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.