As of 24 hours ago, I didn't think I'd be doing this piece. If you came to the site yesterday hoping for my Tough Enough thoughts and were thoroughly disappointed, blame the USA network.
You see, I work with a youth group until 9 on Mondays, so I miss the first few minutes of Raw as well as the entire first run of Tough Enough. Thus, I have to rely on the 11 o'clock airing of the reality show to get caught up. After Raw ended on Monday, I did just that, only to find that the re-airing I was seeing was one I had already seen numerous times. They were showing the first episode instead of the second!
Luckily, I came across the entire episode on Youtube late last night and was able to get caught up on the happenings of the new program. It was definitely an interesting one and I really like the direction this program is going.
The thing that intrigues me/scares me a little is the brute honesty that Stone Cold and Bill DeMott bring to the program. It sort of reminds me of a failed experiment my freshman year of college known as pledging a fraternity. It can certainly be argued that these kids are competing for a spot in the elite fraternity known as the WWE, and Stone Cold is the hard-ass pledgemaster that will humble them into submission. This is especially evident at the end of each show when he rips into any of the bottom 3 as he sees fit. The fear is obvious in those kid's eyes and if they survive elimination, hopefully that stuff gets driven home and they look to do better the next week.
A good example of that is Erik Watts. He was in the bottom 3 in week 1 and by most accounts could have very easily been sent home. He is a physical specimen that fits the mold of "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane". His conditioning is bad and that affects how he is portrayed. However, he showed something this week in the dog chase as he trash talked his way across the finish line. It might be forced but it's better than being the quiet guy. He showed noticeable improvement this week and thus, stayed out of the bottom three.
It's hard to gauge much from the in ring training portions of the show because everything is cut down into second-long clips. I like to think I'm pretty knowledgeable for someone on the outside of the wrestling business, but I cannot ascertain who is ahead of whom when it comes to their work between the ropes. Hell, Luke and Matt had a 3 minute exhibition of which 15 seconds were aired! How am I supposed to be able to see what each guy is showing?
What I did see is that Matt is a soft spoken guy, a trait that is not going to go over well with the trainers or Steve Austin. Before this show began, I was told that this guy should be the favorite given his Indy experience. People told me "check this guy out, he's awesome!" I did, and certainly the things that he is able to do from the top rope are matched only by a select few. Of course, Tough Enough doesn't put you on the top rope that much, so the body of work we've seen of this guy so far is on par with everybody else.
Still, this is a guy with a ton of experience that unlike Miss 11 years, is capable within the ropes. Whether he won the contest or not, it was expected that he'd go far on reputation alone. What I love is that the trainers and Austin don't care at all about reputation. It's about what you show them in person and if you did something they didn't like, they won't pacify you.
While the challenges and ring stuff are fun, the elimination is quickly becoming my favorite part of the show. Stone Cold is downright mean to the kids at this part, but it's all out of honesty and he's right in a lot of what he says. On this episode, Austin really ripped into all three people and I had no idea who he would actually eliminate until he nonchalantly said "take your things, you're going home" to one of them.
While Rima was late one day and Skidmark is well, awful, it was the indy favorite Matt (M-Dogg 20 or Matt Cross) that got the ticket home. Sure, a lot of people who had seen him in Ring of Honor or other independent promotions were disappointed, but the writing was on the wall when he asked Austin "permission to speak". I'm not there, but I've noticed that with this show, you don't wait around, you grab what you want and hold on to it with your life!
Overall, I very much enjoyed this episode and I like the elimination. It showed that no one will be safe and that everyone there, from the veterans to the newbies, are on an even playing field. It is about what they show the trainers in person and nothing else. As long as this formula holds up, you can bet I'll continue to watch every week. I just hope that it's on at 11 instead of having to find it on youtube!
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