Rob Van Dam's Rumored Post-SummerSlam Break Would Leave WWE Run a Letdown

Rob Van Dam could be leaping back out of WWE after SummerSlam, leaving a faint imprint behind this time.

Should Mr. Monday Night take another hiatus, he will do so after being a part of too few memorable matches and no standout feud, underwhelming compared to his 2013 run.

Even at 43 years old, fans had to be expecting more from him. It was just last year that he seemed to be sipping from the Fountain of Youth before each bout. There has been less to rave about since he came back on April 7.

Now he may be readying for an exit yet again. According to PWInsider (h/t Wrestling Inc), there have been talks lately of Van Dam taking a break from WWE following SummerSlam.

That would end his latest run at just over four months. In that span, he's been assigned the role of midcard title challenger and provider of roster depth. That hasn't equaled much that will be a must-add for his career retrospective DVD.

His pay-per-view performances have been more solid than spectacular, save for one.

(Note: Star ratings are Dave Meltzer's on the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, h/t ProFightDB.com.)

Event	Opponent	Star Rating out of 5
Extreme Rules	Jack Swagger, Cesaro	2.5
Payback	Bad News Barrett	2.5
Money in the Bank	Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, Kofi Kingston, Jack Swagger, Dolph Ziggler	4.5
Battleground	Battle Royal field	N/A (Pulled due to injury)

A lack of buildup hurt the Extreme Rules and Payback bouts. WWE paid little attention to either showdown, the focus instead pointing at The Shield vs. Evolution and Bray Wyatt vs. John Cena. 

His feuds with Cesaro and Barrett were short and lacked much beyond the standard motivations that drive wrestlers to fight. Highlights like Barrett attacking Van Dam on May 19 weren't plentiful enough.

Lack of storyline and momentum did nothing to assist Van Dam and his opponents in his first two 2014 showdowns on pay-per-view.

Ask a fan to compile Raw's most captivating moments, and they will likely talk about Wyatt leading a youth choir, Stephanie McMahon getting arrested or Daniel Bryan occupying Raw. Van Dam hasn't had big moments like these.

He's instead been taking part in feuds low on the card, the kind that get whatever airtime is left over.

Compare that to last year, where his Battleground battle against Alberto Del Rio was far more prominent. In addition to the high stakes of the world title on the line, it had the benefit of being a story of Del Rio trying to prove he could beat RVD at the kind of bout he became known for.

There was also the element of Ricardo Rodriguez backing Van Dam after years of being Del Rio's ring announcer.

As for Van Dam's best pay-per-view match, he thrived as part of the thrilling violence that comes with a Money in the Bank Ladder match. He was one of many men to excite by way of leaping off ladders and taking cringe-worthy bumps.

Credit: WWE.com

He had no chance to follow that up at Battleground 2014 "due to injury," per WWE.com. Money in the Bank remains his peak this year, as he hasn't been involved in as many memorable TV matches as he was last time around.

Van Dam's current run has offered no equivalent to his match against Randy Orton, Christian on Aug. 2 or his stellar showing against Chris Jericho on July 15.

Instead, the man he has faced the most on TV in 2014, per CageMatch.net, has been a rival he lacks chemistry with. As good as both Van Dam and Cesaro are in the ring, one would assume their clashes would be gold each time. That wasn't the case.

In their match on the May 26 Raw, Cesaro mistimed taking one of Van Dam's kicks, falling to the mat too early.

Some of Van Dam's dives didn't seem to land properly. There wasn't that same spark one sees between great rivals. It was as if each man struggled to get a feel for the other despite how often they collided.

He has had much better chemistry with Seth Rollins, but none of their efforts will compete for the year's best match as his 2013 battle with Jericho did, coming in at No. 19 on the WWE.com's list of top 25 matches of the year.

At SummerSlam, Van Dam doesn't appear he will be getting a chance to knock one home run out of the park before he goes.

As of this writing, he is not scheduled for the event. That's not surprising because he's not involved in a feud right now.

All his battles with Rollins have been a way to make the youngster look good heading into his grudge match with Dean Ambrose. 

Him being seen as an afterthought has been the biggest issue with Van Dam's 2014 run.

When Batista came back, WWE had him briefly feud with Del Rio before being involved in the Evolution vs. The Shield rivalry. Brock Lesnar has been paired with Undertaker and John Cena in high-profile matchups. Chris Jericho immediately entered a rivalry with Bray Wyatt that has featured backstage ambushes, blood and a plethora of promos.

Van Dam wasn't featured as prominently as those men and isn't getting attention heading into Sunday's pay-per-view.

SummerSlam is about to come and go with no chance of Van Dam leaping in the air for a Five-Star Frog Splash. The bench isn't the place for him at an event that size.

He doesn't need to be in the WWE title picture to succeed, but Van Dam needs more to work with.

Cesaro wasn't a great opponent for him, yet WWE kept going to that well. His match with Adrian Neville, on the other hand, flowed with electricity. 

On Van Dam's next trip through, WWE would be wise to make those two bitter enemies and give them a hearty share of TV time each week.

Some blame for Van Dam's latest stretch being underwhelming is on him being a year older and a touch slower. But if WWE is going to maximize his next return, it has to learn from what didn't work this time.

Find him a rival, shine the spotlight his way and let him fly.