WWE Tough Enough 3, Episode 11: In the Stratus-phere

Hope everyone had an enjoyable holiday season. As for me, I’ve been reading the Bobby Heenan book (Bobby the Brain: Wrestling’s Bad Boy Tells All), which I hope to review soon at NonFictionReviews.com.

Surprisingly little news to go through. The only real development happened at least two weeks ago, with TE1’s Josh co-hosting Velocity with Ernest “the Cat” Miller. He’s doing a decent job, but he’s no Michael Cole. Which means he’s perfect for the job.

If you haven’t already, make sure you check out the Year-End Tough Enough Awards article. And that’s about all that’s been going on!

Two weeks ago: Jonah questioned his desire! Will he quit?

We begin outside Trax West, with Jonah still nervous. He says he wants to get married and have kids, but he wants to be there for them instead of being on the road most of the year. I could mention that his girlfriend should be more worried about him being on the road after what happened with Jill, but I think I’ll let that one pass.

I do think it’s interesting that he’s gone from the ‘himbo’ gigolo type to the guy who is worried about being away from a hypothetical family. Has he really matured, or is he just looking for excuses to bail out?

Jonah decides to have a heart to heart with Al, since Al has been wrestling forever and would know about that sort of thing. Okay, not the best way to phrase it, but he does have a point. But I highly doubt he’d have the same conversation with Bill, you know?

Outside of Trax, Jonah asks Al if there is a life outside of wrestling and Al gives the helpful, “that’s up to you.” In a separate interview, Al says that the realization is hitting Jonah that he has a chance to win, and it’s scaring the hell out of him.

I’m surprised no one mentioned, but this is widely given as the explanation why Hawk quit in TE2. He realized he had a shot at winning and decided that with his dream within his reach, he didn’t want it as much as he thought he did.

Big jumps into the conversation and says while it’s Jonah’s decision, it is one that Jonah needs to be VERY clear about. He will not choose someone who doesn’t want this in his heart, not when there are five other people who would gnaw their own leg off to get that chance. Being scared is fine, doubting yourself is not.

Jonah decides that he has always wanted to be a wrestler. In the past, he has always tried to please other people before himself (must… not… make… crude… joke…) and this time he’s going to do this for himself.

Afterward, Al tells Jonah that he’s got his trust, Jonah better not screw him over. Big tells Al that Jonah is full of shit. He isn’t convinced that Jonah has the same commitment as the other five. Big can only shake his head as Jonah walks off. We’ll see more of this a bit later.

Back to wrestling, the training is getting more intense. They’re doing more complicated, more dangerous moves like gutwrench suplexes. Bill starts to help Justin up, then jerks his hand away, telling him to act six feet whatever. I’m not sure, but it seems like Bill thinks Justin is not doing the moves as well as he should. Justin says he’s mentally drained.

The group takes some clotheslines and elbows off the ropes, and Jamie talks about how much the ropes hurt. Ivory thinks that Jamie has such a great presence, but the ability doesn’t match the presence.

Personally, I don’t see the appeal of Jamie. I’m not a trainer, of course, but the only positive about her I see right now is her desire.

Big tells the gang that they’ll be hosting a dinner party for their trainers and a special guest: Trish Stratus. The guys, of course, get very excited. Justin says that everything they were planning got kicked up a notch when they heard that Trish would be there.

Everyone in the house is busily preparing for dinner: Jamie sets the table, John makes the salmon and the salad, Eric cooks, Justin and Matt grill the steaks and clean up the house, and Jonah… no one really remembers what Jonah did. But I’m sure he helped out a lot.

Jonah asks if Eric wants to sit next to Trish. He’s a bit nervous about tonight. As the limo pulls up, John says they’re lined up like kids on the first day of school, nervously fidgeting. Big walks in and introduces the special guest!

Trish Stratus is a former fitness model (you know, cover girls on Flex magazine who demonstrate equipment on fitness shows on ESPN2) who made her way into wrestling a couple of years ago. She has risen to become the premiere babyface woman in WWE, impressively going from mere eye candy with little talent to very good wrestler in a short span.

Personally, I’ve never thought much of Trish. Yeah, she’s a hot blonde and she’s got wrestling skill, but for some reason she’s never caught my fancy. I’m much more of a Molly Holly man myself. But just so you know, I may not be a big fan but that’s not to say that Trish isn’t a good wrestler.