The Daily Spotlight for 7/27/2015

Hello Everyone I hope you’re doing well.  It’s been a very busy few weeks for me, which is why I’ve been on a bit of a hiatus.  But I plan on being back on here much more over the next week with a bunch of different things going on.  I hope to provide you guys with a daily spotlight each day and, hopefully, a few more fun pieces throughout the week.  Let’s get into some of the reasons as to why I’ve been away as well as some of the fun pieces you can expect to see in the coming days, this….is the daily spotlight.

About ten days ago I had a bit of health scare in which I felt pretty under the weather.  I’m not sure where it stemmed from but I’m the type of person that generally can keep going with a ton on my plate and with very little sleep for long periods of time.  Once in a while this does catch up to me and it requires me to really then refuel on sleep for a few days.  Well there was a stretch of about three weeks at the end of June/ beginning of July where I was going very hard in that I was squeezing in physical therapy sessions before work (I’m recovering from a back injury after being rear ended and I should point out I have your standard 9-5 job so my sessions were at 7AM) and then I got a few side projects that took up a good amount of my time after work.  I was also doing some reviews for this website (Which I’m not complaining about at all, many businesses have been nothing but accomodating when I explain what we’re doing over here and I couldn’t be more thankful) and my girlfriend and I had plans thrown into my schedule which included babysitting our goddaughter a few nights per week as well.   I just don’t have any idea about what my limits are and I’ve always been a “work now, sleep later” kind of guy.

Well this really caught up to me about three weeks ago.  It came to a head when I was at a work conference for two days in the Bronx.  The meeting room we had was set for about 16 people in a tiny room and the air conditioning broke which made the two days pretty unbearable.  It was so bad in this room, in fact, that one of the invited speakers who traveled from Louisiana decided not to return for the second day.  To make matters worse the food that was served at this ordeal was brutal.  In particular, there was this basket of fruit that was being served that I thought tasted weird.  I noticed one of my co workers trying to get my attention but waved and thought nothing of it.  I continued to eat the fruit, as I was hungry, and the rest of the food was bad anyway.  Well, during our break my co worker came over to me and told me that the fruit was totally spoiled and that’s why he was trying to get my attention.  The rest of the day, I was sick as a dog.  I went home and immediately cancelled a camping trip with my girlfriend and her friends (for me to cancel a summer weekend trip is so rare everyone knew I was absolutely out of it).  Furthermore, I spent the rest of the weekend in bed, thankful that this happened on a Friday so that I’d be able to recover all weekend and not miss any time at work.

I don’t really mind missing time at work, especially not at my job as I’m afforded a good amount of paid time off.  I feel if paid time off is provided by the company, then it should be used however the employee wants to use their time, provided they give proper notice of course.  At my old job there were two banks of time off that I received.  The first bank was for vacation time and the second bank was for sick time.  Thus, having 12 days a year specifically for sick time, I wouldn’t mind taking a day or two if I was feeling under the weather.  Well at my current job, there’s just one pool.  We get a good amount of time off but it can either be used for vacation or for sick/personal days. With as much traveling as I do, I vowed when I started my job not to use any of my time for sick days.  This plan lasted for 18 months before I took my first sick day two weeks ago.  It pained me to do it but I really had no choice, I was just a wreck.  The worse part was that even when I returned to work I was so out of it the whole week.  I felt disoriented and couldn’t wait to go back home so I can sleep. I even ended up cancelling a whole week of physical therapy because I had no energy.  Eventually, I felt better and I’m not even sure what I had.  Part of me thinks it was a mild case of vertigo as I’ve been known to get that but whatever it was, it took it’s toll.

That’s going to do it for me today but I’m glad to be back and feel pretty reenergized after a good two weeks.  I’m planning a big Daniel Bryan inspired weekend here on the Daily Spotlight as I’ve recently finished up his blu ray set entitled “Yes, Yes, Yes” and am working on getting through his new book “Yes-my improbable journey to the main event of Wrestlemania”.  So far it has been a really easy read that I would suggest any fan of WWE or wrestling in general should go out and get it.  Regardless, when I finish that up I will have reviews of both of those, so keep your eyes peeled for that.  Until, then stay locked in for more fun stuff right here on thedailyspotlight.com

The Spotlight On WWE Tough Enough 2015 

A few months ago it was confirmed that WWE would be bringing back it’s always popular reality series Tough Enough to the USA Network for the first time in five years.  Up until this point all we really knew about the series would be that it would be returning and that members of the WWE Universe have already been sending in their audition videos to WWE with the hopes of getting that call to join the show.  From there, questions came up about the show throughout the wrestling community.  Would Stone Cold Steve Austin be returning as host? Would the winner be getting a guaranteed contract?  How would the live voting be factored into the show that was discussed during the WWE’s quarterly conference calls?  Well here are some highlights from the official Tough Enough Press Release that will hopefully answer some of those questions. 

Highlights

1)      Tough Enough will debut live on the USA Network on Tuesday night, 8PM EST and will be broadcast from the WWE Performance Center as well as Full Sail University (Where NXT is taped)

2)     Chris Jericho will be the brand new host of Tough Enough this season and will be joined by an expert panel including Daniel Bryan, Paige and “The Immortal” Hulk Hogan. 

3)     The trainers on this season of Tough Enough will be “Bad Ass” Billy Gunn, Lita and, the only returning trainer, Booker T.

4)     Tough enough contestants will be competing to become the next WWE Superstar or Diva by  winning a one-year $250,000 contract with WWE.

5)     Fans will be encouraged to send in their votes and feedback by downloading an official Tough Enough app (to be launched on May 25th, 2015) and by interacting on Twitter @WWEToughEnough

Closing Thoughts

            I’m pretty excited for the return of Tough Enough as by the time it debuts there will be five straight nights of original WWE programming on television.  On Sundays will be Total Divas, Mondays will be Raw, Tuesdays will be Tough Enough, Wednesdays will be WWE NXT, and Thursdays would be Smackdown.  I know some fans are worried about whether they will have the final say or not but remember that fans never had a final say, or any real say, in who was eliminated or who should stay.  In all honesty, I’d like to think that the collective minds of Chris Jericho, Daniel Bryan, Paige & Hulk Hogan could make a more well informed choice for who should be a WWE Superstar than any fan.  I also like the fact that this will get Chris Jericho and Hulk Hogan (Not to mention Lita and Billy Gunn) back on WWE TV regularly and also give Daniel Bryan a chance to be on WWE television if in fact his inkury is worse than originally thought.  The only thing I question would be the $250,000 contract.  I feel like it’s a bit unfair to the guys who have been at NXT for years and aren’t making close to that (I assume the winner would report to NXT and not be put immediately on the main roster but could be wrong) but I understand that it’s a reality show and the prize money is part of the competition aspect.  Regardless, I’m glad that Tough Enough is back and hope that it becomes an annual tradition.   If you are interested in checking out the entire press release you can do so below. 


 HULK HOGAN®, CHRIS JERICHO®, PAIGE™ AND DANIEL BRYAN® HEADLINE NEW SEASON OF WWE TOUGH ENOUGH® ON USA NETWORK LAUNCHING JUNE 23

 Series Features Live Voting with Immediate Results

NEW YORK and STAMFORD, CONN – May 7, 2015 – USA Network and WWE announced today that WWE Superstar Chris Jericho will be the host of the highly-anticipated series, WWE TOUGH ENOUGH, and will be joined by a panel of experts comprised of WWE Hall of Famer Hulk Hogan®, WWE Superstar Daniel Bryan® and WWE Diva Paige™. The high-octane reality series premieres LIVE Tuesday, June 23 at 8pm ET/5pm PT on USA Network and around the world.*

This season of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will combine the can’t-miss excitement of live television with reality-show drama, as WWE hopefuls vie for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become the next WWE Superstar or Diva.  Unlike anything on television today, the lightning-fast hour of entertainment and competition will include live results every week, giving fans worldwide the power to decide who stays and who goes the very same night. Each week, one cast member will be eliminated until one man and one woman are considered “Tough Enough,” with each earning a one-year, $250,000 WWE contract.

Throughout the competition, the contestants will be trained by WWE Legends Booker T™, Billy Gunn™ and Lita™. Contestants will also come face-to-face with WWE icons including WWE Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Vince McMahon; Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative, Paul “Triple H®” Levesque; Chief Brand Officer Stephanie McMahon; and WWE Superstar John Cena®, among others.

“These athletes, each with varying skill sets, will be put through a grueling boot camp that will test their physical, mental and emotional limits in a way that the series hasn’t done before,” said Jessica Sebastian, Vice President of Unscripted Series, USA Network.  “Each week, their training and experience culminates in a spectacular live event where they will be put in front of their WWE heroes and an audience of fans.  In this reimagined version of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH only the best will survive.”

“This season of WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will be the most innovative, unique and engaging series on television,” said Kevin Dunn, WWE Executive Producer. “A live global telecast, real-time voting with immediate results, and unprecedented use of digital and social media during and between telecasts will all lead to a groundbreaking viewing experience.”

To date, entrants from 113 countries have submitted videos, which have been viewed more than two million times on YouTube. To view play lists of entrants’ videos or to submit a new audition video, go to WWEToughEnough.com. For a compilation of entrants’ video submissions, click here.

On Monday, May 25, the WWE TOUGH ENOUGH App will be available for free download, giving fans even more opportunity to engage with this cutting-edge reality competition series. Through the App, viewers will receive access to exclusive content, learn more about the contestants, take part in social conversation between live telecasts and vote in real time. Fans around the world can also vote live each week for who stays and who goes via text (U.S. only), on Twitter @WWEToughEnough as well as on the WWE App, WWEToughEnough.com and USANetwork.com.

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH will emanate live from both the state-of-the-art WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla., home to WWE’s developmental division NXT, and the innovative professional production studios at Full Sail University located in Winter Park, Fla.  This launch will mark the inaugural use of the University’s latest high-caliber, on-campus production facility. In 2012, WWE and Full Sail announced an innovative partnership, which created a student scholarship fund, and also allows students of the university’s entertainment-focused degree programs, including Film, Show Production, Digital Arts and Design, Internet Marketing and Entertainment Business, to gain real-world experience alongside WWE’s professional production staff during WWE NXT tapings.

WWE TOUGH ENOUGH is produced by WWE, USA Network and Left Hook Media. Matt Odgers and Scott Teti are Executive Producers for Left Hook Media. Jessica Sebastian is Vice President of Unscripted Series for USA Network. Kevin Dunn is Executive Producer for WWE.

Be sure to join in the conversation at @WWEToughEnough @WWE @USANetwork and engage with your favorite WWE Tough Enough personalities @IAMJericho @ReneeYoungWWE @HulkHogan @WWEDanielBryan @RealPaigeWWE@BookerT5x @AmyDumas @BillyGunnWWE.