Vince McMahon talks to Variety about the new concept, which seems to be a cross between Tough Enough and the Ultimate Fighter - a reality TV show where eight Florida Championship Wrestling (WWE's developmental territory) rookies will each be paired up with a current WWE star who will mentor them and groom them for promotion to the main rosters of Raw and Smackdown.
However, with news that WWE were looking for Hollywood writers for their new show one can speculate at how real their "reality" show will be, maybe similar to Hogan Knows Best which was Hulk Hogan's completely contrived reality show. PWInsider.com has reported that the FCW wrestlers chosen for the show will include 10 year plus veterans Bryan Danielson and Low Ki, so it will be hilarious if WWE decides to portray them as a couple of no nothing greenhorns.
I think the format has promise even though it is being hashed together at the last minute (filming hasn't even started yet), if the FCW guys are paired up with genuine WWE stars who can give them the superstar rub. If they're just paired up with undercard acts that currently have nothing to do, I don't think the new show will live up to its full potential to draw ratings and create new stars. The proof will be in the pudding next week when the show debuts. Hopefully it won't be an unmitigated disaster like WWE's first ECW TV show. Who can ever forget the Sci Fi inspired Zombie!