3 Superstars who became World Champion too early in their WWE career and 3 who won the title too late

#5 Late - Rob Van Dam took a long time to win the WWE Championship

“@LCPLucia: @TherealRVD One night stand 2006 - Rob van dam wwe champion! #greatmemories pic.twitter.com/eEzd0U3e”Good times

— Rob Van Dam (@TherealRVD) September 19, 2012

Rob Van Dam was seen as one of the most popular WWE Superstars in the early 2000s. After making a name for himself in ECW, RVD moved to WWE in 2001 as part of the Invasion angle.

It did not take him too long to win his first major title in WWE as he became the Intercontinental Champion at WrestleMania X8. RVD’s value continued to grow as his daredevil attitude helped him get over with the fans in the early 2000s. His popularity peaked around 2002, and that would potentially have been the perfect time to pull the trigger and make him WWE Champion.

However, RVD had to wait until 2006 before he would finally lift the gold at ECW One Night Stand. His reign as Champion did not last too long, and he fell into a controversy soon after which led to his suspension.

Happy 45th Birthday to former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam. #WWE @TherealRVD pic.twitter.com/y98o1Cfd5h

— WWE Today In History 🌐 (@WWE__History) December 18, 2015

While RVD was doing well before 2006, the creatives waited for too long before awarding him the top title of the company. At that point, John Cena and Edge were gaining a lot of popularity and overshadowed RVD’s work and title reign.