It's been five years since "Tough Enough" ended its run on MTV, a victim of declining ratings & network interest, coupled with certain veteran wrestlers in the WWE locker room objecting to the series because it "exposed the business". Never mind that we're now in the 21st century, some traditions, it seems, were meant to be upheld in the minds of those veterans. "TE" was reincarnated in a scaled down version implemented on Smackdown 18 months later, but didn't move the ratings up.

Eric Bischoff was employed by WWE at the end of "TE"'s run. Hulk Hogan has been in and out of the loop because of a on again-off again, love-hate relationship with Vince McMahon. You would think, however, that these two would've learned a valuable lesson from the demise of "TE", that a similar project just isn't going to work. However, common sense has never stopped Hogan from doing what is best for Hogan first and the public second, with Bischoff tagging along for the ride. Never mind that Hogan has had his reputation tarnished in recent months, he's already proven that he's still a ratings draw, and anything associated with him, pitched to a television network, will likely get the green light.

"Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Wrestling", produced by Bischoff and his business partner, former actor Jason Hervey (ex-"The Wonder Years"), is due for a summer debut on CMT, a sister network of VH1, home of "Hogan Knows Best" and "Scott Baio is 45 (now 46) and Single", the latter produced by Bischoff & Hervey. There had been speculation as much as less than a month ago that Hogan & Bischoff were shopping the idea of a new wrestling promotion, and the critics sniffed that it was just Hogan trying to weasel his way back to WWE for Wrestlemania. It wasn't enough that the Hogan-hosted revival of "American Gladiators" was a huge hit for NBC, and already renewed for a 2nd season. Hogan just wants to put another dent in Vince McMahon's armor. However, "Celebrity Wrestling", coming about 5-6 years after Fox tried "Celebrity Boxing", might be a bigger risk. "Gladiators" was already established as a brand name when shopped to NBC. Adding Hogan to the mix cemented the deal.

They're planning a casting call in the next few weeks for "Celebrity Wrestling", and it'll be interesting to see just who takes the bait and decides to get in the ring with "The Hulkster". I can think of a few names, but I'll withhold saying further until we find out just who will be on the show. Seeing as how "Hogan Knows Best" was repurposed on CMT, and briefly on MTV, I'd not be surprised if "Celebrity Wrestling" ended up on VH1 as well. MTV? Not so much. Remember, they crapped on their last project, Wrestling Society X, by sitting on the tapes for a year before putting the show on the air. You'd have a better chance of seeing "Celebrity" on CBS than MTV at this stage.

So what prompted Hogan & Bischoff to give this a try? How about the long-term success of Ultimate Fighter on another Viacom channel, Spike TV? "Fighter" is headed for its 7th cycle, starting next month, which means it's gone twice as long as "Tough Enough" did, and has been more successful. "TE", it can be said, might have been ahead of its time, and since Vince McMahon doesn't want to revisit the concept, that's not stopping someone else from trying.

Condolences to the family of former World Class & WCW manager "Playboy" Gary Hart, who passed away yesterday. We'll see if WWE does anything in the way of a memorial graphic at the start of or during Raw.

It's been a bad week for Jeff Hardy. First, he loses the Intercontinental title to Chris Jericho last Monday on Raw, then after the show is suspended until May for violating the Wellness policy for the 2nd time in less than a year. On Friday, his home in Cameron, NC burned to the ground, killing his dog in the process. Jeff, it's been reported, lost everything in the fire. If there's a positive, it's that the fire, and not the suspension, should be the wakeup call Hardy needs to save his career from total ruin.