AWE: Local business on the verge of hitting it big
It’s thisclose to being another great example of the Great American Success Story.
The Downtown Waynesboro-based Awesome Wrestling Entertainment will make its debut on television on Saturday, Oct. 15, with a live pay-per-view wrestling event that will be broadcast by InDemand, DirecTV, AGTV and Bell TV in Canada to more than 122 million households in North America.
The live TV event is AWE’s attempt to join the heavyweights of pro wrestling like WWE and TNA Impact.
There is a neat human-interest story behind the scenes with the company. Awesome Wrestling Entertainment is based in a small town in Virginia – Waynesboro, Va., population 21,500, far away from the nation’s biggest media markets. And the company’s CEO is a man named Marvin Ward, 37, a former professional wrestler who had to retire in 1997 after suffering a career-ending shoulder injury and in 1999 opened, with his wife, Stacie, a small wrestling-promotion business out of his home.
Ward has said he now has a better appreciation for the term “overnight success.” After 12 years of promoting house shows throughout Virginia and up and down the East Coast, AWE exploded on the scene this summer with a storyline revolving around a decade-old Internet feud between “Big Sexy” Kevin Nash and Ricky Morton of The Rock-n-Roll Express.
Without TV or any house shows in the summer season to back it up, the back-and-forth between Nash and Morton that played out on the Internet and on AWE’s Facebook page caught fire. The company now boasts more than 100,000 Facebook fans, a number that has caught the attention of pay-per-view giant InDemand, which along with DirecTV, AGTV and Bell TV in Canada will be broadcasting AWE’s Night of the Legends on Oct. 15 on live pay-per-view television.
It’s almost hard for Ward to process how quickly things have happened – after years and years and years of banging his head against a wall.
“We knew from the beginning that unless you have millions of dollars, or knew key people in the entertainment industry, then the odds were against us a million to one. But that did not deter us. I am a firm believer that if you have a dream, and you believe in it, then anything is possible,” Ward said.
Even with that as a given, it’s been far from easy. Ward for years promoted shows at high-school gyms and National Guard armories, sometimes making money, “and at times losing money because we would spend more on national-brand talent and advertising to make sure we had large crowds to get attention.”
The losses added up, and Ward and his wife, Stacie, decided to sell their house and moved with their two daughters, Brittany and Hannah, with his parents.
“Every day, we had family and friends tell us we were crazy to continue to fight for this dream,” Ward said.
And now the family is so close to the big time that they can almost taste it. In four short weeks, Ward will join an elite group of wrestling promoters who can put on their resume that they have produced a live broadcast pay-per-view event.
There’s a lot of work to be done between now and then. AWE has not produced a single TV show to date, and it now needs to build up the infrastructure necessary to broadcast live TV throughout North America and a worldwide Internet feed.
Ward and the AWE team have put together an impressive production operation to add to the roster of wrestlers that includes former WWE and WCW stars Kevin Nash, Diamond Dallas Page, Hacksaw Jim Duggan and Terry Funk and homegrown talents Jamin Olivencia, Alex Silva and Sonjay Dutt.
Friends are trying to remind Ward as the days count down toward Oct. 15 that he needs to take time out every so often to enjoy the scenery.
“This is the first time this has ever happened, a company with no prior TV experience and no background in pay-per-view events being given an opportunity like this to go on live TV,” Ward said. “Entertainment executives are saying this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that our company is being given, and that we have one chance to finally make it and live the American dream.”
AWE online: www.AwesomeWrestlingEntertainment.com
Awesome Wrestling Entertainment announces first live pay-per-view TV event
Awesome Wrestling Entertainment, a new professional wrestling entertainment company based in Waynesboro, will debut its first pay-per-view TV event on Saturday, Oct. 15, live from Augusta Expo in Fishersville.
AWE Night of the Legends will be broadcast into 120 million households in the United States and Canada via InDemand, Dish TV, DirecTV, AGTV and worldwide through AWEOnDemand.com.
The event will feature such world-renowned wrestling celebrities as Kevin Nash, “Diamond” Dallas Page, Terry Funk, Tommy Dreamer, “Hacksaw” Jim Duggan, The Rock-n-Roll Express, David Finlay and Tammy Sytch. More than 30 legendary grapplers will gather to renew historic rivalries for enthusiasts from around the world.
“We are very excited that we have this opportunity to introduce our company and AWE brand to fans around the world,” AWE founder Marvin Ward said. “We are proving there is a mass following for our company and a huge demand for our product and brand of wrestling.”
The demand for the AWE product is evident in the presence that Awesome Wrestling Entertainment has on Facebook. The AWE Facebook page has grown to more than 100,000 fans in a short period of time and a steady growth daily of new followers.
“The support generated for AWE from fans around the world, without a major television outlet and weekly TV series to promote the product, is unheard off in this industry,” said Chris Graham, the director of marketing for Awesome Wrestling Entertainment.
Fans from 24 states and three foreign countries have purchased tickets to attend the live event. It was fan interest on Facebook and the AWE website that got the attention of pay-per-view providers, who see a tremendous opportunity with the AWE brand.
The explosion of interest in AWE is built around the real-life drama between Kevin Nash and Ricky Morton of the Rock-n-Roll Express, whose animosities dating back to their WCW days have made their way into mainstream media with interviews dating back 10 years. After signing the main-event match for Night of the Legends pitting Nash and his tag-team partner, Doug Gibson, against The Rock-n-Roll Express in June, AWE used Facebook and YouTube to draw fan interest in the match with a series of videos starring the participants.
“For a new company to generate this type of fan craze by using the power of the Internet via Facebook and Youtube has never been seen before in the history of professional wrestling,” Graham said.
“Wrestling fans are tired and burnt out on current wrestling programs seen on TV today. Weekly shows have drifted away from the rich tradition of old school wrestling that I grew up watching. You don’t get the feeling that it’s the good guy versus the bad guy or the believability that the opponents truly dislike each other with today’s wrestling. The real-life drama that two people dislike each other and really want to fight is what’s missing from wrestling. AWE will bring back to fans the tradition of professional wrestling that has been missing for such a long time,” Ward said.
For more information on Awesome Wrestling Entertainment
Website: www.awesomewrestlingentertainment.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/awesomewrestlingentertainment
Pro wrestling comes to Main Street
Awesome Wrestling Entertainment has opened its East Coast corporate headquarters in a location in Downtown Waynesboro.
The company, which stages live-event pro-wrestling shows across the United States, has set up its East Coast office at 421 W. Main St., Waynesboro.
“This is a big step for us as a company,” said CEO Marvin Ward, who is putting the finishing touches on two Virginia shows – Sept. 17′s AWE Awesome Night of the Superstars in Woodstock and Oct. 15′s AWE Awesome Night of the Legends at Augusta Expo in Fishersville.
AWE is currently in negotiations with television networks and live-event pay-per-view TV providers to take its product to cable TV in late 2011 or early 2012.
“Fans are really responding well to our product,” said Ward, noting the more than 55,000 likes on AWE’s Facebook page.
“We want to see this business grow, and we’re glad to be here in Waynesboro as we climb the ladder of success in our industry,” Ward said.
Inspirational: AWE newcomer, military vet, overcomes obstacles, pursues dreams
Michael Hayes has just won his professional wrestling debut match over his teacher, Nick Dinsmore, in dramatic fashion. The hometown crowd was cheering the young Iraq veteran on all the way, so it’s one of those nice moments in sports where the fans get to go home happy.
A fan comes up to shake Hayes’ hand and wish him well. And show off his prosthetic leg, the same make and model, it turns out, that Hayes has in place of his left leg, lost to an IED on a road near Ramadi in 2006.
“Those are the moments that I am looking forward to,” said Hayes, who signed with Awesome Wrestling Entertainment in February, of the encounter with the fan, a moment that is replayed nightly for Hayes, who decided after watching Wrestlemania XII with his grandfather and seeing underdog Shawn Michaels take the WWE title from champ Bret “The Hitman” Hart that wrestling was what he wanted to do with his life.
The detour into the Army was meant to help him fulfill another life goal, to serve his country, while at the same time giving him the chance to save money for wrestling school so that he could pursue his wrestling dream after getting out of the service.
His Army unit was switching places with another on a road back to Ramadi when the truck he was in was jolted by an IED that had been embedded in the road. Hayes, the gunner, was for a few moments pinned in the wreckage as the truck was ignited by propane in the IED into a fireball.
Hayes was able to crawl from the truck despite the fact that his left leg was “pretty much severed” by the force of the explosion and the crushing impact of the truck as it was flipped on its side. “I kind of had to grab it and bring it with me,” said Hayes, who attributes quick thinking by fellow soldiers to saving his right leg, which was also badly damaged.
Hayes passed out at the aid station and woke up two days later in San Antonio, his family surrounding him. He wasn’t aware at the time of the severity of his injuries, which is maybe a good thing, because the goal that he set for himself at his first meeting with his physical therapist was to get back to where he could do anything that he could do before the injury.
It was slow starting because Hayes had also suffered severe injuries in his right leg – his right heel had been crushed, for one thing, and he’d had fractures in his hip and femur. It was a year before he was able to first use a prosthesis, “but once that happened, the ball started to roll,” Hayes said.
What kept Hayes motivated at the outset: “I wanted to play basketball again,” and he progressed to the point where he was playing regularly in a rec league until something else interfered.
Yes, wrestling – professional wrestling, which had been an interest for Hayes since he saw his first USWA show on TV as a youngster. His childhood dreams seemed to have been extinguished given the injuries that he had suffered in Iraq, but then Hayes met pro wrestler Mike Mondo through mutual friends, and as he worked out in an effort to get himself back into shape, “the more the sparks started to come alive again.”
He signed up for a training class with Dinsmore last fall. “I decided that the only way I could find out that I couldn’t do it was to try it, and if it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out,” Hayes said.
He had an epiphany in his first class with Dinsmore. “I knew that something was going to come of this,” said Hayes, who has immersed himself in wrestling the past several months to build his ring skillset.
“Michael’s story is incredible,” said Awesome Wrestling Entertainment founder Marvin Ward, who worked Hayes into a storyline involving Carlito, Jimmy Yang, Alex Silva and another U.S. military veteran, former Marine Micah Fletcher, at the AWE show in Palmyra, Va., on Feb. 26, and has big plans for Hayes into the future.
“You can see that there’s something special about him,” Ward said. “One of the things we want to do with AWE is provide entertainment for service members across the world, because what those men and women do is just so inspiring, and we want to do our part to give back and say thanks to them for what they do to give us the freedoms that we enjoy. What Michael has been able to do, what he’s able to do in the ring, what’s been able to do with his life, is just so inspirational, and we’re honored to have him as part of the AWE family.”
Hayes gets that his story is inspirational to others.
“That’s exactly why I want to do this,” he said. “I want to make sure that people know that wrestling can be more than just entertainment and the shots and the big moves and the flash. It can be inspirational. That’s why I loved it originally. It was those moments when they made those guys seem like they were the ultimate underdogs who could overcome everything. That’s why I am to people. And when they see me do things, I want them to think that they can do it.”
Story by Chris Graham. More AWE news at AwesomeWrestlingEntertainment.com.
He wants you to remember one thing: Sonjay
Sonjay Dutt is a young veteran – 28 years old, but now in his 10th year in the wrestling business.
“I ask myself that all the time … where do I go, what do I do next?” said Dutt, a native Northern Virginian who is one of the building blocks on the Awesome Wrestling Entertainment roster.
The answer comes in short order. “When I go out there, I want to be different. I want to be different from everybody else. I want to be exciting. I want to be innovative. I want everybody to go home and remember Sonjay Dutt. I want them to remember Sonjay’s match. I want them to remember exactly what I did in that ring. And that’s every time I get out there,” Dutt said.
He’s not the biggest guy on the roster, by far. “I’m 5’8″, about 185 pounds. There’s a bunch of guys in this locker room that are triple my size,” said Dutt, who wears as a badge of honor that he doesn’t get hired because of his look or bulging biceps.
“I was hired because of my skill in the ring. I was hired because I know how to wrestle. I think that’s what AWE is going to focus on, is that aspect of professional wrestling action,” Dutt said.
AWE’s family-friendly approach focusing on action in the ring appeals to Dutt.
“These crowds that come out are walking away with something that they haven’t seen from other shows. There’s a lot of shows that are out there, a lot of promotions that are out there. What we bring to the table is we’re trying to revolutionize the world of professional wrestling. I think AWE has that vision,” Dutt said.
So that’s where the young veteran’s focus is. Growing as a wrestler and growing with AWE.
“Professional wrestling is my only love and my passion. I don’t see myself doing anything else. So as long as I’m able to walk, and as long as I’m able to climb in that ring, I’m going to be wrestling with full force. And I think AWE is definitely the place to be,” Dutt said.
Story by Chris Graham. More AWE news at AwesomeWrestlingEntertainment.com.
Shootin’ Straight: Rob Feinstein
Rob Feinstein was there at the beginning of ECW, and he was the founder of Ring of Honor.
So when he sees a future for AWE, that’s saying something.
“We’ve had two shows, and the crowds speak for themselves. He drew over 1,000 for each night, and that’s pretty much unheard of in professional wrestling, especially around here in my area, in the northeast Jersey/Pennsylvania area. He’s had very successful crowds down in Virginia, and I think the product speaks for itself,” said Feinstein, who worked with AWE founder Marvin Ward on booking for the first two Awesome Wrestling Entertainment live events, on Feb. 5 in Waynesboro, Va., and Feb. 26 in Palmyra, Va.
Last week AWE announced another Virginia show – in May in Harrisonburg. Another big date outside of the Virginia home base is due in the coming days, as is an international tour that is in the works for 2011.
For Feinstein, the focus is on developing the talent and putting them to work in storylines that will keep the fans wanting for more.
“We’re going toward the more family-friendly type product. Ring of Honor was geared more toward the Internet smart fans. I would say the AWE product is more geared toward the casual wrestling fans that watch WWE and TNA every Monday and Thursday night. The product itself is a lot more fan-friendly,” Feinstein said.
The booking strategy is to mix up newcomers like Micah Fletcher and Alex Silva with established stars like Carlito and Jimmy Yang.
“These are guys thay maybe nobody had really heard of. They’re from OVW, they’re looking to make a name for themselves, and what better way than to go into AWE. Hopefully with the presence that we have on the Internet, fans are going to become more familiar with their talents in the ring,” Feinstein said.
Free-agent wrestlers are certainly becoming familiar with the AWE product.
“Right now, with the wrestlers that they have, and the foundations that they have, and certainly the talent that’s been calling the offices of the AWE wanting to get into the company, there’s a lot of wrestlers that are hungry, and a lot of wrestlers want to prove themselves and have a platform that showcases their art. I think AWE is going to be a platform for a lot of wrestlers out there,” Feinstein said.
Interview: Rob Feinstein
Story by Chris Graham. More AWE news at AwesomeWrestlingEntertainment.com.
Wrestling promotion laying foundation for future
The first two shows out of the gate have the wrestling world abuzz about AWE. Drawing 1,200 to the first show at Waynesboro High School was one thing. Putting 1,100 butts in seats 50 miles from a TNA show in Richmond that drew 350 is yet another.
“I know it’s going to take time, but my patience is wearing thin. We’ve been building this thing for two years,” said Marvin Ward, the founder and driving force behind Awesome Wrestling Entertainment, who has been promoting shows in Virginia since a charity event that he put on in 2001, but is now aiming at building a national company in AWE.
The AWE product is being aimed at small- and medium-sized markets overlooked by TNA and WWE. What sets AWE apart from indy promoters is the company’s focus on quality in the ring and production values on par with what fans have come to expect at house shows put on by the big boys.
“The lighting, sound and production sets us apart. People can say, The wrestling product, what you do in the ring, is all that matters. Not anymore. People have been spoiled. They’re used to what WWE brings to big arenas. The lighting, the sound, the video screen,” Ward said.
“We bring that. You saw that with our first show. That’s not something that people in small markets are used to in shows in their hometowns. We’re bringing to these size markets the kind of production values that people are used to seeing in the big arenas. That’s our drawing card,” Ward said.
There is no shortage of talent on the open market, and Ward and AWE have been snatching up some of the top free agents on the market, including Carlito, current AWE World Champion Jimmy Yang, and a host of newcomers added to the roster this week highlighted by Shad Gaspar, a former WWE tag-team contender who was in the national headlines following a controversial arrest in Ohio on a jaywalking charge that was captured on video and shared with the world by TMZ.
The focus is on young talent and is heavy on cruiserweights. TNA had staked its early success on its cruiserweight division, but in recent years has become a sort of WWE South with recycled top WWE stars Kurt Angle, Kevin Nash and current world champion Sting.
“Fans, I think, are tired of the same old ‘Monday Night Raw,’ same ‘Smackdown,’ same ‘Impact.’ They’re tired. They want something fresh. And I’m hoping that we can come in and give them something that makes them go, Wow, that is the change that we were looking for,” Ward said.
AWE is also readying itself for its first training camp set to begin in April. The goal is to build for AWE what WWE has in Ohio Valley Wrestling and what WCW had in its famed Power Plant, which Ward trained in before a brief run in WCW that was cut short by injuries.
“We’ve gone through an intense process of talent acquisition and development,” Ward said. “We scouted talent, checked their work. I bet you that in 26 months we went through 100 people just to pull 10 good candidates to build around. Now we bring in guys like Carlito and Jimmy and Sonjay (Dutt), people that have already established their credibility, to get these guys over. So that people are like, Wow, Micah Fletcher, I can’t believe it, last night he beat Carlito.”
Fletcher, Jamin Olivencia, Mohammad Akbar – those are the names of the future in AWE.
“We’re going to build talent from the ground up. Take a year and teach them the psychology of wrestling. How to work a match. How to tell a story, how to build a storyline,” Ward said. “That doesn’t seem to be the focus anymore in WWE and TNA. A guy hits another guy in the head with a chair one week, they’re wrestling on pay-per-view the next week, and then they move on to the next thing. I want storylines. I want something where people will follow us and be able to build with us the storylines for months, and fans have to come see it when it comes to their town.”
Staying power – that’s what Ward is aiming at.
“Our goal this first year is getting people to stand up and take notice,” Ward said. “Once people know who you are, then we can get sponsors, then we can get a TV deal. That’s the hardest part about this whole thing. Do we know we’re going to lose money coming out of the chute? Absolutely. There’s no way to avoid it. but if we can get our name out there this first 12 months, I believe we can make it. Because the wrestling is going to speak for itself.”
Story by Chris Graham. More on AWE at AwesomeWrestlingEntertainment.com.
