On October 18, 2010, the television website Deadline.com reported that the USA Network was considering expanding into reality programming with a revival of Tough Enough. The website also reported that the show was expected to "run in tandem with USA's WWE Raw series." On January 3, 2011, both The New York Times and WWE further confirmed the revival, revealing that the revived series would began airing Monday nights beginning on April 4, 2011 following WWE Raw, a day after WrestleMania XXVII. On the following week, Tough Enough aired during its planned time slot before WWE Raw. The revived series is a co-production with Shed Media. "Stone Cold" Steve Austin was the show's host while Booker T, Trish Stratus, and Bill DeMott served as trainers.
Host[]
Trainers[]
Contestants[]
| # | Contestants | Episodes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 1 | Andy Leavine | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | RISK | RISK | WINNER |
| 2 | Luke Robinson | HIGH | HIGH | SAFE | SAFE | RISK | HIGH | SAFE | SAFE | RISK | RUNNER UP |
| 3 | Jeremiah Riggs | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |
| 4 | A.J. Kirsch | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | RISK | SAFE | OUT | ||
| 5 | Christina Crawford | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | RISK | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||
| 6 | Martin Casaus | SAFE | SAFE | HIGH | HIGH | HIGH | SAFE | OUT | |||
| 7 | Ivelisse Velez | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||
| 8 | Eric Watts | RISK | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | ||||
| 9 | Ryan Howe | SAFE | RISK | RISK | SAFE | OUT | |||||
| 10 | Rima Fakih | SAFE | RISK | RISK | OUT | ||||||
| 11 | Mickael Zaki | SAFE | SAFE | OUT | |||||||
| 12 | Michelle Deighton | RISK | SAFE | QUIT | |||||||
| 13 | Matt Capiccioni | SAFE | OUT | ||||||||
| 14 | Ariane Andrew | OUT | |||||||||
The contestant won the Tough Enough competition
The contestant performed best in the skills challenge.
The contestant was safe from elimination.
The contestant was at risk of elimination.
The contestant was eliminated.
The contestant quit the competition.
The contestant was forced by injury to withdraw from the competition.
The contestant won the skills challenge but was eliminated.
- Episode 1: Ariane was eliminated as Steve Austin and the trainers felt she did not have passion for wrestling.
- Episode 2: Matt was eliminated for not breaking free of the pack even though he has 9 years of experience.
- Episode 3: Michelle quit so she could be with her daughter. Mickael was eliminated since Ryan performed a better promo in the end.
- Episode 4: Rima was eliminated after showing no improvement in the past month.
- Episode 5: Ryan was eliminated because of his performance and being in the bottom 3 three times in a row.
- Episode 6: Ivelisse was eliminated for not pushing through her minor injury, although not forced to quit because of it. Eric was eliminated for not improving.
- Episode 7: Martin was forced out as he fractured his ankle and was not allowed to continue.
- Episode 8: Christina was eliminated for not showing any charisma. A.J. was eliminated because of his performance prior to charisma week, even after winning the skills challenge.
- Episode 9: Jeremiah was eliminated for having his inexperience catch up to him.
- Episode 10: Luke was eliminated when Andy was chosen as the winner of Tough Enough
Episodes[]
| Title | Original airdate | Episode | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Get Your Teeth Out of My Ring" | April 4, 2011 | 1 | ||
| WWE legend "Stone Cold" Steve Austin has selected 14 men and women to compete to become the next WWE Superstar or Diva. Steve welcomes them at the WWE SmackDown arena, but the only part they will play in tonight's show is doing clean up duty backstage. Steve puts all the contestants through "Three Minutes of Hell" by running the ropes. Jeremiah runs so hard he blows his false teeth out. Rima is caught cheating when Steve and the trainers notice she has padded her ass for the challenge. After deliberating on the best and worst, Steve announces the Worst Three: Ariane, Eric and Michelle. Eric finally shows some fire when he talks about his personal motivation for winning the WWE contract. Steve questions Michelle's ability to live on the road with a baby daughter at home, but it's Ariane's lack of experience that proves to be her downfall. Steve asks for her belt and eliminates her from the competition. | ||||
| "Five for Flinching" | April 11, 2011 | 2 | ||
| The next day at the training center, Steve Austin introduces courage as the theme for this week's challenges. Trish Stratus puts Matt, a ten-year pro, through a personality drill. Impressed, she sends him to the ring for an exhibition match with Luke. However, Matt fades into the background as Luke takes control of the match. The next day, Steve Austin puts the courage of the contestants to the test when he brings them outside to try to outrun police attack dogs. Rima is 20 minutes late to the skills challenge. In the skills challenge, the contestants will be squashed in the corner and then body slammed five times by Bill DeMott. After deliberating on the best and worst, Steve announces the Bottom Three: Ryan, Rima, and Matt. In the ring, Steve Austin absconds Rima about her tardiness but praises her mental toughness. While Steve believes that Ryan may be "too nice" for the business, it is Matt who is eliminated due to his hesitance in demonstrating his skills. John Cena guest stars. | ||||
| "Bad Day. Real Bad Day" | April 18, 2011 | 3 | ||
| Bill sends the contestants on a grueling run. Luke comes in first, and Rima beats all of the women and some of the men. Eric's poor physical condition puts him in last place. The contestants are then sent to the gym for a training session. Mickael shows poor technique and is relegated to working with the beginners. On day two, as Steve enters to announce the life lesson Michelle interrupts him to announce her decision to quit. Her daughter is more important to her than the competition – a decision Steve respects. Out on the field, the rest of the contestants take on a new Life Lesson – to learn a cheerleading drill and perform it at Universal City Walk. On day three Steve begins the next Skills Challenge: Chain of Command. Martin is declared the winner after Eric tires out. Steve and the trainers announce the bottom three – Ryan, Rima and Mickael. At the elimination ceremony, Steve is impressed that Rima asked for one-on-one help and sends her back to the house. Steve pits rivals Ryan and Mickael against each other in a promo duel. Ryan impresses Steve with his passion and decides to send Mickael home. Big Show and Stacy Keibler guest star. | ||||
| "110 Pound Elephant in the Room" | April 25, 2011 | 4 | ||
| Rima receives a one-on-one midnight training session with Bill. Bill puts her through a grueling workout. The next day, Steve introduces the theme of agility. The test for the day is a series of leaps over the top rope of the ring. Luke and Jeremiah both excel. The next day, the contestants are sent to Friscoe's, a 50's style dinner, and are told that they will be working as waiters and waitresses – on roller-skates. At the Skills Challenge the following day, the cast is given a sequence of moves to perform to test their agility. The challenge comes down to Andy, Martin and Luke. Once again, Martin wins the challenge. Steve Austin returns to announce the bottom three. He calls Rima's name then tells her he's not going to call anyone else and eliminates her on the spot. Rima heads back to the house to pack up her bags. She brings Steve Austin her Tough Enough belt. Despite her drawbacks in the ring, Austin tells her that there are other ways to break into the business and she may still have a future in it. Bret Hart guest stars. | ||||
| "Don't Mistake My Kindness for Weakness" | May 2, 2011 | 5 | ||
| The theme this week is teamwork. The contestants play basketball against a professional team of dwarf players, who win handily by showing superior shooting and passing skills. The contestants also undergo a grueling outdoor obstacle course, which shows the lack of endurance some have. The bottom three are Ryan, Luke and Christina; Steve Austin tells Luke he is annoyed at his appearance and apparent attitude, but Ryan is sent home becaue it is his "third strike." Rey Mysterio and John Salley guest star. | ||||
| "It's Getting Down To Nut Cuttin Time" | May 9, 2011 | 6 | ||
| The theme of the week is focus. The contestants are taken through a rope course that involves climbing, balance and focus during which Ivelisse falls off a rope they are expected to repel across when her injured leg gives out. She returns to the course, however, and finishes. Eric, however, does not. After collapsing mid-course due to lack of conditioning, Stone Cold has to send help up to lower Eric down in what he called "probably the most embarassing, crushing moment of my life." In the skills challenge, the contestants were expected to do squats on the top rope, then hold the squat position until only 4 were left. The remaining four (Ivelisse, Christina, Luke and Jeremiah) were to hold the squat position on the top rope while Eric and Andy ran the ropes to try and shake them. The two girls fell, sending Luke and Jeremiah into the final part of the competition, where they were expected to do a series of moves involving body slams and top rope elbow drops. Jeremiah got sloppy and Luke was declared the winner. AJ, Ivelisse and Eric were sent to the bottom 3. AJ was warned that he was "boring as watching grass grow" and told to pick it up. Ivelisse was cut, despite Stone Cold telling her he was sure she belonged in the ring, because her injury was keeping her from performing up to standards. Eric was also cut, due to lack of improvement in his conditioning. John Morrison guest stars. | ||||
| "Running with Wolves" | May 16, 2011 | 7 | ||
| The theme for the week is creativity. The contestants were told to put a personal touch to their moves. Stone Cold Steve Austin takes the contestants to the THQ Headquarters to try out WWE All Stars. Contestants create their own characters to show their creativity. Luke was told to have the best one as his character resembles him a lot. That same night, contestants are put through a two-hour training session. Martin fractures his foot during the session and ends up going to an emergency room, where was told he was not allowed to continue in the competition. Martin is forced to quit, and Stone Cold allows him to hang up his own belt since he is tough enough. In the skills challenge, in a two-minute time limit, the contestants are told to perform the moves they know including a move off the top rope. Christina performs a move off the ropes which she injures her ankle while working a match with AJ. She is taken to the emergency room while Steve tells everyone else they are dismissed and there will be no elimination. The Bella Twins, Kelly Kelly, and Eve Torres guest star. | ||||
| "I've Been Bamboozled and Flabbergasted" | May 23, 2011 | 8 | ||
| The theme of the week was charisma. The trainers take the contestants to Hollywood to meet Psych's star, James Roday. They take a city bus to show charisma. Bill DeMott said that Jeremiah "gots the charisma". Which of course, Jeremiah said that he is "full of charisma". The contestants go back to the house when they go off and do training with The Rock. The Rock said that "he will stay for a little bit" to see what is going to happen. The skills challenge winner was AJ but the bottom three people were Christina, Andy, and AJ. Andy gets pissed off at Stone Cold and tells him that he's got the wrong people in the bottom three. Stone Cold announced that there will be a double elimination. Andy was saved but Christina and AJ were cut. Then Christina said "I know you're going to win" to Andy. The Rock and James Roday guest star. | ||||
| "Now We Face the Rattlesnake" | May 30, 2011 | 9 | ||
| The theme of the week is "putting it all together". The trainers throw everything the contestants have learned over the course of the competition to see who can be a WWE Superstar. After training, Stone Cold and the trainers take the contestants to a photo shoot with The Miz to give them a taste of what it is like to fulfill obligations outside the ring such as media appearances. Back at the gym, the trainers put the contestants through more tests to determine what they have learned. Later, Stone Cold takes the final three to Chase Child Life Program at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center to visit with the children and show that the WWE always likes to give back to the fans. The skills challenge consists of putting a series of moves together and executing them. The final three faced Stone Cold at the final elimination. Although it was very close, Jeremiah's lack of experience or "green-ness" cost him and he was sent home. In the end, Stone Cold cracked open some beers with Luke and Andy to celebrate their achievement of making it to the final two. The Miz guest stars. | ||||
| "May The Best Man Win" | June 6, 2011 | 10 | ||
| The final two head to Florida Championship Wrestling in Tampa, Florida, the official development center of the WWE, for their final challenge: a 5-minute exhibition match in front of a live audience and WWE executives. The contestant with the best performance will win a WWE contract and the title of Tough Enough. Ricky "The Dragon" Steamboat guest stars.Andy becomes the winner | ||||
See also[]
- World Wrestling Entertainment
- Tough Enough
- Tough Enough I
- Tough Enough II
- Tough Enough III
- $1,000,000 Tough Enough
- Tough Enough VI