By Michael Moore, PWTorch Collectibles specialist

In Brief: Rob Van Dam's return to WWE has generated a considerable amount of buzz. Take a look at a few of his top toys.

Figure 5 Tuesday: Rob Van Dam

(5) 1999 OSFTM ECW Series 1. During the height of the Monday Night War, Rob Van Dam was the most talked about non-WWF or non-WCW wrestler in the country. OSFTM included the first RVD toy in its debut series of ECW figures, complete with hardcore weapons and an ECW title belt. These don’t have nearly the detail of RVD’s Jakks figures from his time in WWE or TNA, but still remain popular with collectors and fans of the old ECW.




(4) 2007 Jakks-Pacific Classic WWE Superstars LJN Style. What would RVD have looked like in the 1980s WWF? Maybe something like this retro figure, which was designed to look like the old rubber LJN WWF Wrestling Superstars toys. RVD is in a simple gray singlet doing his signature pose.




(3) 2002 Jakks-Pacific 12-Inch Ringside Rebels Vicious Series. When non-collectors use the term “dolls” to describe wrestling figures, these might be the types of things that come to mind. In 2002, shortly after the WWF-to-WWE name change, Jakks released these ultra-detailed 12-inch figures. Jakks used their Real Scan technology to create the face, and RVD’s red and yellow cloth singlet makes this a cool figure.




(2) 2011 Jakks-Pacific TNA Legends of the Ring Two-Pack (with Jeff Hardy). RVD and Hardy have been linked since at least 1997, when the ECW star made a Raw cameo to squash an unknown Jeff Hardy. They battled during the Invasion angle of 2001 and again in 2011, when a heel Hardy turned on RVD. This two-pack includes detailed figures of both wrestlers and a TNA title belt.




(1) 2009 Jakks-Pacific WWE Limited Edition Figure 1 of 5,000. For a brief moment in 2006, it looked like those RVD fans who had been clamoring for a WWE title run since his debut in 2001 would get their wish. Van Dam defeated John Cena at the second One Night Stand pay-per-view to capture the WWE Title, and then was also awarded the ECW Title by Paul Heyman.

Jakks commemorated this moment in 2009 with a special figure that came with an ECW T-shirt, Money in the Bank briefcase and special painted WWE and ECW title belts. Finding one today is very difficult and may cost you as much as $200.




PWTorch Collectibles Specialist Michael Moore can be reached at michaelmoorewriter@gmail.com .

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