WWE Tough Enough 3: Looking Back & Final Predictions

The finale is upon us (and Dale and I will be there LIVE, baby, LIVE!) and it’s also time for the final predictions article. Let’s go through the contestants and hit our predictions! We’ll start with those who are already gone.

Jill:

Mike: What can I say about Jill that hasn’t been said in her Reality TV Hall of Shame induction? I still have my doubt that she was chosen for the potential fireworks between her and Jonah, and she didn’t disappoint on that level. She did disappoint on almost every other level, though. She claims that she didn’t quit because of Jonah, she quit because she was homesick. After FOUR DAYS.

Dale: I have mixed feelings about Jill on the show. It seemed that her pre-show relationship with Jonah had a lot to do with her being placed on the program (probably at the insistence of MTV in wanting a Real World sexual conflict on the series, much like Jackie and Pete in TE2). Heck, they even put them not only in the same bedroom together on TE3, but into a hot tub as well in Episode Two. (And, thank you, God, for limiting the amount of time we saw the hot tub this year.) Her ability to work in the ring was shown early, but it was also obvious that her attitude was not very good for the show in the first place. The emphasis in the program seemed to be placed on Jill leaving because she didn’t like to train, sidestepping the issue of Jonah lying to her about his girlfriend and then bragging about having sex with Jill to the other guys. It makes me hesitate to feel 100% positive about Big’s demoralizing way of cutting Jill from the show. Something about it just didn’t click into focus for me, and I think there was more to the story than being told on the show in Jill’s case.

Would she have made it all the way through? Hard to say. I think if Jonah had not been there, she would have stuck it out and at least made it halfway through, if not further.

Lisa:

Mike: Again, there isn’t much additional to say about Lisa. It will be interesting to see if she is invited to the finale, and see what happens. For what it’s worth, I think they did a good job in tastefully showing that Lisa was having problems without resorting to showing any actual footage of her breakdown. I give Big and the other producers all the credit in the world for that.

Dale: Lisa never made much of an impression. From the stories told about Lisa having to leave due to problems not seen on the show itself, it is understandable why. I am sure some people will compare Lisa to Jessie in TE2 due to Lisa laughing at everything, but I disagree with that assumption. Although both may have done so out of nervousness, Jessie seemed to have a demure smile in the training, while Lisa seemed to be having the jitters. Her attitude with the other contestants about not going out also appeared to be more for nerves than wanting to spite everyone. It appears that she wasn’t ready for this type of competition and perhaps it was for the best for her that she left so quickly in the program.

Chad:

Mike: Chad seemed to be a nice guy, but unfortunately didn’t have the personality or ability to make it. Maybe if he did a gimmick of a car salesman from Fargo…

Dale: He never really had much to do on the show, and from what we saw, there wasn’t much to see anyway. His personality appeared to be pretty bland and he even stated that he was not doing well in the ring. The trainers said such as well. I’m a bit curious as to why he was picked when he never showed much hope from the very beginning.

Rebekah:

Mike: Ah, Rebekah. My least favorite contestant this year. She claims that she is a difficult person to know and her character didn’t really come out on the show. From what we DID see, I don’t want to get to know her. She also claims that she had every intention of turning the show down on the phone but all that changed when they came to her door. I, for one, wish she had gone with her first instinct.

Dale: Never saw much of her in the ring. Never thought much of her until she started getting on her soapbox about how she’s a Christian and no one else was. She alienated everyone around her not because they were different than her, but because she felt she was different from them. That’s a bad sign. I suggest Rebekah read Ted DiBaise’s book, Every Man Has His Price. Ted explains in his book about how he was able to combine his Christian beliefs with the world of wrestling and managed to still be friends with other wrestlers who had no patience for religion. In fact, if Rebekah was serious about remaining a wrestler, she should check out DiBaise’s Christian-oriented wrestling company. They probably would be interested in getting some women involved in the promotion.

I think she should have been pulled from TE3 before she was. Her personality does seem to be ill-fitted to the world of HLA, give-birth-to-a-hand, have-sex-with-a-corpse world of WWE. Although spending a night at Hooter’s is just about on the same level.

Nick:

Mike: Everything I’ve heard says Nick was soft. He was sure made out to be a wimp on the show. But he’s the only one who knew how much pain he was in. He considered the cut to be crap, but remember that he was considered for cuts before his actual time. Also, I’ve heard he claimed they were all joking when he made jokes about Kelly and being easy to get women’s numbers – I don’t doubt him, I’ve seen enough convenient editing on reality shows. Basically, we can’t be sure of what really happened, but we do know the trainers did not think he was fit to be a WWE Superstar.

Dale: Poor Nick, he never came off well in the show. Hardly seen after the first episode (where he took 50 backbumps in a row), only to start mouthing off in Episode Six about the women he could get and then refusing to practice because he had “tennis-elbow.” On his side, I think he just didn’t realize how non-serious the injury was, or else he would have jumped in to do what he could. Nevertheless, he left the show without much of an impression to impart on the viewers. Way it goes.