Rob Van Dam vs. Jerry Lynn: ECW Living Dangerously, 20 Years Later

It’s been twenty years since RVD and Jerry Lynn put on a show in New Jersey in a match that elevated both men and the ECW Title to heights above expectations.

Professional wrestling is filled with many memorable moments. Ask any fan and they will rattle off a list of scenes that are burned into their mind. This month, the clock will hit twenty years since a match between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn that occurred at Living Dangerously on March 21, 1999.

Looking back at that match, there’s many that will argue that it was the moment that launched RVD, created a contingent of hardcore fans for ECW, and let everyone know that Lynn can hang with the best. It’s a moment that is worth praise two decades after a match that was an immediate classic.

There’s a lot to unpack before the bell would even sound. On one side, there is RVD; the current ECW Television Champion and one half of the tag team champions with Sabu. Even though he wasn’t in the main event picture, it was clear that he was a main event player. This was the TV title reign that cemented him as a hot prospect outside of the WWE and eventually led to what was an impressive but undercut run with that organization.

On the other side was Lynn. While Lynn never reached the same level of praise as Van Dam, this match showed that he had the athletic and showmanship abilities to compete with the best. For twenty minutes he did everything right and kept the fans in attendance and watching believing that tonight would be his night. Then the culmination came with him wanting to win the title honorably but falling shot to the experienced and capable champion. Lynn had everything to offer as the babyface that evening.

This wasn’t the first time that RVD and Lynn would compete, and it was far from the last. Their rivalry started back in 1998 and would extend years later and across other promotions. But its this match that still stands out as perhaps the best of the bunch.

The pacing for this match may cause a bit of contention, especially for fans of today’s wrestling content – but it served this match perfectly. RVD was the arrogant champion, who took every opportunity he had to gloat. Lynn scouted nearly everything Van Dam had to offer and was countering moves and holds from start to finish. The chain wrestling moments like the reverse DDT onto the chair nearly 10 minutes in, or the table spot at 15 minutes are examples of the back and forth action that kept fans on their feet.

Then there was the finish. After regulation ends, referee John Finegan is prepared to hand the title to Lynn, but he requested five more minutes as the fans chanted on. That desire cost him the match and the belt but would be a lead in to the no-time limit match later that year.

According to Cagemath.net, Lynn and RVD battled 40 times throughout their careers. While Van Dam had his hand raised in majority of those matches, it’s clear that this connection was the feud needed that elevated them both the highest levels they would reach in their career.

Without each other, there’s no telling what or where either man would have ended up in the world of professional wrestling. Thankfully, they had each other and a rivalry that would follow them across ECW, WWE and Impact Wrestling. But when it is all said and done, the television title match at ECW Living Dangerously on March 21, 1999 stands out amongst them all and is well worth the watch twenty years later.