title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Starting in spring 1948, actors were filmed on large soundstages mouthing to a playback of the dialogue soundtrack. Disney had previously used live-action reference on "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), "Pinocchio" (1940), and "Fantasia" (1940), but as part of an effort to keep the production cost down, the footage was used to check the plot, timing, and movement of the characters before animating it. The footage was then edited frame-by-frame onto large Photostat sheets to duplicate, in which the animators found too restrictive as they were not allowed to imagine anything that the live actors did not present since that kind of experimentation might necessitate changes and cost more money. Additionally, the animators were instructed to draw from a certain directorial perspective to avoid difficult shots and angles. Frank Thomas explained, "Anytime you'd think of another way of staging the scene, they'd say: 'We can't get the camera up there'! Well, you could get the animation camera up there! So you had to go with what worked well in live-action."


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Walt Disney hired actress Helene Stanley to perform the live-action reference for Cinderella, allowing artists to draw animated frames based on the movements of the actress. She later did the same kind of work for the characters of Princess Aurora in "Sleeping Beauty" (1959) and Anita Radcliffe in "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (1961). Animators modeled Prince Charming on actor Jeffrey Stone, who also provided some additional voices for the film. Claire Du Brey served as the live-action reference for the Fairy Godmother, although the design for the character was based on Mary Alice O'Connor (the wife of layout artist Ken O'Connor).


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: By 1950, the Animation Board—which had been established as early as 1940 to help with the management of the animation department—had settled down to nine supervising animators. Although they were still in their thirties, they were jokingly referred by Walt Disney as the "Nine Old Men" after President Franklin D. Roosevelt's denigration of the Supreme Court. Including Norman Ferguson, the principal animators included Les Clark, Marc Davis, Ollie Johnston, Milt Kahl, Ward Kimball, Eric Larson, John Lounsbery, Frank Thomas, and Wolfgang Reitherman.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Larson was the first to animate the title character whom he envisioned as a sixteen-year-old with braids and a pug nose. Marc Davis later animated Cinderella, which Larson observed as "more the exotic dame" with a long swanlike neck. Because the final character design was not set, assistant animators were responsible for minimizing the differences. When Disney was asked what was his favorite piece of animation, he answered, "I guess it would have to be where Cinderella gets her ballroom gown", which was animated by Davis.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Milt Kahl was the directing animator of the Fairy Godmother, the King, and the Grand Duke. Originally, Disney intended for the Fairy Godmother to be a tall, regal character as he viewed fairies as tall, motherly figures (as seen in the Blue Fairy in "Pinocchio" (1940)), but Milt Kahl disagreed with this characterization. Following the casting of Verna Felton, Kahl managed to convince Disney of his undignified concept of the Fairy Godmother.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Unlike the human characters, the animal characters were animated without live-action reference. During production, none of Kimball's designs for Lucifer had pleased Disney. After visiting Kimball's steam train at his home, Disney saw his calico cat and remarked, "Hey—there's your model for Lucifer". Reitherman animated the sequence in which Jaq and Gus laboriously drag the key up the flight of stairs to Cinderella.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: In 1946, story artist and part-time lyricist Larry Morey joined studio music director Charles Walcott to compose the songs. Cinderella would sing three songs: "Sing a Little, Dream a Little" while overloaded with work, "The Mouse Song" as she dressed the mice, and "The Dress My Mother Wore" as she fantasizes about her mother's old wedding dress. To recycle an unused fantasy sequence from "Snow White", the song, "Dancing on a Cloud" was used as Cinderella and the Prince waltz during the ball. After the ball, she would sing "I Lost My Heart at the Ball" and the Prince would sing "The Face That I See in the Night." However, none of their songs were used.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Two years later, Disney turned to Tin Pan Alley songwriters Mack David, Jerry Livingston, and Al Hoffman to compose the songs. They were the first professional composers to be hired outside the production company. The trio had previously written the song "Chi-Baba, Chi-Baba" that Disney heard on the radio and decided would work well with the Fairy Godmother sequence. They finished the songs in March 1949. In total six songs were performed in the film: "Cinderella", "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes", "Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale", "The Work Song", "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo", and "So This is Love".


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Oliver Wallace and Paul Smith composed the score, but only after the animation was ready for inking, which was incidentally similar to scoring a live-action film. This was a drastic change from the earlier Disney animated features in which the music and action were carefully synchronized in a process known as Mickey Mousing.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: The film also marked the launching of the Walt Disney Music Company. The soundtrack was also a first in using multi-tracks for vocals – with the song "Oh, Sing Sweet Nightingale", Ilene Woods recorded a second and third vocal track to enable her to sing harmony with herself.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: On February 4, 1950, "Billboard" announced that RCA Records and Disney would release a children's album in conjunction with the theatrical release. The RCA Victor album release sold about 750,000 copies during its first release, and hit number-one on the Billboard pop charts.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: In 1995, a special edition of the soundtrack was released to coincide with the film's re-release on home video entitled "Walt Disney Records Presents The Music of Cinderella". The album opened with cover versions of the songs from the film including Linda Ronstadt singing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" in English and Spanish, Take 6 singing "The Work Song", James Ingram singing "So This is Love", David Benoit and David Sanborn performing a jazz medley from the film, and Bobby McFerrin's take on "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo".


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: The soundtrack for "Cinderella" was released by Walt Disney Records on CD and audio cassette on February 4, 1997, and included a bonus demo. On October 4, 2005, Disney released a special edition of the soundtrack album of "Cinderella", for the "Platinum Edition" DVD release, which includes several demo songs cut from the final film, a new song, and a cover version of "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes". The soundtrack was released again on October 2, 2012, and consisted of several lost chords and new recordings of them. A Walmart exclusive limited edition "Music Box Set" consisting of the soundtrack without the lost chords or bonus demos, the "Song and Story: Cinderella" CD and a bonus DVD of "Tangled Ever After" was released on the same day.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: In conjunction with the film's 65th anniversary, the soundtrack for "Cinderella" was re-released in 2015 as part of .


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: The film was originally released in theaters on February 15, 1950, in Boston, Massachusetts. "Cinderella" was re-released in 1957, 1965, 1973, 1981 and 1987. "Cinderella" also played a limited engagement in select Cinemark Theatres from February 16–18, 2013.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: The film became a critical success garnering the best reception for a Disney animated film since "Dumbo". In a personal letter to Walt Disney, director Michael Curtiz hailed the film as the "masterpiece of all pictures you have done." Producer Hal Wallis declared, "If this is not your best, it is very close to the top." Mae Tinee, reviewing for the "Chicago Tribune", remarked: "The film not only is handsome, with imaginative art and glowing colors to bedeck the old fairy tale, but it also is told gently, without the lurid villains which sometimes give little tots nightmares. It is enhanced by the sudden, piquant touches of humor and the music which appeal to old and young." "Time" magazine wrote that ""Cinderella" is beguiling proof that Walt Disney knows his way around fairyland. Harking back to the style of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937), a small army of Disney craftsmen have given the centuries-old Cinderella story a dewy radiance of comic verve that should make children feel like elves and adults feel like children."


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: However, the characterization of Cinderella received a mixed reception. Bosley Crowther of "The New York Times" wrote, "The beautiful Cinderella has a voluptuous face and form—not to mention an eager disposition—to compare with Al Capp's Daisy Mae." However, criticizing her role and personality, Crowther opined, "As a consequence, the situation in which they are mutually involved have the constraint and immobility of panel-expressed episodes. When Mr. Disney tries to make them behave like human beings, they're banal." Similarly, "Variety" claimed the film found "more success in projecting the lower animals than in its central character, Cinderella, who is on the colorless, doll-faced side, as is the Prince Charming."


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: Contemporary reviews have remained positive. Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" awarded the film three out of four stars during its 1987 re-release. Jonathan Rosenbaum of the "Chicago Reader" wrote the film "shows Disney at the tail end of his best period, when his backgrounds were still luminous with depth and detail and his incidental characters still had range and bite." The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported the film received an approval rating of based on reviews with an average score of . The website's critical consensus reads, "The rich colors, sweet songs, adorable mice and endearing (if suffering) heroine make "Cinderella" a nostalgically lovely charmer."


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: The film was Disney's greatest box office success since "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", earning nearly $4.28 million in distributor rentals (the distributor's share of the box office gross) from the United States and Canada. It was the fifth highest-grossing film released in North America in 1950. It was the fifth most popular movie at the British box office in 1951. The film is France's sixteenth biggest film of all time in terms of admissions with 13.2 million tickets sold.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: The success of "Cinderella" allowed Disney to carry on producing films throughout the 1950s by which the profits from the film's release, with the additional profits from record sales, music publishing, publications, and other merchandise gave Disney the cash flow to finance a slate of productions (animated and live-action), establish his own distribution company, enter television production, and begin building Disneyland during the decade, as well as developing the Florida Project, later known as Walt Disney World.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: "Cinderella" has had a lifetime domestic gross of $93 million, and a lifetime worldwide gross of $182 million across its original release and several reissues. Adjusted for inflation, and incorporating subsequent releases, the film has had a lifetime gross of $565 million.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: In June 2008, the American Film Institute revealed its "10 Top 10"— the best ten films in ten "classic" American film genres—after polling over 1,500 people from the creative community. "Cinderella" was acknowledged as the 9th greatest film in the animation genre.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: "Cinderella" was released on VHS and LaserDisc on October 4, 1988, as part of the Walt Disney Classics collection. The release had a promotion with a free lithograph reproduction for those who pre-ordered the video before its release date. Disney had initially shipped 4.3 million VHS copies to retailers, but due to strong consumer demand, more than seven million copies were shipped. At the time of its initial home video release, it was the best-selling VHS title until it was overtaken by "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" (1982). The VHS release was placed into moratorium on April 30, 1989, with copies sold and having grossed in sales revenue.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: On October 4, 1995, a digitally remastered edition of film was released on VHS and LaserDisc as part of the "Walt Disney Masterpiece Collection", and later in the UK on November 24, 1997. Both editions were accompanied by "The Making of Cinderella" featurette. A Deluxe LaserDisc included the featurette, an illustrated, hardcover book retelling the story with pencil tests and conceptual art from the film, and a reprint of the film's artwork. Disney shipped more than 15 million VHS copies, of which 8 million were sold in the first month.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: On October 4, 2005, Disney released the film on DVD with a digitally remastered transfer. This release was the sixth installment of the Walt Disney Platinum Editions series. According to "Home Media Magazine", Disney sold 3.2 million copies in its first week, which earned over $64 million in sales. The Platinum Edition was also released on VHS, but the only special feature was the "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes" music video by the Disney Channel Circle of Stars. The Platinum Edition DVD, along with the sequels to the film, went into the Disney Vault on January 31, 2008. In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a "Royal Edition" of "Cinderella" was released on DVD on April 4, 2011, to commemorate the UK Royal Wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton. This release had a unique limited edition number on every slipcase and an exclusive art card.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: On October 2, 2012, a 3-disc Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy Combo Diamond Edition was released. The Diamond Edition release also included a 2-disc Blu-ray/DVD combo and a 6-disc "Jewelry Box Set" that included the first film alongside both its sequels. A 1-disc DVD edition was released on November 20, 2012. The Diamond Edition release went back into the Disney Vault on January 31, 2017.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: "Cinderella" was re-released on HD digital download on June 18, 2019, with a physical media re-release on Blu-ray on June 25, 2019, as part of the Walt Disney Signature Collection commemorating the film's 70th anniversary.


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: "Smithsonian" magazine discussed how "Cinderella" endures and resonates, saying: "Dozens of other filmmakers have borrowed elements of the tale, starting as early as 1899 with a French version directed by the pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès." "Time" magazine also discussed the films popularity saying: "References to "Cinderella" proliferated in popular culture and were widely used to sell consumer goods. Shell Petroleum used an image of a fashionably dressed "Cinderella" exiting her pumpkin coach in an advertisement of the 1940s, Revlon lipstick boasted a new lipstick in a "Cinderella pumpkin" shade of orange, and Coty packaged perfume in a faux glass slipper."


title: Cinderella (1950 film)

text: "Cinderella" is referred by many as one of the most recognizable tales in history. "Parade" magazine listed the film among the Greatest Animated films of all time. American Film Institute ranked "Cinderella" as the 9th Best Animated Films of all time, saying: "one of the most recognizable fairytale stories ever, Cinderella has stood the test of time." "Reader's Digest" also listed the film as one of the most popular fairy tales of all time.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone (P4) is an endogenous steroid and progestogen sex hormone involved in the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and embryogenesis of humans and other species. It belongs to a group of steroid hormones called the progestogens and is the major progestogen in the body. Progesterone has a variety of important functions in the body. It is also a crucial metabolic intermediate in the production of other endogenous steroids, including the sex hormones and the corticosteroids, and plays an important role in brain function as a neurosteroid.


title: Progesterone

text: In addition to its role as a natural hormone, progesterone is also used as a medication, such as in combination with estrogen for contraception, to reduce the risk of uterine or cervical cancer, in hormone replacement therapy, and in feminizing hormone therapy. It was first prescribed in 1934.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone is the most important progestogen in the body. As a potent agonist of the nuclear progesterone receptor (nPR) (with an affinity of K = 1 nM) the resulting effects on ribosomal transcription plays a major role in regulation of female reproduction. In addition, progesterone is an agonist of the more recently discovered membrane progesterone receptors (mPRs), of which the expression has regulation effects in reproduction function (oocyte maturation, labor, and sperm motility) and cancer although additional research is required to further define the roles. It also functions as a ligand of the PGRMC1 (progesterone receptor membrane component 1) which impacts tumor progression, metabolic regulation, and viability control of nerve cells. Moreover, progesterone is also known to be an antagonist of the sigma σ receptor, a negative allosteric modulator of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors, and a potent antagonist of the mineralocorticoid receptor (MR). Progesterone prevents MR activation by binding to this receptor with an affinity exceeding even those of aldosterone and glucocorticoids such as cortisol and corticosterone, and produces antimineralocorticoid effects, such as natriuresis, at physiological concentrations. In addition, progesterone binds to and behaves as a partial agonist of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR), albeit with very low potency (EC >100-fold less relative to cortisol).


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone, through its neurosteroid active metabolites such as 5α-dihydroprogesterone and allopregnanolone, acts indirectly as a positive allosteric modulator of the GABA receptor.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone and some of its metabolites, such as 5β-dihydroprogesterone, are agonists of the pregnane X receptor (PXR), albeit weakly so (EC >10 μM). In accordance, progesterone induces several hepatic cytochrome P450 enzymes, such as CYP3A4, especially during pregnancy when concentrations are much higher than usual. Perimenopausal women have been found to have greater CYP3A4 activity relative to men and postmenopausal women, and it has been inferred that this may be due to the higher progesterone levels present in perimenopausal women.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone modulates the activity of CatSper (cation channels of sperm) voltage-gated Ca channels. Since eggs release progesterone, sperm may use progesterone as a homing signal to swim toward eggs (chemotaxis). As a result, it has been suggested that substances that block the progesterone binding site on CatSper channels could potentially be used in male contraception.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone has a number of physiological effects that are amplified in the presence of estrogens. Estrogens through estrogen receptors (ERs) induce or upregulate the expression of the PR. One example of this is in breast tissue, where estrogens allow progesterone to mediate lobuloalveolar development.


title: Progesterone

text: Elevated levels of progesterone potently reduce the sodium-retaining activity of aldosterone, resulting in natriuresis and a reduction in extracellular fluid volume. Progesterone withdrawal, on the other hand, is associated with a temporary increase in sodium retention (reduced natriuresis, with an increase in extracellular fluid volume) due to the compensatory increase in aldosterone production, which combats the blockade of the mineralocorticoid receptor by the previously elevated level of progesterone.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone has key effects via non-genomic signalling on human sperm as they migrate through the female tract before fertilization occurs, though the receptor(s) as yet remain unidentified. Detailed characterisation of the events occurring in sperm in response to progesterone has elucidated certain events including intracellular calcium transients and maintained changes, slow calcium oscillations, now thought to possibly regulate motility. It is produced by the ovaries. Progesterone has also been shown to demonstrate effects on octopus spermatozoa.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone is sometimes called the "hormone of pregnancy", and it has many roles relating to the development of the fetus:


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone plays an important role in breast development in women. In conjunction with prolactin, it mediates lobuloalveolar maturation of the mammary glands during pregnancy to allow for milk production and thus lactation and breastfeeding of offspring following parturition (childbirth). Estrogen induces expression of the PR in breast tissue and hence progesterone is dependent on estrogen to mediate lobuloalveolar development. It has been found that is a critical downstream mediator of progesterone-induced lobuloalveolar maturation. RANKL knockout mice show an almost identical mammary phenotype to PR knockout mice, including normal mammary ductal development but complete failure of the development of lobuloalveolar structures.


title: Progesterone

text: Though to a far lesser extent than estrogen, which is the major mediator of mammary ductal development (via the ERα), progesterone may be involved in ductal development of the mammary glands to some extent as well. PR knockout mice or mice treated with the PR antagonist mifepristone show delayed although otherwise normal mammary ductal development at puberty. In addition, mice modified to have overexpression of PRA display ductal hyperplasia, and progesterone induces ductal growth in the mouse mammary gland. Progesterone mediates ductal development mainly via induction of the expression of amphiregulin, the same growth factor that estrogen primarily induces the expression of to mediate ductal development. These animal findings suggest that, while not essential for full mammary ductal development, progesterone seems to play a potentiating or accelerating role in estrogen-mediated mammary ductal development.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone also appears to be involved in the pathophysiology of breast cancer, though its role, and whether it is a promoter or inhibitor of breast cancer risk, has not been fully elucidated. Most progestins, or synthetic progestogens, like medroxyprogesterone acetate, have been found to increase the risk of breast cancer in postmenopausal women in combination with estrogen as a component of menopausal hormone therapy. The combination of natural oral progesterone or the atypical progestin dydrogesterone with estrogen has been associated with less risk of breast cancer than progestins plus estrogen. However, this may simply be an artifact of the low progesterone levels produced with oral progesterone. More research is needed on the role of progesterone in breast cancer.


title: Progesterone

text: The estrogen receptor, as well as the progesterone receptor, have been detected in the skin, including in keratinocytes and fibroblasts. At menopause and thereafter, decreased levels of female sex hormones result in atrophy, thinning, and increased wrinkling of the skin and a reduction in skin elasticity, firmness, and strength. These skin changes constitute an acceleration in skin aging and are the result of decreased collagen content, irregularities in the morphology of epidermal skin cells, decreased ground substance between skin fibers, and reduced capillaries and blood flow. The skin also becomes more dry during menopause, which is due to reduced skin hydration and surface lipids (sebum production). Along with chronological aging and photoaging, estrogen deficiency in menopause is one of the three main factors that predominantly influences skin aging.


title: Progesterone

text: Hormone replacement therapy, consisting of systemic treatment with estrogen alone or in combination with a progestogen, has well-documented and considerable beneficial effects on the skin of postmenopausal women. These benefits include increased skin collagen content, skin thickness and elasticity, and skin hydration and surface lipids. Topical estrogen has been found to have similar beneficial effects on the skin. In addition, a study has found that topical 2% progesterone cream significantly increases skin elasticity and firmness and observably decreases wrinkles in peri- and postmenopausal women. Skin hydration and surface lipids, on the other hand, did not significantly change with topical progesterone. These findings suggest that progesterone, like estrogen, also has beneficial effects on the skin, and may be independently protective against skin aging.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone and its neurosteroid active metabolite allopregnanolone appear to be importantly involved in libido in females.


title: Progesterone

text: Dr. Diana Fleischman, of the University of Portsmouth, and colleagues looked for a relationship between progesterone and sexual attitudes in 92 women. Their research, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found that women who had higher levels of progesterone scored higher on a questionnaire measuring homoerotic motivation. They also found that men who had high levels of progesterone were more likely to have higher homoerotic motivation scores after affiliative priming compared to men with low levels of progesterone.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone, like pregnenolone and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), belongs to an important group of endogenous steroids called neurosteroids. It can be metabolized within all parts of the central nervous system.


title: Progesterone

text: Neurosteroids are neuromodulators, and are neuroprotective, neurogenic, and regulate neurotransmission and myelination. The effects of progesterone as a neurosteroid are mediated predominantly through its interactions with non-nuclear PRs, namely the mPRs and PGRMC1, as well as certain other receptors, such as the σ and nACh receptors.


title: Progesterone

text: Previous studies have shown that progesterone supports the normal development of neurons in the brain, and that the hormone has a protective effect on damaged brain tissue. It has been observed in animal models that females have reduced susceptibility to traumatic brain injury and this protective effect has been hypothesized to be caused by increased circulating levels of estrogen and progesterone in females.


title: Progesterone

text: The mechanism of progesterone protective effects may be the reduction of inflammation that follows brain trauma and hemorrhage.


title: Progesterone

text: Damage incurred by traumatic brain injury is believed to be caused in part by mass depolarization leading to excitotoxicity. One way in which progesterone helps to alleviate some of this excitotoxicity is by blocking the voltage-dependent calcium channels that trigger neurotransmitter release. It does so by manipulating the signaling pathways of transcription factors involved in this release. Another method for reducing the excitotoxicity is by up-regulating the GABA, a widespread inhibitory neurotransmitter receptor.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone has also been shown to prevent apoptosis in neurons, a common consequence of brain injury. It does so by inhibiting enzymes involved in the apoptosis pathway specifically concerning the mitochondria, such as activated caspase 3 and cytochrome c.


title: Progesterone

text: Not only does progesterone help prevent further damage, it has also been shown to aid in neuroregeneration. One of the serious effects of traumatic brain injury includes edema. Animal studies show that progesterone treatment leads to a decrease in edema levels by increasing the concentration of macrophages and microglia sent to the injured tissue. This was observed in the form of reduced leakage from the blood brain barrier in secondary recovery in progesterone treated rats. In addition, progesterone was observed to have antioxidant properties, reducing the concentration of oxygen free radicals faster than without. There is also evidence that the addition of progesterone can also help remyelinate damaged axons due to trauma, restoring some lost neural signal conduction. Another way progesterone aids in regeneration includes increasing the circulation of endothelial progenitor cells in the brain. This helps new vasculature to grow around scar tissue which helps repair the area of insult.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone enhances the function of serotonin receptors in the brain, so an excess or deficit of progesterone has the potential to result in significant neurochemical issues. This provides an explanation for why some people resort to substances that enhance serotonin activity such as nicotine, alcohol, and cannabis when their progesterone levels fall below optimal levels.


title: Progesterone

text: In a 2012 University of Amsterdam study of 120 women, women's luteal phase (higher levels of progesterone, and increasing levels of estrogen) was correlated with lower level of competitive behavior in gambling and math contest scenarios, while their premenstrual phase (sharply-decreasing levels of progesterone, and decreasing levels of estrogen) was correlated with a higher level of competitive behavior.


title: Progesterone

text: In mammals, progesterone, like all other steroid hormones, is synthesized from pregnenolone, which itself is derived from cholesterol.


title: Progesterone

text: Cholesterol undergoes double oxidation to produce 22"R"-hydroxycholesterol and then 20α,22"R"-dihydroxycholesterol. This vicinal diol is then further oxidized with loss of the side chain starting at position C22 to produce pregnenolone. This reaction is catalyzed by cytochrome P450scc.


title: Progesterone

text: The conversion of pregnenolone to progesterone takes place in two steps. First, the 3β-hydroxyl group is oxidized to a keto group and second, the double bond is moved to C4, from C5 through a keto/enol tautomerization reaction. This reaction is catalyzed by 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase/δ-isomerase.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone in turn is the precursor of the mineralocorticoid aldosterone, and after conversion to 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, of cortisol and androstenedione. Androstenedione can be converted to testosterone, estrone, and estradiol, highlighting the critical role of progesterone in testosterone synthesis.


title: Progesterone

text: Approximately 25 mg of progesterone is secreted from the ovaries per day in women, while the adrenal glands produce about 2 mg of progesterone per day.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone binds extensively to plasma proteins, including albumin (50–54%) and transcortin (43–48%). It has similar affinity for albumin relative to the PR.


title: Progesterone

text: The metabolism of progesterone is rapid and extensive and occurs mainly in the liver, though enzymes that metabolize progesterone are also expressed widely in the brain, skin, and various other extrahepatic tissues. Progesterone has an elimination half-life of only approximately 5 minutes in circulation. The metabolism of progesterone is complex, and it may form as many as 35 different unconjugated metabolites when it is ingested orally. Progesterone is highly susceptible to enzymatic reduction via reductases and hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases due to its double bond (between the C4 and C5 positions) and its two ketones (at the C3 and C20 positions).


title: Progesterone

text: The major metabolic pathway of progesterone is reduction by 5α-reductase and 5β-reductase into the dihydrogenated 5α-dihydroprogesterone and 5β-dihydroprogesterone, respectively. This is followed by the further reduction of these metabolites via 3α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 3β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase into the tetrahydrogenated allopregnanolone, pregnanolone, isopregnanolone, and epipregnanolone. Subsequently, 20α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase and 20β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase reduce these metabolites to form the corresponding hexahydrogenated pregnanediols (eight different isomers in total), which are then conjugated via glucuronidation and/or sulfation, released from the liver into circulation, and excreted by the kidneys into the urine. The major metabolite of progesterone in the urine is the 3α,5β,20α isomer of pregnanediol glucuronide, which has been found to constitute 15 to 30% of an injection of progesterone. Other metabolites of progesterone formed by the enzymes in this pathway include 3α-dihydroprogesterone, 3β-dihydroprogesterone, 20α-dihydroprogesterone, and 20β-dihydroprogesterone, as well as various combination products of the enzymes aside from those already mentioned. Progesterone can also first be hydroxylated (see below) and then reduced. Endogenous progesterone is metabolized approximately 50% into 5α-dihydroprogesterone in the corpus luteum, 35% into 3β-dihydroprogesterone in the liver, and 10% into 20α-dihydroprogesterone.


title: Progesterone

text: Relatively small portions of progesterone are hydroxylated via 17α-hydroxylase (CYP17A1) and 21-hydroxylase (CYP21A2) into 17α-hydroxyprogesterone and 11-deoxycorticosterone (21-hydroxyprogesterone), respectively, and pregnanetriols are formed secondarily to 17α-hydroxylation. Even smaller amounts of progesterone may be also hydroxylated via 11β-hydroxylase (CYP11B1) and to a lesser extent via aldosterone synthase (CYP11B2) into 11β-hydroxyprogesterone. In addition, progesterone can be hydroxylated in the liver by other cytochrome P450 enzymes which are not steroid-specific. 6β-Hydroxylation, which is catalyzed mainly by CYP3A4, is the major transformation, and is responsible for approximately 70% of cytochrome P450-mediated progesterone metabolism. Other routes include 6α-, 16α-, and 16β-hydroxylation. However, treatment of women with ketoconazole, a strong CYP3A4 inhibitor, had minimal effects on progesterone levels, producing only a slight and non-significant increase, and this suggests that cytochrome P450 enzymes play only a small role in progesterone metabolism.


title: Progesterone

text: In women, progesterone levels are relatively low during the preovulatory phase of the menstrual cycle, rise after ovulation, and are elevated during the luteal phase, as shown in the diagram above. Progesterone levels tend to be less than 2 ng/mL prior to ovulation and greater than 5 ng/mL after ovulation. If pregnancy occurs, human chorionic gonadotropin is released, maintaining the corpus luteum and allowing it to maintain levels of progesterone. Between 7 and 9 weeks, the placenta begins to produce progesterone in place of the corpus luteum in a process called the luteal-placental shift.


title: Progesterone

text: After the luteal-placental shift, progesterone levels start to rise further and may reach 100 to 200 ng/mL at term. Whether a decrease in progesterone levels is critical for the initiation of labor has been argued and may be species-specific. After delivery of the placenta and during lactation, progesterone levels are very low.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone levels are low in children and postmenopausal women. Adult males have levels similar to those in women during the follicular phase of the menstrual cycle.


title: Progesterone

text: Blood test results should always be interpreted using the reference ranges provided by the laboratory that performed the results. Example reference ranges are listed below.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone is produced in high amounts in the ovaries (by the corpus luteum) from the onset of puberty to menopause, and is also produced in smaller amounts by the adrenal glands after the onset of adrenarche in both males and females. To a lesser extent, progesterone is produced in nervous tissue, especially in the brain, and in adipose (fat) tissue, as well.


title: Progesterone

text: During human pregnancy, progesterone is produced in increasingly high amounts by the ovaries and placenta. At first, the source is the corpus luteum that has been "rescued" by the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) from the conceptus. However, after the 8th week, production of progesterone shifts to the placenta. The placenta utilizes maternal cholesterol as the initial substrate, and most of the produced progesterone enters the maternal circulation, but some is picked up by the fetal circulation and used as substrate for fetal corticosteroids. At term the placenta produces about 250 mg progesterone per day.


title: Progesterone

text: An additional animal source of progesterone is milk products. After consumption of milk products the level of bioavailable progesterone goes up.


title: Progesterone

text: In at least one plant, "Juglans regia", progesterone has been detected. In addition, progesterone-like steroids are found in "Dioscorea mexicana". "Dioscorea mexicana" is a plant that is part of the yam family native to Mexico. It contains a steroid called diosgenin that is taken from the plant and is converted into progesterone. Diosgenin and progesterone are also found in other "Dioscorea" species, as well as in other plants that are not closely related, such as fenugreek.


title: Progesterone

text: Another plant that contains substances readily convertible to progesterone is "Dioscorea pseudojaponica" native to Taiwan. Research has shown that the Taiwanese yam contains saponins — steroids that can be converted to diosgenin and thence to progesterone.


title: Progesterone

text: Many other "Dioscorea" species of the yam family contain steroidal substances from which progesterone can be produced. Among the more notable of these are "Dioscorea villosa" and "Dioscorea polygonoides". One study showed that the "Dioscorea villosa" contains 3.5% diosgenin. "Dioscorea polygonoides" has been found to contain 2.64% diosgenin as shown by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Many of the "Dioscorea" species that originate from the yam family grow in countries that have tropical and subtropical climates.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone is used as a medication. It is used in combination with estrogens mainly in hormone therapy for menopausal symptoms and low sex hormone levels in women. It is also used in women to support pregnancy and fertility and to treat gynecological disorders. Progesterone has been shown to prevent miscarriage in women with 1) vaginal bleeding early in their current pregnancy and 2) a previous history of miscarriage. Progesterone can be taken by mouth, through the vagina, and by injection into muscle or fat, among other routes.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone is a naturally occurring pregnane steroid and is also known as pregn-4-ene-3,20-dione. It has a double bond (4-ene) between the C4 and C5 positions and two ketone groups (3,20-dione), one at the C3 position and the other at the C20 position.


title: Progesterone

text: Progesterone is commercially produced by semisynthesis. Two main routes are used: one from yam diosgenin first pioneered by Marker in 1940, and one based on soy phytosterols scaled up in the 1970s. Additional (not necessarily economical) semisyntheses of progesterone have also been reported starting from a variety of steroids. For the example, cortisone can be simultaneously deoxygenated at the C-17 and C-21 position by treatment with iodotrimethylsilane in chloroform to produce 11-keto-progesterone (ketogestin), which in turn can be reduced at position-11 to yield progesterone.


title: Progesterone

text: An economical semisynthesis of progesterone from the plant steroid diosgenin isolated from yams was developed by Russell Marker in 1940 for the Parke-Davis pharmaceutical company. This synthesis is known as the Marker degradation.


title: Progesterone

text: The 16-DPA intermediate is important to the synthesis of many other medically important steroids. A very similar approach can produce 16-DPA from solanine.


title: Progesterone

text: A total synthesis of progesterone was reported in 1971 by W.S. Johnson. The synthesis begins with reacting the phosphonium salt 7 with phenyl lithium to produce the phosphonium ylide 8. The ylide 8 is reacted with an aldehyde to produce the alkene 9. The ketal protecting groups of 9 are hydrolyzed to produce the diketone 10, which in turn is cyclized to form the cyclopentenone 11. The ketone of 11 is reacted with methyl lithium to yield the tertiary alcohol 12, which in turn is treated with acid to produce the tertiary cation 13. The key step of the synthesis is the π-cation cyclization of 13 in which the B-, C-, and D-rings of the steroid are simultaneously formed to produce 14. This step resembles the cationic cyclization reaction used in the biosynthesis of steroids and hence is referred to as "biomimetic". In the next step the enol orthoester is hydrolyzed to produce the ketone 15. The cyclopentene A-ring is then opened by oxidizing with ozone to produce 16. Finally, the diketone 17 undergoes an intramolecular aldol condensation by treating with aqueous potassium hydroxide to produce progesterone.


title: Progesterone

text: George W. Corner and Willard M. Allen discovered the hormonal action of progesterone in 1929. By 1931–1932, nearly pure crystalline material of high progestational activity had been isolated from the corpus luteum of animals, and by 1934, pure crystalline progesterone had been refined and obtained and the chemical structure of progesterone was determined. This was achieved by Adolf Butenandt at the "Chemisches Institut" of Technical University in Danzig, who extracted this new compound from several thousand liters of urine.


title: Progesterone

text: Chemical synthesis of progesterone from stigmasterol and pregnanediol was accomplished later that year. Up to this point, progesterone, known generically as corpus luteum hormone, had been being referred to by several groups by different names, including corporin, lutein, luteosterone, and progestin. In 1935, at the time of the Second International Conference on the Standardization of Sex Hormones in London, England, a compromise was made between the groups and the name progesterone (progestational steroidal ketone) was created.


title: Progesterone

text: The use of progesterone tests in dog breeding to pinpoint ovulation is becoming more widely used. There are several tests available but the most reliable test is a blood test with blood drawn by a veterinarian and sent to a lab for processing. Results can usually be obtained with 24 to 72 hours. The rationale for using progesterone tests is that increased numbers begin in close proximity to preovulatory surge in gonadotrophins and continue through ovulation and estrus. When progesterone levels reach certain levels they can signal the stage of estrus the female is. Prediction of birth date of the pending litter can be very accurate if ovulation date is known. Puppies deliver with a day or two of 9 weeks gestation in most cases. It is not possible to determine pregnancy using progesterone tests once a breeding has taken place, however. This is due to the fact that, in dogs, progesterone levels remain elevated throughout the estrus period.


title: La Niña

text: La Niña (; ) is an oceanic and atmospheric phenomenon that is the colder counterpart of as part of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) climate pattern. The name "La Niña" originates from Spanish for "the girl", by analogy to "El Niño", meaning "the boy". In the past, it was also called an "anti-El Niño" and "El Viejo", meaning "the old man."


title: La Niña

text: During a La Niña period, the sea surface temperature across the eastern equatorial part of the central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3–5 °C (5.4–9 °F). An appearance of La Niña often persists for longer than five months. El Niño and La Niña can be indicators of weather changes across the globe. Atlantic and Pacific hurricanes can have different characteristics due to lower or higher wind shear and cooler or warmer sea surface temperatures.


title: La Niña

text: La Niña is a complex weather pattern that occurs every few years, as a result of variations in ocean temperatures in the equatorial band of the Pacific Ocean, The phenomenon occurs as strong winds blow warm water at the ocean's surface away from South America, across the Pacific Ocean towards Indonesia. As this warm water moves west, cold water from the deep sea rises to the surface near South America; it is considered to be the cold phase of the broader El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) weather phenomenon, as well as the opposite of weather pattern. The movement of so much heat across a quarter of the planet, and particularly in the form of temperature at the ocean surface, can have a significant effect on weather across the entire planet.


title: La Niña

text: Tropical instability waves visible on sea surface temperature maps, showing a tongue of colder water, are often present during neutral or La Niña conditions.


title: La Niña

text: La Niña events have occurred for hundreds of years, and occurred on a regular basis during the early parts of both the 17th and 19th centuries. Since the start of the 20th century, La Niña events have occurred during the following years:


title: La Niña

text: La Niña impacts the global climate and disrupts normal weather patterns, which can lead to intense storms in some places and droughts in others.<ref name="NIWA El Niño/La Niña"></ref>


title: La Niña

text: Observations of La Niña events since 1950 show that impacts associated with La Niña events depend on what season it is. However, while certain events and impacts are expected to occur during these periods, it is not certain or guaranteed that they will occur.


title: La Niña

text: La Niña results in wetter-than-normal conditions in southern Africa from December to February, and drier-than-normal conditions over equatorial east Africa over the same period.


title: La Niña

text: During La Niña years, the formation of tropical cyclones, along with the subtropical ridge position, shifts westward across the western Pacific Ocean, which increases the landfall threat in China. In March 2008, La Niña caused a drop in sea surface temperatures over Southeast Asia by . It also caused heavy rains over Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.


title: La Niña

text: Across most of the continent, El Niño and La Niña have more impact on climate variability than any other factor. There is a strong correlation between the strength of La Niña and rainfall: the greater the sea surface temperature and Southern Oscillation difference from normal, the larger the rainfall change.


title: La Niña

text: La Niña causes mostly the opposite effects of El Niño: above-average precipitation across the northern Midwest, the northern Rockies, Northern California, and the Pacific Northwest's southern and eastern regions. Meanwhile, precipitation in the southwestern and southeastern states, as well as southern California, is below average. This also allows for the development of many stronger-than-average hurricanes in the Atlantic and fewer in the Pacific.


title: La Niña

text: The synoptic condition for Tehuantepecer winds is associated with high-pressure system forming in Sierra Madre of Mexico in the wake of an advancing cold front, which causes winds to accelerate through the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Tehuantepecers primarily occur during the cold season months for the region in the wake of cold fronts, between October and February, with a summer maximum in July caused by the westward extension of the Azores–Bermuda high pressure system. Wind magnitude is weaker during La Niña years than years, due to the less frequent cold frontal incursions during La Niña winters, with its effects can last from a few hours to six days. Between 1942 and 1957, La Niña had an impact that caused isotope changes in the plants of Baja California.


title: La Niña

text: In Canada, La Niña will, in general, cause a cooler, snowier winter, such as the near-record-breaking amounts of snow recorded in the La Niña winter of 2007–2008 in eastern Canada.


title: La Niña

text: In the spring of 2022, La Niña caused above-average precipitation and below-average temperatures in the state of Oregon. April was one of the wettest months on record, and La Niña effects, while less severe, were expected to continue into the summer.


title: La Niña

text: During a time of La Niña, drought plagues the coastal regions of Peru and Chile. From December to February, northern Brazil is wetter than normal. La Niña causes higher than normal rainfall in the central Andes, which in turn causes catastrophic flooding on the Llanos de Mojos of Beni Department, Bolivia. Such flooding is documented from 1853, 1865, 1872, 1873, 1886, 1895, 1896, 1907, 1921, 1928, 1929 and 1931.


title: La Niña

text: The ‘traditional’ or conventional La Niña is called an "Eastern Pacific" (EP) La Niña; it involves temperature anomalies in the eastern Pacific. However, aside from differences in diagnostic criteria, non-traditional La Niñas were observed in the last two decades, in which the usual place of the temperature anomaly (Niño 1 and 2) is not affected, but rather an anomaly arises in the central Pacific (Niño 3.4). The phenomenon is called "Central Pacific" (CP) La Niña, "dateline La Niña" (because the anomaly arises near the dateline), or La Niña "Modoki" ("Modoki" is Japanese for "alternate / meta / similar-but-different"). These "flavors" of ENSO are in addition to EP and CP types, leading some scientists argue that ENSO is a continuum of phenomena – often with hybrid types.


title: La Niña

text: The effects of the CP La Niña similarly contrast with the EP La Niña – it strongly tends to increase rainfall over northwestern Australia and northern Murray–Darling basin, rather than over the east as in a conventional La Niña. Also, La Niña Modoki increases the frequency of cyclonic storms over Bay of Bengal, but decreases the occurrence of severe storms in the Indian Ocean overall, with the Arabian Sea becoming severely non-conducive to tropical cyclone formation.


title: La Niña

text: Recent years when La Niña Modoki events occurred include 1973–1974, 1975–1976, 1983–1984, 1988–1989, 1998–1999, 2000–2001, 2008–2009, 2010–2011, and 2016–2017.


title: La Niña

text: The recent discovery of ENSO Modoki has some scientists believing it to be linked to global warming. However, comprehensive satellite data go back only to 1979. Generally, there is no scientific consensus on how or if climate change may affect ENSO.


title: La Niña

text: There is also a scientific debate on the very existence of this "new" ENSO. A number of studies dispute the reality of this statistical distinction or its increasing occurrence, or both, either arguing the reliable record is too short to detect such a distinction, finding no distinction or trend using other statistical approaches, or that other types should be distinguished, such as standard and extreme ENSO.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Robert Alexander Szatkowski (born December 18, 1970) is an American professional wrestler and actor better known by his ring name Rob Van Dam (frequently abbreviated to RVD). He is best known for his tenures in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), and Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA)/Impact Wrestling.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam gained mainstream popularity in Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW) during the latter half of the 1990s, 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 World Tag Team Championship twice. On April 4, 1998, Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the ECW Television Championship, a title he held for 700 days until he vacated the championship due to an injury on March 4, 2000.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: When ECW closed in 2001, Van Dam signed a contract with the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) and was involved in the Invasion storyline, where several former WCW and ECW wrestlers joined forces against WWF wrestlers. After the Invasion ended, Van Dam wrestled the following years as singles and tag team wrestler, winning the Hardcore, Intercontinental, European, Tag Team and World Tag Team Championships. At WrestleMania 22, Rob Van Dam won the Money in the Bank ladder match. After this victory, he challenged WWE Champion John Cena to a title match at One Night Stand, an ECW-themed PPV. At the event, Van Dam defeated Cena and won his first world championship. Two days later, Paul Heyman awarded Van Dam with the reactivated ECW World Heavyweight Championship making him the only man to hold both titles at the same time.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: After leaving WWE in 2007, Van Dam worked on the independent circuit until he signed a contract with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) in 2010. A few months after his debut, he defeated AJ Styles to win the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. He would also appear for AAA and even challenged Dr. Wagner Jr. for the inaugural AAA Latin American Championship at Triplemania XIX, albeit in a losing effort. He remained under contract with TNA until 2013, leaving the company after a run with the X Division Championship. After departing TNA, he returned to WWE, where he worked for one year. Then, he would stay in the independent circuit, also wrestling from 2019 to 2020 with TNA, now known as Impact Wrestling. In 2021, he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and the following year he was inducted into the Hardcore Hall of Fame.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam is one of the only two wrestlers in history to have held the WWE, ECW, and TNA world championships, alongside Bobby Lashley. In addition, he headlined many pay-per-view events throughout three decades between the 1990s and 2010s, including the 1998 edition of November to Remember (ECW's flagship event) and the 2011 edition of TripleMania (AAA's flagship event). 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.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Outside of professional wrestling, Van Dam has performed as an actor in a number of TV shows, including an episode of "The X-Files". He also starred in the 2010 movie "Wrong Side of Town" and the 2015 movie "3-Headed Shark Attack".


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Szatkowski grew up in Battle Creek, Michigan, and graduated from Pennfield Senior High School. Szatkowski made his first appearance on WWF television in 1987 in a skit with "The Million Dollar Man" Ted DiBiase. At the time, DiBiase was selecting plants from the audience and offering to pay them to perform degrading acts and offered the 16-year-old Szatkowski $100 to enter the ring and kiss his foot, which he did. This early appearance was later included as a bonus feature on WWE's "Before They Were Superstars" DVD and on WWE's "Rob Van Dam: One of a Kind" DVD. He was also in attendance at WrestleMania III as stated on The Hulk Hogan: The Ultimate Anthology DVD.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Szatkowski made his wrestling debut in 1990, defeating Dango Nguyen. He wrestled in many independent promotions across Michigan, including the United States Wrestling Association (USWA) and South Atlantic Pro Wrestling (SAPW). In SAPW, he won his first wrestling championship, the SAPW Tag Team Championship, in July 1992 with Chaz Rocco. He also wrestled in several independent promotions across America, and in All Japan Pro Wrestling, where he challenged for the World Junior Heavyweight Championship on several occasions. In WWE in 1992 he wrestled as an enhancement talent against The Mountie under the ring name Matt Burn.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Szatkowski signed with World Championship Wrestling (WCW) in 1992, and was dubbed Robbie V by Ron Slinker upon his arrival since Bill Watts did not like the name Rob Van Dam. Robbie V made his WCW debut on the January 23, 1993, episode of "Saturday Night" as a fan favorite, defeating enhancement talent Pat Rose. The following month, Robbie V entered a tournament for the vacant World Television Championship, defeating Shanghai Pierce in the first round but lost to Vinnie Vegas in the second round, which aired on the March 20 episode of "WorldWide". His last televised match was on the May 22 episode of "Saturday Night", a tag team loss with Erik Watts against Shanghai Pierce and Tex Slazenger.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: In the summer of 1996, Van Dam signed with promoter Paul Heyman's Philadelphia-based promotion Extreme Championship Wrestling (ECW), defeating Axl Rotten in his debut match at House Party. Van Dam's mannerisms were those of a stoner, and he became a face due to his laid-back attitude and unorthodox style. On March 30, he faced 2 Cold Scorpio in a match for the World Television Championship. The match ended in a draw with 2 Cold Scorpio retaining the title.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam gained attention following a series of matches with long-time rival Sabu, which began with a match at Hostile City Showdown, won by Sabu. After the match, Van Dam declined to show proper respect for his opponent, leading to a rematch at A Matter of Respect, which was won by Van Dam. Per the pre-match stipulation, Sabu then offered Van Dam a handshake, but was again ignored. Instead, Van Dam left the ring and turned heel under the management of Bill Alfonso. At Hardcore Heaven, Van Dam faced his rival Sabu once again, in a match to prove who was the better man, but Sabu won the match. The two faced each other yet again in a stretcher match at The Doctor Is In. Van Dam lost the match after missing a Plancha to the outside, hitting the railing and falling onto the stretcher. He was quickly rolled out.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: At Natural Born Killaz, Van Dam defeated Doug Furnas in a match. Post-match, Van Dam offered Furnas a handshake, but Furnas instead hit Van Dam with a short-arm clothesline, starting a rivalry between the two. After his rivalry with Furnas expanded to also include Dan Kroffat, Van Dam wanted a tag team partner of his own. After losing to long-time rival Sabu once again at Unlucky Lottery, the two united and formed what was to become one of the most successful tag teams in ECW history. They feuded with Furnas and Kroffat defeating them at When Worlds Collide II and High Incident.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam and Sabu next feuded with The Eliminators, John Kronus and Perry Saturn. On November 1, the two teams fought to a draw. Van Dam then feuded with Taz, to whom he lost at Holiday Hell via knockout. Sabu and Van Dam continued to feud with The Eliminators for the World Tag Team Championship into 1997. At Crossing the Line Again and Cyberslam, the teams faced off for the ECW World Tag Team Championship in a pair of matches, both of which were won by The Eliminators. At CyberSlam, the two teams faced each other for the title in a Tables, Ladders, and Chairs match, in which The Eliminators again retained their title.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: At ECW's first pay-per-view event Barely Legal, Van Dam defeated Lance Storm as a last-minute replacement for the injured Chris Candido. Immediately following the match, Van Dam expressed his distaste for being chosen as a back-up for "some guy who couldn't even lace his boots." Van Dam delivered a speech directed towards Paul Heyman, and not being originally booked on the show was a point of contention between Van Dam and Heyman for a time.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: In May 1997, ECW "invaded" the World Wrestling Federation's (WWF) "Monday Night Raw" television show, drawing the ire of color commentator Jerry Lawler. Lawler then promised he would show up at an ECW show in order to gain revenge, and when he did show up, he had ECW mainstays Van Dam (who turned heel) and Sabu with him. Van Dam made speeches about how he was too good for ECW and deserved to be in one of the "Big Two" (WWF or WCW) on one of their Monday Night programs ("Monday Night Raw" or "Monday Nitro"). Lawler began to call Van Dam Mr. Monday Night on an episode of "Raw" which became a moniker that would stay with Van Dam, changing to suit the day of the week of whichever program was being broadcast. Despite his arrogance and "betrayal" of ECW, over time Van Dam became applauded by fans recognizing his athleticism and unique maneuvers.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam continued to team up with Sabu upon his return to ECW on June 13. Taz's manager Bill Alfonso betrayed Taz and joined Sabu and Van Dam. Van Dam started a new rivalry with Tommy Dreamer, who wanted to gain revenge on Van Dam for his betrayal of ECW. On June 21, Van Dam and Sabu earned a victory over Dreamer and The Sandman. Van Dam and Sabu emerged victorious against Dreamer and Sandman again at Orgy of Violence. At Heat Wave, Van Dam, Sabu, and WWF's Jerry "The King" Lawler fought Dreamer, Sandman, and Rick Rude to a no contest. Van Dam and Dreamer faced each other in a hardcore match at Born to Be Wired, won by Van Dam after he performed a leg drop on Dreamer with a trashcan. Van Dam and Sabu became partners while Dreamer teamed up with Taz. At Fright Fight, Van Dam lost to Dreamer in a flag match. At Ultimate Jeopardy, Van Dam and Sabu faced Dreamer and Taz, a match won by Taz and Dreamer after Dreamer pinned Van Dam. At November to Remember, Van Dam faced Dreamer in another flag match which went to a no contest. At Better Than Ever, Van Dam and Sabu faced Dreamer and Taz in a rematch. This time, Van Dam pinned Dreamer to give the victory to his team and to settle their rivalry. Van Dam's final encounter with Dreamer came on January 5, when Dreamer teamed up with Taz, Al Snow, and Sandman to take on Van Dam, Sabu, Doug Furnas, and Phil Lafon. Van Dam's team lost the match.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: In 1998, Van Dam turned face and started a feud with Triple Threat (Shane Douglas, Bam Bam Bigelow, and Chris Candido). At House Party, Van Dam defeated Bam Bam Bigelow. At Hostile City Showdown, Van Dam and Sabu defeated Axl Rotten and Balls Mahoney by disqualification. The two went on to win a fatal four-way elimination tag team match later that night. At CyberSlam, Van Dam and Sabu lost to World Heavyweight Champion Shane Douglas and Bam Bam Bigelow.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam's popularity increased when he got his first taste of ECW gold, on April 4 when he defeated Bam Bam Bigelow to win the World Television Championship. Van Dam retained the belt in his first title defense on April 10 against Doug Furnas. Sabu also expressed interest in Van Dam's championship, leading to a title match between the two at Wrestlepalooza. Van Dam retained the title as the match ended in a time limit draw.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: At A Matter of Respect, Van Dam and Sabu were forced to face each other in a tag team match as they both teamed up with World Tag Team Champions. Van Dam teamed with the one half of the champions, Lance Storm, while Sabu teamed with the other half, Chris Candido. Van Dam and Sabu reconciled and instead took out Storm and Candido making it a no contest. Van Dam and Sabu started a feud with Storm and Candido in the next month for the tag team title. On June 29, Van Dam and Sabu beat Storm and Candido to win the World Tag Team Championship, which made Van Dam a double champion. On October 24, Sabu and Van Dam lost the title to the Dudley Boyz (Buh Buh Ray and D-Von) after interference from Triple Threat. Van Dam sought revenge and at November to Remember, Van Dam and Sabu teamed with Taz to defeat Triple Threat. On December 13, Van Dam and Sabu won the World Tag Team Championship for a second time by beating the Dudley Boyz in Japan at a Frontier Martial-Arts Wrestling ECW/FMW Supershow.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam remained the World Television Champion for the rest of 1998, and he started 1999 by making successful title defenses against the likes of Spike Dudley, Lance Storm at Guilty as Charged, Jerry Lynn at Crossing the Line '99, Balls Mahoney at Anarchy Rulz, and 2 Cold Scorpio at CyberSlam.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam and Sabu were scheduled to make a title defense on April 17, but Sabu was suspended by ECW before the match occurred. Instead, Van Dam faced D-Von Dudley in a singles match and as a result of losing the match, Van Dam also lost the ECW World Tag Team Championship to the Dudleyz. After losing the tag team titles, Van Dam focused on defending the Television title. He entered into a rivalry with Jerry Lynn against whom he defended the Television title at Hardcore Heaven in a "no time limit" match. Van Dam retained the title, and the match was deemed so good that Paul Heyman aired it on ECW's debut on TNN in place of a shoot promo about TNN that he was planning, but was not allowed to air. Van Dam continued to defend the ECW World Television Championship for the remainder of the year.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam began a feud with Rhino in the beginning of 2000. Van Dam successfully defended the ECW World Television Championship against Rhino on January 7. Van Dam got a victory during a title defense against Sabu at Guilty as Charged which was Sabu's last match in the promotion. Van Dam was scheduled to perform in a "champion vs. champion" pay-per-view main event against the ECW World Heavyweight Champion Mike Awesome. This match potentially could have been ECW's most lucrative pay-per-view main event, and Heyman was depending on it to bring an influx of badly needed finances, but the match never occurred because Van Dam suffered a broken ankle during a successful title defense against Rhino on January 29. The injury also forced Van Dam to vacate the ECW World Television Championship.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: He returned to ECW at Hardcore Heaven and faced long-time rival Jerry Lynn. Van Dam was supported by his real-life friend Scotty Anton who eventually turned on him when Van Dam was going to perform a Five-Star Frog Splash on Lynn. Anton pushed him from the top rope, which helped Lynn win the match. Van Dam feuded with Anton and took his revenge at Heat Wave by defeating Anton after debuting his new finisher called the "Van Terminator". Van Dam then attempted to exact revenge on Rhino for forcing his injury. He received many opportunities to win the ECW World Television Championship back from Rhino, but Rhino's allies usually attacked Van Dam, causing disqualifications and allowing Rhino to retain the title. At Anarchy Rulz, Van Dam faced Rhino for the ECW World Television Championship but was screwed when a heel referee made a fast count during a pinfall attempt made by Rhino.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam was not advertised and did not show for a large number of ECW events due to the large sum of money owed to him. He appeared at ECW's final pay-per-view event Guilty as Charged, where he defeated Jerry Lynn. This was Van Dam's last appearance in ECW, as ECW only held two more shows after the pay-per-view.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Several months after the closure of ECW, Van Dam was signed to a short-term contract by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF). Along with fellow ECW alumnus Tommy Dreamer, Van Dam returned to WWF television on the July 9, 2001, episode of "Raw" in Atlanta, Georgia as a heel, and attacking WWF wrestlers Kane and Chris Jericho. Later that night, five wrestlers from WWF and five wrestlers from WCW took on ten ECW wrestlers, including Van Dam. The match never took place as instead the WCW wrestlers aligned themselves with the ECW wrestlers.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Despite being a heel, Van Dam was popular with the WWF fans, who were aware of his reputation in ECW. After defeating Jeff Hardy for the WWF Hardcore Championship at Invasion, Van Dam lost the Hardcore Championship to Hardy on the August 13 episode of "Raw", but regained it at SummerSlam in a ladder match. During this time Van Dam had defeated wrestlers such as Kane, The Undertaker, Kurt Angle, Chris Jericho, The Rock and even Alliance leader Stone Cold Steve Austin in singles and tag team matches. Van Dam became one of the most popular members of the Alliance who faced The Rock for the WCW Championship on multiple occasions, and even challenged Alliance leader Stone Cold Steve Austin for the WWF Championship including a triple threat match at No Mercy also involving Kurt Angle, but did not win. At Survivor Series on November 18, Van Dam and four other Alliance members faced five WWF wrestlers in a "Winner Take All" match. Team WWF won, and the members of the Alliance were fired; however, as he held the Hardcore Championship, Van Dam was able to retain his job.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam became a face, but lost the Hardcore Championship to The Undertaker at Vengeance. He then entered into a rivalry with William Regal over Regal's Intercontinental Championship. On the February 25 episode of "Raw", Van Dam defeated Lance Storm and Big Show in a triple threat match to become the #1 contender to the Intercontinental Championship. At WrestleMania X8, Van Dam faced Regal for the Intercontinental Championship and won the match after he hit Regal with a Five-Star Frog Splash.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: When the WWF was divided into two "brands", Raw and SmackDown! in 2002, Van Dam was drafted to the Raw brand as the fourth pick. On the April 1 episode of "Raw", after Van Dam defended his title successfully against Booker T, Eddie Guerrero returned to the WWF and attacked Van Dam. He started a feud with Guerrero over the Intercontinental title. At Backlash, Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Guerrero. At Insurrextion, Van Dam and Guerrero had a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship. Guerrero was disqualified after hitting the referee with the Intercontinental Championship; as a result, Van Dam won the match but not the title because a title cannot change hands by disqualification. At Judgment Day, Van Dam failed to win the Intercontinental title in another rematch. The following night he defeated The Undertaker for the WWE Undisputed Championship but Raw owner Ric Flair restarted the match (due to The Undertaker's foot being on the bottom rope), which Van Dam then lost negating the title win. On the May 27 episode of "Raw", Van Dam defeated Guerrero in a ladder match for his second Intercontinental Championship.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: After facing each other in the final round of the 2002 King of the Ring tournament (which he lost), Van Dam and Brock Lesnar began feuding with each other. Van Dam defended his Intercontinental Championship against Lesnar twice and retained his title both times by disqualification on the June 24 episode of "Raw" and at Vengeance. On the July 22 episode of "Raw", Van Dam unified the WWE European Championship into the WWE Intercontinental Championship after he defeated Jeff Hardy in a title unification ladder match. As a result, the European title was abandoned. On the July 29 episode of "Raw", Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Benoit.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: At SummerSlam, Van Dam won his third WWE Intercontinental Championship by defeating Benoit in a rematch for the title. As Benoit brought the title to "SmackDown!" when he switched brands shortly after winning it, Van Dam brought the title back to "Raw". On the August 26 episode of "Raw", Van Dam also unified the WWE Hardcore Championship into the WWE Intercontinental Championship by defeating Hardcore Champion Tommy Dreamer in a hardcore title unification match. As a result, the WWE Hardcore Championship was abandoned. On the September 9 episode of "Raw", Van Dam became the number one contender to the World Heavyweight Championship by defeating Chris Jericho, Jeff Hardy, and Big Show in a fatal four-way elimination match.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam started feuding with the World Heavyweight Champion Triple H. On the September 16 episode of "Raw", Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Chris Jericho after interference by Triple H. At Unforgiven, Van Dam faced Triple H for the World Heavyweight Championship. Due to Ric Flair's interference, Van Dam lost the match. At No Mercy, Van Dam got his revenge on Flair by defeating him. At Survivor Series, Van Dam participated in the first-ever Elimination Chamber match for Triple H's World Heavyweight Championship, but it was won by Shawn Michaels. During the match, Van Dam performed a Five-Star Frog Splash off of one of the pods/chambers onto Triple H accidentally landing with his knee onto Triple H's throat.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam appeared on the World Heavyweight Championship scene and also formed a tag team with Kane in October 2002. Van Dam defeated Jericho and Booker T in a Triple Threat match to become the number one contender for the World Heavyweight Championship. On the November 25 episode of "Raw", Van Dam faced Michaels for the World Heavyweight Championship. Michaels was disqualified after Triple H hit Van Dam with a Pedigree. On the December 2 episode of "Raw", Van Dam lost to Triple H in a #1 contender's match with World Heavyweight Champion Shawn Michaels acting as the special guest referee.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: In 2003, Van Dam continued to team up with Kane. Van Dam participated in the Royal Rumble, and was one of the final five participants before being tricked and eliminated by Kane. The two faced Lance Storm and William Regal at No Way Out for the World Tag Team Championship but failed to win the titles when Kane mistakenly chokeslammed Van Dam. On the March 31 episode of "Raw", Van Dam and Kane defeated World Tag Team Champions Lance Storm and Chief Morley and The Dudley Boyz in a 3-way elimination tag team match to win the World Tag Team Championship. At Backlash, Van Dam and Kane retained the titles against The Dudley Boyz with Morley as the special guest referee. At Insurrextion, Van Dam and Kane defended the World Tag Team Championship successfully against La Résistance, before losing the titles to La Résistance at Bad Blood.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: After Kane was forced to take his mask off when he lost a World Heavyweight Championship match to Triple H on the June 23 episode of "Raw", he turned heel by chokeslamming Van Dam, and the team dissolved. The two then started feuding with each other. On the August 18 episode of "Raw", Van Dam faced the Intercontinental Champion Christian for the title, but Kane interfered in the match and knocked Van Dam out after hitting him with a chair. Kane then took Van Dam to the backstage where he was restrained and was about to be set on fire. Kane changed his mind at the last minute, however, and said that he wasn't going to do what "they" want. Their rivalry led to a No Holds Barred match at SummerSlam, which Kane won. On the September 8 episode of "Raw", the rivalry ended when Kane defeated Van Dam in a steel cage match. Kane threw Van Dam through the steel cage by mistake (causing Van Dam to win), but Eric Bischoff came out and restarted the match, saying Van Dam did not escape through the door or climb out of the cage and ordered the referees to put Van Dam back inside the cage where Kane eventually hit a chokeslam from the side of the cage to pick up the victory.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: In September 2003, Van Dam started feuding with both Christian and Chris Jericho over Christian's Intercontinental Championship. On the September 15 episode of "Raw", Van Dam faced Jericho in a number one contender's match for the title. The match ended in a double disqualification when Intercontinental Champion Christian interfered and hit both men with the title belt. At Unforgiven in a triple threat match between Jericho, Christian, and Van Dam, Christian retained his title. Van Dam, however, defeated Christian in a ladder match on the September 29 episode of "Raw" to win the Intercontinental Championship for a fourth time. Van Dam entered into a rivalry with Chris Jericho in October 2003, and the two faced each other in several tag team matches. On the October 27 episode of "Raw", Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Jericho. Van Dam reached the ropes when the challenger had him in the Walls of Jericho, but Raw Co-General Manager Eric Bischoff distracted the referee while Jericho dragged Van Dam back into the middle of the ring. Van Dam submitted and Jericho became the new champion. Raw Co-General Manager Stone Cold Steve Austin came out and immediately ordered Jericho to face Van Dam in a rematch inside the Steel Cage for the title. Van Dam won the rematch and his fifth Intercontinental Championship.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: At Survivor Series, Van Dam was pinned by Randy Orton during the traditional elimination match between Team Austin and Team Bischoff that Van Dam's team would lose. As a result, Orton and Van Dam started feuding with each other over Van Dam's Intercontinental title. Van Dam lost the Intercontinental Championship to Orton at Armageddon after interference from Ric Flair. Van Dam went on to feud with both Orton and Evolution. On the January 12, 2004, episode of "Raw", Van Dam faced Orton in a rematch for the Intercontinental Championship but lost the match.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam formed a tag team with Booker T. The two teamed for the first time on the January 19 episode of "Raw" when they defeated Christian and Matt Hardy to qualify for a battle royal where the winner of the Battle Royal would get the #30 spot in the 2004 Royal Rumble match. On the February 16 episode of "Raw", Booker T and Van Dam defeated Evolution members Ric Flair and Batista to win the World Tag Team Championship. At WrestleMania XX, Booker and Van Dam defended the World Tag Team Championship in a fatal four-way elimination tag team match against the Dudley Boyz, La Résistance, and the team of Mark Jindrak and Garrison Cade. On the March 22 episode of "Raw", Booker T and Van Dam lost the World Tag Team Championship back to Evolution.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: On March 22, Van Dam was drafted to the SmackDown! brand. He made his "SmackDown!" debut on March 25 defeating Charlie Haas. Van Dam and Rey Mysterio began a feud with the Dudley Boyz, defeating them at Judgment Day. In June, Van Dam left the tag team division and began a pursuit for the United States Championship. At The Great American Bash, John Cena defended the title against Van Dam, Booker T, and René Duprée in a Fatal Four-Way match and retained his championship. On the July 1 episode of "SmackDown!", Van Dam and Duprée lost to Booker in a number one contender's Triple Threat match. Four weeks later, Van Dam participated in an 8-way elimination match for the vacant United States Championship, and was the last man to be eliminated by eventual winner Booker.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam began teaming up with Mysterio again in the summer and feuded with René Duprée and Kenzo Suzuki. At No Mercy, Van Dam and Mysterio failed to win the WWE Tag Team Championship from Dupree and Suzuki. On the December 9 episode of "SmackDown!", Van Dam and Mysterio defeated Duprée and Suzuki to win the WWE Tag Team Championship, and retained the title in a rematch at Armageddon. In January 2005, Van Dam suffered a knee injury. To explain his absence, the Basham Brothers (Doug and Danny) defeated Mysterio and Van Dam for the WWE Tag Team Championship, in a Fatal Four-Way elimination tag team match on the January 13 episode of "SmackDown!", "injuring" Van Dam in the process. On January 27, Van Dam underwent reconstructive knee surgery under Dr. James Andrews to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament and meniscus.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: 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.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: 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".


title: Rob Van Dam

text: 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.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: 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).


title: Rob Van Dam

text: He returned to television on the August 8 episode of "ECW", attacking both Sabu and Kurt Angle during a match. His return to the ring came a week later, in a losing effort to Sabu in a ladder match for number one contendership to the now renamed ECW World Championship. Van Dam slowly worked his way back into the championship picture. In October, Van Dam defeated Big Show in a non-title match to regain the number one contendership. Having the option to pick a date, Van Dam announced the title match would occur at December to Dismember. However, Heyman had the option of picking the match type and announced that the main event would be a six-man Extreme Elimination Chamber match. At December to Dismember, Van Dam was the third participant eliminated. Later in December, Van Dam once again earned the number one contendership to the ECW World Championship, but this time by a fan poll. Van Dam got three matches against ECW World Champion Bobby Lashley, coming up short each time.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Rob Van Dam later joined the ECW Originals along with Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, and The Sandman. The ECW Originals began a feud with the New Breed (Elijah Burke, Kevin Thorn, Marcus Cor Von, and Matt Striker). The two teams faced off at WrestleMania 23 in a match which the ECW Originals won. After Vince McMahon won the ECW World Championship at Backlash, Van Dam and the other ECW Originals made statements on WWE.com about McMahon killing ECW. On the May 1 episode of "ECW", the ECW Originals all competed in a fatal four-way match to decide who would take on McMahon the next week in a title match, which Van Dam won after a five-star frog splash on Sandman. Van Dam, however, had to face McMahon, Shane McMahon, and Umaga in a 3-on-1 handicap match, which Van Dam was unable to win.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam received a concussion during a match with Randy Orton on the May 28 episode of "Raw". Orton further attacked Van Dam after the match due to the comments Van Dam made on WWE.com about the lack of respect Orton displayed towards Shawn Michaels, who also suffered a concussion at the hands of Orton. Van Dam once again faced Orton at One Night Stand, this time in a Stretcher match. Although it looked as if Orton was going to win again, Van Dam gave him a roundhouse kick to the head and was able to push the stretcher across the line for the win. Despite winning the match, Orton continued to attack Van Dam, ending with an elevated DDT off the barricade and onto the concrete floor, in which Van Dam was carried out on a stretcher. After the match, Van Dam left WWE due to being burnt out and needing time away.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: The day after Van Dam's WWE contract expired, he was in the United Kingdom on a promotional tour and to record scenes for the wrestling documentary, "Bloodstained Memoirs". He also took part in interviews for the BBC.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam defeated Booker T at Pro Wrestling Alliance Christmas Chaos on December 28, 2007, in Pasadena, Texas.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: In an interview with the "Baltimore Sun", Van Dam stated that while WWE would be the first choice and that he would definitely talk to them, he would definitely consider Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) if he returned full-time to pro wrestling. While not under contract, Van Dam made an unannounced return on WWE's "15th Anniversary Raw" in December 2007, squashing Santino Marella with a Five-Star Frog Splash. He made a similarly unannounced appearance as a participant in the 2009 Royal Rumble, which he failed to win as he was eliminated by Chris Jericho.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: He returned to the independent circuit by competing for Associação Portuguesa de Wrestling (APW) in February 2008. He then also appeared for Nu-Wrestling Evolution (NWE) throughout countries such as Spain. On August 14, 2008, he won a triple threat match at the Inoki Genome Federation (IGF) in Japan after defeating Kendo Kashin and Necro Butcher.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: On March 9, 2009, it was announced that Van Dam would be competing in American Wrestling Rampage (AWR) on their European Tour, during which he won the promotion's No Limits Wrestling (NLW) Championship in a three way bout versus Sabu and former champion Shawn Maxer. He lost the title to René Duprée after three successful defenses. In November he regained the title, renamed the AWR World Heavyweight Championship at this point, from Duprée on November 29 winning two decisions in a Two Out of Three Falls match. On September 11, 2009, in the World Stars of Wrestling (WSW) European Championship events in Portimão, Portugal, Van Dam won the WSW World Championship, by defeating Joe E. Legend. On the following night he defended his newly won title against Lance Cade.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: On January 30, 2010, Van Dam made his debut for Pro Wrestling Guerrilla (PWG) as part of WrestleReunion 4, defeating Chris Hero and Roderick Strong in a "Sky High" three-way match.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: On March 8, 2010, Van Dam made his debut for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA) at the promotion's Monday night episode of "Impact!", defeating Sting. Then just seconds after his debut victory Sting attacked him and later Hulk Hogan with his signature baseball bat. Van Dam got his revenge on Sting the following week by attacking him during his entrance. Van Dam teamed with Jeff Hardy in a tag team match, where they defeated Beer Money, Inc. (Robert Roode and James Storm) on the March 22 episode of "Impact!". The following week the two of them teamed with Eric Young and defeated The Band (Kevin Nash, Scott Hall and Syxx-Pac) in a six-man tag team steel cage match. Both Van Dam and Hardy became members of Team Hogan (joining Abyss and Jeff Jarrett) for the annual Lethal Lockdown match, where they defeated Team Flair (Sting, Desmond Wolfe, Robert Roode and James Storm).


title: Rob Van Dam

text: The night after Lockdown he first defeated Jeff Hardy in a number one contender's match and then, in the main event of the evening, A.J. Styles to become the new TNA World Heavyweight Champion. After succeeding in his first televised title defense against Desmond Wolfe, Styles attacked Van Dam, announcing the invocation of the rematch clause for Sacrifice. At Sacrifice Van Dam defeated Styles in a rematch. The following month at Slammiversary VIII Van Dam retained his title against Sting in a rematch of his TNA debut. Van Dam defeated Abyss, Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson in a four-way match to retain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship at Victory Road. On the following episode of "Impact!" Van Dam aligned himself with fellow ECW alumni Tommy Dreamer, Raven, Stevie Richards, Rhino, Brother Devon, Pat Kenney, Al Snow and Mick Foley, who saved him from a beating at the hands of Abyss.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: The following week, TNA president Dixie Carter agreed to give the ECW alumni their own reunion pay–per–view event, Hardcore Justice. At Hardcore Justice on August 8 Van Dam defeated former tag team partner and rival Sabu in a non-title Hardcore Rules match, after his originally planned match with Jerry Lynn was scrapped due to Lynn suffering a back injury. After successfully defending the TNA World Heavyweight Championship against Abyss in a Stairway to Janice match on the following special edition of "Impact!", named "The Whole F'n Show", Van Dam and the other former ECW wrestlers were assaulted by Abyss and . In the attack Van Dam suffered multiple serious storyline injuries at the hands of Abyss including the need for stitches, spinal trauma and possible acute brain damage, which would force him to vacate the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on August 10 at the taping of the August 19 episode of "Impact!". In reality, Van Dam was running out of dates per year on his contract and was therefore taken off television.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam returned via telephone interview on the September 16 episode of "Impact!" and announced that he would return to the Impact! Zone the following week, against his doctor's orders. Van Dam returned the following week, confronting Abyss and demanding a match against him at Bound for Glory, which Eric Bischoff agreed to give him. At Bound for Glory Van Dam defeated Abyss in a Monster's Ball match. At the end of Bound for Glory it was revealed that Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff had sent Abyss after Van Dam in order to get the TNA World Heavyweight Championship on their own representative, Jeff Hardy. Van Dam confronted the group, later named Immortal, after Hardy had won the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, only to get hit with the title belt. On the October 21 episode of "Impact!" Bischoff claimed that someone from EV 2.0 had been calling him, trying to get to be a part of Immortal, which led to Van Dam getting paranoid about his stablemates, first accusing Raven of being the traitor. Later, he and Sabu were defeated in a tag team match by Beer Money, Inc., after Sabu accidentally hit him with a chair. After the match Van Dam and Sabu began shoving each other and had to be separated from each other by the rest of EV 2.0. After two more weeks of dissension between Van Dam and the rest of EV 2.0, Tommy Dreamer challenged him to a match at Turning Point. At Turning Point Van Dam defeated Dreamer and afterwards made peace with him. On the following episode of "Impact!" Rhino turned heel by attacking Van Dam and Dreamer, revealing himself as the traitor Van Dam had been looking for. At Final Resolution Van Dam defeated Rhino in a First Blood match.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: On January 4, 2011, Van Dam traveled to Japan with other TNA wrestlers to take part New Japan Pro-Wrestling's (NJPW) fifth annual "Wrestle Kingdom in Tokyo Dome", where he defeated Toru Yano in a hardcore match. At Genesis Van Dam was defeated by Immortal's surprise opponent, the debuting Matt Hardy, when referee Jackson James missed Van Dam's foot under the ropes, thus failing to earn a shot at his brother Jeff's TNA World Heavyweight Championship. During the main event Van Dam prevented Matt from interfering in Jeff's match with Mr. Anderson, which led to Jeff losing the title. The following month at Against All Odds, Van Dam defeated Matt Hardy in a rematch. On the following episode of "Impact!", Van Dam finally received his shot at Jeff Hardy and the TNA World Heavyweight Championship, but was unable to regain the title. On March 13 at Victory Road, Van Dam wrestled Mr. Anderson to a double countout in a TNA World Heavyweight Championship number one contender's match. On April 17 at Lockdown, Van Dam failed in his attempt to regain the TNA World Heavyweight Championship from Sting in a three–way steel cage match, which also included Anderson. The following month at Sacrifice, Van Dam again failed to regain the title, this time in a singles match with Sting.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: Van Dam represented TNA at Mexican promotion AAA's Triplemanía XIX pay-per-view on June 18, 2011. In the main event of the show, Van Dam was defeated by Dr. Wagner, Jr. in a match to determine the first ever AAA Latin American Champion. At Destination X on July 10, Van Dam defeated longtime rival Jerry Lynn in a singles match. On August 7 at Hardcore Justice, Van Dam, at the time ranked number two in the Bound for Glory Series, faced Crimson, ranked number one, in a tournament match. Van Dam lost the match via disqualification, when Jerry Lynn entered the ring, costing him not only the match, but also several places in the tournament's standings. Lynn cost Van Dam another Bound for Glory Series match against A.J. Styles in similar fashion on the August 18 "Impact Wrestling". Lynn turned on Van Dam on the September 1 "Impact Wrestling", costing him his match with Gunner and, in the process, eliminating him from the finals of the Bound for Glory Series. The following week Lynn explained his turn by claiming that he was tired of being in Van Dam's shadow. Van Dam defeated Lynn in a Full Metal Mayhem match at Bound for Glory.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: On the October 27 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Van Dam defeated Christopher Daniels by disqualification after Daniels hit him with a toolbox. Two weeks later, Van Dam prevented Daniels from using a screwdriver to illegally defeat A.J. Styles in a singles match which would cost Daniels the match. At Turning Point, Van Dam defeated Daniels in a No Disqualification match. In retaliation, Daniels cost him his match for the TNA Television Championship against Robbie E on the December 1 episode of "Impact Wrestling". Van Dam defeated Daniels at Final Resolution on December 11 again to end their feud.


title: Rob Van Dam

text: After wrestling to a double countout on the January 5, 2012, edition of "Impact Wrestling", Gunner made a failed attempt to piledrive Van Dam into the concrete floor after Van Dam back body dropped him onto it. Three days later at Genesis, Van Dam was defeated by Gunner and was afterwards stretchered backstage, after taking a DDT onto the concrete floor. After a near three-month absence Van Dam resumed working live events in late March. Van Dam returned to "Impact Wrestling" on April 12, being revealed as the fifth member of Garett Bischoff's team at Lockdown. At Lockdown, Team Garett defeated a team led by Eric Bischoff. On the following episode of "Impact Wrestling", Van Dam defeated Jeff Hardy and Mr. Anderson in a three-way match to become the number one contender to the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. Van Dam received his title opportunity in a ladder match on May 13 at Sacrifice, but was defeated by the defending champion, Bobby Roode. At Slammiversary on June 10, Van Dam was defeated by Mr. Anderson in a three-way number one contender's match, also involving Jeff Hardy. Later that week on "Impact Wrestling", Van Dam entered the 2012 Bound for Glory Series. At Hardcore Justice, Van Dam defeated Magnus and Mr. Anderson in a Falls Count Anywhere match. He wrestled his final match in the tournament on the September 6 "Impact Wrestling", losing to Bully Ray, thus finishing fifth and narrowly missing the semifinals of the tournament. On the October 4 episode of "Impact Wrestling", Van Dam unsuccessfully challenged Samoa Joe for the TNA Television Championship.