* THE REBIRTH *

STORYLINE:

After the dissolution of the PWA, Jerry Georgatos made good on his word, launching the Empire Wrestling Federation at the end of 2006. The EWF roster consisted of numerous former PWA talents, plus a cavalcade of American and International independent stars. However, it became apparent that Georgatos wasn’t emotionally invested in the broadcast; in fact, many people believed that Georgatos only did any of this to obtain a final triumph over Bryan Conroy.

By the spring of 2007, EWF was clearly an enormous money-losing failure. Georgatos was desperate for a way out of the liability. Realizing that the company was on the brink of bankruptcy, Georgatos cut a deal with executives of the NOW Network, the cable television channel that broadcast PWA Frequency and PWA Overdrive. NOW paid Georgatos a sum of money for both EWF and all the assets of the defunct PWA, and Georgatos quietly left the wrestling scene for good. EWF was immediately shut down by NOW brass, proving that all they ever wanted was the rights to the PWA name and trademarks.

Since late 2007, NOW has marketed numerous PWA-branded DVDs, making a fair sum of money. The network even rejected the 2008 advances of Bryan Conroy, who teamed with a consortium of investors, including Helen Summers and the Organization of Responsible Advertisers, to make an exceedingly generous bid for the assets. However, Conroy was disgusted to learn that NOW executives were contractually bound by the terms of their agreement with Georgatos to prevent Conroy from having any involvement in any PWA-related project ever. His bid failed, Conroy dropped off the wrestling grid for good, finally coming to terms with the fact that he had lost PWA forever.

In 2009, a retrospective DVD covering the life and death of PWA, spanning back to include the CAW and FSW beginnings of the company, was released to a tremendous amount of fan interest. The phenomenal sales of the DVD prompted the NOW brass to begin kicking the ideas on the idea of a reunion special. However, once the news started spreading, the executives were blown away in July 2009 by a presentation from former PWA manager and color commentator Justin Schenck, who proposed the network sign a roster of talent and produce a 14-episode season of new PWA shows, culminating in a huge pay-per-view special that would carry on the lineage of Everlasting Epic, PWA’s flagship event. The network was so taken by the proposal that Schenck was hired the next day, and given a budget and six months to assemble a roster of his choosing and develop the show.

Now officially PWA’s creative director, Schenck spent the second half of 2009 contacting old PWA talents, along with traveling the globe searching for new faces. He presented his vision to NOW brass on February 1, 2010, and one week later, the series received a green light. PWA: The Rebirth launched a 14-episode run on the NOW Network in May 2010, reclaiming the company’s old Tuesday night timeslot. However, while Frequency ran from 9 to 11 PM EST, The Rebirth featured three-hour weekly broadcasts in the first season, airing from 8 to 11 PM EST. And, after 14 weeks of the series, the PWA run culminated with Everlasting Epic VI live on pay-per-view on Saturday, August 14, drawing 70,000 spectators to EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida.

Though originally expected to last just one season, The Rebirth was picked up for a second season in August 2010. With a third season far from guaranteed, Schenck opted to make the second season the most ambitious set of PWA shows in history. In Season 2, the PWA toured the globe, visiting 63 countries and six continents, with not a single show taking place within the United States. The Rebirth's second season featured 20 episodes and centered around two pay-per-view spectaculars, culminating with Everlasting Epic VII, which aired from London's Wembley Stadium on Saturday, September 10. After the success of season two, the NOW Network afforded the PWA one more Rebirth. A new slate of 18 episodes, two televised specials, and two pay-per-view spectaculars begins Tuesday, April 24, 2012.

In 2010, fans of the PWA were treated to its Rebirth. In 2012, The Rebirth comes full-circle.

REALITY:

It’s hard to say when exactly the idea germinated to bring back PWA. I think, in some ways, it’s been something I’ve thought about on occasion for much of the last three or so years. Once I recovered from the post-PWA burnout, probably a solid year after we closed up shop, ideas kept popping into my head for one-off reunion specials and things of that nature. However, I had made a promise to myself that, given how organically the show was wrapped up in 2006, I would never do a PWA reunion just for the sake of doing one. In my mind, the only way I would ever revisit PWA and its characters would be if it made complete and total sense, and could be done in a way to maintain the integrity of how we ended things, from a storyline perspective.

That moment came back in the summer of 2009. I’d largely spent the three years prior to this working on screenplays and planning a wedding. However, in the post-wedding haze, I found myself unable to get back on the writing horse, so to speak, and was looking for a project that I could sink my teeth into, something familiar that would be fairly easy to commit to. Then, after having several reminiscent conversations regarding PWA towards the end of June, I got the thought to put together a “season” of PWA shows, with the idea being that the previously-cancelled PWA show would be given a confined 14-episode arc to determine whether or not it would be renewed for a second season, and would culminate with one major “pay-per-view,” which the 14 episodes would build towards. Operating under this framework solved the lofty issues of not having enough time to produce a show each week, and also the issue of wanting to pursue other creative endeavors that are just not feasible when you’re producing 10,000 words of content a week outside of your day job.

So, after months of back-and-forth debating, I committed to the idea, and began booking in October 2009. The set of episodes were posted from May through August 2010, culminating with the Everlasting Epic VI pay-per-view.

I had so much fun doing it that I decided to write a second season of shows in 2011. And after that, I decided why not one more? Most likely, this is going to be the end, though I've learned never to say never in life. In any event, if you have feedback on the shows, I can be reached at mike@pwatherebirth.com. I always welcome it.

So, now you know how we got here. Now, just enjoy the ride. I truly hope you all enjoy this season of PWA: The Rebirth. It’s been a blast revisiting these characters and assembling these new episodes, and I'm really proud of the work. I hope you have as much fun reading them.

~ Mike Scarchilli, co-creator and head writer, PWA ~