Monday Night Mayhem radio with Jason Hervey
Hosts: Big Mosh, Blade, DFL
Available at MondayNightMayhem.com.

The Big Mosh and Blade welcomed Jason to the program, as fans around the globe are counting down the hours until the debut of "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling," debuting this Saturday night at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CMT. Blade characterized Jason as "a true human success story," and that childhood TV stars can either go "the way of Gary Coleman." Jason immediately stepped in, saying him and his business partner (Eric Bischoff) are in the process of working on a new reality project for truTV with Gary Coleman, so it is vital and important to "let some people mess up."

Jason described the cast of "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" as having "a lot of heart and dedication," and that everyone involved put their heart and soul into working on making this success. He added that it was special to see something that he and a lot of others worldwide love and take it very seriously. Jason said there were some times when he was on the set that he felt he had to "pinch" himself, as he did not think it was "work," and having the opportunities to not only work with Eric, but seeing Eric team up with Hulk Hogan in a non WCW/WWE project. Bischoff wrote in his New York Times best-selling book, "Controversy Creates Cash," that in business, you can be one of three things: "better than, less than, or different than." They, with this new show, want to be "different than," and he is excited to see where the success of "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" goes.

Hervey's introduction to the business came like many...as a fan. When he was one of the cast member of "The Wonder Years," Ted Turner had acquired the syndication rights for the program. He was doing some promotional work for the show down in the Atlanta, Ga. area, and there happened to be a WCW event around that same point in time @ The Omni. "I figured...What a great perk...I get to get free wrestling tickets now." Jason classified himself as "a mark for the business" growing up, and loved having the opportunities to be a part of World Championship Wrestling.

While in the midst of Mosh and Blade discussing the input of Hollywood and former TV writers on the world of professional wrestling and sports-entertainment today in the WWE), WWE superstar, Charlie Haas, happened to come out on Raw, parodying "The Immortal One" himself. To say the least, Jason (despite being on the three-hour delay from Buffalo, NY to Los Angeles, CA) got a kick out of Haas Hogan! Who wouldn't?

Blade jokingly asked Jason if there was any chance of seeing cameo appearances from his former "Wonder Years" co-stars, Danica McKellar ("Winnie") or Fred Savage ("Kevin") as part of "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling." Jason said that Danica is better suited as a math teacher at UCLA than "sweating it out" in a wrestling ring in South Central Los Angeles. However, Hervey held back no punches on Fred, comically adding "that would actually pretty entertaining...I'd like to see him get his ass kicked."

Jason wished to lay some rumors to rest, saying he was never a part of the WCW payroll, and that his relationship with Eric and minor role in WCW over the years was "a collaboration" of ideas with Bischoff himself: some being good (and making its way to the TV screen)...others not being as good. "Over a handful of Coors Light, they all sounded pretty entertaining."

Jason defines his mantra and attitude on behalf of those involved in "Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling" as being "humble and confidant." He strongly believes that by having your head down, being focused, and keeping the creative energies flowing will indeed get the best product possible. Hervey said that their sights are to not compete with the WWE, but to stay the course on their own show. He adds "there can be more," and he does not want their program to be so driven about going head-to-head with World Wrestling Entertainment so much so as to become "WWE Light" (which he partially characterizes TNA of being).

Their approach is different: they do not want to alienate the wrestling fans (and have no plans to do so), but want to include the fans of reality television that love compelling drama, storylines, and good characters. With regards to the heat that has been given to the list of competitors/celebrities involved, Jason wished to shoot directly to those critics/armchair quarterbacks: "It's not the celebrities that they are, it's the character they become."

As a teaser for this Saturday night's episode, Jason (without spoilers) said that the fans will see "some fish out of water moments" for the cast, and that you can expect some great drama, seeing Jimmy Hart, Eric Bischoff, and Hulk Hogan on television together for the first time in years, as well as "Nasty Boy" Brian Knobbs and Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake taking no prisoners on the celebrity competitors. "This is really good stuff."

More "Wayne" goodness is contained in this 30+ minute Mayhem exclusive, as Jason gave his uncensored thoughts and comments on the story behind the infamous angle with "Paul E. Dangerously" and being hit by Paul Heyman's cell phone at the Clash Of Champions 15 (and whose idea it actually was), how he drove Terry Funk "insane" at an early age, the evolution of his professional/business relationship with Eric Bischoff, what the fans can expect over the coming weeks from the CCW cast/crew (and which member of the show is a "walking encyclopedia" of wrestling knowledge), why he chose to not be a part of the cast directly, the reasons why Scott Baio truly is a ladies man, and his upcoming reality projects that are currently in development (featuring some "teen idols" from the '80's and '90's). Gary Coleman isn't the only one fans!

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