– ECW originals Stevie RIchards and The Blue Meanie were at WWE Headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut this week to film material for the upcoming “ECW Unreleased” DVD, as well as future WWE Network programming.

– The WWE Shop website once again has CM Punk merchandise available. As of right now, a special edition baseball t-shirt, wrist sleeves, a women’s “Best in the World” t-shirt, texting gloves and a pendant are the CM Punk items that are available.

E-C-W! E-C-W! E-C-W!

The chants can still be heard today. In fact, WWE still capitalizes on those three letters to this very day.

For example, last Monday night after RAW, WWE premiered “ECW Exposed” on the WWE Network as part of a full “ECW Week” theme for their digital subscription service.

Next Tuesday night, a second edition of “ECW Exposed” is scheduled to air on the WWE Network.

Hell, this weekend, Tommy Dreamer will be presenting the seventh “House Of Hardcore” event, which is considered by many to be a show with the old “ECW feel” to it.

My question is this, why do we see so many ECW reunion shows, but no WCW reunion shows? I’m assuming it has a lot to do with dollars and cents.

For an ECW reunion show to be held, you need at least some of the following guys: Paul Heyman, Sabu, Tommy Dreamer, Taz, Bully Ray, Devon, Terry Funk, The Sandman, Rob Van Dam, Raven and Shane Douglas. Sure, there are many other names you can go with, but you need at least a few of those guys on the event for it to feel like a legitimate ECW reunion show.

For a WCW reunion show to be held, you need at least some of the following guys: Eric Bischoff, Ric Flair, Sting, Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, Diamond Dallas Page, Lex Luger, Sid Vicious, Jeff Jarrett, Scott Steiner and Rick Steiner. Again, many names are missing, but the fact remains, the price tags of the key guys needed for an ECW reunion show versus the price tags for a WCW reunion show are world’s apart.

WWE has at different points in time had enough of the aforementioned WCW names under contract, and certainly has enough money to secure the stars they didn’t have at a particular point in time, to put together a legitimate WCW reunion show.

Outside of the financial side of putting together a reunion show for the former two biggest rival promotions to WWE, there is the financial side of how much these shows would generate.

When you compare the amount of DVDs sold between “The Rise & Fall Of ECW” and “The Rise & Fall Of WCW,” again you will notice that they are world’s apart.

When ECW went out of business in 2001 they were still a beloved promotion that just didn’t have the financial backing or television exposure to stay afloat. When WCW went out of business in 2001 they barely had a pulse.

The fan-base for ECW was a rabid, cult-like fan-base that loved their home-promotion dearly. The fan-base for WCW by the time the company folded in 2001 was practically nonexistent.

Still, it feels like there is enough WCW nostalgia for a reunion show to work. Anytime rumors circulate that claim WWE is in negotiations with Goldberg, Sting, or any of the other major names wrestling fans associate with WCW, there is a huge buzz. Fans are excited at the prospect of these guys coming into the current fold and squaring off against today’s crop of WWE Superstars.

Currently, there is a lot of interest in a Sting vs. Undertaker match at WrestleMania. There has been buzz in the recent past about a possible showdown between Goldberg and his modern-day carbon-copy Ryback. There’s even been a lot of interest in “The Hulkster” lacing up his red and yellow boots once more.

If WWE were to sign all of these guys, or ever considered the idea at any point in time, why is it out of the realm of possibility that a WCW reunion show would be a success? Personally, I think it would work, however, I think WWE wants the WCW legacy buried and forgotten, and wants the fans of today to only remember history the way Vince McMahon and company choose to portray it.

Ever watched the “Monday Night War” documentary series on the WWE Network? Right there is a perfect example of the WWE-version of history being told.

The fact is, ECW was never a close second to WWE. They definitely provided a template on how to change the wrestling product into something more modern that fans of that generation soaked up in droves. The fact remains, however, that WCW was kicking WWE’s ass for a lengthy period of time.

Prior to that, when WWE was the top dog, WCW was always nipping at their heels. NWA before WCW was at times a close-second to WWE, and for a long period of time was considered to have the better talent roster. Additionally, NWA would beat WWE in television ratings on a somewhat regular basis before fans really paid attention to TV ratings or considered them any legitimate measure of success, as was the case when the ratings became the focal point of the WWE vs. WCW “Monday Night Wars.”

Outside of WrestleMania once a year, WWE puts on pay-per-views that for the most part feel the same. Nothing seems special or different about them anymore, and the entire idea behind a pay-per-view is to put on an event that feels bigger and more unique than a typical weekly wrestling television program.

Unfortunately, current WWE pay-per-views just feel like a slightly better version of a solid edition of WWE RAW and/or WWE SmackDown, when the company should be striving to put on pay-per-views that feel like “must see” or “can’t miss” programming.

Something tells me if WWE were to book a WCW reunion pay-per-view, if they booked the right guys, it would generate a ton of interest and likely draw a solid buyrate. It would garner interest from fans who escaped the wrestling bubble and moved on with their lives back in 2001 when the only alternative to the WWE-style of wrestling went out of business.

Picture it guys — WCW One Night Stand!

I’d fork out $44.95 and spend three hours of a Sunday evening to watch it.

And something tells me many others would as well.

How about you? Would you be interested in buying a “WCW Reunion” pay-per-view event? Let us know by posting your feedback in the “Comments” section below. You can also connect with me directly on Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBooneWZR and/or on Twitter @MBoone420.

– WWE has added the popular “Rise & Fall Of ECW” documentary to the WWE Network.

– DeFranco’s Gym owner Joe DeFranco posted the following videos of Triple H doig a late-night workout earlier this week.

WWE issued the following regarding “ECW Week” on the WWE Network this week …

ECW WEEK KICKS OFF TONIGHT ON WWE NETWORK

STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 10, 2014 – ECW WEEK on WWE Network kicks off tonight, immediately following Monday Night Raw, with ECW Exposed LIVE, a half hour special hosted by Paul Heyman and Joey Styles. Heyman and Styles will showcase significant ECW events and expose insightful, behind-the-scenes knowledge of ECW’s most outrageous moments.

As part of ECW WEEK, WWE Network is adding more than 50 hours of video-on-demand content to the existing library.

Beginning today, 47 episodes of ECW Hardcore TV have been made available featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rey Mysterio, Mick Foley, Eddie Guerrero and more. In addition, Hardcore Heaven 1995, November to Remember 1995 and Cyberslam 1996 have been added. And this, Friday, Nov. 12, Beyond the Ring – “The Rise and Fall of ECW” will become available immediately following SmackDown at 10 p.m. EST.

During the month of November, new subscribers will receive WWE Network free of charge for the entire month – including the entire available video-on-demand library and Survivor Series on Sunday, November 23.

WWE Network features 24/7 scheduled programming, all 12 pay-per-view events LIVE and the most comprehensive video-on-demand library with more than 2,600 hours of content, including every WWE, WCW and ECW pay-per-view, all for $9.99 per month with no commitment and the ability to cancel any time. WWE Network programming includes groundbreaking original programming, reality shows, documentaries, classic matches, exclusive coverage of special events and more. The U.S. English language version of WWE Network is available on an over-the-top basis in more than 170 countries and territories.

Like other digital subscription services, such as Netflix and Hulu Plus, fans are able to subscribe online by going to WWE.com and clicking on the WWE Network button on the top right corner of the navigation bar.

For a complete listing of WWE Network availability by country and device, please click here.

– The idea to run the “ECW Week” special on the WWE Network next week was something that was reportedly thought up by WWE officials just 48 hours before it was announced.

– WWE Divas The Bella Twins are scheduled to appear at the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards on Glasgow, Scotland tonight. WWE has announced that the two will be presenting an award during the show.

Regarding the “ECW Exposed” special that will air on the WWE Network following Monday’s edition of RAW as part of the “ECW Week” theme, the show is reportedly going to feature video profiles designed to educate new viewers about the history of ECW.

The show is also scheduled to feature Joey Styles and Paul Heyman sharing backstage stories that long-time fans of the brand will reportedly find interesting.

– NXT star Solomon Crowe cut a promo at the NXT live event on Thursday night in Lakeland, Florida and mentioned that he’s “finally coming soon.” Crowe’s television debut is one of the most anticipated among NXT fans, as he’s already developed somewhat of a cult-like following.

– Joey Styles mentioned on social media that Rey Mysterio, Shane Douglas, Chris Jericho, Psicosis and 2 Cold Scorpio are among those who will be featured on the “ECW Exposed” special that is scheduled to air on the WWE Network after this coming Monday night’s edition of RAW.

As noted, Joey Styles will be interviewing Paul Heyman after Monday’s edition of WWE RAW as part of “ECW Week” on the WWE Network.

After hearing of the news, TNA commentator Taz posted the following tweet on his official Twitter account:

.@HeymanHustle @JoeyStyles @WWENetwork I guess for a movement/company that SO MANY bashed, ripped & laughed at…still is relevant. 2 Funny.

— TAZ (@OfficialTAZ) November 6, 2014

Heyman replied to that tweet with this one:

. @OfficialTAZ HUGE difference between "relevant" and "exploited," which I'll be happy to explain Monday night. @JoeyStyles @WWENetwork @WWE

— Paul Heyman (@HeymanHustle) November 6, 2014

The following are highlights of a new Chad Dukes Wrestling Show interview with Paul Heyman:

On others using ideas built in ECW: “I’m a realist and I’ve always been of the opinion that Steve Jobs wasn’t the head of Apple and every single solitary idea that Apple implemented was a Steve Jobs’ idea. People came to Steve Jobs and said, ‘What if we did this?’ And he said, ‘Yes, let’s do that.’ The guy with the bigger platform, more money, a different way to market it, and distribution channels got to make more money than the guy who actually came up with the idea. And that’s just the real world. So, I don’t sit here and bitch and moan and complain, ‘Oh well the Attitude Era kinda my idea in ECW.’ It’s just the reality of it. They had bigger money, they had more distribution, and therefore when they put their spin on it they can claim it to be their own. That’s just the real world. I look forward to the young people who come to me with new ideas today that I can steal from them and become a billionaire with.”

On which MMA star could make the transition to WWE: “Ronda Rousey. I would love for Ronda Rousey to be a Paul Heyman Girl.”

On Cesaro: “I remain very good friends with Cesaro and I appreciate his hard work, I think he is a magnificent talent, but when it became obvious that Option C had to be implemented, Brock Lesnar is a full-time job. Advocating for Brock Lesnar requires my attention 24/7, 365, when that is in play. So when it came time for Option C to be presented to the Authority, I very respectfully noted to Cesaro, ‘This is going to require my full undivided attention.’ Which Cesaro knew from day one, and that’s why we have no hard feelings with each other. I still have great admiration and respect for Cesaro as a man and for his future.”

On Sunday’s match: “Brock Lesnar is going to slap John Cena silly. Brock Lesnar is going to beat him up unmercifully and sadistically twist John Cena up in a manner he’s never experienced, being manhandled, in his entire career.”

On whether we’ll see Brock Lesnar more often as Champion: “You will see Brock Lesnar when your conqueror deems it appropriate to be seen by you.”

“So Brock will appear when he damn well feels like appearing, unless you’ve got someone tough enough to drag him out there on nights he doesn’t feel like appearing before you.”

Check out the complete interview at ChadDukesWrestlingShow.com.

The following are highlights of a new v2 Wrestling Podcast interview with Bully Ray:

On TNA spoiling their own storyline with the trailer at the end of last week’s Impact for Bully putting Dixie Carter through a table this week: “When you watch other TV shows whether they are soap operas or reality TV, many TV shows show you what’s coming the following week, and you always want to encourage the highest amount of people to watch your product, so I have no problem with it.”

On comparisons between the ECW and TNA locker rooms: “I do appreciate where he was coming from, to see the guys all amped up and ready to go, and more passionate than ever before, but nothing will ever replicate or duplicate the feeling and the rush that it was like to be in a company like ECW.”

Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.

The following are highlights of a new Newsday interview with Paul Heyman:

On his rocky relationship with the McMahon’s: “I look at it from many different perspectives. Number one, I don’t think I ever had any bigger advocate, besides my father, than Vince McMahon during the 1990s. There’s a story that is recounted on the documentary. I was sitting in the office with Steven Chau in 2000, who was the president of the USA Network reporting directly to Barry Diller. This was at the time when WWE was in federal court in order to jump to Viacom off of USA Network. And USA was looking to fill the programming slot, and ECW was the frontrunner for that option at the time. And during the meeting, Steven Chau showed me a printed-out email that he had received the night before from Vince McMahon that said, “If your network doesn’t do business with ECW and, more specifically, with Paul Heyman, you will be depriving your network of a great resource and your viewers of guaranteed great programming.” And Vince had no reason to do that except it’s what he felt at the time. He felt ECW was a great shop for the industry in terms of developing talent. So I can’t tell you that I’ve spent my life butting heads with the McMahons. I’ve had my ups and downs with them, as anybody else in my position would. I would not have guessed three or four years ago that a documentary on my career would have been released by WWE. But I wouldn’t have guessed three or four years ago that I would have been back in WWE.”

On criticizing Long Island fans in the past during RAW: “I called them “the worst audience we ever performed in front of,” and said “We shouldn’t ever tape television here.” I’m fine with it. It was a reaction for the moment. They were a lousy crowd that night. Here’s the funny thing: Nothing drives a performance like an audience that gives back, and even takes over. ECW was a product that will be remembered as much, if not more, for its audience interaction as for the things that happened in the ring. The WWE Superstars look forward to every time they see Chicago on the schedule. We spend a year building toward WrestleMania, and the number-two thing everybody looks forward to is the “Raw” the day after WrestleMania, because it’s the wildest crowd of the year. I’m from New York and I go to Chicago or the day after WrestleMania and see these wild crowds, and as a New Yorker, you want to say, “If this was in New York it would be even better.” And you think about the legendary crowds at Madison Square Garden. So we bring a live, worldwide TV show, not to the Garden, but to the Nassau Coliseum, and the crowd is just sitting there with their thumbs up their tuckuses. It’s like, “Hey, we’re all New Yorkers and you’re making New York look bad. Get up off your butt and make this show. And if you don’t like the show, take over. Boo the show. Vociferously and energetically and passionately boo us out of the building. But don’t just sit there.” The opposite of loving the product isn’t hating the product. It’s apathy. And it makes for terrible television. Why is John Cena the biggest star in the industry? Because, whether you love him or you hate him, you’re at the top of your lungs about him.”

On TNA taping in NYC where Taz and others referenced ECW, and if they should let it finally die: “I think it’s very much time for anybody and everybody to move on, especially on a product that you’re trying to push forward. Nostalgia tours are great, but not in a youth oriented and dominated industry. I think the lesson learned in all this is that Spike TV didn’t renew them. And one of the reasons has to be that the most passionate reaction they can get is for a product that went away in 2001. And they’ve been trying to brand themselves since their inception and they can’t get it done. They should have spent that time and energy trying to brand themselves and not trying to elicit a response of an audience based on a product that they don’t even own.”

Check out the complete interview at Newsday.com.

Although TNA’s weekly Impact Wrestling show was not renewed by Spike TV, the show was not cancelled, meaning they still have the rest of the existing contract with the remaining dates still on the calendar.

At this point, TNA is still scheduled to run another set of Impact Wrestling tapings in New York City from August 5th – August 7th.

The company announced recently that former ECW Original Tajiri will be part of their NYC tapings in August. TNA wrote the following on their official website.

“ImpactWrestling.com has just learned that the Japanese Buzzsaw, Tajiri, is coming to New York City for the upcoming IMPACT tapings at the Manhattan Center from August 5-7. The thrilling Japanese star made a name for himself wrestling in ECW and currently works for Wrestle-1 in Japan.

Just weeks ago, Rockstar Spud and EC3 travelled to Japan and faced off with Tajiri, falling victim to his signature green mist. At this time, we are searching for details on Tajiri’s involvement at the upcoming #TNANYC shows, but if we had to guess, we’re predicting that someone will be eating a Buzzsaw Kick!”

The following are highlights of a new interview with former WCW and ECW star Scotty Riggs:

Working with Paul Heyman: “I came into ECW after talking with RVD, Tommy Dreamer and Paul Heyman at an event in Atlanta and it was an honor working for the evil creative genius of Paul. He actually sat down with me and helped me with my character, moves and attitude… something few office guys beyond Arn did in WCW.”

Backstage Attitude In WCW vs. ECW: “The crew in WCW when I got there in 1995 were a tight bunch of guys but by the end in 1999 a big divide had happened because of too many “bigger than thou” players had come into the company and created a separation in the locker room. Not all the in coming talent had the “better than thou” attitude and were actually great teachers and friends… but the entire ECW locker room and crew ALL had the attitude of wanting the best for the whole of the show. They welcomed me lime I belonged and that was humbling to me. I was honored to be considered extreme.”

Sting in WWE: “Sting is one of the few men in the wrestling business I’m blessed to still know as a friend and as I told him the week of his WWE 2K15 announcement that this whole WWE deal was and is a well deserved honor for his blood, sweat and tears that he gave to wrestling. I’m very happy that he gained this honor for his character and today’s fans can respect his work.”

Check out the complete interview at PWMania.com.

– The latest edition of Steve Austin’s “Steve Austin Show” podcast, which features a new interview with ECW original Tommy Dreamer, is now available. The official description for the show reads as follows:

SASu – EP132 – Tommy Dreamer Pt 1

“Tommy Dreamer, the Innovator of Violence, talks about his favorite wrestler, Dusty Rhodes; his original name idea “Tommy Acid”; building his wrestling promotion House of Hardcore; his snoring buddy Bubba Ray Dudley of the Dudley Boyz; his original childhood dream; the tag team he turned down; and ECW & Violence!”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com

– The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which features a new interview with WWE Superstar Christian, is now available. The official description for the show reads as follows:

TIJ – EP54 – WWE’s Christian

“Christian, Y2J’s former tag team partner and traveling partner, has plenty to say about his early days in WWE with childhood friend Edge, paying his debts (literally!), tag teams, performing nearly-naked, working at a sawmill, transitioning to singles, his time in TNA, his return to WWE, and ‘Creepy Little Bastard.'”

You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

The following is a transcription of a recent Ring Rust Radio interview with Rob Van Dam:

Mike Chiari: Since returning to WWE for your latest stint you’ve had the opportunity to work with some of the company’s fastest rising stars, specifically Cesaro and Bad News Barrett. As a veteran performer do you take pride in helping some of these younger stars get over and reach their fullest potential?

Rob Van Dam: Yes and no. I place no focus on that. If somebody is willing to take some advice, then I have some, and that’s just life in general. A lot of people don’t want to hear anything. These guys, and everybody at WWE right now, is so good that the standard of the pro wrestler compared to maybe 10 years ago: night and day difference. I came back last year and I was so impressed. Guys that come up now through NXT, a lot of them, maybe most of them, seem to be growing up in the business and with only four or five years’ experience. They’re already 10-12 year veterans. I’m more happy, with the caliber rising, that I can still get in there with my style and ability and still be relevant with the new age of wrestlers coming up just like it was back then.

So, are they getting a rub from wrestling with me? Probably so, but these guys, I don’t feel like they need me. These guys have a great future and are heading to the top with or without wrestling Rob Van Dam, they just might have a few more bruises after wrestling me.

Brandon Galvin: Many fans relate Money in the Bank to being the summer version of the Royal Rumble. Since you’ve competed in many Money in the Bank and Royal Rumble matches, which do you find more exciting to participate in?

Rob Van Dam: The battle royals are usually among my least favorite matches. Of course the Royal Rumble is a very anticipated and popular pay-per view and it’s very important in setting up what happens that year with WWE, but for my personal participation, I like to keep the spotlight on me more.

Single matches, I feel, have always been the ones where I can shine more. Three-way, four-way, you have to split your attention with some other guys, and it can be totally great, but when you get into a battle royal with 20 or 30 other guys, it’s just so different from what your agenda is when it’s one on one competition. My preference is from the perspective of the guy putting the boots on, but really, if it works, it’s good. If the fans love it, I love it.

Donald Wood: The Money in the Bank pay-per-view is scheduled for Sunday, June 29, in Boston and on the WWE Network. As the winner of the 2006 edition of the match, you know first hand how a victory in the ladder match can change your career. How do you approach this event now that you’re a little older and a little wiser?

Rob Van Dam: The experience that I have goes with not only knowing what it takes to pull off a match like that, but also experience in knowing myself and knowing what I can do and how far out there my comfort zone is. I love a match like Money in the Bank, I love a hardcore match, and that’s what the Money in the Bank ladder matches are. Throw the rule book out and let out your imagination. Usually, you have to be among the tougher [Superstars] to enjoy a match like that because you are going to be hit with steel and cement and there’s most likely going to be some blood—even though they want to stop it with the current policies with the WWE, some people might get busted open. I wish they would bring the hardcore title back, that would make me happy.

Mike Chiari: You obviously have a long history with Paul Heyman dating back to ECW, and you’ve once again had an opportunity to work with him during your feud with Cesaro. If a situation were to arise at some point that would allow you to join forces with Heyman again is that something you might be interested in?

Rob Van Dam: Possibly, you know, there’s a lot of factors to consider. Of course, whenever I’m working with him to any degree, I have to consider the possibility that some writers may be thinking of that idea just like you are. I would be open to considering anything, but I really do enjoy being a fan favorite, someone that gets the positive energy from the fans and all the love from those who are wrestling fans: guys my age, kids, women, whatever. I like that I have that appeal, and I like the love. That would be something, even within the parameters of entertainment, switching to bad guy, that those guys would put up with. All the negative energy that would occur if I were to switch. That would be something that has value to me, but besides that, of course I’d love to work with Paul.

Brandon Galvin: You’ve always been one of the most exciting and unique wrestlers in and out of the ring, which makes it difficult for fans to ever boo you. However, have you ever thought about playing the role of a villain again or do you think your in-ring style would make it too difficult for fans to turn on you?

Rob Van Dam: I don’t know. I actually started as a bad guy in the original ECW, back in ’96, because I was wrestling Sabu, who all the fans loved and treated like a god. With the thumbs pointing at myself, that was done in an arrogant manner to draw heat from the crowd and they seemed to love it, they seemed to love my moves.

I don’t know if my style makes it hard to get fans to not appreciate me, but I do think that the traditional hero is something that is old fashioned in somewhere like the Deep South. I remember wrestling in Georgia, and as a good guy—to get the audience behind me—you just walk out and clap your hands, you get the fans to clap with you and you smile. When I first went up to Philadelphia, if I tried that stuff up there, they would boo me out the door. So that kind of anti-hero or that more adult approach has taken over.

The Attitude Era, ECW, everything together has come to make wrestling not so old fashioned, which I could say was cheesy by my standards and had to evolve, so now the fans tend to be drawn more toward what they find entertaining, which is subjective.

Donald Wood: When you returned to the WWE, there were a lot of reports about your contract with the company. While it appears you won’t be going for the major titles in the company as a part-time wrestler—at least right now—you have much more free time to explore other ventures outside the ring. Has it been difficult trying to adapt to the new style of part-time wrestling with the WWE?

Rob Van Dam: I have never been one of the guys that goes crazy at home. I can’t even imagine what that’s like. I need the balance. WWE knows I walked away from them in 2006, [that] I stayed away for six or seven years [and] that I’m capable of that without question. The other wrestlers, they have a few days off and they go nuts.

I remember, even when I was injured, I had my knee surgery and was home for 12 months, but I wasn’t just sitting around, I had a lot of conventions and things, but I would get phone calls from some of my friends from wrestling saying, ‘Rob I know you’re going crazy at home, but you’ll be back on the road in no time,’ and that’s when I realized how different they are from me. I love my time at home. I need that balance. That’s why I left before, and that’s why this schedule is what works perfect for me, so I don’t have to adjust to the busy times.

We just did 17 matches in 23 days in my last run when we went to Europe and I did NXT in Florida as well as Raw and Smackdown. That kind of time for me is when I count the days until I get a break, always have, and some of the other guys have nothing waiting for them at the apartment anyways. They’re young and they’re looking to show people what they’ve got, I’ll let them have it. I’m happy with my position and the way WWE is treating me right now.

Mike Chiari: You’ve faced most of the top stars in the business over the past two decades, but who is someone who you either haven’t wrestled at all or have only wrestled sparingly that you’d like to work an extended program against in WWE?

Rob Van Dam: Hulk Hogan. Bring Hulk Hogan back, I want to work with him.

I don’t really worry about those things. When people ask me about guys I don’t say yes or no, but I go where the money is. Any chance I have to be a main event at a pay-per view, like main eventing WrestleMania, is that important to me? At this point, it’s something that would be really nice.

Brandon Galvin: Not many fans know about your roles outside the ring as an actor. One of my personal favorites was when you appeared on City Guys in the late 90’s. With the success of WWE Studios, would you be interested in appearing another film?

Rob Van Dam: Yeah, totally. I actually have several projects back in LA that are on the table. Some of them are movie projects, some of them documentaries, some TV shows. And to me, for that stuff to happen is like letting out 50 balloons in the air and seeing which ones make it back down.

I regularly sign letters of interest with people who have given me offers and, nine out of 10 times, the projects don’t see the light of day. Sometimes they do. When they do, it usually takes a lot of years before they come to fruition. I like to be on the creative side of that also, helping create the story and produce it.

As much as I like the entertainment business, I hate doing auditions. I don’t do them. So when you don’t do auditions, you’re not going to get a lot of parts. I did plenty of auditions, but I’m at a point now where my time is limited, and I don’t enjoy doing auditions, so now I take parts when they’re handed to me. So there are a lot less projects for me, but I love to do them.

For those interested, you can listen to the complete interview above.

The following is from ImpactWrestling.com:

#TNANYC: Tommy Dreamer and Rhino to appear at This Week’s IMPACT Tapings!

This week on IMPACT, Tommy Dreamer went toe to toe with TNA President Dixie Carter and unleashed a speech that is one of the most talked about wrestling moments of recent memory – even leading ‘Tommy Dreamer’ to trend worldwide on Twitter.

IMPACTWrestling.com can now exclusively report that Dreamer is headed to New York City and plans to appear at the Grand Ballroom inside the Manhattan Center when IMPACT invades NYC (June 25, 26, 27). Not only is Dreamer expected to be there, but his legendary hardcore cohort, RHINO, will appear as well!

What do these two ECW legends have in-store for the famed Manhattan Center? Get your tickets NOW in order to find out!

WWE recently issued the following WWE Network show and theme week concepts to members of their “Fan Council”:

-Divas Week

-Screwjob Week

-The Worst of WWE Week

-ECW Week

-Randy Savage

-C.M. Punk (a week of programming including the “meteoric rise, surprising success, and near instantaneous disappearance from the WWE”)

-SummerSlam Week

-Old School Week

-Best of The Slammy Awards

-Sting (“New interviews unveil the mystery behind the often made-up man…”)

-The Real McMahon: The Definitive Interview

-Stone Cold Week: The Definitive Interview

-Steve Austin (Austin hosts a week of programming)

-The Kliq (including a reunion panel with all five members)

-Monday Night War Week

-Stone Cold Week: The Austin Podcast (televised recording of Austin’s podcast)

As promised, here is the second half of the list…

5. Abundance Of Talent Led To Brand Extension

The WWE roster was absolutely stacked following the acquisition of WCW. This was especially true after the top WCW superstars such as Hulk Hogan, Goldberg, and Kevin Nash eventually signed with the company.

It quickly became apparent that there was too much talent to adequately feature everyone on a weekly basis. This led to the WWE splitting into two separate brands in the form of Raw and SmackDown. The brand extension seemed fresh at first, but it quickly lost traction after superstars were constantly shifted from one brand to the other as a way to increase ratings.

The brand extension era is characterized by pay-per-views that did not perform as well as those in the Attitude Era, largely because fans did not want to pay to see only half of the roster.

During the summer of 2001, the WWE was under attack and at risk of a hostile takeover. After finally winning the Monday Night Wars, the WWE had to find a way to integrate the influx of talent that was acquired with the purchase of WCW.

Their first attempt at doing so would come in the form of the Invasion storyline, which saw former WCW and ECW employees “invading” the WWE in an attempt to take over the company. If this sounds a bit like the nWo’s plot to conquer WCW, well that’s because it is essentially the same story.

Ultimately, the program forced the WWE to fend off the intruders by forming a coalition to battle Team Alliance, which was led by Shane and Stephanie McMahon, the respective on-screen owners of WCW and ECW at the time.

Many fans have cited the Invasion storyline as one of the most entertaining periods in recent WWE history, as it featured a number of matchups that had previously been unimaginable. However, there were many aspects of the storyline that could have been handled better, resulting in a program with great potential that was squandered by poor booking. Here are ten reasons why the Invasion storyline was not as memorable as some fans recall.

The following are highlights of a new In The Room interview with former ECW ring announcer Bob Artese:

On ECW’s Huge Defections in the Mid-to-Late 1990s: “Some of us saw that it was going to be a financial problem as we got bigger, and we weren’t really going to be able to grow any more. And some of these guys started looking [at] other places. Or other promotions went after them. It wasn’t us always looking somewhere else. Some other people saw the talent in these guys and they started coming after them and they’d have a choice to make. Do you want to stay with ECW and not really know about your future? Or do you want to come with us and hopefully some things would be better?”

Where ECW’s Famed Money Problems: “Paul [Heyman] had some tremendous ideas, and a lot of them really worked. I still believe that if we would have had some kind of a backer, like a Ted Turner or somebody like that, ECW would still be [around]. In fact ECW would be battling Vince [McMahon] right now. But we never had that real money guy. Everything we did was kind of like on like a shoestring budget. We could never do it at 100 percent because we didn’t had that kind of money …. Obviously there was some frustration because of it … We just kept going ahead and we figured we’d find the money somewhere.”

Tod Gordon as a WCW “Mole”: “From what I heard and the feeling I could get, I thought there was some credence to that. I think Tod and The Sandman – who obviously were really good friends – I think they were certainly involved. And there may have been some others. And I thought it was with WCW at the time. But it was kept so quiet that everything was really rumors, and I don’t know if anybody really knew for sure. But from what I could gather, I definitely think that there was something going on, but I don’t know exactly what it was.”

On ECW’s Shaky Beginning: “We had no clue. When we started it was Tod Gordon, myself, and a couple other people. And I remember some of our shows if we drew 50 people it was a lot. We’d have to put everybody in one section to make it look like it was a full house, if it was being televised. We were at that point just running month to month. Basically having a good time and hoping it would take off, just a little bit. It’s incredible the way it exploded. And I remember as it started to grow, you got that feeling that we might be on to something big. And it really drew us all together. We were all working for the same thing. I’ve never been in a locker room that had so much closeness and so much camaraderie.”

Check out the complete interview at VOCNation.com.

Former WWE Superstar and ECW Original Sabu was reportedly advised earlier this month by doctors to retire.

Sabu recently broke several bones in his arm during a match, and due to other issues and a long career of wear-and-tear, he was told that he needs to end his in-ring career this year.

The hardcore legend has continued to wrestle matches on the independent scene, as well as international tours, and has reportedly told friends that he has no intentions of actually retiring from the sport.

The following are highlights of a new In Your Head Wrestling interview with Matt Striker:

On people yelling in your ear while doing commentary: “Again, this has always been brought up; people say they’ve heard guys like Mick Foley or Tazz say this or that. You have to understand; those guys had a much different relationship with Vince (McMahon) than I did. Mick Foley made millions of dollars with Vince; I’m sure they spoke to each other differently than Vince would speak to me. I can say that I never was straight-up yelled at in my ear. Did Vince give passionate direction? Sure, but you have to understand what the man wants. If Vince comes in your ear and says “Talk to me about how strong Sheamus is” and you just repeat what Vince says “Well, Sheamus is really strong” of course he’s going to get angry. But if you go into a story about how strong Sheamus is, because Mark Henry noticed that Sheamus bench-pressed as much as he did in the gym earlier today, well now you’re giving it some depth. And I think that once Vince realized that I understood what he was looking for, he kind of left me to my own devices, as bad as some of my devices may have been in hindsight.”

On WWE’s version of ECW and working with the original ECW guys: “Yeah, my thoughts were again, “Oh cool, I’m a part of something.” Looking back, ECW really gave me a vehicle to get a little bit of quality television time and ECW also got me to WrestleMania. When else would Matt Striker get an opportunity to go to WrestleMania? I was real fortunate for that, and some of the matches that we had I’m real proud of. The matches with guys like Rob Van Dam, Sabu, Sandman, Tommy Dreamer, Stevie Richards, Danny Doring, and Guido, they weren’t wrestling matches; those were fights. You fight those guys, and you end up either becoming really close friends with them, or you can’t stand the sight of their face.”

Check out the complete interview above.