Tough Enough Updates: Matt, Josh, Nidia, Jackie, and More!

Updates like this are a joy to write. Good news all around – at least for most of the contestants. Most of the updates will be follow-ups on previous stories.

First, according to the new issue of entertainment trade publication Variety, Tough Enough 3 will shoot the next nine weeks in a "a house just north of Malibu and west of Topanga, in an unincorporated part of Los Angeles County." I really don’t know much about the area, but I notice it’s quite a ways from L.A. itself.

Various rumors I’ve heard indicate that the recent Chicago series of The Real World is to blame for the ruckus. I don’t pay attention to The Real World, because I don’t abuse my body in such a heinous fashion. However, I understand that the city of Chicago was not upset to see the MTV people leave.

I also mentioned last week that Josh was removed from the NWA:TNA show with no reason given. Now, the reason has become obvious. Many sources have reported that Josh has signed a developmental deal with WWE. No word yet on where he will be assigned, but of course, I will post the information as soon as I know.

Dale Sherman told you in a brief update that Matt made an appearance on the Ohio Valley Wrestling TV tapings. I made a weekend trip to Louisville last weekend, enjoying the hospitality at Casa Sherman.

We watched the OVW show on Saturday night (with Dale and his wife sitting stage right in the second row!) and I must say I was impressed again with Matt. Yes, he barely spoke and didn’t wrestle, but he has a presence about him which just screams “superstar.” In addition, he seems to have lost some “baby fat” and gained some extra muscle. He’s still got the baby face, but when he’s about 6’5”, it doesn’t hurt too much.

His first storyline involves his “good friend,” OVW champion Nova. Nova has a title defense Friday against John “Prototype” Cena, who he originally beat for the belt. Cena is a member of the heel stable “Bolin Services,” who make the habit of taking every shortcut possible to ensure that their man wins (the hallmark of any heel stable). Kenny Bolin, the head of Bolin Services, will be handcuffed to ring announcer and former police officer Dean Hill. “Bolin’s accountant” Jerome Crony will be handcuffed to Jim Cornette. However, there seemed to be no one able to handle “Head of Security” Sean O’Haire, until Nova offered up his friend “Tiny.” Matt walked to the ring, and looked down upon the 6’4” O’Haire.

Personally, I am of the opinion that Matt’s function in the match is to turn on his friend Nova. The two main members of Bolin Services will probably be leaving OVW soon. Cena is already wrestling on Smackdown and O’Haire has been appearing on Sunday Night Heat. So OVW will need someone to take their place, and Matt would make an excellent addition.

While in Louisville, we also attended the Summer Sizzler Series show at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. None of the Tough Enough gang wrestled, but we did see Matt watching the matches backstage in preparation for his wrestling debut a week from then. Nidia also made an appearance to hype a match on Friday’s show between her “boyfriend” Jamie Knoble and the Hurricane. She made a speech to turn heel, as she was a face in her initial run in OVW. We were unable to make out any of her promo due to the bad sound system, but from what I could tell, she basically called the crowd losers, and she was faking being nice.

In two other OVW-Tough Enough newsbites, we have confirmed that Paulina IS working out at the OVW facility, but we have no more information than that.

Also, remember WAY back when I mentioned that Nidia was first announced as going to OVW, that I quoted Jim Cornette as saying he watched five minutes of the show and turned it off in disgust. Turns out that the five minutes he watched was of the Chris-Nidia hot tub scene, in which case, I don’t blame him. I just hope he didn’t try to watch this year’s show!

Jake has a new website at www.jakeakachisel.com. It looks to be one of the better TE sites out there, with lots of pictures and info for Jake fans. He doesn’t give any clarification on the porno movies, unfortunately.

We’ll end with my favorite topic: Jackie bashing!

No less a respected source than Dave Meltzer’s Pro Wrestling Observer (subscribe at http://www.liveaudiowrestling.com/wo/store/newsletter.asp) described the match as “the longest 3 minutes and 14 seconds in wrestling history.” He also stated that Jackie has no business being on Raw, which is something I’ve been saying for a while.

But the biggest honor has to be Jackie’s match being the very definition of “Wrestlecrap” on www.wrestlecrap.com. She is the first Tough Enough cast member to make the cut (not counting “Sparky Plugg” of course), joining such classic angles as the Gobbledygooker, David Arquette as WCW Champ, and the Wrestling Penises, Rod and Dick Johnson. High Praise indeed.

According to “RD” Reynolds, she should be sent to OVW sooner rather than later. In other words, “Hey toots - your balloony boobs may be ready for prime time, but the rest of you ain't. Hit the bricks, Junior.” Couldn’t have said it any better myself.

Dale and I have been talking a little more about this. My point is, Jackie won the competition not because she deserved to, but because she stuck on like an Aliens face-hugger and wouldn't let go, and Jake blew his shot.

Dale agreed, “determination cannot be the sole element to make one a winner. Everyone in the show went on and on about Jackie's determination, but what about her ability? They kinda put down Matt for stepping out with his injury, but he's now come into OVW looking intimidating and already shows signs of promo skills BECAUSE he stepped back and said, ‘I'm going to do this right, not just do it to win a contest.’

“You have to have something to back it up. The problem is that Jackie's win was based on "determination" and little else. Now that she has made it, will she be able to continue to improve? I dunno. I'm not seeing it on Raw, and it's the wrong place to watch someone go from amateur to professional week-by-week.”

Jackie, by the way, wasn’t on Raw this week. Hmm.

E-mail Mike at: mikmaria@earthlink.net.

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