WWE Tough Enough: Hits & Misses

In this edition of The Wrestling Estate roundtable, we discuss the history of WWE Tough Enough.

What did you think of the concept of WWE Tough Enough?

Chad Gelfand: I loved the first three seasons of Tough Enough as far as the concept and from an entertainment perspective. While the show wasn’t a star-making factory, it was an entertaining reality show.

Neal Wagner: The concept behind Tough Enough was amazing for its time. Putting random people together in a house while training to be pro wrestlers was intriguing, creating some hilarious moments in and out of the ring. When brought back in 2015 at the Performance Center, it wasn’t the same.

John Corrigan: I loved it. When it premiered in 2001, I had only been watching wrestling for a year or so, and everything WWE produced I consumed. It was fascinating to see what it took to become a pro wrestler. Plus, the theme song rocked (later becoming Maven’s entrance theme).

Steven Jackson: WWE Tough Enough was a cool concept. It was something different when it first came about and being a young kid who at the time wanted to get into wrestling, it was sort of a gateway into what it takes. Obviously, it hasn’t stood the test of time and there is a lot of controversy surrounding the show. But at the time, being caught up in the zeitgeist, it was essential viewing.

Juan Bautista: Great concept, but severely lacking in execution. It should have been what the Ultimate Fighter was for UFC. They should’ve sent cameras to OVW and followed the trainees on their journey. Letting the audience see this shit isn’t easy would not only help the rookie class, but build the current stars even more.

Jack Goodwillie: I like the concept. When it first came to light, it was new and fresh, unlike anything we’d ever seen before. It was MTV’s The Real World meets The Ultimate Fighter, although WWE Tough Enough actually predates TUF. It also gave fans unprecedented access to what goes into putting on a successful wrestling show and becoming a successful professional wrestler. It was a lot of fun seeing the growth in some of the hopefuls from episode to episode, many of which came onto the show with minimal wrestling acumen.

What was your favorite season of WWE Tough Enough?

Gelfand: Season 1. The show was at its most authentic and you really got to connect with the personalities on the show like Maven, Chris Nowinski and Josh Mathews.

Wagner: I’ve watched all of them recently on WWE Network (before Peacock) and enjoyed them all, but season 1 was my favorite. It was fresh watching it again, too. One of WWE’s best ideas.

Corrigan: The first three seasons. I never watched Seasons 5 and 6, and that Million Dollar version was just a recurring SmackDown segment.

Jackson: Tough Enough 3 was the one I remember the most, especially with John Morrison and Matt Cappotelli winning.

Bautista: I really don’t have a favorite. The most interesting season is the Million Dollar Tough Enough because of all the talent that came from it.

Goodwillie: It may sound like a cop-out, but every season has its merits, not counting “Season 4” when they tried to send Tough Enough the way of the Diva Search. Season 1 has the benefit of being maybe the rawest season and having the original vision of the show behind it. Season 2 was the first to have not one, but two female winners and a more impressive contestant pool. Season 3 had the two most promising winners in the history of the show in John Hennigan and Matt Cappotelli. Season 5 was the most polished season of the show format, and Season 6, although flawed on so many levels, was worth it if only for Tough Talk, which sort of set the stage for WWE post-shows to come.

Who was your favorite host/trainer?

Gelfand: Al Snow. He brought a good mix of pushing the trainees, but also nurturing them. Stone Cold was a great host and I would’ve liked to see him have gotten another season.

Wagner: Al Snow was far and beyond the best trainer on the show. He would be your friend and encourage you one second, then turn army captain the next second.

Corrigan: Al Snow. WWE Tough Enough could have been a revival for his career, as we got to see him as more than a nutjob. He came across as a father figure, caring, yet strict. Unfortunately, WWE didn’t capitalize on Snow’s newfound popularity.

Jackson: The first set of runs, Al Snow. The second set of runs, Booker T.

Bautista: Stone Cold Steve Austin, just for that segment when he asked about the contestants’ favorite matches.

Goodwillie: “Mad Ass” Billy Gunn. Not really, but I do go back from time to time to watch Billy erupt on ZZ for his lackadaisical nature. Does anyone know what ZZ is up to these days? If I could be serious for a minute, Chris Jericho and Steve Austin are both “A+” host choices for any show, and that’s especially true for a wrestling reality show. They both bring credibility and charisma in spades, the two most important qualities of a good host for this type of thing (with a dash of humor, of course). In Austin’s case, I loved the way he would challenge the contestants throughout the process, and on the flip side, I loved seeing how hands-on Jericho was in helping those who were serious about becoming wrestlers improve.

Do you consider the show to be a success?

Gelfand: As a reality show that illustrated some of the rigors that wrestlers go through in training, it was good. As a star-making vehicle, not so much. Maven was very over coming out of the show, but that quickly faded after eliminating Undertaker at Royal Rumble 2002. However, Matt Cappotelli would have become a big babyface if his career wasn’t cut short due to cancer.

Wagner: Yes and no. While people still talk about it today as an entertaining show, it didn’t actually churn out stars. The only big names still around today are John Morrison, The Miz, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville and Kenny King, who ironically made his name outside of WWE.

Corrigan: Nope. Out of 75 contestants in the show’s history, only 25 achieved any semblance of success on the independent scene or on TV. As for the winners of each season, only John Hennigan has experienced a lengthy, fruitful career.

Jackson: The show wasn’t a success as it is not airing today. But certain talents who came through have gone onto big things inside and outside of wrestling, which is a success. What the show is most successful for is (as silly as it may sound) showing the darker side of wrestling training and some of the crazy people who are involved in the training process. Some of those people should not be anywhere near a wrestling event, let alone training upcoming talents.

Bautista: If you just look at the face value of providing stars, yes. When you consider every aspect of the show and how long it ran for, no.

Goodwillie: Yeesh. Well, I guess that depends on the definition of what a success is to WWE. If the goal of the show was to create bankable stars, it failed. If the goal of the show was to pop a rating, I suppose it succeeded, because as long as the show was airing it was always on the tip of everybody’s tongue. I can tell you the goal of the show was definitely NOT to introduce future stars to pro wrestling only for them not to win and find success regardless in WWE or elsewhere, but that’s actually what the show did best.

WWE Tough Enough is a big fat thumbs sideways. The show does a lot of things well, but was weak in so many other areas, too. The fan vote, while great in theory, was a mistake in the end. It kept people like Sara Lee and ZZ around for wayyy too long, and while they legitimately connected best with the audience, neither had any passion for the wrestling business, and that can be tough for the casual fan on the other side of TV Land to see. It shouldn’t be breaking news to anyone that Patrick Clark and Chelsea Green should have occupied those spots in the finale, and if they did, maybe people would think differently of Tough Enough.

Should WWE try Tough Enough again?

Gelfand: I wouldn’t be opposed to it as long as they go back to the MTV format of the contestants living in one mansion together, but I would have the contestants be independent wrestlers and Performance Center recruits with the prize being a main roster WWE contract.

Wagner: What’s old is new again. If done like the original, then yeah, it can be done again. You could even try it with a new set of recruits coming to the Performance Center. How would it had looked if the recent class with Taya Valkyrie was in the house with 10 others doing a Tough Enough show to earn your spot?

Corrigan: Nah, the show has proven it can’t produce enough stars to warrant the investment. If we’re talking about revivals on Peacock, though, I’m all for another Legends House.

Jackson: No. WWE is acquiring independent wrestlers today, who are making names for themselves, and recruiting talents of their own for NXT, which has become a successor to Tough Enough. It was of its time and needs to stay as a part of the WWE archives.

Bautista: No cause the fix is in. We already know a Performance Center project will get priority and they will be made to look good. It will end up like when Kevin Dunn tried to list everything wrong with John Morrison. John has everything a promoter would want, but they made him look bad.

Goodwillie: Yes. The cast is the most important component of the show. Ultimately, you want to find a mix of people from different athletic backgrounds, walks of life, etc. but they SHOULD all have a passion for wrestling. I get that ZZ was this funny, jovial guy who reminded everybody, including me, of a young Dusty Rhodes/Hulk Hogan Frankenstein, but it was also clear his product knowledge was limited to the point that there was a good chance he’d never get to where he needed to be. And because of characters like that, I don’t think a lot of fans take the show seriously.

It’s not for a lack of talent wanting to do the show, either. Off the top of my head, I know MJF and Brian Johnson both submitted audition tapes for the last season, and neither got a call back. At the end of the day, the show is supposed to be fun, so top it off with the right host (get Steve Austin back) and it should be harmless and fine, providing Peacock with more original content. That said, it should be in WWE’s best interest to want to find bankable stars through the show. That’s just called being efficient.