{"id":38496,"date":"2017-02-06T17:39:49","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T23:39:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/?p=38496"},"modified":"2017-02-06T17:40:22","modified_gmt":"2017-02-06T23:40:22","slug":"wwe-network-pick-week-first-season-tough-enough-al-snow-taz-jacqueline-comparisons-latest-version","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/02\/06\/wwe-network-pick-week-first-season-tough-enough-al-snow-taz-jacqueline-comparisons-latest-version\/","title":{"rendered":"WWE NETWORK PICK OF THE WEEK: The first season of Tough Enough with Al Snow, Taz, Jacqueline, comparisons to latest version"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pwtor-3405653307\" class=\"pwtor-before-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><hr \/><b>SPOTLIGHTED PODCAST ALERT (YOUR ARTICLE BEGINS A FEW INCHES DOWN)... <\/b>\r\n\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/widget.spreaker.com\/player?show_id=3076978&theme=light&playlist=false&playlist-continuous=false&autoplay=false&live-autoplay=false&chapters-image=true&episode_image_position=right&hide-logo=false&hide-likes=false&hide-comments=false&hide-sharing=false&hide-download=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"140px\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe>\r\n<hr \/><\/div><p><b>WWE NETWORK: PICK OF THE WEEK<\/b><b><br \/>\n<\/b><b>Pick of the Week:<\/b> Tough Enough: S01 E01<br \/>\n<b>Originally Aired:<\/b>\u00a0June 21, 2001<br \/>\nBy Ryan Tailor, PWTorch Specialist<\/p>\n<p><i>Are you tough enough? <\/i>This was the<i> <\/i>question asked by the WWE over 15 years ago as they embarked upon a quest to find two new potential WWE Superstars in a ground-breaking competition that would change the lives of some of the contestants forever.<\/p>\n<p>Yes, this week\u2019s <i>POTW<\/i> looks back to the birth of the television series &#8220;<i>Tough Enough,&#8221;<\/i>\u00a0in all its original glory complete with gruelling challenges, high stakes, and thirteen\u00a0young men and women eager to make it. The show, originally broadcast in conjunction with MTV, could be comparable in style to hit reality based MTV shows of the time, such as &#8220;<i>The Real World,&#8221;<\/i>\u00a0and it hits you smack in the face with its early 2,000s &#8220;reality&#8221; production. And true to all reality based shows, the episodes are spliced with &#8220;talking head&#8221; shots of the contestants speaking to the camera, allowing the viewers at home to develop interest in their different backstories.<\/p>\n<p>Over 4,000 people submitted audition tapes to the WWE (or the WWF as it was still known then) in the hopes of being selected for the live audition process in front of an esteemed panel of judges. From the initial video entrants, just 230 were chosen to try-out in person at WWF New York <i>(yeah, I forgot that place existed too) <\/i>in an attempt to impress the judges and make the next cut. Some of the judging panel included WWE Superstars Al Snow, Tazz, and Jacqueline, who would go on to be the lead trainers in this first season, plus WWE producer John \u201cBig\u201d Gaburick and a handful of MTV producers and affiliates. The ensemble of 230 would eventually be cut down to just 25 semi-finalists, 13 of whom\u00a0would then qualify to compete in the first ever <i>Tough Enough<\/i> competition, for a chance to win a WWE contract.<\/p>\n<p>The judges at the initial live auditions wasted no time in testing the potential candidates&#8217; resolve, and gave them a chance to cut a promo and showcase their unique personalities, coupled with some basic cardio drills. Judging by the complete lack of athleticism in some of the hopefuls, it\u2019s a wonder how certain contestants even made it past the audition tape round. But then again, a show where 230 well-oiled machines run rings around the physical challenges set by WWE wouldn\u2019t make for a very entertaining first episode of <i>Tough Enough<\/i> now, would it? I mean, what\u2019s a reality audition show without watching an out of shape guy with his shirt off fall over a sandbag in the ring<i>, hmm?<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Despite the &#8220;fake reality&#8221; world that MTV and its ilk often try to force upon us, what\u2019s great about this show is, you do get to the see the genuine spark and enthusiasm from some of the potential competitors as they come face-to-face with their own moment of truth. The chance to fulfil their lifelong dream lays before them, and you can\u2019t help but root\u00a0for some of them to succeed.<\/p>\n<p>Although this is a retrospective look back at a competition where I know who the winners will be, I still find myself trying to suss out my &#8220;picks&#8221; to win, and who I think will advance further in the competition. Also, in the rare instance that you&#8217;re reading this and don\u2019t know who the winners of season one are, I shall refrain from spoiling the outcome!<\/p>\n<p>In terms of the WWE\u2019s own talent involved in <i>Tough Enough<\/i>, each trainer adds their own character and spice to the mix, offering up different dynamics to the student\/teacher relationship. Al Snow, as well as being the lead coach during the coming weeks of intensive training, acts as somewhat of a father figure to most of the cast throughout the series. As the competition heats up, he provides a lot of sage advice and acts as a cool head <i>(pun intended)<\/i> and sounding board for the problems that the students face along the way. WWE Hall of Famer Jacqueline plays the role of the strong, feisty veteran woman wrestler\u00a0who can challenge the toughness of the female competitors, but also on occasion act as a shoulder to cry on when things get intense.<\/p><div id=\"pwtor-997575171\" class=\"pwtor-content pwtor-entity-placement\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280 __336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_test_300x250\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div><\/div>\n<p>And then\u2026 there\u2019s Tazz.<\/p>\n<p>The \u201cHuman Suplex Machine\u201d gives you a taste, even in episode one, of how much he looks forward to putting these contestants in their place with his aggressive, take no-prisoners-attitude and no B.S approach to teaching. He is one of the main attractions of the show and is as funny as he is frightening! All three mentors command the respect of the contestants and, along with other appearances of WWE stars along the way <i>(Check out Triple H\u2019s rant about Goldberg in episode 3!),<\/i> they serve as a tremendous wealth of wrestling knowledge and experience for the rookies.<\/p>\n<p>When comparing the format and style of season one to the WWE\u2019s latest <i>Tough Enough<\/i> incarnation in 2015, I can\u2019t help but long for the programme to return to its routes in both content and production. In my opinion, the studio segments involving Paige, &#8220;he who must not be named,&#8221; and Daniel Bryan from the latest season of Tough Enough serve only to distract from the contestant\u2019s own journeys, making them less relatable. This ultimately means that a viewer is just not as invested in who wins the show as they would have been if we got to see past the scripted drama and quest for camera time from the judges. Season one\u2019s stripped down, &#8220;rough around the edges&#8221; style allows for a more engaging experience and lets the personalities of the contestants breathe.<\/p>\n<p>A show is only as good as its cast, and the producers of season one had done a good job in mixing contestants who would be physically gifted in the ring (but maybe a little boring to watch), with those who would probably cause controversy and make it more of an entertainment\/reality show and not just a pure athletic competition.<\/p>\n<p><i>Tough Enough<\/i>, through the good seasons and bad, has managed to spawn a handful of notable wrestlers that got to live out their dream and become WWE Superstars. It\u2019s a dream that millions of people across the world can relate to and, as such, a show like this should be important not only to the history of the WWE, but to every die-hard wrestling fan who hoped to one day realize the same dream.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"entry-title\"><strong>NOW CHECK OUT LAST WEEK&#8217;S ARTICLE:\u00a0<\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/01\/29\/wwe-network-pick-week-watching-back-wwes-uk-championship-tournament-attending-person-2\/\">WWE NETWORK PICK OF THE WEEK: Stone Cold Podcast with Vince McMahon back in 2014 with talk about Punk, \u201cToo Swiss\u201d Cesaro, Lesnar ending The Streak, more<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"pwtor-end-article-groups pwtor-entity-placement\" id=\"pwtor-1238291407\"><div id=\"pwtor-2322353695\"><div align=\"center\" data-freestar-ad=\"__336x280\" id=\"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\">\r\n  <script data-cfasync=\"false\" type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n    freestar.config.enabled_slots.push({ placementName: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\", slotId: \"pwtorchcom_medrec_3\" });\r\n  <\/script>\r\n<\/div>\r\n\r\nTHANK YOU FOR VISITING<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>WWE NETWORK: PICK OF THE WEEK Pick of the Week: Tough Enough: S01 E01 Originally Aired:\u00a0June 21, 2001 By Ryan Tailor, PWTorch Specialist Are you tough enough? This was the question asked by the WWE <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/2017\/02\/06\/wwe-network-pick-week-first-season-tough-enough-al-snow-taz-jacqueline-comparisons-latest-version\/\" title=\"WWE NETWORK PICK OF THE WEEK: The first season of Tough Enough with Al Snow, Taz, Jacqueline, comparisons to latest version\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":38497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,27,4511],"tags":[2387,2230,4468,436],"class_list":["post-38496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-opnionandanalysis","category-specialists","category-wwe-network-pick-of-the-week","tag-al-snow","tag-jacqueline","tag-tazz","tag-tough-enough"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/post\/2017\/02\/Tazz_TB3x2_600.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38496"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":38499,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38496\/revisions\/38499"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pwtorch.com\/site\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}