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Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling will debut tomorrow, Saturday 10/18 at 2PM and 8 PM Eastern for CMT. The series, which will run for eight episodes, will feature Brutus Beefcake and Brian Knobbs "training" (the actual training was done by California independent stars, including Joey Ryan) teams of celebrities in the art of professional wrestling. The celebrities will then perform matches and be judged by Hogan, Jimmy Hart and Eric Bischoff. The series was filmed this past summer in Los Angeles.
The "Celebrities" taking part in the series are:
*Todd Bridges (Diff'rent Strokes, Everybody Hates Chris)
*Dennis Rodman (who headlined two WCW PPVs and an Australia tour as a pro wrestler).
*Butterbean (Yes, he who knocked out Bart Gunn at Wrestlemania XV)
*Danny Bonaduce (radio personality, The Patridge Family, VH-1 reality)
*Dustin Diamond (Screech from Saved by the Bell fame, who is a huge wrestling fan and has appeared for Memphis Wrestling)
*Erin Murphy (Tabitha from Bewitched)
*Frank Stallone (Sly's brother)
*Tiffany (1980s pop star, most recently seen on VH-1's Celebrity Fit Club)
*Trishelle (MTV's Real World reality star)
*Nikki Ziering (Playboy model)
The series, which will feature appearances by former WWE and ECW champion Rob Van Dam and former WCW World champion Bill Goldberg, appears to be designed as an amalgamation of VH-1's Surreal Life, WWF's Tough Enough and the UFC Ultimate Fighter reality series.
For more on the series, click here.
CMT's original press release on the series reads:
CMT GETS IN THE RING WITH HULK HOGAN TO ANNOUNCE "HULK HOGAN'S CELEBRITY CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING"
New Eight Episode Series Premieres Fall 2008
NASHVILLE May 2, 2008 - CMT teams-up with Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff (Former President of World Championship Wrestling) and producing partner Jason Hervey in a celebrity fueled reality wrestling competition slated to premiere this Fall. HULK HOGANS CELEBRITY CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING will train ten adventurous celebrities who, through various exhilarating challenges and elimination matches, will compete for the title of "Celebrity All-Star Wrestling Champion."
Each episode will take the viewer through the training process, preparation and performance aspects of professional wrestling. In addition to starring in the series, Hogan will also serve as Executive Producer.
"The CMT audience loves professional wrestling, so a show where superstar Hulk Hogan trains celebrities, gets them into character and into the ring, and really pulls back the curtain on how intense, colorful and difficult it is to be a champion, is a big win for us and our viewers!" said Bob Kusbit, Head of Development for CMT.
"I am excited to have this opportunity at CMT to get the chance to run wild with their audience. As I looked at the sports entertainment landscape, I realized it was time to shake things up from the traditional formats people have become used to seeing.
The audience is ready for something different and more contemporary, and through my partnership with BHE and CMT, that's exactly what were gonna do" said the legendary Hulk Hogan.
The eight episode series will include dramatic team challenges and training scenarios, as the ten celebrities are divided into two teams of five, trained by two former professional wrestlers and judged by a dynamic trio that includes Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and another judge yet to be determined. Not only will the cast be confronted with physical challenges, but they'll also be put to the test emotionally during intense training. HULK HOGANS CELEBRITY CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING will provide celebrities with the opportunity to fulfill the fantasy of becoming a wrestler and proving their passion in the weekly exercises and challenges.
HULK HOGAN'S CELEBRITY CHAMPIONSHIP WRESTLING is based on a concept by and executive produced by Hulk Hogan, Eric Bischoff and Jason Hervey and is being produced through Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment. Melanie Moreau and Bob Kusbit are executive producers for CMT.
CMT, a unit of Viacom's MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music, reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network's digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
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