History Wrestling / WWEToughEnough

** The ''Tough Enough trophy'' is featured in ''WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw 2006'' and is awarded for winning ten matches using a created wrestler.

* Chelsea Green - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (previously appeared as Megan Miller in the [[Wrestling/BellaTwins Brie Bella]] vs Wrestling/StephanieMcMahon feud of Summer 2014; wrestled for Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Laurel Van Ness; employed 2018-present).

* [[Wrestling/{{Ryback}} Ryan Reeves]] - ''[=TE4=]'' competitor (repackaged as first [[Wrestling/TheNexus Skip Sheffield]], then as Ryback following an injury; employed 2004-2007 and 2008-2016)

* Andy Leavine - ''[=TE5=]'' winner (competed in FCW prior to competition, returned there after winning, but released after nearly a year; employed 2010-2011 and 2011-2012).

* Chelsea Green - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (wrestled for Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Laurel Van Ness; employed 2018-present).

* Chelsea Green - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (wrestled for Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Laurel Van Ness; wasn't employed by WWE, but did play Daniel Bryan's "therapist" Megan Miller in 2014).

* Chelsea Green - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (wrestled for Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Laurel Van Ness; wasn't employed by WWE).

* 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/DrewHankinson Luke Gallows]], [[Wrestling/KiaStevens Kharma]], [[Wrestling/{{Boogeyman}} The Boogeyman]], Shawn Daivari and ''[[Wrestling/WWERaw Raw]]'' ring announcer Justin Roberts.

* Maven Huffman - ''[=TE1=]'' winner (notable for being "[[RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun That Guy Who Won Tough Enough]]" and for his elimination of Wrestling/TheUndertaker at the 2002 ''Wrestling/RoyalRumble''; employed from 2001-2005).

* Linda Miles - ''[=TE2=]'' winner (briefly repackaged as "Shaniqua," a valet of the Basham brothers; employed from 2002-2004).

* Matt Morgan - ''[=TE2=]'' competitor (worked in Wrestling/{{TNA}} as "The Blueprint"; employed from 2003-2005).

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

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

* Patrick Clark - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (repackaged as "The Velveteen Dream" and signed to NXT; employed 2015-present).
* Amanda Saccomano - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (repackaged as Mandy Rose and signed to NXT, then called up to RAW; employed 2015-present).
* Daria Berenato - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (repackaged as Sonya Deville and signed to NXT, then called up to RAW; employed 2015-present).
* Chelsea Green - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (wrestled for Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Laurel Van Ness; wasn't employed by WWE.)

* Matt Cappotelli - ''[=TE3=]'' winner (career was postponed indefinitely due to a brain tumor).

* Chelsea Green - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (wrestled for Wrestling/{{TNA}} as Laurel Van Ness.)

* 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.

** Indirectly delivered by Wrestling/TripleH 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 wrestlers. Segues into the very best part of DareToBeBadass. [[note]]"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'. 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 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 telling a story? Or is it about being a big jacked-up guy that stands in the ring, is 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. 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 Wrestling/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. 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. 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.[[/note]]

* Josh Matthews - ''[=TE1=]'' competitor (worked commentary; longest-employed ''TE'' alum from 2002-2014).

** Season 6 is an extreme case, where both the male and female winners were released before they could even make it to TV besides ''Tough Enough'' (this includes NXT). The male runner-up was also released. In fact, of that entire season, the only Tough Enough competitors to make any impact are Mandy Rose (who was on a season of ''Series/TotalDivas''), Daria Berenato (signed on as Sonya Deville) and Patrick Clark (who was repackaged as EnsembleDarkhorse Velveteen Dream on ''Wrestling/{{WWENXT}}'').

** Season 6 is an extreme case, where both the male and female winners were released before they could even make it to TV. The male runner-up was also released. In fact, of that entire season, the only two Tough Enough competitors to make any impact are Mandy Rose (who was on a season of ''Series/TotalDivas'') and Patrick Clark (who was repackaged as EnsembleDarkhorse Velveteen Dream on ''Wrestling/{{WWENXT}}''.

** Others include Tumbleweed (AJ), Miss 11 Years (Michelle), Miss USA ([[CaptainObvious Rima]]), CoolHandLuke ([[CaptainObvious Luke]]) and Evey (Ivelisse). Ariane also got labeled "Powder Puff" before her elimination.

* BreakTheHaughty: Patrick Clark, a Wrestling/{{CZW}} wrestler who was also the first graduate of Maryland Championship Wrestling's academy alongside Wrestling/{{ROH}} Top Prospect Wrestling/LioRush was eliminated in Season 6 after placing in at the top three weeks in a row for his perceived failure to learn the value of humility.[[note]] Apparently, he learned his lesson, as WWE eventually gave him a contract and he now wrestles in NXT. [[/note]]

* BreakTheHaughty: Patrick Clark, a Wrestling/{{CZW}} wrestler who was also the first graduate of Maryland Championship Wrestling's academy alongside ROH Top Prospect Lio Rush was eliminated in Season 6 after placing in at the top three weeks in a row for his perceived failure to learn the value of humility.[[note]] Apparently, he learned his lesson, as WWE eventually gave him a contract and he now wrestles in NXT. [[/note]]

* SpearCounterpart: Season 4 featured entirely male contestants, which consisted of weekly skits on ''[=SmackDown!=]''. This made it a male version of the [[Wrestling/WWEDivaSearch Diva Search]] which was on ''Raw'' at the time.

* SpearCounterpart: Season 4 featured entirely male contestants, which consisted of weekly skits on ''[=SmackDown!=]''. This made it a male version of the Diva Search, which was on ''Raw'' at the time.

* SpearCounterpart: Season 4 featured entirely male contestants and took the form of weekly skits on ''[=SmackDown!=]''. This made it a male version of the Diva Search that was currently airing on ''Raw''.

* SpearCounterpart: Season 4 featured entirely male contestants and took the form of weekly skits on ''[=SmackDown!=]''. This made it a male version of the Diva Search that was currently airing on ''Raw''.
* 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, Wrestling/TheBigShow visited during "technique" week, and emphasized in his speech that even "[[TheGiant big man]]" wrestlers like himself had to have excellent technique, they couldn't only rely on their physicality.

* SpearCounterpart: Season 4 featured entirely male contestants and consisted of weekly skits on ''[=SmackDown=]''. This made it a male version of the Diva Search, which took place on ''Raw'' - featuring a series of women hoping to earn a WWE contract.

* VotedOffTheIsland: Depending on the season, the eliminations were done by the trainers and/or public vote. However...
** NonGameplayElimination: Many of the contestants had 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 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.

** In Season 5, when Ariane was asked by Stone Cold what her all-time favorite match was, she replied with ''Melina vs. Alicia Fox''.
-->'''Austin:''' (trying to hold himself from strangling her) "Out of all the matches in the history of this business, ''that'' was your favorite?!"

** Averted however with Jackie Gayda from Season 2, who suffered an ankle injury and still won the contest.

* InSeriesNickname / EmbarrassingNickname : Bill [=DeMott=] liked giving them to contestants:

* SpearCounterpart: Season 4 featured entirely male contestants and took the form of weekly skits on Smackdown. This made it a male version of the Diva Search that was currently airing on Raw.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Wrestling/TrishStratus definitely. Ryan also showed his mean streak when he was pit against Mickael.

* BittersweetEnding: Season 5 ended with the fan favourite Andy winning...only to get a stunner from Stone Cold and slap from Vince. He would later get suspended for failing a drug test, and quietly released.
* [[BlackDudeDiesFirst Black Chick Gets Eliminated First]]: Thankfully nobody died on the show but a double subversion came in the first episode of Season 5. Eric seemed like he was going to be eliminated only for Stone Cold to eliminate Ariane instead.
* BreakTheHaughty: Patrick Clark, a Wrestling/{{CZW}} wrestler who was also the first graduate of Maryland Championship Wrestling's academy alongside ROH Top Prospect Lio Rush was eliminated in Season 6 after placing in at the top three weeks in a row for his perceived failure to learn the value of humility. [[note]] Apparently, he learned his lesson, as WWE eventually gave him a contract and he now wrestles in NXT [[/note]]