The concept of Tough Enough gave aspiring wrestlers a fast track to getting signed by WWE. MTV and WWE co-produced the series in the early years as a reality series of wrestlers training to win the contest for a contract. WWE would change it up through the years with various versions on their own shows and later on the USA Network.
Future stars like John Morrison, The Miz and Kenny King competed on the show before making it to a higher level. However, there were quite a few other talented stars who tried out and never made it on the series. Find out which relevant names did not get selected by WWE to appear on the series. The following wrestlers surprisingly tried out for Tough Enough.
10 Scarlett Bordeaux
The most recent season of Tough Enough featured many independent wrestlers trying to get on WWE’s radar. Scarlett Bordeaux was experienced at the time following a solid stint in Ring of Honor wrestling as a manager and wrestler.
Scarlett's video package was used in WWE’s best of videos highlighting the most memorable auditions. Scarlett did not get selected, but she eventually joined NXT as the manager of Karrion Kross after getting established in Impact Wrestling.
9 Shad Gaspard
The late Shad Gaspard had a great run in the Cryme Tyme tag team with JTG. Shad always had aspirations of joining the wrestling industry going back to the second season casting of Tough Enough.
The age of Shad was just 21 when trying out, but WWE did not opt to add him to the cast. Despite this, Shad continued moving forward with his wrestling career. WWE still ended up signing and training Gaspard before placing him in a tag team with JTG, known as Cryme Tyme.
8 John Silver
John Silver has recently become one of the most popular new AEW success stories in The Dark Order. The in-ring work of Silver has always delivered, but his personality shining on Being the Elite allowed him to break out in a major way.
Silver has been wrestling for many years and tried to join the 2015 season of Tough Enough. WWE did not add Silver to the season and went mostly with choices that had little to no experience in wrestling before the show.
7 The Boogeyman
The Boogeyman had one of the strangest Tough Enough stories when trying out for the fourth season. WWE considered him for the role, but he was removed from contention when it came out that he was lying about his age as 30 instead of 40.
The career of Boogeyman would still take off in WWE a few years later when getting signed for the gimmick. Boogeyman still returns for the occasional legends night.
6 Luke Gallows
Another Season 4 tryout name who stood out as a familiar face to wrestling fans is Luke Gallows. The dream of becoming a wrestler saw Gallows trying to start his career with a faster path to WWE on Tough Enough.
Gallows was not picked to join the cast, but he did make his way to WWE not too long later with the Festus character. The career of Festus has seen him having multiple stints in WWE, a great run in New Japan as a member of the Bullet Club, and now a huge part of Impact Wrestling.
5 Melina
Melina was on the final list of wrestlers considered for the third season of Tough Enough. WWE eventually passed on her when making the final cuts. John Morrison initially met Melina during this time as he ended up winning the competition.
WWE saw enough potential in Melina to eventually sign her to a developmental deal. The funny twist is she ended up managing Morrison and his tag partner Joey Mercury as MNM to get called up to the main roster together despite the drastically different Tough Enough stories.
4 Lio Rush
The passion for wrestling saw Lio Rush trying to get on the WWE radar for Tough Enough in 2015 early into his career. Rush uploaded a video when WWE went all-in on social media by having contestants posting their own content to get noticed.
WWE did not select Lio for the show and he started making bigger moves in his career on the independent circuit. The success in Ring of Honor landed Rush a WWE contract before his eventual release last year.
3 Mr. Kennedy
WWE did not pick Mr. Kennedy for the second season of Tough Enough when he tried out early into his career. Kennedy had dreams of becoming a top star in WWE and he landed a developmental contract a few years later.
The run of Kennedy allowed him to get over and show his potential before things fell apart. Kennedy still achieved more in wrestling than most wrestlers to appear on the series. WWE might regret not having him on the show looking back.
2 Awesome Kong
Awesome Kong was turned down from WWE when trying out for the first season of Tough Enough. The controversial story went that Jim Ross not only shut her down but claimed that she would never make it in the wrestling business.
Kong finding success in TNA and eventually getting signed by WWE completely proved him wrong. The rise of Kong made her one of the most important female performers in helping the women’s wrestling scene improve for the better.
1 MJF
The Tough Enough audition tape of MJF in 2015 was impressive enough to get uploaded on WWE’s official YouTube. MJF used the same character that is currently finding him success before he had any name value in wrestling.
WWE passed on him for the series and it ended up becoming a mistake. MJF’s character would have been captivating on a series like Tough Enough when interacting with other contestants and the judges. The career path of MJF has him as an upper card star for AEW after WWE never reached out.