that.

That's the Van Daminator.

- What made Rob cool

is that he was cool without
trying to be cool.

I remember they're doing this
thing where Austin's backstage

and he says, "The next person
that comes through that door,

I'm going to fight tonight."

- The first sumbitch walks
through that door,

I am going to take to my ring
and I'm going to whip his ass.

- Everyone is-

-just wants RVD
to walk through the door.

- Oh.

Hey, Steve, what's up?

[crowd cheers]

- RVD with a suplex to Austin
on the steel ramp.

- And then you're seeing RVD mix
it up with top WWE stars that,

as an ECW fan,
you would've never imagined.

- Five-Star Frog Splash
to The Rock.

- And Van Dam-

My God, with a crossbody.

- I'm wrestling some of the top
stars there.

- Rob Van Dam has pinned
The Undertaker.

- And I'm beating these guys.

- This is what happens when you
get hardcore with Rob Van Dam.

- Cool.

- Wait, wait.

That's all you have to say,
is cool?

Don't you understand this?

This is pressure, man.
This is pressure.

- Yeah.

Hey, everything is cool when
you're Rob Van Dam, you know?

- So, for the next few years,
when I'm out in the ring,

I'm happy.

I'm doing my thing.

I'm connecting with the crowd.

[crowd yells "Rob Van Dam"]

- But at the same time,
it was a total different style,

total different agenda.

Now, I'm not the whole
effing show.

I'm part of the show.

- In the early part
of his run here,

Rob was underappreciated
and underutilized.

It's not a proper assessment of
what Rob Van Dam had to offer.

- Every single step of the way
felt like a battle.

I'm fighting the conformity of
fittiing in pre-notioned ideas

or prepackaged storylines.

I didn't want to change because
I really enjoyed what I was.

- He wasn't going
to compromise himself,

even if it meant advancement
in his career

and higher-profile matches.

He knew what he wanted to do
and what he wanted to be and he

wasn't going to be pushed into
being something that he wasn't.

I think if he really, really
cared about pleasing certain

people he would have changed,
and he never did.

- Sometimes wrestling
can be a little tricky.

- During this time, I know he's
not as happy as he could be.

It could have been backstage
politics that prevent you

from reaching the apex
of your career.

- I always felt like producers
never understood me.

Everybody wants to talk
in my ear and

tell me something different.

"The other people don't get you,
but I get you.

You're a surfer, dude.

Right?"

Everyone's always trying
to fit me into a category.

Why can I just be me?

I was longing for something,
feeling unfulfilled.

And I ended up pitching
an idea to Vince McMahon.

That idea would end up
changing everything.

The fans that knew ECW
never let the spirit die.

The fans would chant,
"ECW, ECW."

[crowd chants "ECW"]

- And a lot of those fans did
that because they missed ECW.

They preferred ECW and so did I.

and I thought we could have
an ECW reunion, just one night,

all of us wrestling ECW style.

The wrestlers would love it.

The fans would love it.

And so I asked Vince McMahon,
"Why don't you do this?"

Instead of telling me no,
he loved the idea.

- Rob just kept telling Vince,

"ECW. Bring back ECW,
it's still got legs.

People will love it.
It will be successful."

And Rob was right.

[crowd chants "ECW."]

- ECW was all these people
standing right in front

of the arena from 8:30
in the morning till 8:30

at night just to get in there.

- Hello, everyone.

And welcome to ECW
One Night Stand.

[crowd chants "ECW"]

- ECW One Night Stand
was a hell of a night.

- Ay, Dios Mío!

Air, Sabu.

Tommy, no, no.

He's on fire.

- Of course, I was extremely
disappointed that I had a torn

ACL when it came time
to actually do the show.

[crowd chants "RVD"]

- I don't have any creative
geniuses writing

my script tonight, folks.

And I'm gonna take you back to a
time before RVD's vocabulary

was limited to,
"Whatever" and "Cool."

That is how you showcase RVD.

[crowd chants "RVD"]

- Rob Van Dam made
that all possible.

He made that possible
for the fans.

He made that possible for me.

And he gave opportunity to
a lot of guys who deserved it.

[crowd chants "ECW"]

- It was a perfect send-off.

- The first ECW One Night Stand
was such a success,

we're doing it again,
but this one leads

into opening up ECW
as a third brand.

- The first ECW One Night Stand
was a very special show,

so doing it again was going
to feel exploitative.

What could we offer that had
never been offered before?

- RVD is in the main event
against John Cena.

This is even bigger than
anything we did the year before.

I'm wrestling for the
championship

in the Hammerstein Ballroom.

Six days, John, before that
title is the round my waist.

[crowd cheers]

- Me and my buddies watched

the first One Night Stand, uh,
from home.

We thought it was amazing.

We were so into it, so when
they announced the second one,

we were like, "We're going."

Everybody in that arena
wants RVD to win the title.

It was such a wild atmosphere.

[Rob Van Dam's music plays]

[crowd cheers]

- It is a true injustice that
Rob Van Dam is perhaps

the greatest wrestler never to
hold a World Championship.

- I was in the Hammerstein
Ballroom.

It was special.

[crowd chants "RVD"]

- They were not going
to let Rob Van Dam lose.

If he loses, I really did think
there was going to be

a riot that night.

They hated him.

- Everything about that night
was so exciting.

Could have a 25-minute contest
with my t-shirt.

That would've been amazing.

- I don't think John Cena
understands these ECW fans

want no part of him whatsoever
except maybe his head.

- This is a way for them
in our house to show us

that they are really the boss.

It was so fun.

- I don't think this one's
rocket science,

Cena represented everything
that these fans disliked.

and RVD was the legitimate
embodiment of everything

they do like.

[bell rings]

- That night is completely
irreplaceable.

That match was fantastic.

[crowd cheers and boos]

- Oh, down goes
the WWE Champion.

[crowd yells "Rob Van Dam"]

Rob Van Dam using
its entire body as a weapon.

- John Cena was great.

The crowd was great.

- Van Dam fights out of it.

- Stay Up.

- Oh.

- It was awesome.

I'm so glad I was able
to be a part of it.

- Van Dam up top.

Rob Van Dam with
the Five-Star Frog Splash.

[crowd counts "one, two, three"]

[crowd cheers]

[bell rings]

- Rob Van Dam is the new

Heavyweight Champion
of the World.

[crowd chants "ECW"]

- When I won the championship
at the end of the night and that

crowd erupted, that was a payoff
that I worked so hard for.

You know, I blazed my own trail,
I followed my own path,

even though a lot of people
wouldn't have and I ended up

at the very top.

- I was so happy for Rob.

I was so happy for all
the ECW guys.

It's not about winning
or losing.

It's about the moments.

- I am the World Champion.

I did it by the way that fit me
and here I am.

- Hello, everyone,
and welcome to the world

premiere on ECW on Syfy.

- Two days after I won the World
Championship, Paul Heyman

presented me with
the ECW Championship.

So now I had two title belts,
and everything was going great.

My mind, body, and spirit
are aligned.

I'm feeling like I'm at my best
in every which way,

but the higher you are,
the further you have to fall.

[sirens]

- What's he doing?

You're rolling pretty hard.

What do you go by?

- Rob Van Dam, RVD.

- Can you explain to me why
your car smells like dope?

[crowd chants "RVD"]

- I bet it's about 4:20 right
now, I got some time to burn.

In ECW, I started being known
for the cannabis community.

I remember seeing a sign in
New York and I just connected

with it and I loved the thought

of them associating me
with that.

A lot of the cannabis references
when it came to my character was

like tongue-and-cheek
or if you get it you get it.

They're all going to see their
favorite wrestler Rob Van Dam

smoking Tazz's ass, and just
because this match means so much

to me, Tazz, I plan on getting
in a couple of extra hits.

When I was in WWE,
I used marijuana and I thought

that it was okay.

Dude, what have you been
smoking?

You know, I never felt like I
was really doing anything wrong.

I had that perspective like
these people are drinking,

and alcohol is way worse.

They're smoking cigarettes.

What am I doing that's so wrong?

And that's how I felt.

Looking back, I think it's fair
to say I spent so much time

trying to convince everybody
that marijuana was something

that could be used responsibly
when at the same time

I was pretty irresponsible.

We were on our way to
Philadelphia

and I see the Christmas lights
go up.

- We have our bags,
suitcases on the ground open

with our clothes,
the championship belt laying

there in the grass.

All these cars are driving by,

it was a pretty
humbling experience.

I was quite embarrassed by it,
by the whole thing.

We weren't busted for driving
under the influence

or driving and smoking.

I got a ticket for possession
of marijuana and speeding.

That's it.

I've been busted
plenty of times before

and it had never went anywhere.

Just because I was World
Champion,

that's what made it different.

By the time we got to the arena,

our bust was all over every
form of media.

Everybody knew.

Vince McMahon was upset.

We had a little talk,
he said you're going to be

suspended for 30 days.

Tonight, you're going to lose
the WWE Championship.

- Rob Van Dam has lost
the WWE title.

- Ugh.

Tomorrow night, you're going
to lose the ECW Championship.

- Cover him.

- I was so disappointed
in myself,

broke my heart

and the fans were so bummed.

They booed.

- We've got near riot conditions
here in South Philly.

- They all started throwing
their cups, and why?

Because I'm the cause of it.

So I had to eat that-

-and wanted to find
a gutter to crawl into.

- At the time, the legality
of it and the arrest is what

really made it bad.

- Representing the WWE,
we're riding on your back

as World Champion, we have faith
in you and then that faith

is shattered and it derailed
RVD's career and it could have

derailed the WWE
as well at that time.

- I think he probably could have
gone to the moon and back.

If he didn't get arrested,
Vince has to take a step back,

he has to reassess because
he has a brand

to be concerned about.

- Now looking back at it,
I can clearly see that it was

a very risky move, having me
represent the whole company,

because I was a little bit
of a wild card.

Anybody that thought that going
with me might not be the right

move, because I might blow it,

well, I proved them all right.

Once I came back from the 30-day
suspension, things had changed.

I didn't have the inspiration
that I had.

I was so burnt out from
all the non-stop

traveling and wrestling.

I was ready to go.

My contract expired
with WWE in 2007.

At the same time, I didn't care
if I ever wrestled again.

That's how burnt out I was,
and I took some time away

from the business.

- Rob was tired of the grind.

Rob was tired of people telling
him where to go,

when to be there, and how to do
it, and needed a break.

- It takes a lot to walk away,
and you know, it doesn't take

a whole lot to stay,
and when someone does that,

they're doing it for themselves.

- I did a lot of meditating,
building up my relationship

with the universe.

I opened up like a new part of
me, a new Zen ninja RVD spirit

became my priority,
and that started a whole new era

of post-WWE wrestling where
I wasn't priced to work every

single weekend 'cause
that's not what I wanted.

So when it got to the business
end, everything was great.

However, at the same time, my
marriage was going downhill.

At the end of 2015,
we were officially separated.

And now I got this big
cold empty house

then I got very depressed.

And I had this little dog and
that dog was my source

of happiness and of positive
energy and of love.

And when the dog died, you know,
I was completely lost.

And then my dad was getting
sick and I told myself,

"What if this happens?

Now what are you going to do?"

And, you know, that happened.

- He was pretty close with Dad
and then for Dad to just go,

it was very hard for him.

- I hadn't really felt that kind
of pain before.

I knew I'm always going to be
RVD, I'm always going to be able

to go anywhere and find love.

People love me,
but it didn't matter-

-when you're just like,

surrounded with darkness,
none of that matters.

So I got to go through that and
feel that, and moving forward,

I rebuilt myself and that gave
me a new purpose.

I met Katie towards the end
of my rock bottom.

And you know, at first,
I felt like she should run

'cause of the place
that I was in.

You know, a lot of times they
say it's one day at a time,

but I was at a point where
I couldn't imagine getting

to the end of the day and
someone very wise said to me,

"Well, sometimes
it's one moment at a time."

And that's what helped me
because being with Katie has

been one happy moment
that I just decided

to throw myself completely into.

- He was coming out of a dark
time in his life,

so he wasn't looking for love
at that time,

but I could just feel that
it was there and meant to be.

- Rob Van Dam is headed
to the WWE Hall of Fame.

- Please welcome Rob Van Dam.

[crowd cheering]

[Rob Van Dam's music plays]

- Every step of the way
I had so many people trying

to change me because
I was different,

but you understood me.

When I get up on the top rope
and I look out to the crowd,

I don't know of a better high.

It seems like I would know,
so thank you.

A lot of people feel like I was
kicked out of the WWE,

like I was unaccepted,
but I'm now up there with

the legends that
I used to watch,

that inspired me to
follow my dreams.

- For better or worse?

- No, in the best way.

- Oh, thank you.

- Yes, it's really cool.

- Yes.

Absolutely.

- Awesome.

- Do I have the drive that
I used to have to prove

to everybody that
I'm the best in the world?

No.

But where I'm at right now,
I'm fulfilled.

[crowd yells "Rob Van Dam"]

- From the top to the floor.

- When you ask people some
of the most exciting talent

of all times, Rob Van Dam is in
that argument every single time.

- Rob Van Dam
is an amazing human being.

- To ECW fans,
he was our Hulk Hogan.

He was our Ric Flair.

- Is he thinking about
going coast-to-coast?

- Those matches became
a blueprint actually for

the independent style that
morphed eventually into even

what you're seeing
in WWE nowadays.

- Oh, my goodness.

What a collision.

- As he grew physically
in his style, it all grew.

And the person on the inside
started coming out,

and the person on the inside is
a wonderful, wonderful human

being who loves to have fun
and he's just-

you know, you want to wrap
your arms around him.

- Rob Van Dam, the whole damn
show is here.

[crowd chants "RVD"]

- I think the way that
I've gone through life

kind of following own path,

has just been the only way that
I could have lived my life.

[crowd yells "Rob Van Dam"]

- It's not about trying to be
different, it's about not

bothering to try to be like
everybody else.