(Hollywood, CA) - Katherine is a mother of two from Duluth, Minnesota; Harold is a truck driver who calls Tampa home; and Cornelius is a 78 year-old grandfather hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

 

Any one of these three could be the lucky person to defeat Rey Mysterio, the fearless World Champion of World Wrestling Entertainment, in a new reality-television series being launched this fall by NBC.

 

The new program, entitled "Who Wants To Pin Rey Mysterio?", will feature 12 contestants, including Katherine, Harold, Cornelius and others, vying for a shot to go over the diminutive WWE superstar.

 

"This will be the opportunity for your average Joe or Jane, no matter which walk of life they come from, or what their background, to pin Rey Mysterio to the mat," WWE Chairman Vince McMahon said during the press conference.

 

According to show organizers, the competitors will spend the first part of the series facing "preliminary" WWE wrestlers such as Simon Dean, Scotty 2 Hotty and Matt Hardy. They will then work their way up the WWE ladder, facing mid-card talent including William Regal, Super Crazy and Matt Hardy. From there, remaining competitors will try their luck with main event talent such as Finlay, Finlay's Leprechaun and Matt Hardy.

 

"Call me crazy, but I like my chances in this competition," said Mark, another contestant, a 400-plus pound former weightlifter from Silsby, Texas.

 

Competitors will have the opportunity to learn wrestling skills from 7 foot giant The Great Khali -- who himself holds a victory over Mysterio -- over the course of the program. They'll learn interview skills from SmackDown microphone masters Steve Romero and Sharmell, both of whom have pinned Rey Mysterio in the recent past.

 

"I really don't mind; it's all in good fun," Mysterio, an affable San Diego native, said during the press conference. "This is nothing compared to some of the shit WCW used to put me through."

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Each week, competitors will be voted off by special judges Hardcore Holly, The Miz and The Boogeyman if they "don't have a certain look", don't wear business attire to the arena, or in the case of female contestants, if they refuse to strip in public. The remaining three competitors will be involved in an immunity challenge to avoid spending time in a shower with former WWE Champion John Bradshaw Layfield.

 

The show's finale will pit the remaining two contestants against each other -- not in a wrestling match, but in an obstacle course that will include translating the words of WWE Legend Dusty Rhodes, kissing up to talent-relations head John Laurinaitis and warding off the unwanted advances of third-generation superstar Randy Orton.

 

The winner will appear on a WWE pay-per-view, probably WrestleMania, and defeat Mysterio in record time.

 

"This will be a fantastic experience," McMahon promised. "I mean, everyone loves to root for the underdog."

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