History Wrestling / WWEToughEnough

-->'''Austin:''' "Out of all the matches in the history of this business, ''that'' was your favorite?!"

* LicensedGame:
** Subverted with the WWE game, ''WWE Day of Reckoning''. The game has a tutorial mode featuring Al Snow teaching a pair of rookies how to wrestle. As a bonus, the two trainees are clearly modeled after John Hennigan and Matt Cappotelli, the two winners from Season 3.
** An episode in Season 5 showed 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.
** The ''Tough Enough'' trophy is featured in ''WWE [=SmackDown!=] vs. Raw 2006'' and is awarded for winning ten matches using a created wrestler.

* ReallySeventeenYearsOld: Marty "The Boogeyman" Wright in Season 4, who was really 40 years old at the time.

* 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/ImpactWrestling TNA]] as Laurel Van Ness; employed 2018-2021).

* 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: However, Ivelisse's injury forced Stone Cold to remove her, to the point he ''said'' that was the sole reason he eliminated her.]]

* {{Unperson}}: As mentioned above, this happened to Hulk Hogan in Season 6 once his racist remarks became public.

* WhipOfDominance: When Linda Miles resurfaced as 'Shaniqua', she gained a {{Dominatrix}} gimmick and started wielding a riding crop whip (she later traded it with cat o' nine tails) and started wearing a black leather corset. She also now had a domineering attitude toward the Basham brother (to whom she was the manager), putting them in dog collars, having them BoundAndGagged, and often [[KinkySpanking whipping them in the rear]].

* Josh Matthews - ''[=TE1=]'' competitor (worked commentary; was the longest-employed ''TE'' alum until The Miz surpassed him; employed 2002-2014).

* WalkingShirtlessScene: Luke. Was there an episode where he ''hadn't'' taken his shirt off?

* Amanda Saccomano - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (repackaged as Wrestling/MandyRose and signed to NXT, then called up to ''Raw''; employed 2015-present).

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

* TheMeanBrit: Played straight with Wrestling/{{Paige}} in Season 6, who was by far the most critical of the judges.

* Kenny Layne - ''[=TE2=]'' competitor (currently works in Wrestling/RingOfHonor as Kenny King; wasn't employed by WWE after his time on ''TE'', and went to the indies afterwards).

* Nidia Guenard - ''[=TE1=]'' winner (notable for being the valet of cruiserweight star Jamie Noble and for her angle where she was blinded by Wrestling/YoshihiroTajiri; employed from 2002-2004).
* Chris Nowinski - ''[=TE1=]'' competitor (notable more for his post-retirement success as a [[GameBreakingInjury concussion expert]]; mostly remembered for his infamous debate with Wrestling/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 [[Wrestling/TheWorldsGreatestTagTeam Charlie Haas]]; employed 2002-2005).
* Matt Morgan - ''[=TE2=]'' competitor (worked in Wrestling/{{TNA}} as The Blueprint; employed from 2003-2005).

* 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 (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 2018-2021).

* 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)

* [[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 The Miz surpassed him; employed 2004-2011, 2020-present).

* Patrick Clark - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (repackaged as Wrestling/TheVelveteenDream and signed to NXT; employed 2015-present).

* 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).

* InformedWrongness: Loads in the fifth season.
** Rima hurts her hip and wears padding to allow her to still run the ropes. This reveal is given with big dramatic music and a DeathGlare from Stone Cold. Apparently wearing something to help you train through an injury counts as cheating.
** Matt is chosen for elimination for not "standing out from the pack" - namely in a demonstration, Trish appears to be annoyed that he doesn't do a bunch of mad high spots. And Luke, who's his partner in this, opts to make himself look good rather than Matt - and the thing is treated as Matt's fault. Especially egregious when Jeremiah later does a high spot in a drill and is told off for being reckless.[[note]]To be charitable to this one, the latter might be because Jeremiah was so green, whereas Matt had over a decade of experience.[[/note]]
** The reverse of the above is Ryan being told off for being too goofy and over-the-top. In professional wrestling! It might make sense if what we see of him is particularly hammy, but he appears to be just standard selling and no more over-the-top than the average wrestler. His status as the goof seems to be entirely an InformedAttribute; ''Website/WrestleCrap'' even pointed out that Bill was nitpicking that Ryan didn't run the way he should have when he ''had an attack dog dangling from his arm''.
** When Christina injures her ankle doing a spot with AJ, Bill can be seen saying "that was all him". While AJ may have been a little too close to the corner (as he insists when Christina returns from the hospital), she still very obviously landed wrong.
** Ariane saying that her favorite match was between Melina and Alicia Fox is supposedly an indicator that she didn't have a passion for the business - when she openly admitted she had newly discovered wrestling. The kicker was this being treated as worse than Eric showing up out of shape or Michelle claiming to have started eleven years ago and yet not even being able to do a roll.

* [[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 The Miz surpassed him; employed 2004-2011).

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

* 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.

* Patrick Clark - ''[=TE6=]'' competitor (repackaged as The Velveteen Dream and signed to NXT; employed 2015-present).

* 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]]

** Season 6 is an extreme case as both the male and female winners were released before they could even make it to TV besides ''Tough Enough''. This includes ''NXT''. 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 The Velveteen Dream on ''NXT'').

** Tanner in Season 6 started out like this but it eventually died out especially when his main rival Patrick was eliminated.

** Alexander's argument with Patrick in Season 6 that knowing WWE history was not important and that "you don’t have to know anything about this sport" didn't exactly do him any favors with judges Daniel Bryan and Hulk Hogan nor the public who voted him out.

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

* {{Expy}}: Contestant Mada Abdelhamid to established wrestler Tomasso Ciampa.