(Hope I'm not taking the space of doing a proper recap.)
Really really should've gone with "Alicia Fox vs Melina" as the title. Poor Stone Cold. (The actual funny part: Ariane still got signed to a developmental deal.)
Lessons learned so far! - show up in shape, even when it's not clear how far in advance these people got told they're coming on this show - padding must be all natural - keep your pants fastened at all time - Steve Austin has a glass skull on his desk! - never ever say you're a 11 year veteran if you haven't been wrestling for many of them. - Bill DeMott does not want to have deep conversations with you.
Lesons to be learned - being like Ric Flair = a poor idea if you're not actually Ric Flair - WWE likes tall handsome men! - WWE likes hot women!
Miss USA Rima seems like the favorite. At least of the editors, too soon to tell about the judges.
When Ariane told Steve Austin her favorite match ever was Alicia Fox vs. Melina I almost died laughing. Austin's reaction was amazing. I will not miss a second of this show and I will be watching for Steve Austin.
That was GREAT. I was watching with my dad, a nostalgia thing as he was the one to get me into wrestling, and when she said that as her answer we both just died laughing. Austin's reaction just pushed it over the top even more, and we missed anything said until the credits. That was hilarious. When asked about her favorite match ever, Ariane's answer....is Melina vs Alicia Fox. I don't do this often but:
LOL
So! I enjoyed this a lot, but then I'm huge into history and tradition and when wrestling appeals to that, I'm a sucker for it. Also, Austin, Booker, and Trish. I wasn't a fan of the obviously contrived/scripted part in the beginning, when the guy who can't spell "Michael" was attempting to be sexist to rile up the women, but otherwise the rest of the show seemed pretty genuine, if overly produced.
My favorites at the moment are Andy, the guy who had probably the least TV time but was the most relatable/normal/noble guy, and Ivelissa, the blonde indie veteran. I'll be actually pulling for them as the show moves on. It'll be interesting to see how they incorporate the visiting wrestlers, including Rock, into different challenges that relate to the actual business of professional wrestling.
Michigan against the SEC: 20-6-1 (7-4 in bowl games)
This was a good show. Maybe it's my memory of seasons past that has failed me, but this show seemed a heck of a lot more "reality" - and I mean that in the positive sense. The opening montage was good as a grabber. I hope that the 8/7 timeslot might capture some reality fans as opposed to WWE fans. (So does USA!)
I could have done without an elimination this early but in the long run it's not going to matter.
Do you think that guy's being a dick just to make sure he gets some TV time, or is he really a dick? I guess we'll find out in the weeks to come!
Doesn't Rima have some obligations as Miss USA? How'd she get time off to do this thing? I feel like she's going to last deep into this program and people will feel the need to complain about it on the Internet. Will I be one of them? TUNE IN NEXT TIME
EDIT: Oh I almost forgot. As I tweeted...HA, they sure said "belt" a whole bunch of times!
Originally posted by El PescadoWhen Ariane told Steve Austin her favorite match ever was Alicia Fox vs. Melina I almost died laughing. Austin's reaction was amazing. I will not miss a second of this show and I will be watching for Steve Austin.
Can we get an Animated GIF of Austin's disbelief?
Also Stone Cold admitted he crapped his pants during a match once! The Toughest SOB there is!
I'm not a fan of the Reality TV Tropes of Arguing While Living Together and Partying Hard While Living Together, but if they focus more on stuff like running the ropes and having the judges sit down and judge, it'll be all good.
Ariane will be given a gimmick where she wears baggy hip-hop style pants, no doubt.
And I thought they were just being pervy and giving us a good eyeful of Rima's butt until her Shocking Attempt at Cheating To Win.
"You’ve got the crazy eyes." - RAW GM Laptop, 9/27/10
If this teaches every active WWE Superstar anything, it's that literally any match they put on can be somebody's favorite. No. Literally. Any match. Any single match.
Originally posted by thecubsfanSteve Austin has a glass skull on his desk!
I like to think it's a crystal skull. "You tell me their treasure was knowledge and expect me to smile?"
Man, Austin was fun to watch on this and the reason I'll be coming back to it. If at all possible, I just want to hear him say "Yokozuna" (or, as he says it, "Yukazunah!") every week. Related defecation stories optional. But pretty much every moment with him was great, from the noted reaction to the praise for the epic Alicia Fox vs. Melina match, to his laughing disbelief at Eric's stumble during Three Minutes of Hell to various shots of him seeming to genuinely enjoy evaluating everybody. That's kind of the key: he's balancing his natural hardass persona, being offhandedly funny and actually expressing an interest in the participants. The former two we all knew he could handle, but that last part rounded things off nicely, especially whenever he and the other trainers would offer up legit praise for the various skill levels/hustle shown.
I also liked the hints of Austin/Booker chemisty we got (weirdly edited, but Austin bonding with Booker over their respect for cheating) and Booker's apparent position as the nice one, as well as Trish's spot as the chatty one who Austin indulges or ignores as it suits him. And DeMott is perfectly suited as the drill instructor and go-to guy for all the "this looks really painful and makes loud sounds" montage shots. Also, Eric's "I'm...vaguely aware of who Bill DeMott is!" cut in when they introduced the trainers was a fine moment.
The worst parts were the in-house fightin' nonsense that they understandably feel like they need to have, but instantly made me dread any Miss USA/Big Vito II segments (though that guy seems to be able to move around surprisingly well). I hope they err more towards the inspirational backstory kind of reality show presentation as they go along (mostly "doin' it for my family" stuff) that you usually see in competition/sports programming.
Too early to have much of a sense for anybody yet, though I was mildly intrigued by the supposed 11 Year Vet. I don't think she'll be around long - she's presumably less compelling than Miss USA or Alicia Fox's Evil Sister and looked the worst among the women in the ring based on what they showed us - but I liked her creepily appearing in the kitchen when Generic Guy was trying to give Ariane advice, and then specifically using That Guy's advice to put Ariane into position to get turfed. It was certainly edited to look like she worked in the line about not being there just for an experience in a way that lead directly to Austin posing the deadly favorite match question.
So if nothing else, she's the one who seems to already know how to play the vote-someone-out style of reality show game. Plus, her general shiftiness reminds me of the crazy girl/master of disguise who was thrown off the show off-camera all those years ago on...let's say Tough Enough 3? That sounds about right. Were we ever so (wild and) young?
Originally posted by Dr UAlso, Eric's "I'm...vaguely aware of who Bill DeMott is!" cut in when they introduced the trainers was a fine moment.
ahahaha
Originally posted by DrToo early to have much of a sense for anybody yet, though I was mildly intrigued by the supposed 11 Year Vet. I don't think she'll be around long - she's presumably less compelling than Miss USA or Alicia Fox's Evil Sister and looked the worst among the women in the ring based on what they showed us - but I liked her creepily appearing in the kitchen when Generic Guy was trying to give Ariane advice, and then specifically using That Guy's advice to put Ariane into position to get turfed. It was certainly edited to look like she worked in the line about not being there just for an experience in a way that lead directly to Austin posing the deadly favorite match question.
So if nothing else, she's the one who seems to already know how to play the vote-someone-out style of reality show game.
That's TNA Knockout Johnny Fairplay's wife so she probably knows a thing or twenty about how to play to a reality show but she also probably knows a thing or thirty about being too annoying to last.
I'm not usually one for reality shows (the only other one I liked was Next Food Network Star) but I thought this was incredible - I like the dynamic of the trainers and, like others, thought that Austin was phenomenal as a host. I'll have to go back and watch it again to get a note of who everyone is since it always takes me a while to put names to faces but I'll definitely be watching the season.
As a side note, they had a deleted scene up on the USA site that had a little meeting between Matt and CM Punk. I don't think you can embed it (at least I didn't see any options) so forget the link.
I thought it was well done. But I don't buy that "only one" will land a WWE contract. The entire cast of NXT season 1 got a contract, and some of the losers of NXT season 2 and 4 got bigger contracts then the winner did.
Originally posted by shawnpatrickI thought it was well done. But I don't buy that "only one" will land a WWE contract. The entire cast of NXT season 1 got a contract, and some of the losers of NXT season 2 and 4 got bigger contracts then the winner did.
You do realize that the entire cast of NXT already had WWE contracts, some of them for several years, before they even appeared on NXT, right?
Welcome home, men of the 2nd Bn, 127th Infantry, 32d "Red Arrow" Brigade, WI Army National Guard! Job well done in Iraq!
As a proud hater of reality programming...
...I really dug this show. (Except for the gotta-have-a-b*tch moments inside the house.) Liked the blond-Nicholas-Cage-lookalike kid talking about how the partiers were stupid, and he's gonna stick to his treadmill and protein drinks instead of having a beer.
But a hottub party scene in Episode 1? Already?
Less mansion, more making these kids pay dues, and I'll keep watching. Austin is TREMENDOUS in his role.
And thecubsfan, excellent work. Here, have an Old Style.
NWA Wisconsin...Live, Local Pro Wrestling! Now on Facebook! And Twitter!
Nous ne nous pouvons pas sortir. Austin directing the boardroom was like Celebrity Deathmatch Austin wearing the lab coat with the cutoff sleeves but a million times better.
Originally posted by InVerse You do realize that the entire cast of NXT already had WWE contracts, some of them for several years, before they even appeared on NXT, right?
I didn't know that but it makes sense. The constestant who was eliminated on Monday (Ariane Andrew) said on her twitter account she got a WWE contract and starts with FCW next week.
Ariane Andrew wrote on her Twitter page that she isn't finished with WWE. "Might have lost but I got what everyone wanted, a contract with the WWE," she wrote. "I said you will see me again and #!@%*# it u will...start FCW next week...hey."
Also has someone (either here on somewhere else) said, most of them who appeared on Monday's live Raw already have been eliminated from Tough Enough, just hasn't been shown on TV yet.
I'll still watch though, because it does give some good insight.
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How was that insulting? Steiner didn't do a damn thing except spout the same nonsense we've heard a kajillion times. Even Bush eventually admitted that Iraq didn't seem to have a damn thing to do with September 11th.