By Chris Walters on June 25, 2004 at 10:21 PM EST
Thanks to Thushyan Nadarajah for the following:
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.
Joe continues the interview by asking Rob to explain how it felt to compete at WrestleMania 20. Rob states that WrestleMania is the biggest show of the year and it requires a lot of preparation as well as hype. He says you really need to be able to communicate with your fans in order to have a great performance. Rob mentioned that before and after shows, their hotels are swarmed with thousands of fans waiting to see them. He recalls a moment when he stepped out of the elevator and was confronted by thousands of fans, but was then escorted out of the hotel by security.
Joe states that SummerSlam is arguably, the second largest pay-per-view of the year. Joe then asks Rob for his thoughts on SummerSlam being held in Toronto. Rob says he can't think of a better place to hold SummerSlam, than here in Toronto. He says it'll be a weekend of fun activities for both fans and wrestlers followed by excellent matches at SummerSlam.
Joe goes on to ask Rob how his comic book store is currently progressing. Rob says that his store is doing very well and is about to celebrate it's one year anniversary in July. He mentions that just last week, Stacy Keibler was signing autographs and that he usually has special guest appearances every month. Rob says that he wants his store to be unique and draw a lot of attention, but at the same time he doesn't want to put other comic book stores out of business. Rob also states that he's currently exploring the idea of opening up 5-Star Comics in other countries around the world, but before doing so, he says he must first complete his internet web site, which is located at http://www.5starcomics.com.
Joe asks Rob if there's anything he'd like to say to the fans in Toronto. Rob replies by thanking the fans for their support and says that he'll see us again at WWE SummerSlam.
Joltin' Joe thanks Rob Van Dam for being a great guest and the interview ends there.
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