I believe it was Sunday that I assured my readers that I would be watching Tough Enough on first airing and getting my thoughts on it out shortly thereafter. Well, life happens and I was unable to do that. Instead, that time was spent with my family, something I most assuredly would do ten times out of ten.
While this isn't some sort of guide to living, I will tell you that family comes first despite my immense love for writing and wrestling. There isn't much in my life more important to me than family and I don't ever expect that to change.
Something else I take great pride in is my word. In this life, you are only as good as your word in many instances and I intend to live up to mine every change I get. I made a promise to all of you that I would watch and review Tough Enough this week and I am ready to live up to that promise.
It's been two weeks since I've seen the show and a lot has changed. Two very unlikeable competitors left last week, one due to elimination and the other due to choosing her daughter over wrestling. While many were happy to see her go, I have to imagine that choosing between a business you love and your child has to be an incredibly difficult decision. Many superstars have children and the relationships are often difficult to maintain with them.
In episode 2, Stone Cold said that he's never won father of the year and I tend to believe that. Still, being a parent is such an important job and I have to respect the decision made in this instance.
Moving forward, the theme of this week was agility. In wrestling, everyone has to possess this characteristic, from little Rey Mysterio to The Big Show. Unfortunately for some competitors, they did not show this trait well on the show.
Specifically, the girls weren't very impressive with only Christina looking halfway decent while a few of the guys like A.J. and Eric severely underperformed. I'm beginning to think that Eric just isn't going to get it despite having the size every other competitor dreams about.
As time goes on, it's pretty clear to see who stands out in this competition. Luke has been the guy since day 1 but Martin is right there with him in terms of ring ability. Even though Martin impressed the trainers this week, I still think Luke is ahead. Yes, he needs to understand how to help others look good as well (ask Evan Bourne if that's an important part of the job), but that arrogance he has should be seen as both positive and negative. It may turn Martin off as well as the other competitors, but name me more than a handful of wrestling stars that aren't at least a little bit arrogant. Even Stone Cold has said that you have to have that in you to drive you to the top of the industry.
After those two, it's Andy and Jeremiah. Andy is the better worker while Jeremiah's progress has been nothing short of impressive. His accent is quite annoying but he's worked hard and it shows. As for Andy, I didn't notice him until this week but he did well. I didn't like seeing him on the sidelines while the rest of the competitors were partying though. I understand that he's straight edge, but that's too much. I'm not much of a drinker myself and on many occasions, I've been the sober designated driver. However, that doesn't mean you have to look pissed off and have a terrible time. It is ok to have a good time while sober and I wish he could realize that. No one would have looked down upon him for cutting loose a bit, even if alcohol wasn't involved.
And then there's Rima Fakih, the current Miss USA and former Raw guest host. She's beautiful, she's driven, and she's pretty darn tough. Unfortunately, she's just not that good. The trainers were more patient with her than any other contestant given her green nature, but she just wasn't the quick learner that she needed to be. Without calling out another name, the beautiful Rima was eliminated this week and I have no objections at all.
Her name was used to draw fans in (if for some reason 3 modern fan favorites wouldn't), but she just couldn't hang despite having more heart than some of the better competitors. I found it interesting to hear Trish praising her for breaking the stereotype of what a beauty queen should be since she herself had to shed the image of being "just a fitness model". The difference back then was that Trish got hired with no prior wrestling training and was used as a valet purely for her looks until she was properly trained to wrestle by the WWE.
In this day and age, valets aren't that common so you have to be ready to put on a match from day 1 in the company, something Rima would have no chance in doing. Stone Cold told her that if she wants to make it, she will make it due to her heart. I tend to agree and if she so chooses, going to wrestling school and paying her dues the old fashioned way could really pay off for her. She's certainly what the WWE would look for in a Diva and I'd imagine that if she came to them with experience and training, they would probably hire her pretty quickly.
Though no one else was picked for the bottom 3, you'd have to think that Skidmarks, Eric, and A.J. are under the gun. Eric simply isn't getting it, Skidmarks is not well liked by the trainers (huge understatement), and A.J. is just kind of there. If you aren't standing out, you are going to be gone and those guys are going to need to do something to save their proverbial asses.
I'd still recommend checking out this show as it has definitely been entertaining. Bill DeMott in particular is hilarious in a bully sort of way, while Stone Cold is flat out fun to watch. I go back to my usual scheduling conflict next week, but you better believe that I'm going to find some way to watch this show each and every week moving forward. I highly recommend that all of you do the same.
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