Trishelle Cannatella discusses Hulk Hogan’s CCW, WWE vs. CCW, The Miz and More

The fifth eliminated contestant from CMT’s “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling,” “The Red Hot Redneck” Trishelle Cannatella, was a special guest on this week’s special edition (11/24/08) of Monday Night Mayhem, hosted by The Big Mosh & Blade. “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” is officially presented by ReelWrestling.com: the latest & hottest innovation from the coverage of professional wrestling online, and features exclusive video found nowhere else from your favorite superstars of the squared circle & Custom Muscle: the official nutritional & supplement company of “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” (purchase over $50.00, type in the word GRAND, & get 10% off your purchase), and is also sponsored by: Old Time Wrestling, The History Of WWE.com, TicketRelief.com, & Serenity’s Treasures (all new customers receive 20% off your purchase $20 & over through December 3rd)…the right place to shop for wall art|wall ornaments & gift ideas for any occasion. In addition, The Mayhem strongly encourages all of its fans around the globe to check out the brand-new & official WWE Universe Fan Nation blogs of Charlie Haas (www.fans.wwe.com/CharlieHaas) & D-Lo Brown (www.fans.wwe.com/D-LoBrown).

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Trishelle’s first-ever MNM appearance is now available for FREE in Windows Streaming Media, or via the official Monday Night Mayhem podcast on ITunes:

November 24th MNM Streaming Audio: www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/waxfiles/112408.wax

November 24th MNM Podcast On ITunes: www.mondaynightmayhemarchives.com/nov08/112408.mp3

Here are some highlights of Trishelle’s interview on the show, provided by The Mayhem’s host, John “The Big Mosh” Masiulionis:

Trishelle was welcomed aboard the program, and “The Red Hot Redneck” wished to thank The Mayhem Crew for their paying such close attention to detail, as they played some Cajun music for her MNM show intro. Despite not being able to go home for Thanksgiving this year, she felt close to home, thanks to “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio.”

The Big Mosh & Blade asked Trishelle about her recent elimination from CCW, after the “hardcore” element was introduced into the show. Trishelle wanted to defend herself, saying that she is “a hardcore chick,” and that she normally has no problems dishing or taking out any punishment. However, after taking a steel chair for the first time (by “Nasty Boy” Brian knows), she felt intimidated by that. This indeed “got to her,” as the wind was knocked of her, and unfortunately, that one incident got into her head. Trishelle went on record with The Mayhem saying that she was disappointed of being eliminated, and that without a doubt, she “is tougher than Dustin Diamond.” She felt pretty embarrassed that she did not do as well as she could have with her hardcore match.

After the elimination of Tiffany, Erin Murphy, & Nikki Ziering, Trishelle has the honor of being the “last woman standing.” Mosh asked if there was any intimidation on her end being the only girl left in the competition & if that contributed to any downfall of her state of mind. Trishelle said that she prided herself in learning all of the moves & keeping up with the rest of the cast as much as she could. But she feels that might have not necessarily been the case with a few of her fellow castmates, including Dennis Rodman (who she described as just “hitting people”). Based on this, she does not feel that her being eliminated from the show was fair.

One of her goals to prove to the CCW fans was that she was not in this for the wrong reasons, as she classifies herself as a fan of wrestling for many years. She credits this being one of the many reasons that she was introduced to the initial concept/idea of “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling.” “Most girls play with Barbies…I loved wrestling. I’m from the South. I played with a lot of boys growing up…We watched wrestling.” Two of her idols & heroes growing up were Hulk Hogan & Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake. She looked up to Miss Elizabeth growing up (during her teaming w/”The Macho Man” Randy Savage). Trishelle was glad the opportunity was presented to her to be a part of CCW, simply because of following the business as long as she has since she was a girl.

As fans of CCW know, Trishelle was transformed into her character & persona of “The Red Hot Redneck.” Going into the show, she knew that she wanted to be an extension of herself: a hardcore, Southern girl. She also wished to give credit where credit was due to the co-executive producer of CCW, Jason Hervey (who she called “brilliant”), who took her ideas & molded them into “The Red Hot Redneck.”

During “The Mistress Of Mayhem” Erin Murphy’s appearance on The Mayhem, she told both Mosh & Blade that she began watching tapes & DVD’s of both Trish Stratus & Lita while preparing for CCW. The question was posed to Trishelle who she tried to emulate her style after. She said that she loved Chyna & what she did during her career. She also did have the pleasure of meeting Stacy Keibler during one of her Maxim Magazine autograph signings, and loved the fact that someone with a similar build to her was able to have a successful run with in the business.

The “armchair quarterbacks” & critics of CCW have been out there over the past few months, calling the celebrities involved “washed-up” & “C-list.” Mosh asked Trishelle for her takes on the “haters” of the show & to those who feel that way. Trishelle said that, living in Los Angeles, she knows a lot about reality television & television in general. She continued on by asking those critics if they would say the same thing to P. Diddy or 50 Cent, both of whom have new reality shows. “If you call Hulk Hogan washed-up, then you have something wrong with yourself.” She laid out a challenge to anyone who thinks they can do what she or any of the CCW contestant did to step inside the squared circle themselves. “It’s not easy at all.”

The hottest news of the past week has been the WWE’s reported “heat” with the CCW brass, the reported cease & desist letter sent by the WWE to Bischoff-Hervey Entertainment for the use of the name, Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake, in the show, as well as “Nasty Boy” Brian Knobbs reportedly receiving a phone call from WWE management instructing them not go near any WWE talent. The Mayhem’s Mosh & Blade asked for her thoughts, as she voiced her frustration on this “hot” subject matter: “Personally, I think Eric Bischoff is the biggest @sshole I have ever met in my life. Eric is a huge d*ck. But, I think he is a brilliant d*ck. And I think that McMahon is just jealous about the fact that he did not think of the show before…He should not cry that Eric had a good idea for a show, and that he got Hulk & everyone involved. He needs to just shut his mouth. It’s not a big deal.” She does love the drama of the wrestling business. “Drama sells & keeps people watching…We welcome it.”

Switching gears & coming off the heels of the recent success that Trishelle’s former “Real World” colleague, The Miz, had achieved, Mosh asked Trishelle if she would describe The Miz or her former colleague on VH-1’s “Surreal Life,” Vanilla Ice. Her reply was quick, going “absolutely” in favor of The Miz. “You never know what you will get.” She is not surprised on the worldwide success that he has received in his WWE career. “The Miz was a wrestler who just so happened to be on The Real World. He was never a Real World person who became a wrestler. He was always that persona. He was always himself. He just evolved as The Miz.”

In closing, Trishelle said that the possibilities of a CCW tour “would not be out of the question for her, as she has some unresolved issues with the cast. “It would better to resolve those in the ring.” This, in addition to continued discussions with MTV for some new reality programming & working with UltimateBet.com for some online poker projects, has kept her schedule very busy to this point, with more of “The Red Hot Redneck” to come in 2009.

More is contained in this 30+ “Sweeps Month” interview w/Trishelle, including her uncensored comments on if she would have taken a WWE Diva contract offer, if she would be against a reunion of her & The Miz in World Wrestling Entertainment, which of the CCW cast members she became the closest with, her love of wrestling magazines, why she feels MTV is “played out now,” memories of working with William Hung, how she will be spending her Thanksgiving holiday weekend, & if she was pleased with the release of Guns ‘N’ Roses “Chinese Democracy.” The release of the much-anticipated album is now over, and are Trishelle’s thoughts on it the same as Blade’s? The only way to find out is by feeling The Mayhem!

Don’t forget that “Your Home Of Wrestling Radio” will have you fans covered from pillar-to-post on all of the latest exclusive news from “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling”…all the way into the season finale of the show next Saturday night, December 6th! Check out www.MondayNightMayhem.com for our exclusive interviews with the four voted-off CCW contestants (Tiffany, Frank Stallone, “The Mistress Of Mayhem” Erin Murphy, & Nikki Ziering), as well as www.cmt.com/shows/series/hulk-hogan-celebrity-wrestling/series.jhtml, www.HulkHogan.com, & www.BHE.TV for even more details on “Hulk Hogan’s Celebrity Championship Wrestling.” Tune in to an all-new episode of CCW this Saturday night @ 8PM ET/PT, and find out who will be eliminated next!

Stay tuned to www.MondayNightMayhem.com over this Thanksgiving holiday weekend for “the mother of all announcements,” as we begin our holiday programming this Monday night, December 1st (@ 8PM ET/7PM CT). You don’t wanna’ miss this one…brother!