Jim Ross explains why 2004 star became isolated from the WWE locker room

Jim Ross was a WWE commentator in 2004 when the Million Dollar Tough Enough reality competition took place. In a recent podcast episode, the legendary announcer addressed Daniel Puder's victory and short WWE run.

Puder beat seven other contestants to win a WWE contract. As a result of his victory, the former mixed martial artist earned a four-year deal worth $1 million. However, he did not receive the full amount because he was released after the first year.

On his Grilling JR podcast, Ross said wrestlers were never going to get along with Puder due to his unique path to the main roster:

"The Million Dollar deal was unrealistic and all that s**t. It isolated him from the rest of the locker room because what other rookie did he have in common with that had won a million dollar contract? [John] Laurinaitis was doing it [leading talent relations] at that time, not me, so I don't remember how we paid him." [3:34 – 3:59]

Puder is best remembered for putting Kurt Angle in a legitimate kimura lock on the November 4, 2004, episode of SmackDown. A month later, he beat Tough Enough runner-up The Miz in his first pay-per-view match at Armageddon 2004.

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Jim Ross on Daniel Puder's bad timing

Tough Enough contestants sometimes received backstage heat when they were called up to WWE's main roster. While most wrestlers work for years to earn a chance on RAW and SmackDown, Tough Enough winners moved to the main roster in a matter of months.

On reflection, Jim Ross believes Daniel Puder would likely have had a better WWE career had he not been part of Tough Enough:

"Yeah, a little [dealt a bad hand], yeah. Bad timing. It's hard to fault anybody, but I thought he had some potential, quite frankly. He had a great look. Tough kid. I thought that that thing [Million Dollar Tough Enough] was a waste of time at the end of the day." [3:03 – 3:29]

Another notable moment involving Puder came at the Royal Rumble 2005. During the 30-man match, he received chops from Chris Benoit, Eddie Guerrero, and Hardcore Holly before the latter eliminated him.

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Please credit Grilling JR and give an H/T to Sportskeeda Wrestling for the transcription if you use Jim Ross' quotes from this article.