page_title: Rob Van Dam
section_title: WWE and ECW World Heavyweight Champion (2005–2007)
hierarchical_section_title: Rob Van Dam / Professional wrestling career / World Wrestling Federation/Entertainment / WWE and ECW World Heavyweight Champion (2005–2007)
caption_attribution_description: Former ECW Champion Rob Van Dam
context_page_description: Rob Szatkowski, better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam, is an American professional wrestler and actor currently signed to Impact Wrestling. He has won 21 total championships, and is the only wrestler in history to have held the WWE Championship, the ECW World Heavyweight Championship, and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. He headlined many pay-per-view events throughout three decades between the 1990s and 2010s, including the 1998 edition of November to Remember and the 2011 edition of TripleMania. In 2002, Van Dam was ranked the number one pro wrestler in the world by Pro Wrestling Illustrated. He was voted "Most Popular Wrestler" by readers of the magazine in 2001 and again in 2002. WWE named him the greatest star in ECW history in 2014.
  Van Dam gained mainstream popularity in Extreme Championship Wrestling, where he became one of the most famous wrestlers in the industry. During his time in ECW, he was managed by Bill Alfonso and had feuds with Jerry Lynn and Sabu, also forming a tag team with the latter. They would win the ECW Tag Team Championship twice.
context_section_description: While recuperating, Van Dam made an appearance at the ECW reunion pay-per-view ECW One Night Stand. Accompanied by his former manager Bill Alfonso and sporting a knee brace, Van Dam delivered a worked shoot promo, standing up for ECW and criticizing the way he had been booked in WWE, until he was attacked by Rhyno. He was saved by Sabu, who defeated Rhyno in an impromptu match. Despite his injury, Van Dam got physically involved in the match, hitting Rhyno with a chairshot and giving him a Chair Surf. On the June 27 episode of Raw, Van Dam, while still healing, was drafted to the Raw brand in the 2005 draft lottery. He was introduced to Raw by Carlito, who insulted Van Dam before attacking him and assaulting his knee. Van Dam made his return to the ring over seven months later at the Royal Rumble. He gained revenge on Carlito by eliminating him, but was in turn inadvertently eliminated by Rey Mysterio in the final moments. On the February 6 episode of Raw, Van Dam defeated Carlito in the first round of the 2006 Road to WrestleMania Tournament, but lost in the final round to Triple H, in a triple threat match, which also featured Big Show. Later, Van Dam defeated Trevor Murdoch to qualify for the Money in the Bank ladder match. Van Dam went on to win the match, thus earning himself a guaranteed shot at either the WWE Championship or World Heavyweight Championship at any time within the subsequent year.
  Following the ladder match, Shelton Benjamin challenged Van Dam to put his Money in the Bank opportunity on the line in a match. Van Dam countered by requesting a match for Benjamin's Intercontinental Championship. One week later, both Van Dam and Benjamin picked mystery opponents for one another, with the loser placing their respective prize on the line in a bout at Backlash on April 30. Benjamin lost to the returning Charlie Haas, while Van Dam was defeated by all five members of the Spirit Squad. As a result, both the Intercontinental Championship and the Money in the Bank title shot were contested at Backlash. Van Dam went on to win the former, before dropping the Intercontinental Championship back to Benjamin on the May 15 episode of Raw.
  On May 29, Van Dam was selected by Paul Heyman to be drafted to WWE's new ECW brand. At ECW One Night Stand, Van Dam cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and defeated John Cena to win the WWE Championship. After two referees were knocked out, Edge appeared from underneath the ring to attack Cena, spearing him through a table. Van Dam then hit a Five Star Frog Splash and the pinfall was counted by Paul Heyman, who suddenly ran down the aisle. On the following episode of Raw, Vince McMahon confirmed that the title change was official due to the match being held under "extreme rules". For the past few weeks, Heyman had hinted that the WWE Championship would be "rechristened" the ECW World Heavyweight Championship when Van Dam won. On the debut of ECW, Van Dam was awarded the reinstated ECW World Heavyweight Championship by Heyman and decided to defend the WWE Championship separately and simultaneously, joking that "this one spins", becoming the first wrestler in history to hold both the WWE Championship and the ECW World Heavyweight Championship as well as the only one to hold them at the same time, making him a double world champion. He would  become the fifteenth WWE Triple Crown Champion as a result of his WWE Championship win.
  At Vengeance, Van Dam defeated Edge to retain the WWE Championship. Two nights later on ECW, Van Dam defeated Kurt Angle to retain the ECW World Heavyweight Championship. On the July 3 episode of Raw, Van Dam lost the WWE Championship to Edge in a triple threat match that also featured John Cena. The next night on the July 4 episode of ECW, he lost the ECW World Heavyweight Championship to Big Show after Heyman turned on him. Later on WWE.com, Heyman suspended Van Dam for 30 days without giving a reason (in reality, WWE suspended Van Dam for 30 days as a result of his recent drug possession arrest).
  He returned to television on the August 8 episode of ECW, 
caption: Van Dam during his ring entrance at WrestleMania 23
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