From Jeremy:
So for the first time in my entire life, I tuned my TV to CMT…and it took the return of Hulkmania to make me do it. I just couldn’t refuse myself the guilty pleasure of B List Celebs (in some cases C and D List) being tossed around the ring by old school ring vets.
It was fairly cheesy at times, the production seemed a little sub par, and Bischoff seemed to be trying too hard…or not hard enough perhaps. But I did enjoy the basic concept of the show, part “Tough Enough” part “Celebrity Boxing”. I enjoyed seeing them train, and hearing guys like Stallone and Bonaduce talk about the fact that “they really hit us” and “it actually hurts” much to their surprise it seemed. It was also fun to see Knobbs sucking wind harder than anyone in the ring during training.
The matches were pretty bad for the most part, but you expect them to be.
For me part of the appeal though is seeing which celebs are really into it, who has some talent and athleticism, who can work a crowd, who can sell, who can bump…it’s fun to see them develope. There were a few moments that worked well and looked pretty good in the ring, but I have to wonder if the crowd was prompted to start the “CCW CCW” chant?
Will I watch it again…I’ll never tell. Ok, I’m gonna watch it again…it caught my interest just enough to want to see who comes out on top, and from what I saw, I’m thinking Butterbean or Bonaduce could take it all. Plus in the intro we saw Todd Bridges yelling at Dustin Diamond that he was going to “kick his ass” this is a confrontation I must see…and I will be hoping and paying for a Gary Coleman run in…that’s what I’m talkin bout!
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From Benjamin
Being a life-long wrestling fan but not a fan of reality tv, I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect. However, knowing that Hogan was involved, I figured it would be pretty cheesy. And he didn’t let me down.
First of all, Bischoff and Hogan are taking this WAAAY too seriously. I understand that’s how they are, but this is a reality show for Pete’s sake. And what is the prize for winning this show? A championship belt? That’s it? How about an actual on-air match on RAW or Impact? Oh wait, the ‘legit’ companies wouldn’t go for that, would they? That’s why this show won’t be watched by hardcore wrestling fans nor will it ever be taken seriously. It has to be tied into either WWE or TNA for either
to happen.
Some other notes:
** Comparing Bonaduce to Brian ‘The Loose Cannon’ Pillman on the VERY FIRST episode? Are you kidding me? Maybe 2-3 episodes into the show, it might be appropriate, but on the first show? Not a chance. Don’t insult the legacy of Pillman like that.
** Dennis Rodman has wrestling experience. Is it fair to cast him? Doesn’t that give him an advantage over others? Of course it does. As of right now, he’s, by far, the favorite to win it all, with Bonaduce and Butterbean both a distant second. I was VERY surprised we didn’t hear ‘Rodzilla’ at some point. I’d have switched channels if I heard that.
** Bischoff, when choosing who to eliminate, he said they “wouldn’t have a shot in this business.’ AGAIN, he’s taking it too seriously and is trying to make the show as something it is not. It is NOT for a shot at a real wrestling contract. It’s for a belt…Geezzzz.
** Hogan calling Tiffany a jabroni? What an idiot. Before they even started training, I knew Tiffany would be the one to go home. She didn’t sound confident, she was obviously not in ‘wrestling’ shape and when she missed that turnbuckle headbutt, her pink slip was signed.
** Speaking of the training, I’d have liked for them to show more of the training rather than the full matches. Maybe I’m in the minority there, but I feel the training and the learning is the most important part. Make your matches much shorter and focus on getting to know them more as an individual and actually put some personality with each name and they’ll have more success.
My prediction on the rating of the first show? NO MORE than a 0.5. I’m thinking it’ll be more along the lines of a 0.4, but no chance they get higher than a 0.5. And unless some drastic changes are made to the scripting and what is shown on television, it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if the show was pulled before we see the finale.
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From Kevin:
Over all i thought the show was funny. I think how it goes with the inside look of professional wrestling but i think they have the wrong guys teaching it. Beefcake is out of it and knobs is just well knobs.. Sure they know the basics but they have to get in touch with the style of today not circa 85 which i read in another report. i think trishell does have the look she could be a decent WWE diva but eye candy only. Danny bonaduce or however you spell it looks like a natural in the ring along with rodman and screech surprised the hell out of me.. Butter bean is a white mark henry cant move and his ears are oddly shaped. Im interested to see what they have rvd and goldberg show them. Bridges should of been cut.. they should of let the other girl stay and practice. I remember one of the announcers saying Danny B is showing shades of the late great brian pillman… You got to be kiddin me. Pillman if he was a live would probably shoot that announcer. he is probably turnin in his grave right now. anyways my over all review is 7 out of 10… The girls suck except trishell.
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From Ed:
I watched the show and really enjoyed it. I like the fact that they did not hide wrestling being scripted. Bubba the love sponge talked about Rodman going to the second rope after the first training session. I remember he did sometime in WCW with the Macho Man. I will watch to see how it pans out, Danny is my pick.
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From David:
First, of the celebrities there, I have to say Danny Bonaduce has, by far, the most potential to be a great heel. Not a legendary heel, but definitely a good bit of entertainment.
Second, I found it very interesting that there was ZERO mention, and not even a hint, of Rodman’s WCW time. Not that it means much, but it is worth noting.
Third, am I the only one that noted the piped-in crowd effects? NO ONE in the crowd was chanting for Butterbean or anyone else. Someone else on WZ already pointed out that some of the signs were obvious plants. But, the artificial crowd noise went above and beyond the WCW “Goldberg” chants.
That said, I thought it was entertaining. I am planning to try to catch future episodes.
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From Travis:
Pros:
1) Interesting choices for some of the celebs. Most of them, the ones that I think will get the farthest at least, have some kind of personality issue (Bonaduce with drugs, Rodman with, uh, being Rodman, Diamond with being a douche, etc.) that makes them well suited for wrestling. It highlights the one thing that Hulk Hogan built his career on. He was big, but be wasn’t the biggest. He wasn’t the smartest, he wasn’t the best wrestler in the ring. But he had that charisma and was a good PERFORMER. That’s what they are looking for: the best performer.
2) Interesting format. I’m glad they didn’t go with the Tough Enough Physical Challenge aspect for eliminations. Because let’s be honest, despite the winners’ fitness levels, how many great wrestlers did Tough Enough produce for the WWE? What, maybe, one? Maybe the three moves at a time over a day or so is a little bit lacking, but they aren’t exactly training for the WWE or even TNA here.
3) The live crowd. I don’t know if they “WCW Main Event”-ed it and put the “boo/applaud” sign up, but the crowd was really behind the matches, even though they weren’t exacltly of the highest quality.
4) I like the fact they let you know that wrestling is, in fact, choreographed. The inclusion of little terms that non-internet smarks might not know is a good step.
Cons:
1) Some of the celebs are instant vote-offs. If you watched it, then you probably already have a list in your head as to who won’t survive the first few weeks. And it’s probably the exact same list that I have.
2) The matches. This is the problem with giving people three moves to learn a week and tossing them to the wolves in a couple of days: They look sloppy. Yes, it’s celebrities, sure, but with even another day or so of training, or even a day dedicated to watching tapes, they all could have done a lot better. But hell, with the learn three moves setup, the celebs should be able to recreate any of Hogan’s matches with no problems by the end of the third week.
3) Bubba The Love Sponge’s commentary. Epic failure.
4) Bischoff. Either a) he has been playing that character for too long or b) he really is that big of an asshat. I don’t know which way to vote, but he really needs to turn the arrogance down from eleven to six.
5) Rodman. Having been in the ring before, even if only a couple of times, he should have been a better worker. He was as stiff as the Washington Monument in the ring and I was actually scared that he was going to hurt Dustin Diamond.
Overall I’ll probably watch a few more episodes to see where they are going with it. It has potential to be an interesting reality show just for the personalities, if nothing else. Because I never thought I would say this but: Danny Bonaduce is the most scarily intense man on the planet at the moment.
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
