Rob Van Dam

“I am a professional when I get in the ring.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

“I am really thankful for my career.”

“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.”

“The battle royals are usually among my least favorite matches.”

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

“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.”

“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.”