Tough Enough 4, Episode 4: Now That's Comedy

Before we begin this week's review of TE4, it appears we'll need to take a quick look back at Episode 3 of the program. As some of you may remember, the "test" for the finalists last week was to do a series of squat-thrusts, with the winner getting to have a match with Kurt Angle. The winner was Chris Nawrocki, who Angle pinned within 30 seconds. He then asked if anyone else wanted to give it a shot and Daniel Puder volunteered.

Now, as I mentioned last week in the view, Angle and Puder fumbled around a bit in the ring, but in the end Angle got the pin within another 30 seconds. Here is where things get a little shaky. On November 5, Dave Meltzer - a well-respected writer on wrestling - mentioned on wrestlingobserver.com that some Mixed Martial Arts fans were discussing that Puder had actually done what is called a Keylock position (an armlock that finds the arm behind the opponent's back and pulled away, with the objective of separating the arm from the shoulder) on Angle and that Angle surely would have had serious damage done to his shoulder if he had held on to his submission hold for any longer than he did. From Meltzer's point of view, this situation could have been used as a means to start a storyline because it "got people talking," perhaps even starting an "invasion" of UFC fighters (as Puder is from) or other MMA individuals. Because of Meltzer remarks, the story picked up steam on some of the wrestling forums.

As I said, Meltzer is a well-respected writer about wrestling. He certainly knows more about professional wrestling than I do. No doubt about that. However I do have to respectfully disagree with his position on this situation.

I have the match on tape, in case I need to review the TE footage later on for some reason. In rewatching it, I have to admit that I did not notice the Keylock maneuver until the second time around. However, it is also clear that Puder did not get Angle completely into the lock until they were already down on the ground and the three-count was beginning. Before that, the two struggled against the ropes, with Puder fighting for the arm, until Angle dropped his weight on Puder and they fall over with Angle on top.

The two struggled on the ground for a bit, and it appeared that Puder was going to wrap his legs around Angle's left leg, but then he didsn't follow through. Puder was on his left side and refused to roll over until Angle picked up Puder's leg and rolled over on top of Puder. It was at that point when Angle made the mistake of allowing Puder to just barely put him into the keylock (Angle can be seen holding back the move from being completed to the full extent), although he finally completed the move fully as the third count came. Admittedly, Puder's shirt is so loose that one cannot tell completely if both of his shoulders are down during the first two slaps of the mat by the ref, but before the third slap could occur, Angle rolled over even further on Puder, definitely sending Puder's shoulders into the mat (while at the same time it appears that Puder either lost his strength or just decided to give up and relaxed). Either way, it looked to me like Angle would have gotten the three-count anyway, even if the ref had started a few seconds later.

This was a close disaster for both Puder and Angle. Puder, I suspect instinctively, performed in a way that never would have washed for a regular professional wrestling bout. The move Puder used could have led to Angle getting his shoulder completely screwed up, as there was no way Angle would have allowed some "amateur" beat him on national television and embarrass him and the company. For Puder, it would have told WWE that the kid could not wrestle in the manner needed to be a WWE Superstar, or could even be a loose cannon. This could have - and may still have - done more harm for Puder than good with the WWE staff. One must also consider WWE's success rate with other people from the world of MMA hasn't been exactly glowing, so this probably did nothing to help him in that regard.

The main thing is that it was a mismatch situation where WWE allowed one of their biggest names get into a ring with a "student" and possible harm came into play. Ultimately, however, it comes down to this - how many fans thought there was a problem here? Unless you read the comments made after the fact by people on the internet, no doubt most people really didn't care. All they saw was a kid losing a short 30-second match. In the end, that's all that mattered.

With that, we'll move on to the piggybacked Episode Four, which begins with the seven contestants in the ring with Al Snow and Chris and Kim from The Tonight Show. Since I don't watch The Tonight Show, I have no idea who Chris and Kim are, but they are there on Smackdown in order to do commentary over the test the contestants will be involved with.

Most of the contestants are in costumes of one type or another. Nawrocki is dressed fairly casually, although he has a cane with him (more about that in a moment). Mizanin is wearing a Santa hat and red and white trunks of some kind. He hopes around like crazy and acts goofy. Ryan Reeves is dressed conservatively and looks oddly like he could be the younger brother to Chuck Palumbo (who has just been released by WWE). Dan Rodimer is wearing a bandana on his head and has on black pants and an open vest. Nick Mitchell is wearing a cowboy hat, no shirt, and appears to be trying out for a strip club; having holes cut out of the back pockets of his jeans helps to complete that image. Justice Smith is styling, while Dan Puder has on a white tux and has a bouquet of flowers.