There have been six seasons of Tough Enough throughout history, with the final season of the show taking place back in 2015 on the WWE Network. The reality show that has opened the door to several wrestlers to become WWE Superstars has always proven to be very popular with fans, showcasing how tough it is to train and develop in the industry.
It isn't a simple process, and that is showcased heavily throughout this series. There's a great blend between reality and the industry, as the wrestlers are literally fighting for a huge job opportunity. But even though the show had success, there's no doubt that there were also moments that simply haven't aged well.
10 Aged Well: Showing The Inner Workings Of Wrestling
Fans have always wanted to learn more about professional wrestling and the inner workings of the industry, and Tough Enough provided that. Showing the way wrestlers trained, how they talked, and what it took to make it in the industry certainly aged well.
As time has gone on, WWE has given more behind the scenes glimpses with documentaries and shows on the WWE Network and social media. Tough Enough was ahead of its time in that regard, and it certainly worked and proved to be very popular.
9 Haven't Aged Well: Kurt Angle's Embarrassment
The Tough Enough wrestlers are always showcased as rookies. That's the right way for them to go and when the cast turned up to SmackDown, the plan was for Kurt Angle to destroy a few of them to go along with his gimmick at the time.
However, Daniel Puder had other ideas about that. He decided to go into business for himself and he actually nearly broke Kurt Angle's arm, which led to a rushed pinfall as the referee had to stop things from becoming a total mess.
8 Aged Well: Helping Spawn NXT
While the NXT fans know and love today isn't similar to Tough Enough, the original game show was. It may not seem like it now but the game show format was something of a hit at first at least.
NXT took aspects of Tough Enough with the various challenges all being used. The only difference was this was a live television show, upping the pressure and it worked, helping to lay the groundwork for the brand fans love today.
7 Haven't Aged Well: Fans Make Poor Decisions
In the final season of Tough Enough, WWE made the decision to open things up to the fans. The company allowed the audience to make the big choices and that was a situation that absolutely did not age well.
The fans are meant to know what they want and like to think they can spot a star from anywhere. Yet the two people the audiences chose to win are now no longer involved in wrestling, which didn't make the fans look good in terms of their knowledge.
6 Aged Well: Chris Jericho's Pep Talk
Speaking of that final season, one name who didn't win but has gone on to have great success is Patrick Clark. He was a shock elimination on the show because he was someone who showed real ability, and clearly, Chris Jericho was stunned by the decision.
Jericho was the host on that season, and WWE shared a video of him talking to Clark after his elimination. It was a pep talk, with Jericho making it clear to the young wrestler he saw big things in him, which has aged well, with Clark having huge success as The Velveteen Dream.
5 Haven't Aged Well: Inappropriate Questions
When Sonya Deville first applied for her role on Tough Enough, she was hit with a very strange and inappropriate question, as her relationship status was asked about. Triple H was the man asking the question, and it is something that just hasn't aged well.
Considering all the problems the wrestling world has had in regards to relationships, this just isn't a good look in the slightest. It was supposedly done to question her dedication to wrestling, but it just doesn't look good in reflection. It also ended up leading to Sonya publicly outing her sexuality before she planned to.
4 Aged Well: Opened The Door For Reality Wrestling Shows
Tough Enough really was a first of its kind type television show, blending wrestling along with reality television aspects. This is something that WWE has gone on to have massive success with.
Total Divas has been a massive deal for the company, with Total Bellas and Miz & Mrs then following on from that. Tough Enough showed that there was an audience for that type of content, which is something that the series doesn't get enough credit for.
3 Haven't Aged Well: Produced Terrible Winners
Tough Enough was supposed to find the new big name in wrestling. It's fair to say, that hasn't happened, especially when taking a look at those who actually won the show.
Of course, there are exceptions, with Maven having moments and John Morrison being excellent. However, overall, the winners of this show actually went on to have very little long-term success, which isn't a great sign for the show overall.
2 Aged Well: Produced Great Wrestlers
While the winners of Tough Enough might not have been great, that doesn't mean that the show didn't produce good wrestlers. This series absolutely did as it promised, it's just that the great names didn't win.
The likes of Mandy Rose, Sonya Deville, The Miz, Ivelisse Velez, Chelsea Green, Melina, and many more amazing wrestlers all came through this show, and that is why this series was a success and has absolutely aged well.
1 Haven't Aged Well: Bullying
The big thing that hasn't aged particularly well about Tough Enough is the bullying that took place on the show. The pros were often very harsh on the amateur wrestlers, especially in the earlier seasons.
The pros would come in and really make things uncomfortable, and while it was all done due to the respect they had for the industry, that doesn't make it okay. Nowadays, the bullying that took place is seen as totally unacceptable and hasn't aged well when looking back. Even in the newest season, the bullying was still there in the training, and even between the rookies.