Tough Enough was ahead of its time for peeling back the curtain of that entertainment we call sports. It was the first example of WWF/WWE reality television, we as fans always want to learn more about the business and its inner workings, and back in the 2000s, this was the show to watch. I believe it was one of MTV’s most successful shows. I loved the show when it first aired and watched every season as I got older. I was much wiser than when I was twelve though. 

Its legacy has been interesting. It has been the place where superstars including The Miz, Ryback, Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, and John Morrison among others were discovered. There have been others who have not been so successful, made an impact, and/or have left under bad clouds. Still, it can’t be argued some of the superstars to get their break on the show has become successful.  

It could also be argued that this has and helped blaze the trail for the good and the bad of WWE reality television such as Total Divas, Swerved, Miz and Mrs, Total Bellas, and Breaking Ground (this I will come back to). I know some people are not fans of reality television in wrestling because it hurts and ruins the business. I understand and respect that, I am not here to argue against it. 

Tough Enough I think was also a part in helping in the formation of NXT. The show initially started as a Tough Enough style show, different yes but the idea to whittle down prospective wrestlers, the challenges and mentor aspects were right from Tough Enough. This would then be rolled into development and everything else that came with the changes with FTW and OVW. 

I think for me where the biggest issues arise is like any reality television show is the reality aspect. As we all know reality television, in reality, isn’t that real. Shows have scriptwriters’ producers, many editors that can make or break contestants by how they are portrayed. There are numerous examples of this. Mick Foley and Daniel Bryan discuss issues with the Sixth season of Tough Enough. (Mandy Rose and Sonya Deville’s series.) Ivelisse Velez (Fifth Season) has also discussed how she was portrayed, in numerous shoot interviews. Daniel Puder (Fourth season) famously also has spoken about the show. Lots of challenges and things were done for entertainment more than find a good wrestler. 

I also feel that choosing winners is complicated, in some seasons the trainers and coaches would choose with help from producers and in other seasons the WWE universe would vote. Given as I have just said about it being made and packaged for drama and views; it isn’t always accurate and that is why the winners of the shows, on the whole, have not made it very far. Runners up and on occasion, those who went in the first week have been more successful. Ariane Andrews AKA Cameron had more success than any of that year’s contestants.  

A more pressing problem of voting on a twelve- or sixteen-week talent contest is that winning contestants needed more time and training. Most were novices. In the early seasons, winners were put on the main shows almost immediately and were not as ready as they should have been. John Morrison after winning was given time in developmental and it worked in his favour. In the fifth season, most were already aspiring indie wrestlers. The Sixth was a general open search, only Chelsea Green had wrestling experience. The last two seasons however had contestants competing for development contracts so there was time for finishing and polishing. Some people just need a bit more time and they can blow you away. However, this is disheartening to the casual and younger fans who have followed the show, voted, and tweeted then don’t see their winner appear for maybe a year. It deflates people and makes them cynical of future shows. 

Now, I mentioned Breaking Ground earlier. This was a reality documentary show. As I have said was probably also a little scripted as they tend to be. It made its debut on the network and was basically behind the scenes at the Performance Centre and NXT. It followed these wrestlers through the ups and downs of their journeys. We were privy to how the Performance Centre worked, we learned about the coaches. Not only that we witnessed a recruitment process where Otis Dozovich and Lacey Evans were signed. It was an interesting show. I loved it. It included some of the winners and runners up from the sixth season of Tough Enough as well as wrestlers like Bayley, Carmella, Aliyah, Mojo Rawley, Dana Brooke, Tyler Breeze, and many others. It never got renewed. I never understood why. 

The reason I talk about this is I think the WWE universe could have potentially hit on something here. Tough Enough as a concept is great but flawed. Breaking Grounds had a nice idea of using the documentary format as opposed to the contest. WWE is changing NXT into NXT 2.0 and wanting to train and grow their talent as opposed to signing indie wrestlers. 

Soooooo, WWE recruits a group of signees, as they do from different backgrounds and other sports. this time though, instead of a twelve-week contest let’s just have a documentary watching them on their journey. An amalgamation of both shows. Imagine following seven superstars from being signed to debuting on the main roster. It would be fascinating and I imagine full of emotion and drama. It will still give us insight into the backstage of professional wrestling but would be more real. It could help in building future stars or at least expose them to the general audience early on. It will also help promote NXT 2.0. This is just one fan's idea but I think it could be a successful idea. Maybe I am just a doe-eyed optimist. 

What do you think? What are your views on these shows? How do you feel about my idea, can you make it better or got other ideas? Let me know. Until next time.