Interview Highlights Eric Bischoff talks in depth about Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling, says he'd like to work on a reality project with Ric Flair Oct 4, 2008 - 05:05 PM Email This Article | Printer Friendly Page Send Us News & Results | Back to Main Listing Monday Night Mayhem radio with Eric Bischoff Hosts: Big Mosh, Blade, DFL Available at MondayNightMayhem.com. The Mayhem's Mosh and Blade welcomed Eric back to the show, and right off the bat, began to catch up and respectively discuss what Eric would like instead of a plaque for his 2007 Wrestling Radio Awards "Media Interview Of The Year" (co-hosted by The Mayhem's National Correspondent and Eric's former WCW colleague, Scott Hudson). Possibly some Sweet Sunshine Sauces, and/or Ilio DiPaolo's Marinara Sauces: both fully-endorsed by Monday Night Mayhem. Switching gears and onto business, Eric then said that he and the others involved in "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" are excited and anticipating the debut on CMT in two weeks on Saturday night, October 18th (airing at 8PM ET/7PM CT). He added that it could be a "game-changer" for them, so they are "waiting with baited breath." Mosh prefaced the last time Eric Bischoff and Hulk Hogan worked together on a project, it was for World Championship Wrestling, which at the time started beating the WWE at the time in the ratings. Mosh asked Eric what it's like to be working with "The Hulkster" again, but this time on a non-WWE or WCW role. Eric mentioned that him and Hulk have been good friends for almost 15 years, and that Hulk, his partner (Jason Hervey), and himself have been talking about getting back into the wrestling business for while. He then added that they did not want to get involved again unless it had an opportunity to make a big impact and be different, rather than a failed attempt to be considered "WWE Light." In promoting the upcoming first season of "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" both Blade and Mosh asked Eric what it was like to be able to work with "The Mouth Of The South" Jimmy Hart, "Nasty Boy" Brian Knobbs, and Brutus Beefcake again, along with the celebrity cast/crew involved (Dennis Rodman, Danny Bonaduce, Eric "Butterbean" Esch, Dustin "Screech" Diamond, Erin Murphy, Frank Stallone, Nikki Ziering, Tiffany, Todd Bridges, Trisha Cannatella, and Bubba "The Love Sponge") with the show. Eric said that it was a huge surprise with what the concept of the show was about, which he then described. He said that both he and Jason have been very successful with reality shows the past couple of years (including VH-1's "Scott Baio Is 45 and Single" and VH-1's "Scott Baio Is 46 and Pregnant"), and that they have figured out the "reality formula" in regards to what the audience likes to see. He went on to say that the challenge in "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" was to create a wrestling based show that reality show fans would appeal to, while at the same time appealing to the wrestling fan as well. "Achieving those goals was a real challenge for us, and we were successful." Eric went on to mention that celebrities have always been involved somehow in wrestling, and it has always been a big transition to get them to go from what they know (ex: football), to what goes on in the wrestling ring. He said that this was one of the concerns he had with the group of celebrities on this first season, in regards to how well they would be able to adapt to it, but he was surprised after seeing it work. He talked about the first episode and how amazed all of the judges were after just a day and a half of training. Eric then mentioned how hard the celebrities worked at what they did, instead of just "going through the motions," which also surprised him. Blade then asked Eric how they went about getting the cast of celebrities that they did and what he has to say to the people accusing the show of just being a bunch of "D-List" celebrities. Eric had a little laugh at the latter portion of the question, and mentioned that "Dancing With The Stars" is on network television, but do not have a lot of "A-List" celebrities. He said that a reality show demands a long period of a locked timeframe on a set, sometimes months at a time, which very few "A-List" celebrities even have time for. He then added that after it was all said and done, and how hard the celebrities they used worked, he was very happy with it. The important thing he was looking for in this first cast was personalities, which is "far more important" than the list of celebrity scale they are on. Blade asked Eric if it was a concern to them if the "spoilers" of the show were to be leaked with who won since the show has been finished for a few months. Eric said that they tried to "keep it under wraps," because it would have been disappointing if it was revealed beforehand, "but you can only do so much." He said that the celebrities are also professionals, so they would not try to reveal anything too soon, and taking the "steam" off of the show is not good for anybody, but "certainly it was a concern." Eric then gave The Mayhem's worldwide listening audience a little insight on the background of the show. He said that the celebrities were judged on several things, even though they did not have "Rey Mysterio-level matches." Eric then said that wrestling is "an art form," and compared an actor on a Broadway stage to a wrestler inside the ring, as both have to entertain the audience. He added that the celebrities were judged on how they used wrestling as an art form, how well they connected with the crowd, how well they sold moves, and used ring psychology -- not necessarily "how well they did an arm drag." Blade brought up the WWE's/MTV's "Tough Enough" reality series from a few years back and how "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" would be similar or different from it. Eric mentioned that he did see a few episodes of "Tough Enough," and said that he does not think it lasted on MTV, because the WWE was "conflicted." He said that by having a show on MTV that took people "behind the curtain" and somewhat exposed the wrestling business, it showed a whole new audience just how tough the wrestling business is, some of whom probably gained a little more respect for wrestling in general. But the "conflict" was that even though it has been revealed more to be "scripted" and "family-oriented," they did not want people to know how it was done. He then summed it up by saying "they wanted to show people what it took to be a pro-wrestler, but they were worried about it exposing too much," and he thinks it was the WWE's decision to stop producing the show to avoid diluting the product. Eric said that "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" is different, because they have experience and understand a reality-based show, which the WWE did not have. He said that in reality television, in order to be successful you need drama, the ability to capture that drama and specific techniques to catch the drama. He then said the only way the WWE was "reality" in Tough Enough was the fact that it was unscripted, which "technically is reality, but there was no formula." The Mayhem Crew then talked about how the industries of professional wrestling and sports-entertainment have changed/altered since Eric's last appearance on the program two years ago. With TNA shifting gears to high-definition, increasing its presence on Spike TV/worldwide events, and acquisition of new talent (including Mick Foley), and with World Wrestling Entertainment's SmackDown's move to a different network (MyNetworkTV), shifting its TV ratings to PG, as well as the upcoming silver anniversary of WrestleMania XXV, Mosh asked about the chances of "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" coming into the fold as a contender "promotion" more so than just a reality show. Eric said that he has been approached quite a few times by people with quite a bit of money and a justifiable reason that wanted to launch a wrestling show. He said that although some of the reasons were legitimate, he would tell those people that he would need a check for $100 million and 5 to 5 1/2 years to build a promotion that would be successful, and if they wanted it to take less than that in either money or time, "they're crazy." With that, he said he talked a lot of people out of losing a lot of money by getting into the wrestling business, but at the same time, it has been his goal to find a very good way to get back in, "not like how TNA is doing it." He added that "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" will be a step to get back into the wrestling business, and hopes it will launch a bunch of new ventures for them. What are Eric's thoughts on if Vince McMahon/the WWE and Dixie Carter/TNA view this project as real competition. The answers are only found exclusively on "Your Home Of Wrestling Radio." More goodness is found in this hour-long exclusive interview with Eric Bischoff: including his uncensored thoughts and takes on why he feels that "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling is "more entertaining" than some of the recent WWE programming, the highlights of the "Monday Night Wars" and why he does not look back/live in the past, why he strongly believes that Hulk Hogan appearing at WrestleMania XXV is "highly doubtful," why the match with Hogan/Steve Austin will more than likely never happen, when fans can possibly anticipate a biography being released on "The Hulkster." if he sees Brooke Hogan getting into the wrestling business (and if Hulk would let her), and why he would "very much look forward" to working again with Ric Flair in a reality business venture. You fans judge for yourself...Media Interview Of The Year: The Sequel/Part Deux for "The Bisch?" Check out www.BHE.TV (which will feature some exciting upcoming announcements, including spin-off's for "Nasty Boy" Brian Knobbs and Danny Bonaduce) and www.HulkHogan.com for more details on “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling," including the brand-new CMT website devoted to the program (www.cmt.com/shows/series/hulk-hogan-celebrity-wrestling/series.jhtml). Mark your calendars for Saturday night, October 18th, as the worlds of professional-wrestling and sports-entertainment will change forever! HELP SUPPORT DOT NET! BECOME A MEMBER AT OUR CHARTER RATE OF JUST $5 A MONTH - GET THE FIRST LOOK AT EXCLUSIVE INSIDER DOT NET NEWS, TONS OF EXCLUSIVE AUDIO SHOWS, MESSAGE BOARD ACCESS, START YOUR OWN BLOG, AD-FREE MAIN LISTING: SIGN ME UP (or MORE INFO) GOT AN IPHONE OR IPOD TOUCH? THEN BE SURE TO DOWNLOAD OUR NEW FREE iPhone APP: (click here!) 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