CMT, Hulk Hogan Tag Team New Reality Wrestling Series

New Show Takes 10 Celebrities Into The Ring

By R. Thomas Umstead -- Multichannel News, 5/2/2008 1:15:00 PM

CMT will enter the pro wrestling ring as it teams up with wrestling icon Hulk Hogan to create an in-the-ring reality competition series scheduled to premiere this fall.

The eight-episode Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling series will train 10 celebrities to compete for the title of Celebrity All-Star Wrestling Champion. Each episode of the series will follow the celebrities (yet to be identified) as they go through the training, preparation and performance aspects of pro wrestling.

Hogan, one of World Wrestling Entertainment’s biggest stars over the past two decades, will team with former World Championship Wrestling executive Eric Bischoff and producer Jason Hervey to develop the show, according to CMT.

“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 in a statement.

Hogan’s no stranger to the reality show ring: he starred in VH1’s original series Hogan Knows Best, which ended its run last October. Over its four-season run, the series pinned down an average of more than 1.4 million viewers.

VH1 has green lit a spinoff of the series, Brooke Hogan Knows Best, which will focus on Hogan’s daughter and her aspirations to become a star in her own right.