Rob Van Dam Recalls Why He Started Doing Five Star Frog Splash

Rob Van Dam has explained why he started using the electrifying Five Star Frog Splash as his finishing move.

When it comes to athleticism in pro wrestling, WWE Hall of Famer Rob Van Dam is known for being one of the best high flyers in the history of the business. That’s in part due to his finishing move known as the Five Star Frog Splash.

While there are other wrestles that popularized the Frog Splash in pro wrestling like Eddie Guerrero, RVD did it differently.

When RVD jumped off the top rope he often times twisted his body while jumping as high as he possibly could. When landing the Five Star Frog Splash, he usually had his body spread out as much as he could and oftentimes would roll after to sell the impact of the move before making the cover.

Rob Van Dam came up with the Five Star Frog Splash based on advice from a wrestling promoter

While speaking on his “One of a Kind” podcast, Rob Van Dam spoke about a wrestling promoter who predicted his future as a World Champion and also helped RVD come up with a different finishing move than what RVD was using at the time.

“A wrestling promoter called Ron Slinker from Tampa, Florida discovered me in USWA. He was there working a little bit with Bill Dundee, but mostly to have his eyes on his son-in-law Dennis Knight [Mideon in WWE]. He saw me and was like, ‘Kid, you’re gonna be a World Champion someday.’ He brought me down to Florida, he gave me the name Rob Van Dam, he got me the job in WCW [after talking] with Bill Watts.”

As he continued, RVD said he was using the split-legged moonsault as a finisher, but he changed it after advice from Slinker.

“Slicker said, ‘It’s a pretty move, but most of the guys you’re wrestling are a lot bigger than you. You need a finishing move that’s more impactful.’ I was like, ‘Damn, really?’ I thought about it … and came up with the Five Star Frog Splash.”

Rob Van Dam would use that Five Star Frog Splash to become a WWE Champion, an ECW World Champion, a TNA World Champion and a WWE Hall of Famer as well.