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.

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.

I'm a real-life action hero.

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.

It's very important to me I get my autobiography out before I die and someone else writes it and screws up my life.

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.

I've impacted peoples' lives in such a way that they'll never forget.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I've always been trying to do as little as possible, and I'm getting better at it all the time.

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.

I'm a big fan of non-fiction, and I am a believer that fact is much more exciting than fiction.

I'm like the opposite of an 'office guy.' I don't want to be at the arena until right before my match.

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.

In Total Nonstop Action, individual wrestlers have a lot more freedom to artistically express themselves versus WWE.

When I was with WWE, people would have me sign merchandise that I didn't even know existed.

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.

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.

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.

I am a professional when I get in the ring.

Even when I'm not wrestling, I still appreciate all my fans. I take all the compliments to heart.

I don't remember a Rob Van Dam versus Mick Foley hardcore match. There should have been one.

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.

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.

I prefer ECW's style as far as the actual matches I'm capable of having.

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.

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.

The battle royals are usually among my least favorite matches.

Samoa Joe is a good friend of mine, and I'm very impressed with his in-ring abilities.

When it comes to X-Men, Ice Man is my favorite.

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.

You have to believe in yourself and have to believe you are a little bit crazy to be the best.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

I don't enjoy the road life or WWE's really hectic schedule.

I am really thankful for my career.

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.

I grew up really being a comic book geek, and that was a really big part of my childhood.

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.

I have an incredibly dry sense of humor.

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.

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.