TAKE PWTORCH
WITH YOU! Get our iPhone App (FREE!): Click Here Or enter "PWTorch.com" on your Blackberry or other Smart Phone browser for mobile-version of PWTorch.
TNA News
TNA News: Rob Van Dam in-depth interview - says he's considering joining TNA Nov 5, 2009 - 1:00:12 PM
Former WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam says he's considering joining TNA after Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff signed up with TNA to help build the company's visibility. RVD isn't sure Hogan should be booking storylines or making matches, however.
"It's more appealing because they raised the stakes," RVD told the Monday Night Mayhem radio show this week. "Hulk Hogan brings credibility & name recognition. A lot of people that don't watch wrestling and many who haven't watched wrestling in five or ten years, they all know who Hulk Hogan is. He is a great representative of what wrestling can be. Should he have the book? I don't know. Just because you have one talent in the business, doesn't mean you have something else."
RVD said in recent interviews that he has an "open door policy" with WWE to make infrequent appearances for the company, including the Royal Rumble earlier this year. RVD does not want to be on WWE's full-time schedule, which seems to open the door for TNA with their part-time schedule.
In the interview with the Mayhem radio show, RVD took an outsider's perspective on evaluating Hogan and Bischoff's alignment with TNA. He also played coy on whether he's ready to make the jump to TNA despite having conversations with TNA president Dixie Carter.
"With Hulk Hogan & Eric Bischoff now in TNA, it's a very interesting time in the wrestling business...and in a very positive way," RVD said. "I was at Bound For Glory saying hi to some friends. And part of that was 'Oh, hi Dixie, nice to meet you.' We have talked on the phone...Same thing with Vince Russo. Now that Hogan & Bischoff are there, it's definitely putting a lot of energy on TNA, a lot of focus and eyes. Now if they can follow up with that, they could really, really grow."
RVD said later in the interview that if he returns to wrestling, he wants to be part of something hip and happening, like in ECW's boom period under Paul Heyman that he was part of. RVD said he's tired of watching the same wrestling style on TV.
"Can we get the wrestling business fun with Hulk Hogan in TNA? I don't know but here's one thing, part of why it's not interesting to watch anymore is because it's so routine and mundane," he said. "Every match, we have to see the babyface cry and sell, and the heel do his stuff, and the babyface make his big comeback. Every match? I don't enjoy that."
Link: Listen to the complete interview on the Monday Night Mayhem radio show.
Send feedback on this article to pwtorch@gmail.com and we'll regularly publish reader feedback in the "Torch Feedback" category on the Main Listing.
INCREDIBLE BENEFITS! Over 50 full-length audio updates per month (iPod compatible)... New weekly award-winning Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter (text and printable pdf versions) with latest exclusive insider news, new Torch Talks, great columns, Keller's cover story, much more... Hundreds of full-length back issues of PWTorch Newsletter from late-'80s to today... Ad-free access to PWTorch.com's Main Listing... VIP Forum with interaction with other subscribers and Torch staff... Torch Talk Library with text and audio of hundreds of interview installments from last 20 years... Great layout... Deepest archives on pro wrestling history anywhere... Keller's PWTorch Today PDF Bulletins with email alerts... VIP Email reports on major PPVs and TV shows... Staff Roundtable Reviews (text and audio) followiing major events... The best staff of writers and world class reporting since 1987... We'd love for you to join us and experience the most entertaining, authoritative, experienced staff of professional reporters and commentators in the business...
Compare the value of four or five months of PWTorch VIP content to the price of just one PPV. Can you cut 25 cents a day from your budget to make room for PWTorch VIP?
AND NEW FOR 2009! Monthly "Vintage Audio Torch Talks." We are releasing for the first time ever audio versions of our text Torch Talk updates, the historical first series of insider interviews ever. Wade Keller's newsmaking in-depth interviews with wrestling's biggest names are now being made available exclusively to VIP members. But you must be a member each month, as these are not archived, so they are replaced with a new one each month! This debuted in January 2009 with a 68 minute interview with the late "British Bulldog" Davey Boy Smith. Who's next? Hulk Hogan? Eric Bischoff? The Rock? Goldberg? Jeff Hardy?
