The winner of Tough Enough is... (Keep All Discussion in Here!)

[Funkydr79]

I love how smarks are already determining that Andy "can't work" or that he's "boring, predictable." What work of his own did the kid get to do yet? All we've seen of him is the stuff filmed during training. That's not the time that he's going to develop his own style or his own work.

I think Andy has a LOT of upside. Although he was protrayed as a face for the TE cameras I think he's got a great heel look. If it's true they are bringing back the manager role in WWE he is the perfect candidate. His biggest drawback is his mic work. If he is able to have someone be his mouthpiece he can definitely pull off the "silent rage" gimmick. Someone else does the talking and he dominates in the ring.

 

[ApexPredatoRKO730]

It wasn't until the final weeks that we saw Andy's "silent rage." Austin shouldn't have had to light a fire under his ass, coming into the competition, he should've prepared himself to unleash his rage.

On a consistent basis, Luke was the "top dog" in my eyes. There are many skills challenges he should've won but for some reason didn't. I disagree with Steve's decision to place him in the bottom 3 in the middle of the competition. Luke out-performed the majority of his competition and should've won the contract.

In the near future, i'm certain Luke will join FCW, along with Martin, Jeremiah, and Matt Cross. The rest of the males didn't have as much potential as they believed and will soon be forgotten.

Although i don't agree with the decision, congratulations to Andy and best of luck in the future.

 

[JJohns]

Here's the issue that I have with Andy's win. It almost looks like he was a ringer. After all, BEFORE Tough Enough, he was in WWE's Developmental System, as was Christina. So WWE officials had already had a chance to see what he could do.

As far as Luke goes, yeah, he has the look. But he didn't seem to appreciate the opportunity he was given. From day one on the show, he was portrayed as a Jackass. Even when they shown him on the Finale, the first thing that they show was him partying.

If Luke were to make the roster, I don't see him sticking around long if he doesn't mature a little and learn to appreciate the spot that he is given.

 

[AntiChristDeicide]

Andy looks great. He looks like a smaller version of Kevin Nash mixed with Edge, and thats is a good thing. Luke, well he wasn't so bad, but he seemed too cocky for his own good. He reminds me of Miz when he first started out.

_____________________________
"Survey says, One more for the good guys!!! " -Scott Hall

 

[daddyJ_t]

luke is a surefire heel and may fit good over on smackdown where i hear theres a shortage of heels. he also would be used good to get andy over and that fued alone could be used to pull in other te alum. luke and jerimiah attack andy and after a few weeks andy brings in martan to help him.of course the main names are andy and luke, but it makes for a short program and we get a total of 4 new superstars

 

[daring2defy]

I don't understand why everyone has to be the NEXT Edge, or Austin, or Michaels. The guy deserves some credit, he was picked to win Tough Enough by WWE management, so they must see something in him.....he's green, has very little experience so of course he's not going to be some superstar right now. Look back at John Morrison, the dude one tough enough and spent years training in fcw, and working crappy backstage gimmicks before he was given his chance. It takes years to evolve as a professional wrestler, and Morrison has evolved to be one of the WWE's current top stars, and he still has a long way to go before he's peaked and at his absolute best. Should Andy have a strong work ethic, and want to become a talented and well versed wrestler it will take years. People jumping to the conclusion that he may or may not be the next edge one day after he's been revealed as the tough enough winner is ludicrious. No one thought a lot of competitors from these shows would do anything with their careers, but don't be so quick to judge

 

[4-Real]

The made the right call. Luke should not have won. While he was my pick at the start of the competition to win it, Andy floated under the radar, and when it was all said and done it was Andy who I thought would win. Why?

Luke, while having a look and ability that is on par with what WWE is looking for, is one dimensional. He can only play the cocky heel role. While his whole package reminds me of a pre-evolution Randy Orton, he actually looks a lot bigger on TV than he actually is (6'1, 210 lbs.) I think he lost because from what I heard, he was very unimpressive in his match with DeMott at FCW. He came out thinking the competition was his to lose, and did not captivate the audience the way Andy did. Plus, the guy walks around acting like the company owes him something. Call it arrogance, cockiness, or confidence, it doesn't matter. He'll get an FCW deal, and may make it up to the main roster. Main eventer? Probably not.

When it came down to the final three, I decided that Andy HAD to win this thing. I read that the winner would compete on Raw right from the get-go, and what does Raw lack? Faces. They don't need another guy like Luke, as Raw has plenty of guys like that (Miz, Riley, Ziggler, etc.) They do NOT have a monster, imposing face figure. And Andy has a look about him that is new and fresh. As a result, I felt like he could add more to the company than anyone in the final three. Is Luke more technically impressive in the ring than Andy? Yes. But Andy is 6'5, 270 lbs and apparantly looked very good against DeMott. And lets face it, there aren't any guys in the company right now that you could confuse him with. He's got his head on straight, and I really hope WWE doesn't drop the ball with him. Oh, and did I mention he's only 23?

Why am I hearing comparisons to Edge with Andy? Andy doesn't have Edge's speed, or his technical ability. While overall in-ring intensity can be acquired, it would be a different kind than Edge's. If I would compare Andy to anyone, I'd compare him to someone like Kevin Nash, except with more in-ring potential and slightly less personality.

 

[Rampage Bentley]

What the hell makes Luke so great? His "stronger" character? You mean the same exact character that The Miz, Alex Riley, Dolph Ziggler, (to a lesser degree) Alberto Del Rio, (and up until a few months ago) Cody Rhodes all have?

Please, I'm so sick of the "cocky" heel schtick, it's so overused and it's overused with little to know ingenuity or innovation, yet when any schlub who looks like a straight up douchebag busts it out, 85% of this forum wets their pants. (sure I pulled that number out of my ass and have nothing to back it up, but I guess I'm just channeling Eric Bischoff)

 

[JJ15776]

Luke is charismatic, he's athletic, everything that makes a superstar. He should have won, it was either him, Jeremiah, Matt Cross, or Martin. Stone Cold only picked Andy because of that bull shit sympathizer about Andy needing to feed his family. He may be a hard worker, but honestly, he's a bland wrestler, his moves are boring and predictable.

Luke will most likely get signed, he just needs to improve. Winning Tough Enough is actually a bad thing, because the winner is already very bland, and WWE realizes that, and fires the winner. But as for the losers, they get time to practice and train and become great.

Miz, John Morrison and Skip Sheffield all lost Tough Enough. After getting time to train, Miz and John Morrison are one of the biggest stars, and Skip Sheffield is probably going to be with them on that level.

So winning Tough Enough is a curse, but losing it can give you the opportunity to become better, and WWE can except people that way. Luke, Jeremiah, Matt Cross, and Martin all deserve to be signed, because Andy quite frankly sucks.

Say what? You do realize John Morrison won, right? And you do realize Andy's family had nothing to do with him winning, right? And you do realize you've never seen Andy wrestle, aside from highly editted brief videos, right? I'd love to hear you explain how he's bland and predictable, given the fact that you've never once seen him in a match. Oh, and you do realize Martin couldn't win since he was eliminated due to injury, right?

I wanted to like Andy, but that dude comes off as having emotional problems. He always looked like he wanted to kick Stone Colds ass. even last night he looked like he wanted to kick Vinces ass. If he gets hazed like most guys get when they hit wwe , I think that guys will lose his mind.

Luke will get hired, i'd bet on it. remember some of this stuff is a work and guys like Martin and Jeremiah were well liked and if they had talent, then WWE won't let them go. they'll go down to FCW, stay a little longer so that WWE can sell Andy first , and them trickle them into the show later.

hell even Skid Marks is working on the indy circuit so you might see him soon.

Luke has the look that WWE likes, he wasn't all that small standing next to SCSA and Vince. The Audience already hated him with a passion.... c'mon, thats a no brainer.

Yeah, Andy is WAY too emotional and sensitive. He's never going to last in a WWE lockerroom if he can't toughen up, fast. Same with Luke, way too arrogant. People confuse a cocky character, which is a good thing, with a cock person, which is a bad thing. He's never going to go anywhere as long as he thinks he should have everything handed to him while he parties 24/7.

It wasn't until the final weeks that we saw Andy's "silent rage." Austin shouldn't have had to light a fire under his ass, coming into the competition, he should've prepared himself to unleash his rage.

On a consistent basis, Luke was the "top dog" in my eyes. There are many skills challenges he should've won but for some reason didn't. I disagree with Steve's decision to place him in the bottom 3 in the middle of the competition. Luke out-performed the majority of his competition and should've won the contract.

Why do you get on Andy for needing Austin to light a fire under his ass when Luke needed the same thing? Luke showed up the first week, realized he was the best, and then mailed it in for a month. That's why Austin had to put him in the bottom 3, to get him to wake up.

As for the original question, of course Luke will be signed. Just like Martin, Jeremiah, Eric, AJ, Matt, probably Ryan, maybe Michael, plus Rima, Christina, and Ivelisse. Michelle's the only one you can safely say won't be in FCW, since she seems to her desire to be a wrestler.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I think Luke will be signed, he knew how to wrestle, so why would WWE not want to sign him? If they don't sign the others, I could understand that since the rest suck except for Martin. Sure Luke's cocky, he expects everything to get handed to him but a young Randy Orton was just like him, cocky & got things handed to him easily being a 2nd generation wrestler & a butt buddy of Triple H and Orton turned out just fine. Luke will just have to work more harder since he's not a 2nd generation & a kiss ass to the top stars, he also needs to develop charisma but FCW will help him with that. Plus Vince had said he would've picked him, if Vince didn't like Luke, he wouldn't have come out and said that. So I think this will mean that Vince will sign him because he believes he was the real winner but got screwed.

As far as Andy, I'm not really sure if he's the right winner but ever since Austin lit a fire under his ass he's improved within 2 weeks which is pretty amazing and we really can't tell from a few highlights & clips if he's a bad wrestler compared to Luke, so we'll see about that when the guy goes to FCW and even if he is, FCW is there to improve him even more. And he seems to have a more interesting gimmick, Silent Rage. Honestly the guy in some way reminds of a young Big Show back in WCW and I definitely agree with the user that said he could use a manager to help him with his mic work. Or maybe they could hook him up with CM Punk if he's still around by the time Andy when or if he moves up to Raw seeing as Andy was the only straightedge person on the show.

But in all honesty as far as the big time goes, I only see them making it to NXT unless if they are to get hazed, I could see them quitting before they even make it as both look too emotional but in todays world of WWE, doesn't seem to be much assholes backstage and JBL isn't there, so maybe they won't be hazed but time will tell.

 

[Honkey_Kong]

luke is a surefire heel and may fit good over on smackdown where i hear theres a shortage of heels. he also would be used good to get andy over and that fued alone could be used to pull in other te alum. luke and jerimiah attack andy and after a few weeks andy brings in martan to help him.of course the main names are andy and luke, but it makes for a short program and we get a total of 4 new superstars

From the briefly edited videos, Jeremiah is no where near ready for prime time. Even Andy and Luke are going to have to spend a lot of time down in FCW before they could be considered for the main roster. People have short attention spans, so the window for a TE faction to appear will be missed.

Besides, I don't think Luke really has IT. The guy appeared to be the most solid running the ropes and doing bodyslams, but none of us actually saw him work a real match. Besides, his partying keeps him from looking in shape.

 

[Wolf Pac]

I think Andy was released from FCW to TE just to get TV exposure, get people to know him and support him, get him to develop a charisma and it seems to have worked. Now he just needs to learn how to wrestle better and he'll be ready to move up to NXT anytime soon.

Also if he was in FCW before TE than I doubt he will get all emotional and ask for a leave to be with his family. If he were, he would've done it already like that other girl on TE. It's okay to cry about missing your family on the road, I'm sure every other wrestler has done it, it's human nature but it doesn't mean he will quit. As long as he's passionate enough, he will stick around till he's released by WWE.

 

[silk]

Honestly the guy in some way reminds of a young Big Show back in WCW and I definitely agree with the user that said he could use a manager to help him with his mic work. /QUOTE]

I personally see him as a younger kevin nash. He has the same look imo as kevin nash was with deisel. Possibly "smaller" but i see Andy following nash's footsteps.

 

[closet_fan]

i think at this point, both will end up getting signed. it's not like the old days where maven would win and automatically be on a main roster. both of these guys will be in fcw for awhile.

i think they both were told before the announcement was made that they were going to be signed.

 

[Greydon]

I think there is more steak in being a runner up or a loser on TE. Why? Because look at who the winners are and the only one left is Morrison. Now look at the losers and see who is there: Josh Matthews, Dolph Ziggler, Miz, Skip Sheffield. Boogey man had a great run! Yeah I rather be Luke than Andy!

 

[daddyJ_t]

great comment, i agree that he could be paired with nash. i could so see big kevin grooming and maybe managing andy. never happen, but i could see andy being a rehash of deisel, he does have the look and size to be nashes doppleganger. as for luke, he is a cocky douchebag. i cant see him in any rehashed role exect for somebodies apprentice to start

 

[BritishLion]

IMO Andy has no place in the WWE and Luke should've won. Andy is a bland big man whereas Luke has potential. I bet all of the contestants will get signed except Matt Cross because WWE is moronic.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

I've got to throw this out there for the sake of argument but one thing that came up after the competition began was the fact that young Luke had wrestled for a gay oriented wrestling organization. The article also says that you have to be 21+ to enter the site so I'm assuming it was also adult themed. I just wonder if this had something to do with it, whether they felt that may hurt them in the long run with him, whether the boys in the back may have a problem, or conversely whether they could have used that to help their image (assuming it wasn't a porn site but rather just a tolerance based organization) particularly with all the homophobic issues they've just had with rock and cole. Remember that big chick from NXT got booted once adult themed photos of her came up and so this is why I bring this up. I really did see Luke as winning based on how the show was presented, Andy just came up towards the end, but again, as the show was presented there was nothing to really suggest he'd win the whole thing and this is not fan voting based like NXT to help explain the disparity between presentation and winning (Kaval).

I can see a lot of the guys from TE getting a shot at some point, esp in developmental.. the vids I saw of Eric, Matt, and Martin on youtube showed a very different story than TE and so maybe those guys could still have a shot, who knows.

 

[bigbootydaddyV]

ah i knew i forgot to write something, one thing I do dig about Andy, when i look at him he just reminds me of Big John Studd and I can see him having a similar type style, which would be pretty cool... He's a big man with some fire and the look, which should take him a long way. Though, I am concerned with his level of commitment, after reading Brock's book on road life and family I wonder how a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve can really last away from his family, just a question of if providing a good life for them is better than actually being there with them to him.

 

[closet_fan]

I see Luke ending up in the WWE anyways and probably be "bigger" than Andy but just because he looks like Edge doesn't make him Edge. ¬.¬

I also saw he was already on FCW's website so I was like... wtf!?

Also the actual choosing who wins smelt fishy first both Bill and Trish say they think Andy will win, then McMahon comes out almost ONLY to balance the "vote" but no one really just said Luke should win =/

Also the slap and stunner on Andy? lol?

i wouldn't be surprised to see both luke and andy signed, but andy got the nod "on television."

i didn't get the slap and stunner either. austin gives it to him and then shakes his hand?

that entire segment before r-truth came out was just plain weird.

 

[Stagger Lee]

I'd say it is too early to count either one of them out (or any of the other contestants, for that matter). I would have picked Luke to win, but Andy did show that he could be a decent performer. He just needs to prove he can do it on a daily basis.

I sort of predicted the results would be how they were. I also think that there could be a story here. When VKM went to pick the winner, and was interrupted by Stone Cold, it almost looked like they were setting a plan in motion. Stone Cold picks his winner (Andy), Andy ends up having a match in the near future, and Mr. McMahon's pick (Luke) runs in and interferes - saying he was robbed, saying Mr. McMahon thought HE deserved to win, so he got signed behind everyone's backs. That makes Luke the heel he is meant to be, and that gives a perfect feud to start things on (assuming they are comfortable enough having two green wrestlers going against each other).

That's how I see it playing out.

 

[dlowand]

If you look at both Andy and Luke when they were at home, it tells you everything you need to know why Andy came 1st and Luke 2nd Andy was all about training and working hard where as Luke was all about Partying 1st and training 2nd dont get me wrong i'm sure we'll see Luke in WWE in the next year or so and Andy has heart plus he's a big fella and i think we all know VKM always favors big fellas over small fellas. I read a Thread in here not so long ago about Undertaker retiring and how any1 could replace him and maybe having his long lost son come in at Wrestlemania 28 and either help him or cause him the match. Maybe if they have Andy play dis part He's near enough Takers size minus a couple of inches but they could put him FCW for some training and time to really get himself together in the ring afew Promos around RR time for a big entrance and debut at WM 28. I know its alot but at some point they have to put the winner of TE over and what better way than with Taker?? Sorry about any wrong spellings Peeps now give me a good roasting on how bad my idea is?? This should have been a Thread itself!!

 

[CitiBoy7]

If you look at both Andy and Luke when they were at home, it tells you everything you need to know why Andy came 1st and Luke 2nd Andy was all about training and working hard where as Luke was all about Partying 1st and training 2nd dont get me wrong i'm sure we'll see Luke in WWE in the next year or so and Andy has heart plus he's a big fella and i think we all know VKM always favors big fellas over small fellas. I read a Thread in here not so long ago about Undertaker retiring and how any1 could replace him and maybe having his long lost son come in at Wrestlemania 28 and either help him or cause him the match. Maybe if they have Andy play dis part He's near enough Takers size minus a couple of inches but they could put him FCW for some training and time to really get himself together in the ring afew Promos around RR time for a big entrance and debut at WM 28. I know its alot but at some point they have to put the winner of TE over and what better way than with Taker?? Sorry about any wrong spellings Peeps now give me a good roasting on how bad my idea is?? This should have been a Thread itself!!

I fully agree with you except for the Undertaker thing but yeah I don't know why these wrestling fans love seeing the typical spiky haired bright smile that's full of himself. We already have enough of those guys but you keep rooting for those guys and then you wonder why all the superstars walk and talk the same. How can you say Luke is better than Andy when they're two completely different wrestlers which is like asking the Undertaker or Goldberg to do the 450 splash as in Big wrestlers have to compete to their abilities. Also how is either one better when neither has worked a match to our viewing which shows what type of wrestling fans we have today and their knowledge of believing everything that's picked to be shown on a typed show.

I feel Andy is a little too emotional but to me it shows that he's putting his whole heart in this and that he's really passionate about becoming a great wwe star.

Luke was good from what I seen but I can see now, he becomes one of the biggest stars and then decides to leave wwe for acting and then you all will be bitching and crying calling him a sellout so keep that in mind.

 

[Spillz3000]

I think it's too early to tell. Luke definitely has the look and it factor and I'm sure he knows he needs to put on more muscle and I'm sure the WWE will pick him up and encourage him. Andy with proper development time may do some good things. Like another poster said this isn't like Maven's day when he went straight to the main roster. Andy and anybody else will spend a significant time in FCW before being called up. By the time they hit the main rosters they may blow us away with how much they learned and I'm pretty sure WWE will stick them with new names/gimmicks.
My favorite part of the finally was when Bill Demotte said these guys need to earn their spot cause I'm not ready to give up mine's. All respect to Bill Demott but I don't think anybody remember Hugh Morris or General Rection. But that's another thread. Best of luck to those guys and we'll see if training in FCW will polish them up.

P.S. Any of these guys who don't end up in FCW or WWE will probably get snagged up by TNA. Tough Enough also showcased talent that TNA can look into as well. Trust me it's not past TNA's nature to scoop up WWE leftovers and in this case talent so green WWE didn't want them. Sad part is TNA will throw them directly into TV with no hesitation.

 

[Hazardous]

Wait, did I honestly read someone say something about "Why would Vince have said Luke would have been his pick if Vince didn't think he should have been the winner?" or something like that? Umm.. You know that was part of the script right? You know that EVERYTHING said in the ring comes off a script that Vince is VERY Anal about (According to Chris Jericho's book anyway)

Ok, now that I got that out of the way.. I like Andy. Yeah, he came across as an Emo wreck, and Luke as a Miz/Orton love child.. But that was their role. I don't know how much reality TV you watch, but when you first get there, you are given a role to play by the producers. You REALLY think WWE wouldn't do that as well? HA! Andy will have some other gimmick going for him by time he hits the roster. Luke will probably stay the same, which is really a shame. Have too many of those already. As for who will be signed.. Almost everyone. Hell, Skidmarks has already wres...uhh.. "Entertained" in 3 or 4 FCW matches. He's been there since he got the boot from the show. Martan probably will be when he's healed as well. Noticed the limp when he came out to the ring.

On a side note, GREAT crowd reaction to each of them. Where was Rima??? I didn't even notice she wasnt there till my 2nd time watching. Eric got booed out of the building though haha.