Before today’s world where the WWE adds to its roster by poaching indie scene talent and adding them to the NXT roster, things were a whole lot different back in the 2000s. A lack of real competition meant that there was a dearth of great prospects and wrestlers coming into the company.
In order to combat that situation and improve interest in wrestling, the WWE started a competition called Tough Enough where the winners would win a WWE contract. The first ever season of the competition started in 2001 and continued on till 2005 before it was discontinued.
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Vince McMahon and co. resurrected the concept in 2010 for a fifth season with Stone Cold Steve Austin as the coach before being discontinued. It was brought back again in 2015 for a sixth edition, but the lack of success meant the concept was shelved permanently.
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Why did that happen? Well, it’s because the winners of Tough Enough rarely made it big on the main roster of the WWE. In fact, an overwhelming majority of the winners just faded away into obscurity despite the hefty contracts they were awarded for winning the show. Today, we look back at these men and women and where they are today.
So, without any further ado, here is our list of all the WWE Tough Enough winners and where they are now:
Tough Enough Season 1: Maven and Nidia Guenard
If anybody remembers Maven, it is because he was given a monster push when he burst onto the scene in WWE. He eliminated The Undertaker from the Royal Rumble and even won the Hardcore Championship from The Deadman. Unfortunately, things never panned out for the inaugural winner of Tough Enough and he was released from the company in 2005.
He wrestled in the indie scene and with TNA and even enjoyed a low key acting career before making a return to the world of professional wrestling in 2015.
Nidia was the first-ever female Tough Enough winner and she too enjoyed a quiet spell with the company before being released in 2004 without making much of an impact, though she was involved in an angle that included Rey Mysterio. She wrestled on the indie scene for a few years before embarking on a culinary career in 2010.
Tough Enough Season 2: Linda Miles and Jackie Gayda
There were two female winners for Tough Enough Season 2 and one of them was Linda Miles. She made absolutely no memorable impact with the company before being released in 2004. She is now a substitute teacher in Cincinnati.
The other winner from the second season of the show was Jackie Gayda, who did marginally better than Linda. She was also released – in 2005 – and married Charlie Hass. She wrestled on the independent scene for a few years before embarking on a nutrition venture with her husband.
Tough Enough Season 3: John Morrison and Matt Capotelli
Season 3 of Tough Enough gave us its most famous winner in John Morrison. He enjoyed a successful run in the WWE before he left the company to embark on an indie run as Johnny Mundo. He is now one of the biggest names in Lucha Underground.
Mike Cappotelli’s story is a rather sad one as he was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2007 when he was in WWE’s developmental program following his Tough Enough victory. Things have gotten worse for him now as he announced that he was suffering from brain cancer earlier this year.
Tough Enough Season 4: Daniel Puder
This final season of Tough Enough of the 2000s saw a $1 Million prize pool and it was won by an American MMA fighter going by the name of Daniel Puder. He could have been successful had he not shot his career in the foot during a segment on Smackdown involving Kurt Angle.
Puder applied an actual Kimura Lock on Angle and nearly broke his arm during a live segment and it was only quick thinking from the referee that saved Kurt from having to tap out to a rookie. This was the beginning of the end for Puder as he was released in 2005.
He wrestled in ROH and NJPW and enjoyed a successful MMA career before retiring and opening his own MMA Gym in Hollywood, California.
Tough Enough Season 5: Andy Leavine
Another case of a Tough Enough winner turning out to be a dud, Andy Leavine won the 2010 edition featuring Stone Cold Steve Austin as the host only to never make it on the WWE’s main roster.
He was a part of the company’s developmental program for a couple of years before being released for good in 2012. He has been wrestling in lesser known indie promotions since his release.
Tough Enough Season 6: Josh Bredl and Sara Lee
2015’s sixth – and as of now, final – edition of Tough Enough saw a return to the two winner formula as Josh Bredl and Sara Lee came out on top. It was hosted by Chris Jericho but that did little to help the careers of the two winners.
Bredl wrestled under the name of Bronson Matthews in NXT but hasn’t made a huge impact. He is still under contract with the company despite rumours that he had been released in April of this year.
Sara Lee also made it to NXT, but just like Bredl, she never made much of an impact in WWE’s developmental program. She was released in October of 2016 with little fanfare to bring down the curtain on Tough Enough’s less than stellar history.
