RVD on TMZ, salary for WWE's VP of TV production (Kevin Dunn), Jimmy Hart/WWE promote reading, HBK hunts, Questions on Metallica at Mania, understanding TNA, and Edge retiring, video on Taz' dojo, Update on Moxley-WWE, rap song about Ric Flair, possible new Extreme Rules match, WWE T-shirt grab bag, WWE lowers dividends, Jericho talks, Sabin injured?, Slammiversary location, and 2 matches added to Sacrifice

TMZ caught up with Rob Van Dam recently, and discussed which three wrestlers would be best to take with him to take out Osama Bin Laden. Certainly an interesting premise, and TMZ had some fun with it.

Deadline.com reports what Kevin Dunn's 2010 salary was. He's considered an important part of the company, and receives a good deal of criticism online for his "we make movies" mentality.

Jimmy Hart appeared at a kids' reading event on behalf of WWE. Yes, he brought his megaphone. Someone (jokingly?) referred to WCW midcarder Meng (known in the WWF as Haku) as a legend in the piece.


Here's video of Shawn Michaels on "Ultimate Hunt".

PWInsider.com has some new questions up today. I'll look at them and the rest of the day's news after the break. First, why did Triple H use "For Whom The Bell Tolls" at WrestleMania?

I took it as a play on Taker having the bell toll in his (old) music. HHH has had special Mania entrances/songs before, they just happened to use that song this time.

I skipped questions 1 and 2 since there was nothing to add to them, so next up is #4. Playing devil's advocate, TNA presumably puts people like Hogan, Bischoff, and Sting all over TV because they're known entities that the fans already are familiar with. The theory is that if a new fan hears about TNA, they're more likely to be interested if they have people they remember from the WCW days on the show. Part of the reason TNA was made was to replace WCW- there were millions of wrestling fans who quit watching when WWF bought the company, and TNA's trying to bring a number of them back. It hasn't worked nearly as well in practice as it does in theory.

For #5, you're certainly not the first one to advance that theory, but all signs point to Edge's retirement being the real deal.

Here's a look at where Taz conducts his finishing school.

Jon Moxley has officially signed a WWE contract. He will begin work at FCW next week.

An Atlanta-based rapper has a song called "Ric Flair". I'm not making that up. He talks about it here.

WWE is reportedly considering adding Sheamus vs. Kofi Kingston to this Sunday's PPV, presumably to move the U.S. Title back to Raw. That's exactly what I'd do.

Highspots.com is currently running a deal where you can get a grab bag of 5 WWE shirts for $19.99.

WWE has revised its dividend policy so that it pays out less per share (even for the higher-ups). This was considered a smart move financially for the company given that business is down compared to when the policy was last changed. This frees up a lot of cash for WWE to invest in other areas it's looking to expand to, such as launching WWE TV and acquiring other entertainment ventures.

Update: This news unsurprisingly sent WWE's stock down by a good margin (9.3% compared to the closing price Thursday). When you tell people that they'll be paid 1/3 of what they used to be paid per share, they're not going to be happy about it. This move is something WWE is looking long-term with.

Chris Jericho talked briefly about Cena vs. Rock and Fozzy playing at WrestleMania in an interview at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards.

Chris Sabin is believed to have been injured during the match that aired Thursday 4/28 on Impact, tweaking his knee. Any further details will be in future posts.

TNA Slammiversary will be in the Impact Zone this year. I can't be the only one impatient with them going on the road for more events. It's not as easy or cheap, though.

Abyss vs. Crimson and Kazarian vs. Max Buck for the X-Division Championship have been officially added to Sacrifice.

That's all for Thursday's news. I'll have more tomorrow!