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I watched the last half of Hogan's CCW and reviewed that portion of the broadcast on the Radican Audio Showcase yesterday with co-host Derek Burgan. I aired my complaints about several areas of the show, but above all things, we both agreed that our vision of how great Hogan's CCW was going to be was similar to what we thought it was going to be like watching the Cena-Batista match at SummerSlam.

Our expectations of what was to come with "Hogan's CCW" with the smug Eric Bischoff, the snake Hulk Hogan, and the wacky Jimmy Hart were through the roof. What we both thought after seeing the broadcast was that much like the Cena-Batista match, Hogan's CCW simply did not match our expectations.

I shamefully admit that I watch a lot of reality T.V. Danny Bonaduce and Dusty Diamond, two of the cast members of Hogan's CCW this season, are what I would call "Reality Television All-Stars. Danny Bonaduce starred in "Breaking Bonaduce" where his life became unglued right in front of my eyes on VH1. Bonaduce's substance abuse issues, including the abuse of steroids and alchohol, were at the forefront during this time and his downfall made for spectacular television, although you couldn't help but feel bad for him as his marriage fell apart.

Dustin Diamond for the past two years has been one of the greatest heel characters on television as a cast member of "Celebrity Fit Club" and "Celebrity Boot Camp." His selfish actions and clashes with Drill Sergeant Harvey Walden have made for compelling television. Diamond did his best for the last two years to make the lives of well-meaning D-list celebrities looking to lose weight miserable.

Trishelle Cannatella, from the "Real World Las Vegas" was also a former reality favorite of mine that I was looking forward to seeing on "Hogan's CCW." Her great ability to come off like a complete slut translated well on television during her time on the real world and I was looking forward to seeing if she was still a train wreck years later as a member of this cast. As for the rest of the cast, they haven't proven their worth on reality television as of yet.

I thought to myself before the show that it couldn't get better than Brian Knobbs and Brutus Beefcake as the head trainers. I envisioned someone playing a rib on Beefcake by leaving white powder all over the ring. Knobbs, who has been a blast to watch on Hogan Knows Best, lost all his mojo, as he's been cast as a serious trainer.

So with Hogan, Bischoff, Hart, alongside a cast of several of my favorite reality television stars, you can only imagine how high my expectations were for the premier of "Hogan's CCW." The first half of the show was better than the second half, but that's not saying much. I was expecting to see personality conflicts and bickering, but what I watched was a cast of mostly bland personalities getting trained to learn how to wrestle.

The producers walked a fine line of respect and contempt for what they were presenting. At times I felt Hogan, Bischoff, and Hart came off like they were above what they were doing on this show, especially during the segment of the show where both teams put on a match in front of the judges. Beefcake's delivery was so over the top that it came off as forced. Instead of Hogan dishing out stern lectures and Bischoff being smug, both came off like they would be rather doing anything else than taking part in the show.

Bubba The Love Sponge wasn't good on commentary. I've heard great things about him, but his commentary didn't match what I was watching on my television screen. He said Dennis Rodman had been rough in training, but the viewers were never shown anything on this broadcast where he hurt the people he was training with. Bubba threw out insider references at a rapid pace that needed to be better explained to the mainstream viewing audience. It was simply on odd division and something that could have easily been fixed since the commentary was added in post-production.

The producers did a good job of creating a festive atmosphere during the wrestling matches, but the celebrities looked terrible in their bland outfits, especially Tiffany, who should win a "Worst Wardrobe" award for her grey ensemble. The training segments with Knobbs and Beefcake leading their respective teams were interesting, but I found it odd that the celebrities seemed to know more than they had been taught by their trainers.

When it came time to make a cut at the end of the show, the eliminations were lame. Bischoff and Hart went through the motions delivering their lines to let a few of the celebrities up for elimination know that they were safe until next wee. Bischoff was particularly lame when addressing Cannatella. I expected more from Hart, Hogan, and Bischoff and was totally let down by their performance.

The biggest complaint I have with the show, besides its lack of entertainment value, is the complete lack of any meaningful reward for being the "winner" of the show. The "winner" gets the CCW Championship belt. Bonaduce at one point said he coveted belt. I said, "Who cares" when I heard of the "reward" for winning the show. Why would you covet something that you could go out and buy easily?

Some of the preview clips for what is to come later in the season showed some promise, but I'm on the verge of not watching "Hogan's CCW" unless there are some major improvements made in the coming weeks. There's a fine line between respect and contempt, which the judges and cast members are finely walking. At times, it seemed like the producers were conveying a lack of respect for the wrestling business. At other times, especially during the segments with Nikki Ziering, who showed a complete lack of interest in what she was doing, the show seemed to cross the line and disrespect the business. After all, if what was going on during this show was real, Knobbs would have been shown dropping a deuce in Ziering's bag?

Perhaps the guest celebrity appearances by Goldberg and RVD will spice things up. Maybe Todd Bridges will melt down and show us what happens when he gets angry. What needs to happen is the volume with personalities involved in this show to go way up. Until then, the show should be called "Hogan's Boring Wrestling Reality Show guest starring Hogan's Friends."

Sean Radican and Derek Burgan deliver state-of-the-art wrestling audio each and every weekend exclusively at PWTorch.com/members. When not writing his obnoxiously successful "Tales from the Pulpit," Sean collects matches to help Derek burn bridges. Contact him at PWTorchSean@gmail.com.

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