Indy News Update #1 for October 29, 2011
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AWE sent this in.
CEO dishes on TV deal, Nash-Morton, ‘miracle.
We haven’t heard much from AWE CEO Marvin Ward since the Night of Legends pay-per-view that put the company on the map.
There’s a good reason why: He’s been “witness to a miracle” involving his mother, Ethel, who was sent to the hospital the day before the pay-per-view after suffering a massive heart attack.
Ward knew in the final hours leading into the pay-per-view that his mother was in the hospital and that things weren’t looking good, but family members did what they could to protect him from the extent of the news.
“My dad basically said, Don’t tell him anything. He’s got something important to do,” said Ward, who nonetheless was informed during the show that his mother was on life support and was not expected at that time to make it through the night.
Here two weeks later, Ethel Ward is making progress day-by-day, hour-by-hour.
“I’ve been witness to a miracle these past couple of weeks,” said Ward, whose attention has understandably been on personal matters in the time since Night of Legends.
Contrary to earlier published reports that Ward was upset with tag-team partner and close friend Kevin Nash following Nash’s walkout at Night of Legends, Ward thinks the move by the four-time former world champion that led to him being counted out with Ricky Morton being declared the victor was “appropriate” given the circumstances.
“This wasn’t about getting a pinfall or a submission. This was personal for me and Kevin,” said Ward, who had been scheduled to team with Nash against Morton and Robert Gibson, The Rock-n-Roll Express, in the main event before an injury suffered at the hands of the Rock-n-Rolls forced him to the sidelines.
That was Ward’s motivation. Nash’s came at the opportunity to get his hands on Morton after more than 10 years of shoot interviews in which Morton detailed a longstanding personal enmity toward “Big Sexy.”
Nash delivered a brutal beating to Morton that ended, as Nash had foretold in interviews leading up to the match, when he wanted it to – specifically after he delivered his signature jackknife powerbomb before leaving the ring with Morton in a heap in the center of the ring.
Some observers felt afterward that Morton’s Rocky Balboa-like performance might have earned him some begruding respect from fans and perhaps even from former friend Ward. Not so, said Ward.
“He tried to put me out. He tried to take away my ability to earn a living. He tried to take food off my table,” said Ward, adding that the matter with Morton “isn’t over by a long shot.”
“He’s attacked me twice and left me laying. Even with what Kevin did at Night of Legends, we’ve still got things to square up,” Ward said.
And back at his front-office job at AWE, there’s a lot of work being done to land a weekly TV series in 2012. AWE President Rick Garrison confirmed ongoing negotiations toward getting the company on TV next year.
“Looking at Night of Legends, we obviously have a good product to offer fans on TV on a weekly basis, and we’re fortunate to have a significant presence online and particularly in the social-media world,” Ward said.
For now the focus for Ward is still personal.
“The situation with my mother is obviously the most important thing for me and my family right now,” Ward said. “As much as I love what we’ve been able to do and build here with AWE, I’d give wrestling up forever just to have more time with her. You have to have your priorities, and that’s where mine are.”