Post by xX(Ηunter)Xx on Sept 14, 2011 18:02:20 GMT -5
EWN's Pie Loving Co-Owner Talks Business, Plans, Proceedings and Career
By Steven James
Steve: First of all, Rock, it's great to see you here and well. Obviously you have a lot of things going on, but what is it you have in mind for EWN? What's your take on it as a company?
The Rock: EWN? Well, EWN was ... essentially, Ivory and myself wanting to give back to the fans. Together, the pair of us have ... immense experience in this business. Ivory, both as a shrewd businesswoman and a manager on-top of being an active wrestler. For me, you know, it was always the wrestling, and the entertainment value because, you know, once you're out there? Those people, screaming your name - they want you to provide and, if you don't bring it? Man you're in the wrong business. The fans you see out there, a lot of them are the loyalist fans who followed the both of us in our outside plans. The people who followed me as an actor, and the people who followed Ivory in her life. This was our way of saying thank you while doing something that we love.
Steve: As far as EWN goes, how did you both get involved as a pairing? I mean, I'm sure you know yourself, it's somewhat of an unexpected team-up.
The Rock: Oh, trust me, it is. It's a very unexpected team-up, I find it a little surreal looking at it going "..The Rock and Ivory? On the same page? Sharing a company? Who's dumbass storyline was this?" But, you know, once you get past that, once you really start to look at the real in-depth stuff, that's where your gold is. Ivory, you know, she's got all the skills I need, and I have all the skills she needs. While she's running between people dealing with paperwork, and contracts, budgets, visas, arena permits, payments and salaries, I'm off backstage dealing with the guys and girls themselves. It's up to me to make sure the people we sign are consistent in training, they're passing their drugs tests, they're running their match practices and working their mic skills, checking with the guys who run the rigging and the lighting, the pyro-technics, the talent scouts - which I do a lot of myself - you know, all that stuff that's important for going out there.
For me getting involved here, you know, I still look back, and I kind of smile at it, you know? I find it all kinda funny. I'm sitting at home, just done my work-outs, you know? Sat on the couch, watching TV with my kids, when I get passed the phone by my wife, she says "hey honey, it's Ivory on the phone, she says she has a business opportunity for you." So, I take the phone and go into the kitchen, she goes "Rocky? It's Lisa, listen - I've been crunching numbers and I've been running up contracts and checking permits, and I think we have what we need to set-up our own wrestling company. Would you be interested?" I have never, in my entire life, felt my heart jump so suddenly as it did then and there. The excitement was just, unreal. I sit for a second, just going silent, and then just sort of agreed. We organised a sit-down to talk it all out, and we were keen on it. Things followed through and, ultimately, I think we got a good plot out."
Steve: Obviously, things have been a bit of a shaky start for the company, but do you think that's going to be a deterent?
The Rock: Well, every company suffers it really. It's not anyone's fault, it's just been a mix of things really. Between climate and other commitments, the place has just had a bit of a time getting back up and standing on it's own two feet, but I don't think that's a deterant per say. I kind of see it as part of the charm EWN already has. I mean, whatever way you want to word it or look at it, this place just has so much fighting spirit. I can't see any reason for it flop, really. It's got the managerial staff required, it's got a bunch of stars all prepared for the roster on a return basis and a debut basis - some of which, have made their media press release, by the by, if you want to check up on that, the information is all there.
I can't really see this being a bad move on anyone's part. I mean, I do understand, the build has been a bit of a struggle - but that's all in the fighting spirit. We're working to become the best, but to do that, we need to learn the ropes as a business, as a company, not just as wrestlers ourselves. I think that's an important part to it. This is a new ball-game, for everyone. We have some big name players, I don't want to disclose many names since, you know, I want them to be able to do their own press work and it's the legal issues surrounding that, but I think, with them doing their thing and us doing ours, we can do something big.
Steve: What does this mean for you? Will we just see you as a colour mic guy or as a more Vince McMahon admin see-when-required guy?
The Rock: Me? Nah man! Don't you know The Rock's work well enough by now? God damn!
But, you know, in all seriousness - that's not for me. I don't just want to be a partially shadow player in this. Like I told Ivory before we started this, I want to be hands on. Not just in mic, but hell, I want to do all I can. Cut promos, run skits, work with guys, even jump in the ring now and again. Not as a championship contender, but as an entertainer. A guy who's there working with people to make good storylines, strong storylines that'll entertain the audience, the crowd and the superstars, as well as exposing them to great matches that, at the end of the day, will end with both guys leaving it all in that ring.
Steve: Is there anything you can tell us about the talent in terms of names or is that all hush hush?
The Rock: Well, in terms of names, I can only mention a few. At the moment, I can tell you that we have managed to resign John Morrison and Rex Styles thus far. We're in talks with a lot of our older talent as well as all the new talent we can afford to bring in. I'm excited about who we have, what we have, and how we plan to progress here as a company, and as a team. Our staff is constantly being developed, constantly being worked with and worked on so that we have the best and most efficient team running this company. At the end of the day, all this is judgement calls, and when Ivory sits me down or I sit her down and one of us says either "listen, I don't this person is cutting the cake", or "this person is someone to watch, I think we need to get them moving", or even "we need to get this guy", we trust one another's decision. We keep an eye on what's going on with everything.
Steve: How do your stars feel about the approach Ivory and yourself take?
The Rock: As far as anyone's ever told me, they love it. They have some creative control over their gimmicks and storylines, we let them work with one another on projects as well as with us. We let them voice their opinions on problems and the like, and we let them just generally be themselves. There is the odd occasion where, yeah, someone isn't happy. But that's all part of the business, and it's all about overcoming the problem with them so that it can be properly dealt with. We try to build the best possible relations we can here as a business and a profession, be it with our superstars, our backstage crew, or even other businesses in this field. We're just trying to make everything come together in a way that suits everyone. And I think that's the best way, I think that works.
Steve: Well, Rock, thank you being here and giving us your input. Is there anything you would like to add in here?
The Rock: Yeah - just a few things. I want to give a big shout out thank you to all the people preparing to return to us, with us, for our replanned shows. I appreciate all the patient you guys have had and, I promise you, this is all gonna pay off. I want to thank our fans for not letting this die on us, I feel both honored and privileged to have you guys following us through everything. We're set to re-air in early October, so keep your eyes on the dates, which will all be appearing on the website homepage and under the media news section. We're gonna be updating with roster rejoins as they go, and with all the early action we can give - that's where all our updates are going.
