Interview with Rob Van Dam (Part 1 of 2)
Date: Thursday, June 17, 2004
Location: Toronto, Canada
Interviewer: Joltin' Joe
Report by: Thush Nada, rajah.com reader
Joltin' Joe recently had the opportunity to conduct an exclusive interview with Rob
Van Dam at the Toronto Comicon convention.
Joe starts off the interview by asking Rob to compare the differences between
working on RAW and SmackDown!. Rob states the obvious, which is that RAW occurs
live, whereas SmackDown! is taped on Tuesday and aired on Thursday. He says this is
a disadvantage for him because he would usually receive a ton of voicemail from
people congratulating him after his matches on Monday, but now, he has to wait until
Thursday, and by then he's already packing his bags for another show. Rob also
stated that RAW consists of established ring veterans, whereas SmackDown! consists
mostly of younger talent.
Midway through the interview, Joe asks Rob if there's a possibility of ECW
reforming. Rob states that he's heard of these rumours only from fans and
interviewers, but if it were really to occur, he would be one of the first in line
to find out. He says at this point, all he is aware of is WWE releasing an ECW home
video.
Joe then brings up the topic of JBL's recent actions in Germany and asks Rob for his
thoughts. Rob says he was surprised how a non-televised event, all the way on the
other side of the planet, made world headlines in such a short amount of time. He
says JBL's actions were insignificant and people made too much out of it.
Joe goes on to ask Rob about the current status of his contract negotiations. Rob
states that he has worked out a deal with WWE management, but hasn't signed yet.
Although it's unofficial for now, he says it's as good as done.
Joe asks Rob for his thoughts on NWA TNA. Rob says that he prefers different
organizations because it's an advantage for wrestlers. He says a wrestler unable to
find work with WWE, has more job opportunities. He also went on to say that he
doubts anyone would be major competition for Vince, but wishes them the best of
luck.
The interview cuts off there, but I'll post Part 2 of 2 once it airs.
[Thanks to Joltin' Joe's Wrestling Hotline for contributing. You can call (416)
350-3000 ext. 2049 to listen to the interview. Long distance charges may apply.]
-- Rico suffered a hamstring injury on the Smackdown! match that aired this past Thursday. Though he was unable to put weight on the leg, the extent of the injury is not known.
Source: wrestlingobserver.com
-- This past Thursday's Smackdown! ended up scoring a 3.0 rating, which was down fractionally from last week's 3.1. However, in some good news, the show opened with a 2.4 for the first quarter hour and kept on increasing throughout the show and peaking at a 3.5 for the last 15 minutes.
Source: pwtorch.com
