(sources: www.f4wonline.com, PWInsider.com)

— TNA Wrestling officials are trying to put together a match between Rob Van Dam and Jerry Lynn for next month’s Hard Justice pay-per-view, which would renew one of the most memorable rivalries in the history of ECW.

— Thursday’s episode of iMPACT! scored a 1.09 cable rating, with 1.44 million viewers. Viewership was slightly down from last week’s 1.45 million figure.

— Two TNA Knockouts celebrate birthdays today as Lacey Von Erich turns 24 years old while Daffney turns 35.

— Shannon Moore is working through a wrist injury.

TNA Champion Rob Van Dam spoke to SLAM Wrestling this week to promote Sunday’s TNA Sacrifice pay-per-view. Here are some highlights of what Mr. Monday Thursday Night said about:

The Way He’s Used in TNA vs. How He Was Used In WWE: “In WWE, a lot of times friends would come to the show and say, ‘Wow, you get the loudest reaction out of all the wrestlers here, how come you’re not in the main event and how come they don’t have any RVD T-shirts?’ and that’s what I always dealt with before. Now, I feel like I’m in a great position as champ. I have no doubt I’m going to do my part to show the best matches anybody has seen in TNA, so it’s pretty exciting.”

TNA’s Move Back to Thursday Nights: “It’s going to allow us to shine and grow. And from what I can see, most of the other boys seem to feel the same way. Dixie told us that this was from listening to polls from the fans and I think probably SpikeTV also wanted it and it really seems like it will be a good thing now. WWE, they own Monday night and that’s not going to change.”

TNA’s Monday Night Run: “Dixie (Carter) never said, ‘Hey, we’re going to beat the hell out of them on Monday nights, we’re going to take over and own it. She always said, ‘We know we’re going up against a much bigger company, we’re doing this slowly, we’re going to try to win battle-by-battle.’ She always seemed to have everything in perspective. As long as it didn’t put too big of a hole in them financially, I think it was a great move.”

To read the full interview, including what RVD thinks about working with AJ Styles and an update on his wife Sony’a health, visit Slam.Canoe.ca.

— It was announced yesterday on TNA Today that backstage announcer Christy Hemme is getting married this weekend in Hawaii. Hemme and her beau, Charley Patterson, got engaged last December.

— TNA’s next road pay-per-view is expected to take place in October for Bound for Glory. Company officials view Bound for Glory as its biggest show of the year, and thus it will be an exception to the rule as far as holding televised shows outside Orlando. In fact, it is the only televised event the company currently has scheduled outside the Impact Zone. (source: www.pwtorch.com)

— TNA’s latest edition of Before the Bell previews the main event for Sacrifice “that has the world buzzing” — “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles vs “Mr. TNA” Rob Van Dam, for the TNA World Heavyweight Championship. You can view the episode here.

— There was said to be a collective groan among a large group of wrestlers and TNA personnel watching iMPACT! on the backstage monitor when Eric Young interrupted Rob Van Dam and Jeff Hardy’s post-match celebration on Monday. The “unanimous opinion” was that Young killed the moment due to the fact that he’s nowhere near the level of Van Dam and Hardy. While everyone describes “EY” as a nice guy, the feeling is he’s been given so much television time over the years due to his friendship with the company’s power players. (source: Pro Wrestling Torch)

— Recently released TNA Knockout Awesome Kong will be returning to the ring on May 8th for Ring of Honor. Facing Sara Del Ray, she will be using her former name of Amazing Kong.

— In a brief video interview with lethalwow.com, Angelina Love discusses being back with TNA Wrestling. She says her release from the company last year was “heartbreaking,” but that “everything happens for a reason.” Apparently in regards to her contractual status, she said she’s “back for another three years, at least.”

TNA star Rob Van Dam posted the following message on his official website over the weekend .. Van Dam says he showed up to the airport on Saturday to fly to Orlando assuming he was booked for last night’s TNA Destination X pay-per-view:

Well, it sure is nice to hear people on the streets telling me they’re glad I’m back. For almost three years I’ve heard how much they “need” me back. Tonight when I go through the airport I’ll most likely hear “Dude, I’m so glad you’re back” and I’ll smile, thinking of these words that you and I have shared. It’s almost like we have an inside joke. Isn’t that special?

I guess I was a little too anxious to hear those words last night, as I was told at the airport that I was 24 hours early!

My bad. Thought I was booked or something.

I actually had several reasons to think I was expected at a pay per view from conversations earlier in the week, and the schedule they gave me, but it all boils down to me not paying attention. I simply didn’t know what the date was yesterday or I would’ve known I misunderstood plans. That’s what happens when you don’t worry about anything, and are so care free you don’t plan ahead.

Sometimes it bites you in the ass!

— A commercial running today on Spike promoting tonight’s episode of iMPACT! is advertising a match where two TNA Superstars will put their careers on the line.

— Brian Hebner, son of TNA referee Earl Hebner, worked last night’s Destination X pay-per-view in a referee capacity. He previously worked for WWE as a referee on SmackDown. He’s also known for beatboxing during a 2003 segment with John Cena and Brian Kendrick.

— Rob Van Dam will be taking part in his first TNA interview during tonight’s live iMPACT! post-show on TNAWrestling.com.

— On her Twitter account, Awesome Kong confirmed her departure from TNA Wrestling.

She wrote: “I have asked for and received an early release from my contract. I would like to thank TNA for their support in this matter.”

Kong’s profile was removed from TNA’s website earlier this week, which is their unofficial way of confirming a wrestler’s departure from the organization.

— TNA president Dixie Carter noted on her Twitter account that Rob Van Dam will be appearing at two house shows next month in Georgia. She wrote: “We have confirmed RVD for his first TNA house shows on April 22 & 23 in Macon, GA and Albany, GA.”

— Click here to view the latest episode of TNA Wrestling Today, with special guest Taz.

— Former WWE star Shawn Stasiak, 39, claimed recently on Right After Wrestling that he would likely be joining TNA soon. For what it’s worth, people in TNA who would know whether he’s joining or not say his name hasn’t even been mentioned.

The second generation wrestler has been looking to get back into wrestling lately and has been working as a chiropractor since retiring from the industry several years ago.

— A six-episode television series entitled Rob Van Dam’s Extreme Championship Comedy is currently in post-production. It was shot this past January at the Ontario Improv in California with the likes of RVD, Sabu, The Sandman, Paul Heyman, Shelly Martinez, Bill Alfonso, Raven and MMA fighter Justin McCulley appearing in various episodes.

— Jessie Godderz of Big Brother fame, a bodybuilder looking to join the wrestling industry, attended Monday’s iMPACT!.

source: Wrestling Observer Newsletter

After months of intense negotiations, Rob Van Dam finally agreed to terms with TNA last week. Hulk Hogan of all people spoiled the surprise by noting last Thursday during a radio interview that a major star had signed on with the organization and then doing RVD’s trademark pointing routine, apparently forgetting he was being filmed.

Though terms of Van Dam’s contract have not been disclosed, he has made it clear he’s not interested in working a full-time schedule. There is said to much grumbling among longtime wrestlers as they perceive established stars such as Van Dam being paid big bucks without working house show dates. Furthermore, more than one wrestler noted that RVD took an unnecessary shot during a recent interview when he said he couldn’t understand why people want to see him go from beating superstars such as Steve Austin and The Rock in WWE to wrestling the likes of Christopher Daniels in TNA.

“When people say I’m a legend, I’m comfortable with that. If I’m a legend to you, I get that. You’ve seen me beat the best, you’ve seen me hang in there with the best. Now if I go hang in there with these young guys that really aren’t eve proven, I’m not sure you’re going to get that same perspective and the same satisfaction out of RVD that you thought you would,” Van Dam said during an appearance on the Busted Open radio show in January.

“You’ve seen Rob Van Dam beat Big Show, The Rock, Steve Austin, and now you want to see me go over Christopher Daniels and that’s really what you want to see? That’s confusing to me.”

source: www.pwtorch.com

– Former WWE stars Spike Dudley and Ken “Dykstra” Doane are at Tuesday’s TNA iMPACT! tapings. Doane lost a dark match Homicide and was said to look good in the ring.

– Contrary to a previous report, the main event of tonight’s TNA iMPACT! tapings (airing next Monday night) will be Jeff Hardy vs. AJ Styles. We reported earlier that Rob Van Dam and Desmond Wolfe would be part of the match, but those plans seem to have changed.

– Former WCW World Heavyweight Champion Scott Steiner was visiting backstage at Monday’s iMPACT! His profile was removed from the TNA website back on 2/4 and departure from the company was confirmed the following week.

– Sorta-celebrities Joey Fatone of N Sync fame and Jesse Goddarz from CBS’ Big Brother show were sitting ringside last night.

– The TNA website has added Jeff Hardy, Rob Van Dam and Shannon Moore to its roster page.

– ShopTNA.com is selling an autographed photo of Hulk Hogan from his return match last night for $39.99.

The big news yesterday came from a radio appearance by Hulk Hogan where he talked about a major name that just signed with TNA and strongly implied that the major name is Rob Van Dam. RVD posted a message on his official website (robvandam.com) stating:

“Wow, my phone has been buzzing all day, and not just because the room’s been smokey. Ever have one of those days where you can’t send out a text before two texts interrupt you. My attention span has been so distracted, I forget who I’ve called by the time the phone stops ringing and someone answers all the time. And not just because the room is smokey either.”

Van Dam stated that he’ll be making a number of radio appearances this morning (Friday) to address the TNA rumors. Van Dam appeared on Greenville, South Carolina’s New Rock 93.3 station this morning and said the following about signing with TNA:

“I would say there is a high probability that that’s going to happen. The official word is that it’s still rumor and I haven’t officially signed anything. It’s been well-publicized news that I’ve been talking to both WWE and TNA. But, talks with TNA are sounding really good lately.”

As previously reported, Hulk Hogan appeared on NYC radio host Jim Kerr’s “Rock ‘n Roll Morning Show” this morning and virtually confirmed that Rob Van Dam has signed with TNA Wrestling. While Hogan never mentioned Van Dam by name, studio cameras caught Hogan doing RVD’s “pointing to yourself” gesture while talking about an exciting new talent acquisition that he just heard about last night.

VIDEO: Hulk Hogan Reveals RVD Has Signed With TNA

With TNA moving to Monday nights and now news leaking out that RVD has likely signed with TNA, the logical assumption is that Van Dam is one of the “major surprises” TNA is teasing for Monday’s live iMPACT! According to prowrestling.net, people within TNA are said to be “fuming” mad that the RVD news leaked out.

Additionally, it is worth noting Spike TV has acknowledged the news of RVD signing with TNA on Twitter, writing:

RT @TNA_FANS: HULK HOGAN confirms “Mr. Monday Night” RVD has signed with TNA Wrestling!

TNA star Hulk Hogan and Jimmy Hart appeared on radio host Jim Kerr’s “Rock ‘n Roll Morning Show” this morning from New York City and Hogan strongly hinted that Rob Van Dam has signed with TNA Wrestling.

“We got a lot of young kids now like A.J. Styles and Jeff Hardy and we’ve got a bunch of surprises coming up with some guys that just signed – I didn’t even tell Jimmy [Hart] about it. I found out about it last night.” Hogan then pointed to himself (like RVD does when saying his name) and said, “It’s going to be really crazy.”

Rob Van Dam appeared on the Right After Wrestling Sirius XM satellite radio show on Monday night and gave an update on his wrestling future.

Now that TNA iMPACT! is moving to Monday nights starting March 8th, could we see “Mr. Monday Night” back where he belongs? Van Dam said, “I feel fairly optimistic because I know TNA is trying really hard to make a good deal for me and that’s basically where we’re at.”

He added that there’s a “good possibility” he will consider an offer from TNA and WWE’s hectic travel schedule is something he’s not looking to relive. “Everything is worth putting on the table to consider, but when it comes time to consider going back to that full-time travel schedule with WWE, that’s not something that I’m wanting to do right now,” RVD said. “The schedule with TNA and also probably their appreciation for RVD might also be a benefit over WWE.”

RVD says that WWE wants him back too, but TNA has been more pro-active about trying to sign him. “WWE would love to have me come back on a full-time basis, but as you know by pointing out that Hogan called into my radio show and stayed on for about an hour, they have been very pro-active and trying to acquire RVD,” RVD said. “That leads me to believe I would have a good spot if things do work out there. We’ll see.”

WWE wants him, but RVD has not forgotten that he was unhappy towards the end of his last run there.  “WWE had me so burnt out because my contract said I would get a weekend off every month and I never did and they wouldn’t give it to me,” RVD said. “When I would tell them I’m so burnt out I don’t want to be here and I’m resenting traveling and coming to work every day, they would double-book me. So, that’s how it went down.”

Hulk Hogan appeared on Rob Van Dam’s RVD Radio this week and talked to the former WWE and ECW Champion about coming into TNA. Hogan called up to speak with Van Dam personally but ended up appearing as a live caller on the radio show.

Hogan told Van Dam that TNA has some serious momentum right now and if they had RVD “ruling the roost”, it would make things a lot easier. Van Dam asked Hogan about TNA on Monday nights and Hogan said the move is definitely going to happen sooner than later .Hogan kept saying how much fun everyone is having in TNA.

Hogan said TNA needs RVD’s help and Van Dam said he is very interested in hearing what Hogan has to say about him coming in. Van Dam told Hogan that now is a better time than ever as his wife is healthy, he is healthy and he’s not burnt out. RVD said he was curious about coming into TNA and said that he and Hogan will discuss it.

Hogan said he spoke to Jeff Hardy earlier in the day and both men agreed RVD would be a good fit in TNA. Hogan said he and Hardy have tossed around some “crazy ideas” that he guarantees will work.

RVD asked Hogan if it was his decision to go back to the four-sided ring and Hogan confirmed it was. Hogan put down the six-sided ring and Van Dam agreed with the decision.

Overall it was a real interesting segment and it was cool listening to Hogan and Van Dam going back and forth.

Rob Van Dam will be starring in the upcoming straight-to-DVD action movie, “Wrong Side of Town” – or so he thought …

During an interview on the “Between the Ropes” radio show, Van Dam accused the studio Lionsgate of taking him off top billing in favor of his co-star, WWE superstar Batista. Van Dam was under the impression that it was his movie, he’d be the star and Batista was a supporting character. He couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that Batista was featured front and center on the DVD box.

“I thought it was my movie. The movie was written for me, I was there for three weeks, filmed every day except for one day, they came out with the DVD box cover and, oh my God, I didn’t realize Batista is the star of it!,” RVD said sarcastically.

RVD was told this action movie was his vehicle to transition into being an action star, but now he doesn’t even know how the movie will turn out after it’s edited and reworked.

“I was completely confused. They said this was like a vehicle for me to go into these other action movies and, yeah, Batista is the star. He was there for two days. I feel like Lionsgate pulled the carpet out from underneath my feet when I was looking. Hopefully when you watch it, I’m still starring in it.”

Former WWE superstar Viscera also appears in the movie.

The “Wrong Side of Town” straight-to-DVD action movie will be released on February 23.

Here are some pictures from the set of “Wrong Side of Town”:

Here’s the DVD cover, starring Dave Batista instead of RVD:

(Credit to PWTorch.com for transcribing the interview quotes)

Former WWE & ECW Champion Rob Van Dam was interviewed by FanHouse.com to promote this weekend’s WrestleReunion event in Los Angeles. Some highlights:

How to “Spice Up” Today’s Wrestling: “I would say bring back the day of the jobber. When I was a fan, when I was younger, wrestlers were larger than life because I would watch them totally annihilate some local scrub, some guy that was in the ring, I didn’t know who the jobber was. We called those enhancement matches and they hardly ever do them anymore. That to me was how you build the wrestler, and when I found out two of these superstars would be battling each other, whether it was near me at a live show or when it was on Saturday Night’s Main Event, that was huge and it drew great interest and enthusiasm because I got to see these two big wrestlers who I’ve seen just destroy everybody actually face each other.”

Van Dam feels that the Monday night wars forced both companies to abandon jobbers and always put on marquee matches, but looking back, it’s hurt the companies’ abilities to build stars and the overall product:

“Ever since Monday Night Wars, every single match from the bottom to the top of the card seems like it has to be main-event quality — superstar vs. superstar, superstar vs. superstar — and then you gotta find a political way to go into the finish, you know, to try to deck one guy while doing what you want with the other. It’s a bunch of bulls**t I think. You know, I really think that the enhancement matches were what brought everybody into WWE in the ’90s.”

The possibility of returning to WWE or going to TNA: “I mean, it’s possible that I could be interested in either TNA or WWE if it was the right amount of work vs. pay ratio. That’s basically what it is, and I haven’t had that deep of conversations with anyone yet, really. So I don’t know if it’s out there or not, since I haven’t been the active one out there pursuing, you know, the information comes to me as it comes when they’re reaching out to me.”

Visit Fanhouse.com to read the full interview.

Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam knows TNA wants a piece of him and said once again the “ridiculous never-ending” WWE schedule will play a factor in which company he decides will wrestle for. Van Dam told Alex Marvez of Scrippsnews:

“I do have some interest right now in what’s going on with the big companies. I know (Hulk) Hogan would like to have me. Eventually, (TNA) may start to wear me down and my ‘no thanks’ will become ‘well, maybe.’ I have some interest, but I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t see myself going back to the full-time, ridiculous never-ending WWE schedule. I couldn’t wait to get away from it before.”

The former WWE and ECW champion says he has been wrestling across the world since leaving the national wrestling but doesn’t have any bookings past this Saturday’s PWG show in Los Angeles.

Aside from the brutal WWE schedule, Van Dam still has sour grapes about how WWE handled the “new” ECW:

“WWE destroyed that and made it very symbolic. They wanted everyone to know ECW was dead and this new group happened to be called ECW. That was the last cycle of frustration for me.”

Visit Scrippsnews.com to read the full interview.

Rob Van Dam

Rob Van Dam mentioned in his latest blog post at RobVanDam.com that WWE is paranoid he’ll wind up working for the competition:

“The constant rumors that I am or have signed with one of the wrestling companies seems to be getting stronger still. Last week, WWE locked me out of my profile page at WWE Universe because they believed I had signed with TNA!”

Van Dam is arguably the hottest free agent in the industry and would surely make some waves if he showed up in TNA. It also shouldn’t be ruled out that Van Dam makes a surprise appearance at Sunday’s Royal Rumble, as we saw last year.

Just last week on the “Busted Open” Sirius satellite radio show, Van Dam said, he’d be open to working for WWE again, but only if the conditions were right. He said, “I can tell you for sure that I have no interest in returning to a full-time schedule like I did before. That’s not going to happen.”

Van Dam continues to wrestle for various independent promotions across the world and could return to the national wrestling scene at any time. With TNA bringing in so much new talent and a work schedule that is far less demanding than WWE, it could be an attractive option for RVD.

Former WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam appeared on the “Busted Open” Sirius satellite radio show this week and spoke about whether he’d be willing to return to World Wrestling Entertainment.

“If the conditions were right, then the conditions would be right. I can tell you for sure that I have no interest in returning to a full-time schedule like I did before. That’s not going to happen.”

RVD told the hosts that the WWE vs. TNA battle on January 4th was the first time in while that he had watched wrestling. He says Hulk Hogan and Bret Hart felt special, but the feeling didn’t last long.

“That was the first wrestling that I watched in the longest time, and it’s also the last wrestling I watched. I flipped back and forth with skepticism,” RVD said. “There was optimism. There was hope. The whole thing with Hogan and the change. It was a nice moment. I liked seeing Bret. I was comparing and about 45 minutes into it I felt like I was just watching wrestling and I lost interest.”

During an interview with Empire Wrestling Radio, Rob Van Dam said he feels WWE’s product “is king” and the only real selling point for TNA is “saying they’re not WWE.”

“I think when you talk about the product, you have a lot to consider. WWE is king. A lot of fans are turning toward TNA just because TNA’s strongest point is ‘Hey, we’re not WWE.’ When you see WWE arenas packed all the way to the roof and when you see TNA’s crowd, you know who is king,” Van Dam said.

He also took shots at WWE’s version of Extreme Championship Wrestling, saying they will have to change the brand name soon because they “made it suck.”

“They took a product that was superior in originality and they watered down to make it mean the same as one of their lesser show, and then eventually mean even (less),” he said. “It has no connection or affiliation now whatsoever with the original ECW. In fact, I heard they’re going to stop doing it real soon because they made it suck so bad.”

The New York Daily News has published comments that Hulk Hogan made to a fan at a recent book signing regarding his vision for TNA Wrestling. Hogan said that he hopes to bring in Steve Austin, Randy Savage, Rob Van Dam, and the Nasty Boys tag team to TNA. He also wants to start a new Monday Night War against WWE.

“I wish to talk to Rob Van Dam, who is considering returning to the ring, and convince him to join TNA,” Hogan said. “Plus I’m also wishing to contact ex-Nasty Boy Brian Knobbs, Stone Cold Steve Austin and Macho Man Randy Savage.”

The newspaper reports that Hogan is pushing for TNA programming on Monday nights, which was one rumored around the time it was announced Hogan and Eric Bischoff are partnering with TNA.

Hogan says he “considered for months” guest-hosting Monday’s Raw from Madison Square Garden before he “sealed the deal” with TNA.

Rob Van Dam tells Simon Rothstein of the UK Sun that Vince McMahon ripped his heart out and stomped on it with the way he handled the resurrection of ECW back in 2006. The former WWE & ECW champion goes in depth about how poorly he feels Vince McMahon handled ECW, the various steps McMahon took to make his version ECW completely different while burying the ECW legacy, Paul Heyman’s reaction to the whole fiasco and more.

Winning the WWE Title & Vince’s ECW: “RVD wasn’t going to be WWE champ, but I brought ECW back because that was my spirit and the spirit of the fans. I knew they wanted to see it and I was feeding off that energy. Winning the world title meant a lot. It gave creditability to ECW. At least for the moment…so we thought! But very shortly afterwards Vince McMahon’s long-term plans started to unfold.

“We were faced with the fact that he would give ECW no credit for anything up until that point and wanted to create this new brand of wrestling that would be a global product and mainstream in every way, with Extreme Rules only as a stipulation every once in a while. Our hearts were ripped out of our chests and stomped on. Vince said: “Nobody remembers the old ECW anyway, Rob. This is something new.” So it was a fun moment, it was short-lived and it’s definitely gone now.

Paul Heyman’s Feelings About the new ECW: He would come to work and just tell me how much disdain and loathing he had for Vince. I remember him saying it was like Vince had raped his wife, because ECW was so close to his heart and Vince f***ed it. He felt Vince enjoyed watching him suffer, while ripping apart the fabric of ECW week by week. But Paul has no resentment now and no desire to get back at Vince. He has made balance and is in a peaceful stage, like I am. It’s just something we laugh about.

There’s a lot more to this interview and it’s definitely worth reading – check it out at TheSun.co.uk.

Monday Night Mayhem radio with Rob Van Dam
Hosts: Big Mosh, Blade, Todd Vincent
Available at MondayNightMayhem.com.

Since leaving World Wrestling Entertainment two years ago, rumors have continued to swirl that Rob could be moving over to TNA…and those rumors kicked into high gear after he attended last month’s Bound For Glory PPV in California (as a guest of Booker T) and met both Dixie Carter and Vince Russo. Now that Hulk Hogan has officially signed with TNA, how appealing is TNA to RVD? The question on the hearts and minds of fans across the globe was answered exclusively on The Mayhem.

“With Hulk Hogan and Eric Bischoff now in TNA, it’s a very interesting time in the wrestling business…and in a very positive way,” Van Dam 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 and 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.” He went to add, “It’s more appealing because they raised the stakes.”

Many people in the wrestling industry are indeed skeptical about TNA’s acquisition of “The Hulkster,” with such superstars as The Honky Tonk Man saying Hogan joining the company very will could be “the end of TNA.” Others have speculated that some of Hogan’s long-time friends and colleagues (such as Brutus Beefacke and The Nasty Boys) could have jobs again in the business with Hogan in charge. RVD knows Hogan well (especially after having the opportunity to be a special guest trainer on last fall’s “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling”), and was asked what can Hogan bring to the table at this time to TNA.

“Hulk Hogan brings credibility and name recognition,” he said. A lot of people that don’t watch wrestling and many 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. I can’t imagine myself having the book and being in charge. If they do allow Knobbs and Beefcake and those guys to come in, we can all say TNA wasn’t that smart.”

Rob was asked if the industry can get back to when there was five-star matches all the time and if there can be a rebirth of sorts:

“I would hope so, but I would understand if it went the other way too, because I had enough so I would understand when other people have had enough. I don’t watch wrestling in fact I haven’t watched it since 2001, so when I was in the WWE, I would record the show and fast-forward through it to my to critique it. It became about business to me, and I didn’t want to watch other people work. I see what they are doing, and I’m not impressed with a lot of what I see on TV. I see people going through movements, but they have no sense of art and pro wrestling is an art.”

He continued by adding: “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. Every match from the beginning to the end, have to be ‘superstar vs. superstar.’ They have to be treated like main events, they all have to go six or seven minutes, they have to back and forth all the time, and someone catches a fall. What happened to the jobber matches? Big John Studd would have a squash match with two or three guys, and then when he faced like Hulk Hogan, it meant something. But now 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.”

More goodness is contained in this exclusive interview with “The Whole F’n Show,” including his candid comments and thoughts on Shane McMahon’s departure from the WWE, what he would like to see more of in wrestling today, and a special “Get Well” message to the voice of World Wrestling Entertainment, Jim Ross. Don’t forget to log onto www.RobVanDam.com and www.MySpace.com/GoToRobVanDam.com to get the latest on RVD TV (and how you can score a free membership), RVD Radio, and Rob’s forthcoming overseas European tour!

— Reader “Lee” sent in word that he called RVD’s Internet radio show the other night to discuss the main topic of the show, which was whether RVD should return to WWE or go to TNA. When he called in, the person who was screening the calls asked whether he thinks RVD should go to WWE or TNA. When he said WWE, the screener responded, “Ok, well I will put you through anyway”.

Lee got the strong impression that they were trying to get more TNA callers and push possibility of RVD going to TNA. Van Dam mentioned during the show that going to TNA would put him closer to his parents, who live in Florida.

— ESPN.com has another an article up that looks at Linda McMahon’s aspirations to be a United States Senator. Aside from the typical argument that her association with pro wrestling will likely hurt her chances, columnist Jeff MacGregor looks at the situation from a different perspective.

He asks why Linda would want to walk away from the money, power and control she has over running a large corporation. “You aren’t the boss anymore. No one has to do what you say. No one has to listen to you. No one cares what you think. The one thing you need to be able to do as a politician is the one thing you never had to bother with in business: build consensus,” he said.

“Why Mrs. McMahon wants to give up the power, money and prestige of professional wrestling to join a sideshow like the U.S. Senate remains a mystery to me.” Visit ESPN.com for more.