20 Years Ago, Rob Van Dam Debuted in WWF as “Mr. Monday Night” (Video)

20 years ago today, on May 12, 1997, Rob Van Dam made his first appearance in the WWF, taking on a young jobber, Jeff Hardy, who was 19 years old at the time.

It was part of an “ECW invasion” angle, where Jerry Lawler brought Rob Van Dam and Sabu to the WWF, “stealing” them away from “Extremely Crappy Wrestling.” RVD and Sabu were still part of the ECW roster and hadn’t actually signed with the WWF, though. They remained in ECW and the angle ended the next month.

This was also the origin of Rob Van Dam’s moniker, “Mr. Monday Night,” which was given to him by Jerry Lawler.

Twenty years ago TODAY, the legendary @TherealRVD debuted on #RAW against the equally up-and-coming @JEFFHARDYBRAND! #FlashbackFriday pic.twitter.com/Gk6PoeHoNC

— WWE (@WWE) May 12, 2017

Rob Van Dam vs. Jeff Hardy: Raw, May 12, 1997

Rob Van Dam has some surprisingly harsh words for ECW before he impresses in his WWE debut match against Jeff Hardy on Raw.