Interview with Federico Di Stefano

WE - Hi Federico. First of all, introduce yourself to the fans who don’t know you..

DiSte - Hello everyone. My name’s Federico Di Stefano, I’m 26, and I’ve been involved in the Italian wrestling business since 2000, being one of the founders of ICW. I cooperated with them until 2006, as their Vice President for 2 years and – on and off – giving my contribution to their creative team. Now I’m independent, working mainly for 2PW, and performing also in UIW and TCW in my country.

WE - What is your role in Pure Pro Wrestling exactly?

DiSte - I am one of the “founding fathers” of 2PW, working as their Executive Producer: I’m in charge of every creative and marketing aspect (from “booking” to definition of characters to media relations), finding in the 2PW Management a fine group of persons to operate for.

WE - Pure Pro Wrestling is a “young” promotion born from an ICW Training School , right? Why did you decide to leave Italian Championship Wrestling (where you have both wrestled and worked behind-the-scenes for years) to create a brand new promotion?

DiSte - ICW was giving no chance to my wrestling students in Genoa and Pisa, and in April 2006 myself and the nowadays 2PW President Marco Cini decided to set everything up for the creation of a smaller group under the ICW banner, with the intention of putting in place an environment where young up-and-coming Italian wrestlers could get experienced in order to be ready for the “big jump” to ICW. In the summer, we formalized our project to the ICW Management, that was not that interested. At the time, we already had a date booked for October 2006: no reply from ICW = independent debut of 2PW. From that time, more than 20 young, promising wrestlers have had the chance of performing in front of a live audience, thanks to our small promotion.

WE - Can you resume for us the 2PW Project?

DiSte - Bringing new talents – and new ways of entertainment – to the Italian territory of Liguria and Tuscany, while cooperating in a talent-swap program with other promotions such as UIW and TCW. We have already promoted 11 shows in little more than a year: did we do something right?!? 

WE - What are the difficulties in promoting wrestling in Italy?

DiSte - There are lots of difficulties. Wrestling has become very popular in our country, and popularity always carries the risk of overexposure with it: in Italy, that was clearly the case. The negative effects of Eddie Guerrero’s and Chris Benoit’s deaths can still be felt today, as local entertainment promoters / political entities are showing great resistance to hosting wrestling events in their areas. We look forward to better times, only time will tell.

WE - Back to talk about 2PW! 2PW regurarly promotes wrestling in Tuscany (and Genoa) area. Can it be a way to create a solid “fan-base” now that wrestling seems to be out of fashion there?

DiSte - Definitely. In Pisa our wrestlers get often stopped by fans while walking down the streets. We were successful in promoting our wrestlers and their image, giving them a very positive environment in terms of contents and messages given through our shows. We are 110% Family-oriented, and it’s always great to see children and grandfathers cheer and yell at our performers.

WE - 2PW collaborates with other italian wrestling feds as UIW (United Italian Wrestlers) and TCW (Total Combat Wrestling). What are the pros and cons of collaborating in wrestling scene as the italian one?

DiSte - Only Pros, in my opinion. There is no written contract between UIW, TCW, and 2PW. Every entity decides the terms of the talent-swap. Also, cross-promotion in the same area does not happen, and that’s another big “pro”.

WE - Apart from wrestlers from other feds, 2PW’ own stars such as Violent Joe, Tempesta and Scorpion are growing visibly. What’s your opinion on 2PW roster (Furia Gialla? Do you know him? :D)?

DiSte - As far as myself (Furia Gialla), I can tell that in my 8 year-long career I got more than I could ever dream of, therefore I’m quitting the ring this year with a big smile on my face. Guys such as our Heavyweight kingpin Violent Joe, top contender Tempesta, or young lads such as Nicky Wave and Simone D’Anna make me think that two years ago I made the right choice, giving away my relationship with ICW in order to give my students a chance to shine, not only on the 2PW ring.

WE - 2PW has had also some guest European wrestlers such as Germany’s Stevie Douglas and Belgium’s Rob Lequimez. Are there any others international collaborations on the horizon for 2PW?

DiSte - Yes they are. We are developing cooperation both for the entertainment and the training departments. Without a good in-ring product, every promotional effort goes down the drain.

WE - At this time, there aren’t 2PW shows scheduled but we’re sure the 2PW crew is working hard behind the scenes. What can you tell us about it?

DiSte - Like I said before, we are trying to reach some deals with different local events and management organizations in order to be back on the road as soon as possible. In the meanwhile, we are conducting – for the 2nd strait year – many meetings with middle school students and parents about “education to wrestling”: a big effort indeed, but with great results already achieved.

WE - You have worked in Uk and Germany. What are the differences between Italy and the other wrestling scenes?

DiSte - In Germany fans are very very “smark”, so they sit and watch very quietly unless you’re some ROH foreigner or something. I loved wrestling there because it gives you and idea of how much your character can be over (heel or face, as obvious), since fans there can be very difficult to “move”.
In England, it was like wrestling in the Milan area: you just knew the fans had a clear idea of what they paid for and you better knew how to make them pop. I had a pretty good heel series for John Chapman, he was happy of my heel character who carried my Italian latino fire, something the British fans in that area were not used to see.
I could not travel anymore so that’s where my tours abroad ended.

WE - Word Association Time!

NWE: Big time
IWS: A little bit too closed, IMO
ICW: I got a lot, but I gave as much – maybe more
TCW: Very friendly and passionate
FCW: Their boss knows what he’s doing
IWE: Far away, unfortunately for my lads
2PW: Pure
AWA: UK: Awesome experience
ACW: “Herz”
ICW Vae Victis ’02 (First ever wrestling show promoted by Di Stefano in his home town for the ICW –note by WE): Sold-Out!!!
ICW Pandemonium ’03 (First ever match between Italians-Amarillo (Di Stefano) involved!- and foreigners –note by WE): Tighe&Simmons
Total Destruction ’04 (8 Men International tournament in Genua ft. Doug Williams, Burchill, Saraya, Wesna, Kovac –note by WE): Biggest show I’ve ever written
Summer ’05 (wrestling boom in Italy!!!-note by WE): Ladispoli (3000 in attendance! –note by WE)
ICW Motorslam ’06 (his last match in ICW-note by WE): Kobra, I owe you one
2PW First Show Ever: Tears in the showers
Los Anticristos (historical Italian tag team: Amarillo (DiStefano) and Red Devil –note by WE): Past
Golden Hornet (ICW masked wrestler..guess who used to perform him? :P –note by WE): Geez, I can’t breathe! I can’t breathe!…Wait, I’m actually breathing
Team Suicide (ICW Tag Team Amarillo & Kobra –note by WE): Best time of my career. Thanks partner.
Violent Joe (2PW Champ –note by WE): Incredibly great
Lothar (ICW Champ –note by WE): 2005/2006 Humility Award winner
Fenriz (TCW Champ –note by WE): Big and painted
Caronte (UIW Champ –note by WE): The nice giant

WE- The interview is over! Thank you Federico and feel free to leave a message to WrestlEurope followers…

DiSte- Thank you for your time, looking forward for other “W-E” moments.



by Stefano D'Alessio