Van Dam returned to WWE on the April 7, 2014 episode of "Raw", defeating Damien Sandow and would later defeat him once more in a rematch on the following "SmackDown". Shortly after, he entered into an WWE Intercontinental Championship tournament, defeating Alberto Del Rio in the first round and Cesaro in the semifinals but lost in the final round to Bad News Barrett. Following this he entered into a feud with Cesaro and Jack Swagger, having gained pinfall victories over both men in the lead up to Extreme Rules, Van Dam would go on to lose to Cesaro and Jack Swagger in a Triple Threat Elimination match, which was won by Cesaro after pinning Van Dam last, who had pinned Swagger first. Following Extreme Rules, Van Dam would once more go on to defeat Cesaro and Jack Swagger on separate occassions in rematches on both "Raw" and "SmackDown". On the May 19 edition of "Raw", Van Dam won a Beat the Clock challenge match by defeating Alberto Del Rio in the fastest time, to become the top contender for the Intercontinental Championship at Payback, although he lost to Barrett at the event. On the June 16 episode of "RAW", Van Dam competed in a Battle Royal with the winner gaining a WWE World Heavyweight Championship opportunity, the match was won by Roman Reigns. At Money in the Bank, Van Dam took part in the Money in the Bank Ladder match for the briefcase, but was won by Seth Rollins. At SummerSlam, Van Dam defeated Cesaro during the pre-show. Following SummerSlam, Van Dam would go on to team with Roman Reigns and Sheamus in a six-man tag team match in a winning effort against Randy Orton, Ryback and Curtis Axel on the August 18 episode of "Raw". After defeating Seth Rollins by countout on the August 26 edition of "Main Event", Van Dam's final match with WWE was on the August 29 episode of "SmackDown", where he faced Rollins in a losing effort. He made an appearance at the 2014 Slammy Awards to present the Slammy Award for Extreme Moment of the Year. Van Dam allowed his contract with WWE to expire the following month.