Tag: Tough Enough

  • NXT Preview For Next Week, Tough Enough Injury Update, Stephanie Hosts Rally

    – WWE Tough Enough competitor Chelsea suffered an ankle injury earlier this week and visited with doctors on Saturday. WWE posted the following photo of her getting checked out.

    https://instagram.com/p/5SC-oPzCZG/

    – Stephanie McMahon, Renee Young, Big E., Xavier Woods and Natalya hosted an anti-bullying rally at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Stamford, Connecticut this week. Below are some photos from the event.

    – Below is a preview for next week’s edition of NXT on the WWE Network.

  • Seth Rollins Trashes Tough Enough Cast, Fires Back At Johnny Mundo & More

    WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins recently appeared as a guest on the PodNasty Wrestling Podcast. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

    On upcoming match against Brock Lesnar being the biggest of his career: “I feel like I’ve had a lot of ‘biggest matches of my career’ up until this point. I would say this one is certainly special. I mean, there’s not a lot of guys who get the opportunity to go one-on-one with Brock Lesnar at this point in his career, so to be one of those guys to main event a pay-per-view with Brock Lesnar over a very prestigious title it all adds up to being certainly one of if not—I’ll leave that up to you and the other media pundits to decide what is the biggest match of my career—but it certainly ranks up there with the very, very biggest of my career.”

    On the U.S. title vs. the WWE title and competing with John Cena: “(The WWE World Heavyweight Championship) is (the most dominant title in the company) no matter what, no matter who is wearing what other title, this is the big boy, this is the one that everybody wants and if John (Cena) tells you any different he’s a liar,” said Rollins.

    “But the bottom line, though, is that I’m always competing with John Cena, John’s a guy who has set the bar extremely high for the past 10, 12-15 years, he’s a guy who—not only in the ring, but outside the ring—is an example of what a WWE Superstar should be and he has put in the work over that period of time to prove that and that’s definitely something I strive to be as well. I strive to have that work ethic and instill that in people around me the way John has over the past decade and a half so I’m always competing with John Cena in my mind, but my title is the title and there’s definitely no doubt about that.”

    On Tough Enough contestants not standing out: “Not one person stood out to me (on Tough Enough. Not a single one, nope, not one. I went down there and I tried to help them out, give them a few pointers here and there, let them know what it takes to be a star but, let me tell you, those kids got it easy.

    “They don’t know anything about anything when it comes to putting in the time, they think they’re going to get through this little three-month course and they’re going to be WWE Superstars and they’re going to be famous, and rich and travel the world. That’s not how it works, it’s a whole lot of hard work and I think they’re going to figure that out along the way, or they’re going to fall by the wayside. For me, I didn’t see a whole lot, maybe as they move along in the process they’ll show more personality and a little more guts, but for now I’m not holding my breath.”

    If there will be any tension between Tough Enough winners and WWE/NXT talent: “Absolutely, that’s what I’m talking about. Tough Enough is phenomenal, it’s great, don’t get me wrong. It pushes WWE out into the masses and everyone can see it’s physical and they get an inside look at kind of what it’s like to be a WWE Superstar,” said Rollins.

    “But at the same time you’ve got to understand that’s not all that it takes, you don’t just get to be on a reality gameshow and all of a sudden you’re just a top star in 12 weeks. They’re going to have to put in a lot of time, and a lot of hard work, and they’re going to have to sacrifice a lot of relationships, they’re going to be injured often, it’s going to take a toll on them physically and emotionally that they’re not prepared for and I think it will be very interesting to see who comes out of Tough Enough, who really is Tough Enough I guess when you look at it. Who’s going to come out of it alive and who’s going to make a success out of themselves?”

    On John Morrison recently stating he would destroy Seth Rollins in everything: “If I’m not mistaken, I believe John Morrison is a zero-time WWE World Heavyweight champion. Mind you, zero. As in never once did he win the big one. And I’m, what, not even three years into my WWE career and I’ve already won Money in the Bank, won the WWE title at WrestleMania, first-ever NXT champion so there’s a lot of things that I’ve already destroyed John Morrison at and if John Morrison thinks he can take me in any of those endeavors, I would love for John Morrison to step up and say something like that to my face.”

    Check out the complete interview above.

  • Tough Enough Contestant Goes Down With Injury, Y2J Breaks Down The Battles, Stephanie At ESPN Awards

    – It was revealed this afternoon on the official Instagram account of Tough Enough that Chelsea Green suffered an injury to her ankle during today’s challenge.

    BREAKING: Chelsea goes down with an ankle injury during today's challenge #ToughEnough

    A photo posted by WWE ToughEnough (@wwetoughenough) on Jul 15, 2015 at 11:49am PDT

    Tanner carries Chelsea away after she was tended to by the on-site medical staff #ToughEnough

    A photo posted by WWE ToughEnough (@wwetoughenough) on Jul 15, 2015 at 12:13pm PDT

    – Following the conclusion of the promo battle at the Improv, Chris Jericho dissects which of the Tough Enough competitors he believed shined and what Sara and ZZ need to do to step up going forward.

    – Stephanie McMahon joined ESPN’s inaugural Sports Humanitarian of the Year Awards in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday. Click here for WWE’s photos from the event.

  • Daniel Bryan Praises Tough Enough (Video), Preview For Next Week’s Tough Enough

    – Daniel Bryan praised this week’s edition of WWE Tough Enough as the best episode of the season thus far. Check out Bryan’s comments in the video below.

    – The following is the official preview for next week’s edition of Tough Enough:

    “Eat Your Heart Out: Peace talks between Nikki and Eva end very badly; Nattie takes a risk on stage; Paige is brought to tears during her first WrestleMania; and Brie and Bryan receive the results of their fertility testing.”

    – Below is a video of Gabi Castrovinci, the contestant who was eliminated this week, saying her final goodbyes.

  • Tough Enough Elimination For This Week, Ric Flair Cries Watching RAW (Video)

    – Gabi Castrovinci was the contestant eliminated on this week’s edition of WWE Tough Enough. The final three on this week’s show were Sara Lee, Tanner and Gabi. There are now nine competitors remaining going into week five.

    – WWE posted the above clip of Ric Flair getting emotional as he watched his daughter Charlotte make her official main roster debut at Monday’s WWE Battleground “go-home” edition of RAW in Atlanta, Georgia.

  • Name For Sasha Banks’ Stable, Update On Lesnar vs. Rollins, More

    – The new Diva trio of Naomi, Tamina and NXT Women’s Champion Sasha Banks are going by the team name of “Team B.A.D. (Best at Dominating).”

    – With Kane suffering a storyline leg injury during RAW last night and J&J Security being out of action indefinitely, the idea is that Seth Rollins has no back-up going into his WWE World Heavyweight Championship match against Brock Lesnar at this Sunday’s WWE Battleground pay-per-view.

    – WWE posted the following video of the Tough Enough cast meeting The Bella Twins backstage at Monday’s RAW.

  • Tough Enough Crew Headed To RAW (Photos), New WWE Legends Deals, More

    – WWE Hall Of Famer Tatsumi Fujinami has signed a new WWE Legends deal. WWE Hall Of Famer J.J. Dillon is also expected to sign a WWE Legends deal in the near future, if he hasn’t already.

    – Sean Waltman celebrates his 43rd birthday today. Also celebrating birthdays today are Akira Hokuto (48), Necro Butcher (41) and ECW Original Chris Michaels (54).

    – The WWE Tough Enough cast is on their way to tonight’s edition of WWE RAW in Atlanta, Georgia. WWE posted the following photos of the crew, along with WWE Hall Of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas, heading to the arena.

  • First Tough Enough Winner Making His In Ring Return Later This Month

    As shown in the promotional video above, the first male winner of Tough Enough Maven has confirmed his in-ring return which will take place on July 19th.

    Maven will be taking part in former WWE superstar Brian “Curt Hawkins” Myers’ Create-A-Pro wrestling school’s fourth live event which will be held in Long Island.

  • John Cena Signs Deal With JC Penny?, Tough Enough Crew At NXT Live Event (Video)

    – WWE United States Champion John Cena was reportedly at the JC Penny headquarters in Plano, Texas on Friday to sign some type of new deal, possibly bringing his “Never Give Up” clothing line for kids to the department store.

    – The following is a clip of the WWE Tough Enough competitors at the NXT live event on Friday night in Orlando, Florida.

  • Tough Enough Competitors Heading To RAW, Also NXT House Shows This Weekend?

    – In the Vine shown below, the Tough Enough trainers told the competitors that they were going on a road trip to RAW this Monday.

    Monday Night’s RAW will take place at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, this will be the final episode of RAW before the Battleground PPV.

    As reported this week, King of the Ring winner King Barrett will guest star on Tough Enough this Tuesday on the USA Network.

    PWInsider are reporting that before heading to RAW, the Tough Enough competitors could also be headed to the WWE NXT House Shows this weekend.

    Read: USA Network Reportedly Unhappy With Tough Enough

  • AJ Lee & Paige Reunite Today (Photo), Chris Jericho On WWE Tough Enough Ratings

    – Former WWE Diva AJ Lee and current WWE Diva Paige reunited while in Los Angeles, California on Thursday. The hashtag “FreaksAndGeeks” trended worldwide for several hours today after Paige posted a photo of the two together, which you can view below.

    https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/619282419128995840

    https://twitter.com/RealPaigeWWE/status/619324642369499136

    – Chris Jericho tweeted the following about this week’s WWE Tough Enough episode scoring the best rating of the season thus far.

  • Backstage News On USA Network Being Upset With WWE Over Tough Enough

    Sources at the USA Network indicate that officials in the network believe pro wrestling’s popularity is cycling downward, which is indicated by the recent decline in ratings.

    USA Network reportedly feels that the format of Tough Enough being taped and live isn’t working because it doesn’t give the judges enough time to make fair decisions, and fans are only given a few minutes instead of a full day or full week to vote. They apparently feel this turns off the audience and leads to a poor word-of-mouth buzz.

    Additionally, USA officials felt Steve Austin was a dynamic presence with charisma that carried the previous Tough Enough season, while Chris Jericho comes off as a game show host. They aren’t blaming Jericho for anything as much as they are blaming the format of the show. They feel Tough Enough comes off like a game show instead of a reality TV competition.

    USA is also concerned with the fact that the last two Tough Enough winners — Daniel Puder and Andy Leavine — were released by WWE before ever amounting to anything in the promotion. The feeling is that winning the show means nothing, which is another reason why fans don’t seem to care about it.

    (Credit: Wrestling Observer Newsletter)

  • Maven Returning To Wrestling, Indy Wrestler Impresses WWE, WWE Attendance

    – Women’s wrestler Nikki Storm reportedly impressed WWE officials during the tryout in Tokyo, Japan this past weekend. Storm is an independent wrestler from the U.K. that received a tryout with WWE earlier this year when the company was in London.

    – Below are some recent WWE attendance figures:

    July 4th in Winnipeg drew 5,500 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
    July 5th in Rockford, IL drew 2,000 fans (Roman Reigns tour)
    July 6th in Chicago for RAW drew 10,800 fans

    – Former WWE Tough Enough winner Maven will be returning to pro wrestling for Curt Hawkins’ Create-A-Pro school and promotion on July 19th. Below is a promo Maven cut for the event.

  • Jim Ross Blog: WWE Announcer Script Leak, Tough Enough, Charlotte/Banks

    WWE Hall Of Famer Jim Ross recently updated his official blog with his latest thoughts and opinions. Below are some of the highlights.

    On WWE Tough Enough: “Happy to see the TV ratings for Tough Enough rebound. With fewer contestants still alive, the show should continue to get more compelling as it will allow the viewers to get to know the prospects better. The format is unique to say the least but I’m more interested in the participants giving us their true selves and not attempting to play the role of what they perceive a pro wrestler is supposed to be. Just as in life, simply be yourself and when you want to be noticed or ‘heard’ simply AMPLIFY!”

    On the WWE announcer script: “Man, I’m getting some really asinine questions about the WWE announcer’s memo that has been going around the internet. I’m having a hard time understanding the fascination with this document.”

    On Charlotte and Sasha Banks: “The two, best female wrestlers to arguably come along in approximately a decade @SashaBanksWWE and @MsCharlotteWWE will go nose to nose again next week on NXT TV which is all the reason that you need to make sure that you watch the broadcast. Catch now while they are on NXT because they won’t be there much longer IMO.”

    Check out the complete blog at JRsBarBQ.com. You can also order JR’s Bar-B-Q products online at WWEShop.com.

  • King Barrett To Guest Star On Tough Enough, More On Altercation Between Contestants

    – As shown in the video above, next week’s episode of Tough Enough will feature the 2015 King of the Ring winner King Barrett.

    – As noted earlier, during the Tough Enough challenge for next Tuesday’s show, an altercation took place following the challenge between Patrick and Mada.

    Some in attendance noted that Josh and Tanner also got involved and things got so heated that the production team had to step in to break it up.

    The WWE and Chris Jericho shared photos on Instagram from the Orlando Improv where the challenge, which was focusing on the contestant’s work on the microphone.

    https://instagram.com/p/44xyu0gFFq/

    Orlando Improv is Jerichoooo! What can he possibly have in store for the competitors of #ToughEnough @chrisjerichofozzy

    https://instagram.com/p/45BIP4GDgr/

    Ladies & Germs…its #ChrisJericho LIVE at the #OrlandoImprov!! Well not quite….I was actually hosting next weeks challenge for the @wwetoughenough crew! Tune in next Tuesday to see what happened!! #promobattle #ididtellsomejokesthough #theywerehilarious

  • Sami Zayn To Provide Health Update, Tough Enough Altercation During Challenge

    – WWE NXT Superstar Sami Zayn will be on next week’s episode to provide fans with an update on his health following a recent injury.

    The WWE NXT Twitter account also confirmed that Jason Jordan will team up with Chad Gable while Sasha Banks will defend the WWE NXT Women’s Championship against Charlotte.

    – It was reported last night on social media that during the “Tough Enough” challenge for next Tuesday’s episode, an altercation broke out between contestants Mada and Patrick.

    The following was shared on Instagram on the official WWE account highlighting the incident:

    https://instagram.com/p/4453sQAFF5/

    BREAKING: During today’s #ToughEnough challenge an altercation between Patrick and Mada took place

  • WWE Tough Enough Draws Best Rating Of Season, Total Divas Viewership

    The Tuesday, July 7th edition of WWE Tough Enough on the USA Network drew 1.22 million viewers. By comparison, last week’s show drew 1.05 million viewers. This week’s Tough Enough show was the highest rated episode of the season thus far.

    The Tuesday, July 7th season premiere of WWE Total Divas on E! drew 975,000 viewers.

  • What You Won’t See On SmackDown This Week, Sonnen Interviews Foley, Rollins

    – Former UFC title contender Chael Sonnen interviewed WWE Hall Of Famer Mick Foley for the latest edition of his “You’re Welcome!” podcast. You can download the show right now at PodcastOne.com.

    – The dark matches at last night’s WWE television tapings saw King Barrett defeat Zack Ryder and the team of Brad Maddox and Adam Rose lose to Curtis Axel and Damien Sandow.

    – In the following WWE Tough Enough Digital Extra, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins criticizes the contestants’ character.

  • Latest Tough Enough Elimination, Contestant Quits The Show

    On this week’s edition of WWE Tough Enough, Daria Berenato was the contestant that was eliminated, as she had only 14 percent of the vote. The final three this week were ZZ, Daria and Sara Lee.

    In addition to the elimination, Dianna Dahlgren has quit the show due to a personal issue. The WWE Tough Enough website has a video where Dianna explains to Lita that her friend became paralyzed, so she had to leave the show.

  • Triple H Hypes Seth Rollins On Tough Enough, RAW Rating Note, More

    – Due to the July 4th holiday in the United States, the WWE RAW ratings will be delayed this week. The RAW ratings are expected to be released on Wednesday.

    – Triple H posted the following tweet today to hype Seth Rollins’ appearance on tonight’s edition of WWE Tough Enough.

    – Below are this week’s “Top 10 RAW Moments.”

  • Tough Enough Stars Tested On WWE Knowledge, S.I./WWE, Natalya

    – WWE Diva and Total Divas star Natalya will be taking part in a Twitter Q&A tonight at 8:30pm EST. on the official WWE Twitter page. You can submit questions for her at @WWE.

    – The latest edition of Sports Illustrated’s “Where Are They Now?” features a profile of WWE legend Tito Santana. You can check that out at SI.com.

    – In the latest Tough Enough Digital Extra, which you can watch below, the contestants are challenged on their WWE history knowledge.

    https://youtu.be/YYU6O-HskQM

  • New WWE Network Shows This Week, Tough Enough Extra (Video), Dean Ambrose

    – Below is a list of new original programming scheduled to air on the WWE Network this coming week:

    Monday After RAW: Live Stories of The American Dream Special
    Tuesday, 4:30 PM: WWE List: Royal Superstars
    Tuesday, 9 PM: WWE Tough Talk
    Wednesday, 4 PM: Culture Shock with Corey Graves
    Wednesday, 8 PM: WWE NXT

    – Below is a “Digital Extra” from this week’s edition of WWE Tough Enough.

    – The following is this week’s “WWE Top 10,” which looks at the ten dirtiest deeds by Dean Ambrose.

  • World Heavyweight Champion Heading To Tough Enough This Week

    – This Tuesday on “Tough Enough” on the USA Network, WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins will guest star be featuring and assisting the contestants with a special challenge.

    – On Twitter a few days ago, a series of photographs were shared on the official “Tough Enough” account featuring Rollins and the contestants as they brush up on their “character development”

    Tough Enough” airs on the USA Network at 8/7c, hosted by Chris Jericho and Renee Young followed by “Tough Talk” – the aftershow hosted by The Miz on the WWE Network.

  • Lita Talks About WWE Tough Enough, Being A Trainer, Her Favorite Match

    WWE Hall Of Famer Amy “Lita” Dumas recently appeared as a guest on The Two Man Power Trip Of Wrestling podcast this week. Below are some of the highlights from the interview.

    On her recent Tough Enough experience and her thoughts on the contestants: “It’s incredible. I’m there with Booker T and Billy Gunn and of course all of us having cut our teeth and not just ending up accidentally signing up for a TV show, it’s hard to not have a slight bit of “what do these kids have”? But I will say some of those kids actually brought it and the ones who didn’t were really gone in an instant. I was excited about doing the show and after the first three days of the mini camp and seeing what we were going to have to work with for the next 10 weeks. I am really excited to develop these potential WWE Superstars or if they don’t make it they will have a super unique experience they were in on. ”

    On the respect of the contestants: “Each one of them and especially the ones that come from an acting background or a football background made it a point to come over to me and say what you (guys) do is really, really hard and that they have a whole new level of respect for what we do. I appreciate them coming up and saying that and game on!”

    On how the contestants handled the eliminations: “The first group of cuts was the easiest. Even though there are some of the cuts that were a bummer, you can’t have everyone on the show. Those I can’t speak for as much because I do think some of them will find whatever is for them, the ones that weren’t cut it could have easier have been the person next to them and it’s a tough competition. We went through over 11,000 videos to get the 40 that were there in the first place. I’d be curious if there wasn’t just a hair of relief that they weren’t the ones chosen when they walked out the door.”

    On the training process: “Myself, Billy Gunn and Booker T will be in the trenches. We are going to be there the most and training them at the performance center. They have unlimited resources there. They aren’t just popping in and filming a TV show. They are going to get some real hands on experience. Then Paige, (Hulk) Hogan and Daniel Bryan will come in and say what do you guys have and then with (Chris) Jericho hosting he will be throwing in his two cents. I think they will really gain an advantage with us getting to know them and if we see something in them and knowing what Paige, Hogan and Daniel Bryan will be looking for having been in there spot, I’ve already seen myself getting an attachment to some of the kids. I am not known for being super emotional but you might see a tear or two because I am getting attached to those kids.”

    On her favorite match as a fan: “Victoria and I were in a baby-face feud at the time and I was doing some research to see what stood out to me and there was a double baby-face match of Shawn (Michael) and Bret (Hart) and watching these two incredible personalities and athletes have this match it stands out to me as I was watching it as a great match and then watching at as being in school for an hour watching it and re-watching it again and building such a level of respect for that match and what they did.”

    Check out the complete interview at Podomatic.com.

  • Tough Enough Coaches Breakdown (Video), Trish Stratus Carries Torch (Photos), More

    – The latest edition of Chris Jericho’s “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, which is available right now, features an interview with actor Scott Baio. You can download the show at PodcastOne.com.

    – WWE Tough Enough coaches Booker T, Lita and Billy Gunn break down week two of the show in the video featured below.

    – WWE Hall Of Famer Trish Stratus carried the torch for the Pan Am Games in Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada last week. Below are some photos of Trish at the event.