Quotes from Rob Van Dam

I'm a real-life action hero.

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'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 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.

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

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.

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.

The more exciting, flying wrestlers are not going to be your 300-pound wrestlers.

I don't think all the other wrestlers hear the same love from the fans that I do - they are extreme about it.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A lot of celebrities are afraid of being out of sight, out of mind. I'm the complete opposite.

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.

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.

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.

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

If you're not in the WWE and bouncing around in the Indy shows, you're not with the best.