History Wrestling / WWEToughEnough

* Nidia Guenard - [=TE1=] winner (notable for being the valet of cruiserweight star Jamie Noble and for her angle where she was blinded by Tajiri; employed from 2002-2004).

*** In Season 1, Darryl Cross was the very first man eliminated in the season ''(and thus, the entire series)'' after falling out during aerobic exercises by claiming he caught the flu on the plane ride to the show's location, [[MoodWhiplash goofing off]] after Wrestling/TripleH's very serious speech about commitment to the business, acting very immaturely to the trainers and the other contestants, and complaining under his breath when Al Snow called him out on a botched move, prompting Snow to shout, [[Awesome/ProfessionalWrestling "I don't take that from my ten-year-old son, and I'm sure as hell not taking it from you!"]]

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: Wrestling/ChrisJericho was at one point in talks to host the revival, but eventually turned it down to appear on ''Series/DancingWithTheStars Dancing with the Stars]]''. Jericho admitted that he wouldn't have been DrillSergeantNasty as Stone Cold had he hosted.

* TokenTrio: The trainers for the new season - Bill (white guy), Booker T (black guy) and Trish (white girl but Polish and Greek if you want to be specific).

* WhatCouldHaveBeen: ChrisJericho was at one point in talks to host the revival, but eventually turned it down to appear on ''DancingWithTheStars''. Jericho admitted that he wouldn't have been DrillSergeantNasty as Stone Cold had he hosted.

* StayInTheKitchen: Not explicitly invoked, but only two of the final nine contestants of Season 5 were female, and both were in danger of undermining each other's chances due to injuries from botched spots and accusations of sabotage. Trish Stratus sat both Christina and Ivelisse down and told them to keep their heads on straight if they planned to survive to the end because "this is a man's game" and petty, cattish behavior wasn't going to do either of them any favors. Both heed the advice, [[spoiler: but Ivelisse's injury forces Stone Cold to remove her, to the point he ''said'' that was the sole reason he eliminated her.]]

** Episode 2, Matt was given several opportunities to demonstrate his implied superiority (based on having greater experience than most of the others), and bungled every single chance he gets.

* Nick Mitchell - ''[=TE4=]'' competitor (repackaged as "Mitch" of the Spirit Squad; employed 2004-2007)

* Ariane Andrew - ''[=TE5=]'' competitor (of "Melina vs. Alicia Fox" infamy; signed to FCW shortly after elimination, repackaged as Cameron Lynn; now a Wrestling/BrodusClay dancer; employed 2011-present)

* Ivelisse Velez - ''[=TE5=]'' competitor (eliminated from ''TE'' following injury, signed to FCW after the competition, repackaged as Sofia Cortez; employed 2011-2012)

* ShockingElimination: Arguably Matt Cross considering he had nine years of wrestling experience and watching one of his matches will show that he would be a great addition to the roster. Unfortunately, Matt choked when put on the spot to show his experience, and was swiftly eliminated for it (see EpicFail above).

* StayInTheKitchen: Not explicitly invoked, but only two of the final nine contestants were female, and both were in danger of undermining each other's chances due to injuries from botched spots and accusations of sabotage. Trish Stratus sat both Christina and Ivelisse down and told them to keep their heads on straight if they planned to survive to the end because "this is a man's game" and petty, cattish behavior wasn't going to do either of them any favors. Both heed the advice, [[spoiler: but Ivelisse's injury forces Stone Cold to remove her, to the point he ''said'' that was the sole reason he eliminated her.]]

** Jeremiah Riggs in Season 5, better known to [[Creator/{{VH1}} Celebreality]] fans as "Big Rig" from ''Daisy of Love''.

* DrillSergeantNasty: Most of the trainers adopted this persona during the show. But most notably Stone Cold in Season 5, Kurt Angle in Season 4, Bill [=DeMott=] in Seasons 3 and 5, [[Wrestling/BobHolly Hardcore Holly]] in Season 2 and Wrestling/Tazz in the original season.
* EarlyBirdCameo: The audition episodes of the earlier seasons saw a number of auditionees who failed to make it as a finalist but eventually ended up with WWE contracts such as Wrestling/{{Melina}}, Shad Gaspard, [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Kharma]], [[Wrestling/Boogeyman The Boogeyman]], Daivari and ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'' ring announcer Justin Roberts.

** Jeremiah Riggs in Season 5, better known to [[Creator/VH1 Celebreality]] fans as "Big Rig" from ''Daisy of Love''.

* [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Ryan Reeves]] - ''[=TE4=]'' competitor (repackaged as first [[TheNexus Skip Sheffield]], then as Ryback following an injury; employed 2004-2007 and 2008-present)

* EarlyBirdCameo: The audition episodes of the earlier seasons saw a number of auditionees who failed to make it as a finalist but eventually ended up with WWE contracts such as Wrestling/{{Melina}}, Shad Gaspard, Kharma, The Boogeyman, Daivari and ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'' ring announcer Justin Roberts.

* Maven Huffman - ''[=TE1=]'' winner (notable for being "That Guy Who Won Tough Enough" and for his elimination of Wrestling/TheUndertaker at the Royal Rumble; employed from 2001-2005).

''Tough Enough'' is a reality show developed by Wrestling/{{WWE}} where participants compete to win a WWE contract and be the next WWE Superstar or Diva. It originally aired in 2001 on Creator/{{MTV}} for three seasons, but was dropped. Its fourth season was integrated into ''[[Wrestling/WWESmackDown SmackDown!]]'' in 2004, after which the series was canceled until 2011, when it was revived once more with Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin as the host.

* [[Wrestling/JohnMorrison John Hennigan]] - ''[=TE3=]'' winner (repackaged as MNM's Johnny Nitro, then as singles star John Morrison; most decorated ''TE'' alum with five tag titles, three IC titles, and the ECW Title; he was considered its most successful alum until TheMiz surpassed him. employed 2004-2011).

* Daniel Puder - ''[=TE4=]'' winner (only made one appearance after winning; wrestled at the Royal Rumble; famous for an incident with Kurt Angle; was released in OVW, employed 2004-2005)

* Ariane Andrew - ''[=TE5=]'' competitor (of "Melina vs. Alicia Fox" infamy; signed to FCW shortly after elimination, repackaged as Cameron Lynn; now a Brodus Clay dancer; employed 2011-present)

* AngryBlackMan: Inverted and double subverted in Season 5. Bill [=DeMott=] was definitely the meanest of the trainers but Booker T would snap and be just as tough when he felt like it.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Trish Stratus definitely. Ryan also showed his mean streak when he was pit against Mickael.

* ChannelHop: Went from Creator/{{MTV}}, to Creator/{{UPN}} to Creator/USANetwork

* DrillSergeantNasty: Most of the trainers adopted this persona during the show. But most notably Stone Cold in Season 5, Kurt Angle in Season 4, Bill [=DeMott=] in Seasons 3 and 5, Hardcore Holly in Season 2 and Tazz in the original season.
* EarlyBirdCameo: The audition episodes of the earlier seasons saw a number of auditionees who failed to make it as a finalist but eventually ended up with WWE contracts such as Melina, Shad Gaspard, Kharma, The Boogeyman, Daivari and ''Raw'' ring announcer Justin Roberts.

** Episode 3, Mickael not only failed to understand why he was in the bottom three to begin with, but when put in a Promo Duel with his hated archrival Ryan. He choked horribly, while Ryan gave a promo worthy of ''Raw''.

** Mike "The Miz" Mizanin in Season 4, who previously appeared on ''TheRealWorld''. [[TheRunnerUpTakesItAll That was only the beginning.]]
** Michelle Deighton from Season 5 also appeared in Cycle 4 of ''Series/AmericasNextTopModel''. She's also [[Series/{{Survivor}} Jonny]] [[{{TNA}} Fairplay's]] ex-wife.
** Jeremiah Riggs in Season 5, better known to [[VH1 Celebreality]] fans as "Big Rig" from ''Daisy of Love''.

* TheNeidermeyer: Kurt Angle played this role in Season 4, in a deliberate heel move, which gave us the now legendary "MTV Sucks!" line to Wrestling/TheMiz.

* OneJudgeToRuleThemAll: Played with in the revival. All four trainers discuss who's in the bottom three, but they have to appeal to Stone Cold when it comes time to choose who's going home.

* SpecialGuest: Usually once per episode, a noteworthy WWE wrestler would visit the gym, and give advice to the contestants, and perhaps share anecdotes. In Season 5, the guest star usually gave a lecture that's specific to the theme for the week; for example, Big Show visited during "technique" week, and emphasized in his speech that even "big man" wrestlers like himself had to have excellent technique, they couldn't only rely on their physicality.

* Chris Nowinski - ''[=TE1=]'' competitor (notable more for his post-retirement success as a [[GameBreakingInjury concussion expert]]; mostly remembered for his infamous debate with ScottSteiner and his participation in "That Jackie Gayda Match"; employed from 2002-2003).

* Jackie Gayda - ''[=TE2=]'' winner (of "That Jackie Gayda Match" infamy and wife of [[TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Charlie Haas]]; employed 2002-2005).
* Matt Morgan - ''[=TE2=]'' competitor (worked in {{TNA}} as "The Blueprint"; employed from 2003-2005).

* [[JohnMorrison John Hennigan]] - ''[=TE3=]'' winner (repackaged as MNM's Johnny Nitro, then as singles star John Morrison; most decorated ''TE'' alum with five tag titles, three IC titles, and the ECW Title; he was considered its most successful alumni until TheMiz surpassed him. employed 2004-2011).

* [[TheMiz Mike "The Miz" Mizanin]] - ''[=TE4=]'' competitor (first ''TE'' alum to win the WWE Championship; employed 2005-present).
* Justice Smith - ''[=TE4=]'' competitor (appeared as Gladiator "Justice" in the 2008 revamp of ''AmericanGladiators''; wasn't employed by WWE).
* [[{{Ryback}} Ryan Reeves]] - ''[=TE4=]'' competitor (repackaged as first [[TheNexus Skip Sheffield]], then as Ryback following an injury; employed 2004-2007 and 2008-present)

* AscendedExtra: A few of the contestants (notably Andy, Christina, AJ and Ivelisse) were in the background for the early episodes but received more screen time as the season went on.
* AngryBlackMan: Inverted and double subverted in the new season. Bill [=DeMott=] was definitely the meanest of the trainers but Booker T would snap and be just as tough when he felt like it.

* BittersweetEnding: How Season 5 ended, with Season 5 winner [[KickTheDog Andy being slapped by McMahon]] and then stunned by Stone Cold.

* [[BlackDudeDiesFirst Black Chick Gets Eliminated First]]: Thankfully nobody died on the show but a double subversion came in the first episode of the new season. Eric seemed like he was going to be eliminated only for Stone Cold to eliminate Ariane instead.

* ChannelHop: Went from Creator/{{MTV}}, to Creator/{{UPN}} to USANetwork

* EarlyBirdCameo: The audition episodes saw a number of auditionees who failed to make it as a finalist but eventually ended up with WWE contracts such as Melina, Shad Gaspard, Kharma, The Boogeyman, Daivari and ''Raw'' ring announcer Justin Roberts.

** Episode 2, Matt was given several opportunities to demonstrate his implied superiority (based on greater experience than most of the others), and bungled every single chance he gets.
** Episode 3, Mickael not only failed to understand why he was in the bottom three to begin with, but when put in a Promo Duel with his hated archrival Ryan. He choked horribly, while Ryan gave a promo worthy of ''Monday Night Raw''.
*** In Season 1, Darryl Cross was the very first man eliminated in the season ''(and thus, the entire series)'' after falling out during aerobic exercises by claiming he caught the flu on the plane ride to the show's location, [[MoodWhiplash goofing off]] after TripleH's very serious speech about commitment to the business, acting very immaturely to the trainers and the other contestants, and complaining under his breath when Al Snow called him out on a botched move, prompting Snow to shout, [[Awesome/ProfessionalWrestling "I don't take that from my ten-year-old son, and I'm sure as hell not taking it from you!"]]

* FourGirlEnsemble: Five girls but brunette white (Michelle), blonde hispanic (Ivelisse), black (Ariane and Christina) and Middle Eastern (Rima).

** [[TheMiz Mike "The Miz" Mizanin]] in Season 4, who previously appeared on ''TheRealWorld''. [[TheRunnerUpTakesItAll That was only the beginning.]]

* {{Joisey}}: Mickael, the much maligned contestant from Season 5 seemed to embody this to 11, even lampshaded by his [[ArchEnemy arch rival]] Ryan.

* TheNicknamer: Bill [=DeMott=] in Season 5

* TheRunnerUpTakesItAll: The most notable example is The Miz, who between the fourth and fifth seasons, managed to become the only ''Tough Enough'' alum to become WWE Champion.

* ShockingElimination: Arguably Matt Cross considering he had nine years of wrestling experience and watching one of his matches will show that he would be a great addition to the roster.
** Unfortunately, Matt choked when put on the spot to show his experience, and was swiftly eliminated for it (see EpicFail above).

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Rather than just eliminate the contestants, Stone Cold liked to tell everyone who end up in his bottom three why they suck. Oddly enough, the contestants who end up surviving often got the worst of it as a way of "lighting a fire under their ass".

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Indirectly delivered by Triple H upon hearing that one of the contestants had hung a Wrestling/{{Goldberg}} poster in his room, to both Goldberg and the contestants, while lecturing the group on the level of commitment they need to be successful as a wrestler. Segues into the very best parts of DareToBeBadass.
-->''"Who are your idols? Who do you look at and say 'that's what I want to do'? Not 'that's the money I want to make', not 'that's the other [=TV=] show I want to be in', not 'that's the spot I want to be in on Leno'. That's the yard. That's the business. That's what I want to do. That's the story I want to tell. You can tell a lot about a guy in this business (from) who he looked up to in this business. ({{Beat}}) Then somebody tells me... one of these guys had a Goldberg poster on his wall that had to be torn off. No big deal to me. I think, 'You know, Goldberg. He's in our business. Hell of an athlete'. [[ArmorPiercingQuestion The question I ask is:]] If your biggest idol in this business is a guy that's been in this business for about a year, got everything handed to him, can't have a match [[SquashMatch longer than four minutes]], has not wrestled for probably for more than three months straight because every three months he's got a hangnail, he's got a toothache, he's got a tummy ache, and he's got to take time off, and I wonder where does that mentally put that person? What does that person think about this business? Is it about what we do? Is it about [[WrestlingPsychology telling a story]]? Or is it about being a big jacked-up guy that stands in the ring, is [[{{Jobber}} fed a bunch of guys]] who really don't know what they're doing to mow over? He abuses that. What does that say about someone that has no heart for what we do? No guts, no heart. You get injured, you keep going. [[{{Determinator}} You get hurt, you keep going]]. I've had to be carried to the top of the ramp to go to the ring! I've had to be helped up the stairs because I couldn't walk myself to 'em! And I've walked to that ring and I've wrestled for 45 minutes against [[VinceMcMahon Vince McMahon]]. After he fell thirty-five feet on my leg, his big fat ass almost busted it, and I still went to the ring. I'm not bragging.''

--> ''I'm not that tough. I'm not tougher than anyone else in our business. But I respect our business. I love our business. I put my life on the line'' every day ''for our business and I gladly do it, and I'll continue to do it until I can do it no longer. Not for the fame. Not for the glory of it. Not so I can get laid. No other reason than the love of the business (...) But I question the fact that when somebody has a poster of a guy on their wall that can't suck it up enough to continue when he's on top of the business, when he's on top of the company, and they ask him to go, and he says, 'I'm sorry. I can't. I have to sit home for three months. I can't even make it to [=TV=]. I'm sorry, I don't like where the storyline's going, so I can't come in.' I have to question that guy's heart! I've got to question that guy's desire! I got to question whether he just thinks, 'Hell, I'm pretty jacked up. I'm just as big as these guys, so I can stand in the ring with them. As long as they put me over, it don't matter, I'll be a big star. I'll make a lot of money, I'll be famous'. You gotta ask yourself inside where to draw the line. When do you take time off? Do you tape it up and you keep going? Or do you call in sick? (...) You guys have the greatest opportunity in the world, in my opinion, to be in the greatest business in the world. [[PrecisionFStrike Do not fuck it up]]. Do not throw it away, 'cuz if you do, you piss on every single person that's come before you. Every single person that's paid their dues, every person that's busted their ass, every single old timer that's busted up and can barely walk, you piss on them.''
* TheRunnerUpTakesItAll: The the most notable example is The Miz, who between the fourth and fifth seasons, managed to become the only ''Tough Enough'' alum to become WWE Champion.
** Taken to an extreme with the fifth season where the first contestant eliminated was the first to debut on WWE TV in an active role. Ariane is currently one of Brodus Clay's dancers using the name "Cameron Lynn".

-->''"Who are your idols? Who do you look at and say 'that's what I want to do'? Not 'that's the money I want to make', not 'that's the other [=TV=] show I want to be in', not 'that's the spot I want to be in on [[JayLeno Jay Leno]]'. That's the yard. That's the business. That's what I want to do. That's the story I want to tell. You can tell a lot about a guy in this business (from) who he looked up to in this business. ({{Beat}}) Then somebody tells me... one of these guys had a Goldberg poster on his wall that had to be torn off. No big deal to me. I think, 'You know, Goldberg. He's in our business. Hell of an athlete'. [[ArmorPiercingQuestion The question I ask is:]] If your biggest idol in this business is a guy that's been in this business for about a year, got everything handed to him, can't have a match [[SquashMatch longer than four minutes]], has not wrestled for probably for more than three months straight because every three months he's got a hangnail, he's got a toothache, he's got a tummy ache, and he's got to take time off, and I wonder where does that mentally put that person? What does that person think about this business? Is it about what we do? Is it about [[WrestlingPsychology telling a story]]? Or is it about being a big jacked-up guy that stands in the ring, is [[{{Jobber}} fed a bunch of guys]] who really don't know what they're doing to mow over? He abuses that. What does that say about someone that has no heart for what we do? No guts, no heart. You get injured, you keep going. [[{{Determinator}} You get hurt, you keep going]]. I've had to be carried to the top of the ramp to go to the ring! I've had to be helped up the stairs because I couldn't walk myself to 'em! And I've walked to that ring and I've wrestled for 45 minutes against [[VinceMcMahon Vince McMahon]]. After he fell thirty-five feet on my leg, his big fat ass almost busted it, and I still went to the ring. I'm not bragging.''

''Tough Enough'' is a reality show developed by Wrestling/{{WWE}} where participants compete to win a WWE contract and be the next WWE Superstar or Diva. It originally aired in 2001 on Creator/{{MTV}} for three seasons, but was dropped. Its fourth season was integrated into ''SmackDown!'' in 2004, after which the series was canceled until 2011, when it was revived once more with Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin as the host.

* {{Hypocrite}}: Trish criticized Ariane for constantly pulling up her pants in the ring (even saying that it was her biggest pet peeve). Many fans had pointed out that she had her own share of in-ring wardrobe adjustments.
** Except there's a difference between one or two wardrobe adjustments during some matches here and there and doing a running-the-ropes exercise while constantly pulling up one's pants '''the entire time.'''

-->''"Who are your idols? Who do you look at and say 'that's what I want to do'? Not 'that's the money I want to make', not 'that's the other [=TV=] show I want to be in', not 'that's the spot I want to be in on JayLeno'. That's the yard. That's the business. That's what I want to do. That's the story I want to tell. You can tell a lot about a guy in this business (from) who he looked up to in this business. ({{Beat}}) Then somebody tells me... one of these guys had a Goldberg poster on his wall that had to be torn off. No big deal to me. I think, 'You know, Goldberg. He's in our business. Hell of an athlete'. [[ArmorPiercingQuestion The question I ask is:]] If your biggest idol in this business is a guy that's been in this business for about a year, got everything handed to him, can't have a match [[SquashMatch longer than four minutes]], has not wrestled for probably for more than three months straight because every three months he's got a hangnail, he's got a toothache, he's got a tummy ache, and he's got to take time off, and I wonder where does that mentally put that person? What does that person think about this business? Is it about what we do? Is it about [[WrestlingPsychology telling a story]]? Or is it about being a big jacked-up guy that stands in the ring, is [[{{Jobber}} fed a bunch of guys]] who really don't know what they're doing to mow over? He abuses that. What does that say about someone that has no heart for what we do? No guts, no heart. You get injured, you keep going. [[{{Determinator}} You get hurt, you keep going]]. I've had to be carried to the top of the ramp to go to the ring! I've had to be helped up the stairs because I couldn't walk myself to 'em! And I've walked to that ring and I've wrestled for 45 minutes against [[VinceMcMahon Vince McMahon]]. After he fell thirty-five feet on my leg, his big fat ass almost busted it, and I still went to the ring. I'm not bragging.''

''Tough Enough'' is a reality show developed by Wrestling/{{WWE}} where participants compete to win a WWE contract and be the next WWE Superstar or Diva. It originally aired in 2001 on Creator/{{MTV}} for three seasons, but was dropped. Its fourth season was integrated into ''SmackDown'' in 2004, after which the series was canceled until 2011, when it was revived once more with Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin as the host.

* Chris Nowinski - [=TE1=] competitor (notable more for his post-retirement success as a [[GameBreakingInjury concussion expert]]; mostly remembered for his infamous debate with ScottSteiner and his participation in "That Jackie Gayda Match"; employed from 2002-2003).
* Josh Matthews - [=TE1=] competitor (currently works commentary; longest-employed ''TE'' alum from 2002-present).

* Jackie Gayda - ''[=TE2=]'' winner (of "That Jackie Gayda Match" infamy and wife of [[TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Charlie Haas]]; employed 2002-2005)..

* Daniel Puder - [=TE4=] Winner (only made one appearance after winning; wrestled at the Royal Rumble; famous for an incident with Kurt Angle; was released in OVW, employed 2004-2005)

* AngryBlackMan: Inverted and double subverted in the new season. Bill [=DeMott=] is definitely the meanest of the trainers but Booker T will snap and be just as tough when he feels like it.

* BittersweetEnding: How Season 5 ended, with Season 5 winner [[KickTheDog Andy being slapped by McMahon]] and then stunned by [[StoneColdSteveAustin Stone Cold]].

* CanonDiscontinuity: John Morrison's guest appearance in Season 5, that totally ignores the fact that he ''won the third season''.

* DrillSergeantNasty: Most of the trainers adopt this persona during the show. But most notably StoneColdSteveAustin in Season 5, Kurt Angle in Season 4, Bill [=DeMott=] in Seasons 3 and 5, Hardcore Holly in Season 2 and Tazz in the original season.
* EarlyBirdCameo: During the MTV era, the audition episodes saw a number of auditionees who failed to make it as a finalist but eventually ended up with WWE contracts such as Melina, Shad Gaspard, Kharma, The Boogeyman, Daivari and ''Raw'' ring announcer Justin Roberts.
* EpicFail: The first three eliminations in Season 5 were all cases of the contestants completely destroying themselves

** Episode 2, Matt is given several opportunities to demonstrate his implied superiority (based on greater experience than most of the others), and bungles every single chance he gets.
** Episode 3, Mickael not only failed to understand why he was in the bottom three to begin with, but when put in a Promo Duel with his hated archrival Ryan, he choked horribly, while Ryan gave a promo worthy of ''Monday Night Raw''.

* HeyItsThatGuy: Without taking into consideration the [[EarlyBirdCameo Early Bird Cameos]], there a few familiar faces:

* {{Hypocrite}}: Trish criticizes Ariane for constantly pulling up her pants in the ring (even saying that it was her biggest pet peeve), while, as many fans have pointed out, she has had her own share of in-ring wardrobe adjustments.
** It's probably more to do with the fact that Ariane was doing it ''during'' the challenge, i.e., she was more focused on her wardrobe than the challenge. That would be more like adjusting your wardrobe while doing a move in the ring as opposed to just fixing it when the camera is off.
* HiddenDepths: Most notable was Michelle who eventually quit the show to spend time raising her daughter. Also before the show Ariane worked as a behavior therapist for autistic children.
* InSeriesNickname / EmbarrassingNickname : Bill [=DeMott=] likes giving them to contestants, the most memorable being "Skidmarks" (a.k.a. Ryan Howe).

* InsufferableGenius: Most of the reason that viewers don't like Luke is that he's the most talented of Season 5's contestants, and ''he knows it''. Worse, he's a ''massive'' prick about it.

** Luke is definitely a natural straight example.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Despite being a hardass, Stone Cold has had some nice conversations with both Michelle, Rima, and even Ryan concerning their eliminations.
** As does Bill [=DeMott=], who is good enough to even work with Rima one-on-one and talk to her at length on whether this is something she'd really wants to.
* {{Joisey}}: Mickael, the much maligned contestant from Season 5 seemed to embody this trope to 11, even lampshaded by his [[ArchEnemy Arch Rival]] Ryan.

** An episode in Season 5 shows the contestants visiting THQ, makers of ''WWE All Stars''. They're asked to use the game's create-a-wrestler mode to give Stone Cold an idea of what sort of ring attire and gimmick they'd choose for themselves, as a test of their creativity.
* NamesTheSame: Eri'''c''' Watts is the big, stiff guy who can't wrestle from ''Tough Enough''. Eri'''k''' Watts is the big, stiff guy who can't wrestle from early '90s Wrestling/{{WCW}}. No relation.

* PyrrhicVictory: With the exception of JohnMorrison none of the winners ever made it big in the WWE.

* ReTool: The ''$1,000,000 Tough Enough'' pretty much stands out as the most dramatic change to the format. The revival pretty much restores the show back to the original format but refines the elimination contest with a weekly "bottom three".

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Rather than just eliminate the contestants, Stone Cold likes to tell everyone who ends up in his bottom three why they suck. Oddly enough, the contestants who end up surviving often gets the worst of it as a way of "lighting a fire under their ass".

* SpecialGuest: Usually once per episode, a noteworthy WWE wrestler will visit the gym, and give advice to the contestants, and perhaps share anecdotes. In Season 5, the guest star usually gives a lecture that's specific to the theme for the week; for example, Big Show visited during "technique" week, and emphasized in his speech that even "big man" wrestlers like himself have to have excellent technique, they can't only rely on their physicality.

* StayInTheKitchen: Not explicitly invoked, but only two of the final nine contestants were female, and both were in danger of undermining each other's chances due to injuries from botched spots and accusations of sabotage. Trish Stratus sat both Christina and Ivelisse down and told them to keep their heads on straight if they planned to survive to the end because "this is a man's game" and petty, cattish behavior isn't going to do either of them any favors. Both heed the advice, [[spoiler: but Ivelisse's injury forces Stone Cold to remove her, to the point he ''says'' that was the sole reason he eliminated her.]]
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Indirectly delivered by TripleH upon hearing that one of the contestants had hung a {{Goldberg}} poster in his room, to both Goldberg and the contestants, while lecturing the group on the level of commitment they need to be successful as a wrestler. Segues into the very best parts of DareToBeBadass.
-->''"Who are your idols? Who do you look at and say 'that's what I want to do'? Not 'that's the money I want to make', not 'that's the other [=TV=] show I want to be in', not 'that's the spot I want to be in on JayLeno'. That's the yard. That's the business. That's what I want to do. That's the story I want to tell. You can tell a lot about a guy in this business (from) who he looked up to in this business. ({{Beat}}) Then somebody tells me... one of these guys had a Goldberg poster on his wall that had to be torn off. No big deal to me. I think, 'You know, Goldberg. He's in our business. Hell of an athlete'. [[ArmorPiercingQuestion The question I ask is:]] If your biggest idol in this business is a guy that's been in this business for about a year, got everything handed to him, can't have a match [[SquashMatch longer than four minutes]], has not wrestled for probably for more than three months straight because every three months he's got a hangnail, he's got a toothache, he's got a tummy ache, and he's got to take time off, and I wonder where does that mentally put that person? What does that person think about this business? Is it about what we do? Is it about [[WrestlingPsychology telling a story]]? Or is it about being a big jacked-up guy that stands in the ring, is [[{{Jobber}} fed a bunch of guys]] who really don't know what they're doing to mow over? He abuses that. What does that say about someone that has no heart for what we do? No guts, no heart. You get injured, you keep going. [[{{Determinator}} You get hurt, you keep going]]. I've had to be carried to the top of the ramp to go to the ring! I've had to be helped up the stairs because I couldn't walk myself to 'em! And I've walked to that ring and I've wrestled for 45 minutes against VinceMcmahon. After he fell thirty-five feet on my leg, his big fat ass almost busted it, and I still went to the ring. I'm not bragging.''

* TheRunnerUpTakesItAll: The Most Triumphant Example for the show would be The Miz, who between the fourth and fifth seasons managed to become the only Tough Enough graduate to become WWE Champion.

* VotedOffTheIsland: Depending on the season, the eliminations are done by the trainers and/or public vote. However...
** NonGameplayElimination: Many of the contestants have quit the show for not wanting the job as much as they originally expected. Season 1 had more quitters than actual cuts by the trainers. WordOfGod gave this as the reason why the revival had a lot more experienced indy wrestlers than the original series.
*** Ironically, two of the most experienced veterans in the Season 5 roster were some of the first to go. Matt was a nine year indy veteran and considered a potential winner early on, but was eliminated in episode 2 for utterly failing when given a chance to show off his veteran skills. Michelle claimed to have eleven years of indy experience, but was so out of practice that she performed worse than many of the total beginners, and ended up eliminating herself in episode 3, when she decided that being home with her daughter was more important than a WWE career.
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Luke. Is there an episode where he hasn't taken his shirt off?

* NamesTheSame: Eri'''c''' Watts is the big, stiff guy who can't wrestle from ''Tough Enough''. Eri'''k''' Watts is the big, stiff guy who can't wrestle from early '90s {{WCW}}. No relation.

''Tough Enough'' is a reality show developed by the Wrestling/{{WWE}} where participants compete to win a WWE contract and be the next WWE Superstar or Diva. It originally aired in 2001 on {{MTV}} for three seasons, but was dropped. Its fourth season was integrated into ''SmackDown'' in 2004, after which the series was canceled until 2011, when it was revived once more with StoneColdSteveAustin as the host.

* ChannelHop: Went from {{MTV}}, to Creator/{{UPN}} to USANetwork

* TheNeidermeyer: Kurt Angle played this role in Season 4, in a deliberate heel move, which gave us the now legendary "MTV Sucks!" line to TheMiz.

* Maven Huffman - ''[=TE1=]'' winner (notable for being "That Guy Who Won Tough Enough" and for his elimination of TheUndertaker at the Royal Rumble; employed from 2001-2005).

** Michelle Deighton from Season 5 also appeared in Cycle 4 of ''AmericasNextTopModel''. She's also [[Series/{{Survivor}} Jonny]] [[{{TNA}} Fairplay's]] ex-wife.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Thankfully nobody died on the show but a double subversion came in the first episode of the new season. Eric seemed like he was going to be eliminated only for Stone Cold to eliminate Ariane instead.
** And wouldnt it make it [[DistaffCounterpart Black Chick Goes First?]]

* Chris Nowinski - [=TE1=] competitor (notable more for his post-retirement success as a [[GameBreakingInjury concussion expert]]; mostly remembered for his infamous debate with ScottSteiner; employed from 2002-2003).