Posted on May 10, 2003               <<BACK TO NEWSBOARD

Friday, May 9, 2003 Hosts: Josh Matthews and Tom Prichard Guests: Rob Van Dam and Theodore Long Report credited to Kevin Gregg In the studio, Josh Matthews and Dr. Tom Prichard kicked the show off as the hosts. Today's guests will be Theodore Long and Rob Van Dam. Droz joins the show: Droz joined the show and Tom asked him what he thinks of Josh's hosting duties? Droz joked with Josh but then he said he enjoys him because he brings a breath of fresh air to the announcing. Josh said that he likes to call it the flavor. Tom asked Droz if he saw Smackdown! and Josh said that Smackdown! was very good and Vince is determined to prove that Mr. America and Hulk Hogan are one in the same. Josh asked Droz if he thinks they are the same person and Droz went over their history and then he said that he'd have to prove it to Droz because he doesn't believe that's Hulk Hogan. At the end of that comment, Droz let out a laugh, obviously joking about his comments. Shifting gears to RAW, the Intercontinental Title is coming back and Droz said that it's great for the up and coming stars and whoever wants to shoot for it. When they took the Intercontinental Title away, it took a part of wrestling away but now they are bringing it back. They talked about the return of Jim Ross and Droz said that it's great to see him back but he feels bad for The Coach and how he was treated on Monday. They talked about other subjects in WWE such as the Stretcher Match between Brock Lesnar and The Big Show, the Bikini Match, Triple H against Kevin Nash and more. They went to a caller and the caller asked them if they knew the participants in the Battle Royal for the Intercontinental Title? Tom and Josh didn't know who is going to be in it but Droz pointed out that it's going to be a group of former Champions in the Battle Royal. They thanked Droz for joining the show and Droz will be heading up to Philly to check everyone out next week. Tom slipped something "under the radar" and pointed out that today is Kevin Kelly's birthday and they wished him a happy birthday. Tales from the Hook: Tazz joined the show and Tom said that Tazz made the big save because they were treading water here. (Show has been terrible.) Tom asked Tazz the burning question; is Mr. America the Hulkster? Tazz played it off like a mark, saying that he's been trying to figure this one out for a couple weeks. Of course, Tazz couldn't hold a straight face as he started to giggle. Nothing much of note this week on Tales from the Hook, but they did express their opinions on the current product. (Company opinion.) Theodore Long joins the show: Theodore Long joined the show and he's on the road with Rodney Mack and Jazz and they are headed to a house show. Josh said that Theodore has done so much in the wrestling industry. What's his favorite thing he's done? Theodore said that the thing he's doing now is the second best thing he's done. The first thing he did was back in the day with Doom. Tom said that Theodore Long has been a hell of a promo man and right now, he's in his element with the promos. Does he feel that each time he goes out there, it's easier and more comfortable? Theodore said that it's been at least 10 years since he's managed and at one time, he was told that they weren't doing managers anymore, so he got in the WWE as a referee. Eventually, they called him up to be a manager and everything was natural for him. On being back in the mix, he's real excited about being back and he thanks Vince McMahon for it. When you look at Rodney Mack, he's just getting into the wrestling profession and he's coming along good. They just have to work on his aggressiveness. Right now, he's mean and hungry but he has a tendency to hold back on his opponents. They wrapped it up with Theodore Long and wished him the best of luck in his future in the WWE. Rob Van Dam joined the show: RVD joined the show and Josh brought up the Stretcher match at Judgment Day and he asked what your body goes through in a situation like this, being that RVD has been in Stretcher matches before? Rob said that different stretcher matches have different stipulations. Rob has been in some brutal ones and in a match like that, you need to be rolled up on a stretcher and by that time, you need to be on a stretcher and it's rough. Tom said that RVD went from ECW to being a star here in the WWE. In his tag team situation with Kane, some people mention that he's a little too laid back. Does he feel that way or does he feel he's right on time with his intensity? Rob said that he wouldn't be described as intense by the traditional wrestlers and that's not how he intends to be. He gets the job done and when he gets the chance, he preaches his belief. In his belief, a true warrior fights with no emotion. Tom asked Rob how he answers his critics? Rob said that he thinks it comes from his confidence. Back in his kick boxing days, he was able to knock his friends out and think nothing of it. Rob doesn't necessarily have to be upset to be at his best because when he gets upset, he gets flustered. He does have feelings, but he doesn't want to show them when he shows his fighting capabilities. Josh asked Rob how he feels about being in a tag team this long? Rob said that he likes it because of Kane in particular. Kane has been in the WWE as long as anybody and he seems to be very non politically motivated. Rob likes seeing the signs that say RVD and Kane and that's important to him because if he didn't like his partner, he wouldn't like being in a tag team situation. Tom said that Rob does have that intensity when he goes in the ring and it seems that when Rob and guys like Chris Benoit seem to let everything go. How is his body holding up? Rob said that his body is holding up great. It's something that he attributes to his stretching and he stretches 30-45 minutes before every match. That's how he can get by without getting hurt. Everything on him is fine and he works out heavy in the gym as well. Josh asked Rob for his thoughts on Black Mask 2 and his comic book series? Rob said that he has some stuff outside of wrestling and Black Mask 2 just came out on DVD. They shot that about 2 years in Thailand. He had a lot of fun shooting it and watching it. As for the comic, he's always been a big fan of comic books and he loves to write. The comic book should be ready to be published in the next couple of months but that doesn't mean it'll be on the stands then. He'll keep everyone posted on that. Josh asked what they are about? Rob said that it's about a completely fictional story that has nothing to do with him or wrestling, it just happens to be written by Rob Van Dam. It's a kick ass story and it's definitely going to kick the hell out of all the other comic books. Tom asked Rob for his thoughts on not working at Wrestlemania? Rob said that he's slighted but at the same time, that's one punch that he can roll with. How can you feel when something like that happens? Josh pointed out that Rob Van Dam wasn't booked on the first ECW pay per view; Barely Legal. Rob said that a side story on that was that he was about to walk out on the company. That was ECW's first pay per view and if RVD wasn't considered to be a key player, then he was going to walk out. There was other places to go and he was considered held back anyway. Now, times have changed and he's changed his priorities. They went to a caller for RVD and the caller asked Rob how come the people from ECW like RVD, the Dudleys and Tajiri can't do stuff from ECW? Rob said that stuff doesn't fit. It's a different ring, a different style and a different crowd. In ECW, the standards were high and they were raised week after week. Josh brought up the Intercontinental Battle Royal and he asked Rob if he sees himself in it and does he see himself winning it? Rob said that he deserves to be in it and if he is, his chances are as good as anybody's because he is Rob Van Dam. They wrapped it up with Rob Van Dam and this Monday, he'll be headed to Philadelphia for RAW. And that does it for this week's edition of Byte This!. Next week, they hope to have Triple H on the show.