8 Greatest Karate Dudes in pro wrestling history

#4 Rob Van Dam

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Former WWE Champion Rob Van Dam ranks this high on the list for a number of reasons, but for one in particular. Every style has various sub-styles, and "Karate Dude" is no exception. Rob Van Dam created his own sub-style of "Karate Dude", and until Matt Riddle came along, he's kind of been the only one of significance in it. A "One Of a Kind", as his WWE theme music would say.

Now, of course, he's been described as simply "laid back" when working for companies such as WWE who have wanted to maintain a slightly more publically acceptable image than the original ECW did. But, we all know it. And it's part of why he's so great. His persona, I mean, not the... OK, I'm just going to move on.

Van Dam studied kickboxing and other martial arts growing up, and he's incorporated that into his wrestling style ever since. Even his ring name is a reference to actor Jean-Claude Van Damme, as he... kind of looks like him? Anyway, that's why he goes by that. Except for when he worked as "enhancement talent" in early 1990s WCW, where he went by Robbie V, which is still a pretty cool name if you think about it.

Rob is still doing his thing, nearly thirty years after his debut, working for Impact Wrestling