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Tough Enough

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WWE Tough Enough (originally known as WWF Tough Enough) was a reality television show produced by World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) and MTV wherein participants underwent wrestling training and competed for a contract with WWE. There were two winners per season for the first three seasons but only a single winner for the fourth season. All three televised seasons aired on MTV. A fourth competition was held in 2004, but was integrated into UPN's WWE SmackDown!

Currently (as of November 3, 2007), the only Tough Enough winner still on the WWE roster is John Hennigan, wrestling as John Morrison on the ECW brand. He is the first Tough Enough contestant to win a major World Championship in WWE (though Tough Enough I winner Maven Huffman also held for a short period the WWF Hardcore Championship).

Together, John Morrison and The Miz are the current WWE Tag Team Champions; both of whom are Tough Enough alumni.

Contents

Tough Enough

Maven Huffman and Nidia Guenard won the first season of Tough Enough. Only two contestants were actually cut from the competition, the others who were eliminated voluntarily exited. Of the final five contestants, four would eventually join the Federation. Nidia was released from WWE on November 3, 2004, while Maven was released on July 5, 2005. The first season of WWF Tough Enough was released on DVD in 2002, as was the soundtrack.

Trainers

Contestants

  • Bobbie Jo
  • Chris Ni.
  • Christopher Nowinski (later joined the RAW brand, but suffered a severe concussion and retired)
  • Darryl Cross
  • Greg
  • Jason
  • Josh Lomberger (later joined the SmackDown! brand as an announcer)
  • Maven Huffman (winner)
  • Nidia Guenard (winner)
  • Paulina
  • Shadrick
  • Taylor Matheny
  • Victoria
  • Lunatic Luke

Order of Elimination:

  • Episode 3: Jason left because he could not sacrifice his girlfriend for being a WWF Superstar.
  • Episode 4: Victoria and Bobbie Jo both exited the competition; Victoria because she felt that she could not be a WWF Superstar; Bobbie Jo because she had no desire to become a WWF Superstar, she had intended to use the Federation as a stepping stone to get into Playboy Magazine instead.
  • Episode 5: Darryl was cut because he could not follow the trainer's instructions adequately, was sloppy in the ring, and did not get along well with the rest of the contestants.
  • Episode 6: Shadrick was cut because he could not keep up the pace with the rest of the group.
  • Episode 7: Paulina left because she tore a ligament in her knee and she decided that she needed to let it heal before further injuring it in the ring.
  • Episode 9: Greg left after he aggravated an injury in his spinal column.
  • Episode 10: Chris Ni. left because he felt guilty that he kept botching moves and injuring others; thus, decided Tough Enough wasn't the right place for him to be.
  • Episode 13: Taylor, Josh, and Chris Nowinski were all eliminated after Maven and Nidia were declared the winners of the first Tough Enough season.

Tough Enough 2

By the time the second season aired, the World Wrestling Federation had changed its name to "World Wrestling Entertainment" and the show was renamed "WWE Tough Enough." The second season winners were Linda Miles and Jackie Gayda. Linda was released on November 12, 2004 and Jackie was released on July 5, 2005. The announcement of Jackie and Linda as the winners offended members of the male finalists, who claimed that this was not what was promised when they signed forms to compete on Tough Enough, citing that the forms claimed there would be one male winner and one female winner. One male finalist called into WWE's then late-night Saturday/early morning Sunday show WWF Excess (later replaced by WWE Confidential), who aired his grievances over the decision the following week after the winners were announced. Current WWE wrestler, Shad Gaspard, member of the Tag Team Cryme Tyme, was scheduled to be one of the contestants on the show, but failed a physical therefore causing him to be replaced. John Hennigan makes his official debut during the auditions. Despite displaying well-tuned athletic ability, Hennigan's arrogance irritated the judges. It would be another year before Hennigan would make the show.

Trainers

Contestants

Order of Elimination:

  • Episode 3: Aaron was cut because he could not physically catch up with the rest of the group's speed. That caused him to pass out on the beach while exercising.
  • Episode 3: Robert was cut because he was struggling with all the physicality in and out of the ring; thus, he tired out more easily than others.
  • Episode 5: Danny was cut because he lacked of charisma while trying to perform an interview for the trainers.
  • Episode 6: Matt left because he tore a ligament in his right knee and his doctor told him it would not be safe to continue wrestling in the ring.
  • Episode 7: Alicia was cut because she had an injury and it hindered her from continuing to wrestle in the ring.
  • Episode 7: Jessie left because she was diagnosed with a heart condition.
  • Episode 11: Hawk left because he became concerned about his performance in the ring.
  • Episode 12: Pete and Anni were cut because they couldn't keep up in the ring as well as the others.
  • Episode 13: Jake and Kenny were eliminated after Linda and Jackie were announced the winners of Tough Enough 2.

Tough Enough III

The third series was won by John Hennigan and Matt Cappotelli. John, who wrestled for two years under the name Johnny Nitro, is now wrestling on WWE's ECW brand as John Morrison. He is a former ECW Champion and the first Tough Enough contestant to win a world championship in WWE. Matt was developing his talent further in the WWE development territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW), but was diagnosed with a brain tumor in December 2005, forcing him to step away from wrestling and relinquish his OVW Championship. The tumor was removed in 2007, although it is unknown whether Cappotelli will return to professional wrestling.

Melina Perez tried out for Tough Enough III and made it to the final twenty-five, but was cut from the competition. However, she met John Hennigan during the tryouts and they eventually began a romantic relationship. She now works for WWE as Melina on the RAW roster and became the first ever Tough Enough contestant to win the WWE Women's Championship. Both Shawn Daivari and Daniel Puder are seen on film during audition episode. Both made it to the final 75 of auditions, but were cut before they could make it to the training facility. Both men later went on as performers for the WWE.

Trainers

Contestants

Order of Elimination:

  • Episode 2: Jill quit after the very first day of training. The trainers were all annoyed and labelled her as a "quitter" because she never put forth her best effort.
  • Episode 3: Lisa left because she decided wrestling wasn't the right career for her (see below).
  • Episode 4: Chad was cut because of his lack of ability to keep up the pace with the rest of the group.
  • Episode 5: Rebecca left because she had a family emergency back at home and could not continue to pursue this competition.
  • Episode 6: Nick was cut because he had a shoulder injury and he lacked the ability to perform certain tasks in the ring.
  • Episode 7: Scott was cut because he didn't take the competition seriously; thus, he almost injured somebody because he kept botching moves.
  • Episode 8: Kelly was cut because she had a serious back injury and she was beginning to fall behind everybody else in terms of learning new moves.
  • Episode 11: Justin was cut because he lacked aggression in the ring as well as a competitive spirit.
  • Episode 14: Jamie, Eric and Jonah were eliminated when Matt and John were announced the winners of Tough Enough III.

Lisa's departure

In the cover story from the October 5, 2002 issue of the Pro Wrestling Torch Newsletter, it was revealed that contestant "Lisa" was removed from the show after what was referred to as a "psychotic breakdown". After being left at the house while the other contestants went out to dinner, she began throwing herself against the walls of the house, eventually breaking into the hidden MTV control room and working her way onto the roof. After being talked down by producers, she was committed to a hospital facility to receive psychiatric treatment. Her parents flew in from New Mexico to pick her up, but she physically attacked them, claiming she did not know them. She then escaped custody inside LAX, shutting down a wing of the airport until she was located. Again, she was hospitalised, but she was able to check herself out shortly after. She then contacted Tough Enough producers, claiming she was ready to return to the show. Producers informed her she had been removed from the competition due to her actions. The other contestants (and, subsequently, the audience) were initially told that Lisa simply decided wrestling "wasn't the right career for her".

Lisa then remerged in Louisville, Kentucky at the Ohio Valley Wrestling training centre, claiming that trainer Al Snow and producer John "Big" Gaburik had sent her for additional training, both in the ring and to learn further about the structure of the developmental territory system. At a series of shows in California in September 2002, she managed to talk her way backstage at a series of house shows, and was even allowed to assist with pyro for the wrestlers' entrances at a TV taping. One source even claimed that she had a face-to-face conversation with Vince McMahon, who was apparently unaware of her status with the Tough Enough program. Soon after, her photograph was circulated to security personnel and she was barred from any backstage areas.

$1,000,000 Tough Enough

The fourth Tough Enough competition was conducted as part of WWE's SmackDown! program between October and December 2004 in response to RAW holding the first annual "RAW Diva Search" contest. The prize was a $1,000,000 contract split evenly over four years with only the first year guaranteed. The winner of the fourth series, announced on December 14, 2004 and televised on December 16, 2004, was Daniel Puder, an American mixed martial artist. Puder competed in his second WWE pay-per-view event on January 30, 2005, being the third entrant in the 2005 Royal Rumble match. Soon after, he was sent to OVW before eventually being released in September 2005. The most notable incident from this competition came on the November 4] 2004, episode of SmackDown!, at the Savvis Center in St. Louis, Missouri, Kurt Angle challenged the finalists through a Squat thrust competition. The winner was Chris Nawrocki, and as part of the Kurt Angle Invitational, the prize Nawrocki won was a shoot match against Angle. After Angle defeated Nawrocki, Angle asked if anyone else wanted to try. Puder raised his hand and challenged Angle. During the match, Angle and Puder wrestled for position before Angle took Puder down, in the process, Puder locked Angle in a real submission hold, a Kimura. With Puder on his back, one of two referees in the ring, Jimmy Corderas, quickly counted three to end the bout, but some fans observed that during the pin, Puder's shoulders were not on the mat. Puder has claimed he would have snapped Angle's arm on national television, if Corderas had not ended the match. After the bell rang, Angle got in Puder's face about the incident and told him to "get out of (my) ring." A DVD of this fourth competition was released in 2005.

Other finalists were:

  • Nick Mitchell (later joined WWE, most notably as a member of the Spirit Squad but was released in May 2007)
  • Mike "The Miz" Mizanin (later joined WWE)
  • Chris Nawrocki (later signed a developmental contract but was released in 2005)
  • Justice Smith (currently a Gladiator on American Gladiators)
  • Ryan Reeves (later joined WWE, currently wrestles under the ring name "Ryback" in FCW )
  • Daniel Rodimer (later signed to a development contract but was released in August 2007)
  • John Meyer (selected as a finalist, but quit before the final selection stage began)

Marty Wright was cut before the finalists were selected for lying about his age. He was later hired by WWE, trained in OVW, before debuting on SmackDown! as "The Boogeyman." He suffered an injury not long after that and was eventually released. However, he was rehired in October 2006 to return as The Boogeyman. He is currently wrestling in ECW.

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