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The Spotlight Tough Enough Power Rankings for Week 5

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Last week’s Tough Enough saw the surprising elimination of Patrick Clark who had been number one on our power rankings for quite some time after proving to be passionate about the business and also winning a string of competitions.  Patrick seemed to be the front-runner of this season’s Tough Enough.  So what happened?  Well, Patrick became everything that he hated from the Tanner in the beginning of the show.  In the beginning of the show, Patrick was the likable, humble kid who knew everything about the wrestling business and showed the most respect for the history of the WWE product in general.  He was also quite critical of Tanner for coming across cocky and not having any sense of humility after winning a few of the challenges.  Well, fast forward a few weeks and now Patrick is the alpha dog of the Tough Enough male contestants and he, in essence, became Tanner.  Patrick started to become less humble with each victory as the show went on and he started getting fights with, literally, all of the other male contestants, even ZZ.  To make matters worse, Patrick also started to show a bit of disrespect towards the history of the business by stating that the big guys’ time in WWE was over, referencing that the Ultimate Warrior was gone and Hulk Hogan had retired (Does he not know that Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker are headlining Summerslam this year and, more to the point that Hulk Hogan was a judge on the show?).  Lastly, to bring it back full circle, Just how Tanner motivated Patrick so much so that he eventually did beat him, Patrick got everyone else in the competition motivated by his attitude that he started to lose challenges. In the end, it’s a shame that Patrick got voted off the show last week but Patrick is just 19 years old and has plenty of time to grow as a performer and mature as a person.  I do expect that he’ll get a chance again.

Tonight is a new night for the final 8 of the show and actually for the show in general.  Obviously due to all of the controversy surrounding Hulk Hogan (I’ll get to him later in the week, don’t think I forgot about the Hulkster) in his personal life, there will be a new judge called on to take Hulk Hogan’s spot tonight.  Everyone from Ric Flair, to Mick Foley, to Bret Hart to the trainers rotating into the judge role has been rumored.  If I had to choose though, I would say that it’s either going to beTough Talk host, The Miz (who’s been the breakout star of tough enough, for me, thus far) or the actual host of the show, Chris Jericho, will make the easy transition into the role of judge.  I’m actually curious to see if WWE even makes mention of Hogan’s disappearance from the show, though I honestly wouldn’t blame them if they completely ignored him after his terrible comments.  With all of that out of the way, let’s get into this week’s power rankings.

1) Mada Abdelhamid (Last Week #5)

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A really tough week for the power rankings this week because honestly each one of the contestants has there faults and there is no clear breakout performer, now that Patrick is gone.  Mada is the one guy who I will say has been on the rise since day one and has continued to get better each week.  Mada has a unique look and also cuts a good promo in being able to throw some Arabic in with his English from time to time.  It’s also come out that Mada used to play professional basketball, so he’s obviously an athletic guy, he seems to be everything WWE would want.  The one thing about Mada is that he lost his biggest supporter in the competition with Hulk Hogan being gone so it’ll be interesting to see if he can win over Daniel Bryan and Paige.  Mada is the only male contestant never to be in the bottom three.

2) Sara Lee ( Last week #8)

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I will admit a bit of bias here as Sara Lee is my favorite of the remaining women in the competition.  Sara remains the favorite amongst the majority of fans and last week she showed a bit of fire getting right into the faces of both Giorgia and Amanda, showing that she isn’t going to stand for getting pushed around any longer.  The other thing with Sara is that she’s also getting better in the competitions.  While she hasn’t passed Giorgia yet, getting better proves that she is more trainable than originally thought.  The thing with her would be for her to stay out of the drama.  Patrick let Tanner pull him into the drama and Sara is now letting Giorgia and Amanda pull her into it.

3) Joshua Bredl (Last Week #7)

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I’m finally starting not to look so silly for picking Joshua as my number one pick to start the series off as Joshua is really starting to come into his own.  I know Joshua was in the bottom three last week, but that was an aberration as I don’t think anyone other than Hulk Hogan though Josh deserved to be in the bottom three.  Joshua has started winning challenges and has really improved his conditioning, dropping 35 pounds since the series began.  Last week, we even saw Joshua’s softer side as he facetimed with his daughter.  Joshua can still improve in the personality department but he’s getting there.

4) Tanner Saraceno ( Last Week #2)

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After one or two weeks where it looked like Tanner was just letting his reputation from the first week carry him through, Tanner really upped his game last week.  To me, he came across really arrogant during the first few weeks and that was ok when he was dominating competitions but once he started to show his weaknesses, Tanner lost his only redeeming quality.  Well, last week Tanner showed that he is a pretty good guy as after he dominated the obstacle competition, he went back to try and help all of his peers.  After that, Tanner also went to the doctor with Chelsea to continue to show this selflessness.  Tanner biggest thing is whether he can do it in the ring and also improve some of his promos.

5) Giorgia Priscina (Last Week #3)

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I don’t understand why every time a contestant on this show starts winning competitions, they have to become arrogant.  I really liked Giorgia prior to last week but she came off just as bitchy as Gabi was last week.  She really started having a big head and also ratted out Chelsea for not being able to compete.  She came off bad there and worse when she started fake crying about it right after this.  She may be the best in challenges but if this how she acts now imagine if she wins the $250,000 contract?

6) ZZ Loupe (Last Week #4)

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ZZ has the most personality amongst anyone left on the show and if he got voted out, I’d be pretty bummed to lose my favorite character on the show.  That said, ZZ really isn’t doing well in many of the physical competitions and his lack of conditioning is starting to become a problem for the judges.  The thing that rubbed me the wrong way was when ZZ said that he’s been trying to step it up over the past few days.  He really should have made conditioning a priority right when he made the show, like Joshua did.  ZZ is even losing some of the fan support as last week he ended up getting less votes than Josh in the vote to send Patrick home.  I hope ZZ finds a way to improve because I think he’d make a great addition to WWE in some role.

7) Chelsea Green (Last Week #9)

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Chelsea started out in this competition doing really well and even seemed to have a leg up on the competition due to her past training and brief stint in WWE.  Then last week she got hurt and had to skip out on the in ring competition.  If her injury continues to hinder her, there is no way she’ll be able to last in this competition.

8) Amanda Sacaranato (Last Week #6)

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Mark my words: Amanda is the next to go from this season’s tough enough.  As a matter of fact, I think she would have went home last week had she been put in the bottom three.  How this girl has escaped the bottom three every week is baffling to me.  She is the one contestant who really hasn’t showed anything throughout the whole completion.  She’s pretty and has a good look but she hasn’t looked good in the ring, she hasn’t showed the personality and, last week, she didn’t even finish the obstacle course.  I think Amanda is on borrowed time, and you know I’ve been a fan of hers since the beginning.

Well that’s going to do it for me today but make sure to tune into a brand new live Tough Enough tonight on the USA Network at 8PM EST! Do you agree with my ratings?  Let me know why or why not.  Please be sure to also hit the subscribe button so you can get these Tough Enough updates delivered to your email every week.

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The Spotlight on Raw for 7/27/2015

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Monday Night Raw just went off the air and emanated live from Oklahoma City, Oklahoma tonight.  I think Raw did a good job in continuing down the road to Summerslam but before we get into some of the highlights on the show, there were some news bits that came out of Raw that set us up for the weeks to come in WWE that I’ll briefly touch on.  At the top of the show the Authority announced that WWE Summerslam will now be four hours long.  I know this was announced earlier in the day but I think it’s a great idea as it makes Summerslam a big deal and almost like the Wrestlemania of the summer.  I really think WWE can move Summerslam to a stadium show soon enough and wouldn’t be surprised to see Summerslam held at the Red Bull arena next year, or hell, maybe even Metlife Stadium.  Also on Raw it was announced that Stone Cold Steve Austin’s WWE Network Podcast will be returning after a one month hiatus.  His guest will be none other than Paige! I saw some stuff on Twitter surprised it wasn’t Sting or Undertaker (would have been a good time for Taker with Summerslam a few weeks away) but I think Paige is a really unique guest and I’m interested to see the chemistry between her and Austin.  If Austin is going to do these podcasts more frequently, it can’t be a top guy every time and with the give divas a chance initiative, I’m glad to see Paige as the choice here.  Truth be told, I believe that f4wonline reported that Hulk Hogan was supposed to be the guest this time around, and obviously that isn’t going to happen.  Let’s get into Raw!

Highlights

John Cena is Beyond Tough- First things first, I thought that Seth Rollins and John Cena had one helluva match and if this is the direction that they’re headed for Summerslam, then I for one can’t wait.  I wasn’t crazy about Seth Rollins tapping out but if the story is that Cena beat Seth when defending his title so he deserves a shot at Seth’s World Title, well then it made sense.  With that out of the way, kudos to John Cena for wrestling the last ten minutes of the match with a brutal looking broken nose.  His nose looked contorted with blood gushing everywhere from his nose after an errant knee to the face from Rollins.  Say what you will about Cena but he’s as tough as they come and showed that old school “the match must go on” mentality last night.  Even if Cena requires surgery, and I assume he’s going to, I don’t expect that anything is going to keep John Cena off of the Summerslam card.

The Opening Segment–  I loved the way that they did the opening segment last night as it reminded me of segments from back in the attitude era.  Having Triple H and Stephanie come out to set up the entire night full of matches (I believe they listed the four matches for the night) was a great idea as it gave the viewer a reason to remain tuned in and a lot to look forward to over the course of the show.  Say what you will about the Authority but when they’re on the screen, it does bring an extra added level of importance.

The Divas Revolution Is In Full Effect- Other than the main event between John Cena and Seth Rollins, the match of the night belonged to the Divas as Paige took on Sasha Banks.  I thought the match was very good and they ladies got about 14 minutes to really let their match unfold and the story develop.  It made sense for Sasha to get the win as it continues to establish her and doesn’t hurt the more established Paige to take the loss.  I also thought the tag match was very good in that Becky Lynch was profiled, I believe for the first time on Raw since being called up.  It was also cool to see Lynch (again no relation, sadly) get the win and then moments later WWE put up a graphic for a one on one match between Nikki Bella and Becky Lynch for this week’s Smackdown.  This made the whole room of people I was watching the show with go “oh wow set the DVR for Smackdown”, which has to be what WWE was going for.  All in all, the divas got about a half an hour of Raw and two matches again this week.  The divas division continues to have a renewed focus and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.

Closing Thoughts

Overall, i really enjoyed Raw this week as they continue to focus a good portion of Raw on more of the in ring product which is nice to see.  We also saw many of the stories going into Summerslam progress with Bray Wyatt cutting a promo reestablishing the Wyatt Family, the continued tease that perhaps Arrow will get involved in the Stardust and Neville feud, the buildup of the tag team division, the Kevin Owens-Cesaro feud and the Randy Orton and Sheamus feud.  I like the focus that WWE is putting on every match heading into Summerslam, it makes the show feel like the Wrestlemania of the summer.  I honestly had no problem with the Undertaker and Brock Lesnar not being on the show this week as the brawl from last week was so good that I feel it was OK to have a week reliving the brawl.  At the end of the day, Brock Lesnar and the Undertaker were both taken out of the building in handcuffs last week, so having them return this week would have been too much.  Besides, WWE already did a good job in promoting that Brock will be back next week, then you have Taker return the week after that and have both of them return the week before Summerslam.

That’s going to do it for me today but what did you think of Raw?  Are you excited for Summerslam?  I’ll be back later today with the Tough Enough Power Rankings.  Tough Enough airs tonight on the USA Network and it’s being promoted that Sasha Banks, Tamina Snuka and Naomi will all be on hand.

The Spotlight Tough Enough Power Rankings for Week 3

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Last Night the third episode of WWE Tough Enough took place live on the USA Network and it was a noteworthy episode to say the least. First it was revealed that Dianna had finally had enough of being away from her fiance while in the midst of planning their wedding and decided to drop out of the competition.  This was something that we mentioned as a distinct possibility and was a shame as she seemed to be one of the more athletic girls in the competition.  I was prepared to get all over Dianna for giving up the opportunity of a lifetime, it was revealed in an exclusive interview on the tough enough app that Dianna also left because one of her friends that worked at a bar that Dianna owned was attacked at the bar and left paralyzed.  Thus, if Dianna also left because of that unfortunate circumstance than I can’t fault her for that and wish her nothing but the best.  Dianna’s loss is somebody else’s gain as a new contestant Chelsea was able to enter back into the competition.  Chelsea is a student from Lance Storm’s Storm Wrestling Academy and is probably remembered by die hard WWE fans as Daniel Bryan’s physical therapist who claimed that her and Bryan were having an affair (in a storyline quickly dropped, I might add).  This is an interesting choice for a new contestant as I’m sure some viewers, like me, were either hoping to skip an elimination this week or that Ashley (who had the heart condition from the casting special) would be returning.  Regardless, if she was trained by Lance Storm she is probably going to be very good in the ring, just ask Tyler Breeze.

Also last night on Tough Enough, in a bit of a surprising move, Daria, was sent home.  (A quick side bar here, did you know that Daniel Bryan is a perfect 3 for 3 in that every contestant that he has placed in the bottom three, has gone home).  I thought honestly that Daria was better than a few of the contestants and she had a ton of heart, as evidenced by her “Save Me” speech this week and how crushed she looked going home.  It is obvious at this point that if it comes down to a fan vote and you’re in the bottom three with ZZ and Sara Lee, you can pack your bags.

Thus, after a noteworthy episode, ten contestants remain so let’s get into this week’s Tough Enough Power Rankings

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1) Patrick Clark Jr. (Last week #2)

After two straight episodes in which Patrick won the skills competition, he has finally jumped up to the top spot in this week’s tough enough power rankings.  One thing that I liked about Patrick this week was that he’s the only one who woke up to watch the Beast In The East Special at 530AM and was periscoping with fans right when he woke up.  The guy obviously respects the business and looks to really be living his dream with this competition.   I also really liked that Patrick showed that he was not going to be a push over this week by standing up to Tanner and coming right at him. Patrick also had a great answer when Tanner called him out for being a trained wrestler prior to coming on the show by saying tht his past training didn’t count as he’s here to learn WWE style.  With Patrick showing his depth this week as a performer in the entrance competion, the sky is truly the limit for Patrick.

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2) Tanner Saraceno (Last Week #1)

Tanner continues to be dominant in the athletic competitions and it really looks like it’s going to come down between he and his rival, Patrick as the competition continues.  One thing I’d start to worry about with Tanner is that he doesn’t seem to be reacting well to Patrick beating him in competitions.  His constant challenging of the other male contestants to fights may start to rub fans the wrong way, who in the end have the final say on the voting.  Tanner’s lack of love of the business is also starting to really show and that’s not good.

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3) Giorgia Priscina ( Last Week #11)

After plummeting last week all the way down to the lowest ranking for female contestants at number 11, Giorgia has really come into her own in the competion.  She has won the last two athletic competitions amongst the girls and showed off some of her personality in the entrance competition this week.  Giorgia is also the one girl to avoid all of the drama that so many of the other contestants have found themselves consumed by.

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4) ZZ Loupe (Last Week #3) 

ZZ drops a spot here this week, although if this competition continues to be decided by fans voting, he’s going to win the show as he continues to dominate in all of the fans votes at the end of the episodes. ZZ was called out for acting, what Billy Gunn perceived to be, silly during the entrance competition when he came out in a red, white and blue headdress and his underwear when he was supposed to be dressed as an American hero.  I thought this was good for ZZ, however, as it allowed him to show off his more serious side.  ZZ was offended that Billy felt he wasn’t taking the competition seriously and quickly spoke up about how bad he wants to win this competition.  Lastly ZZ didn’t back down from his costume as he said that he felt he was portraying a hero because a hero could be many different things to many people.  He said he was getting the fans out of their elements and getting them to believe in what he was doing.  At the end of the day ZZ proved that his best quality is the support he has from the fans as he got the most again when in the bottom three.

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5) Mada Abdelhamid (Last week #6) 

I hate to be so male contestant heavy but I’m really not impressed with too many of the female contestants yet.  I was actually most impressed with Mada this week to the point that I thought he won the character competition.  It’s taken Mada a bit to show some of his personality but now that he’s showing off some of it and getting more comfortable, I think he has a shot to do well.

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6) Amanda Sacaranato ( Last Week #4) 

Mandy continues her desecnt down the power rankings as she really hasn’t showed me too much from week to week.  I thought she did alright during the character competition but had one of the easier characters to emulate.  I give Amanda credit for trying to ignore some of the things that Gaby says about her, which are basically that Amanda couldn’t be more phony if she tried, until shecf but she has to show more during the episodes or she isn’t going to be around too much longer.

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7) Joshua Bredl (Last Week #9)

Joshua seems to have improved over the past two episodes.  I liked that he was uncomfortable with the British Brawler character but he did his best with it and ended up doing a good job.  He also seems to be getting better in the athletic competitions.  While he remains a step behind Tanner, he seems to be giving it his all to get closer to beating him.  I don’t think it’s smart of him to continue to go against the beloved ZZ (by telling ZZ that he’s just upset because the judges didn’t like his entrance when ZZ seemed really down about how he was treated) and I still cotnsider him to be the weakest amongst the five remaining men, but it’s good to see him improving nonetheless.

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8) Sara Lee (Last Week #5)

Readers of my rankings know that I support Sara but truth be told she really hasn’t impressed in any of the competitions whether it be athletic or in personality. That said she continues to show her realism factor that the other female contestants are lacking. She is honest about struggling but working hard to improve. She has also survived two straight bottom 3’s so it’s obvious that she has the fan support which is key.

9) Chelsea Green (Last Week N/A) 

It would be really easy to put the new contestant on the bottom but Chelsea is a trained wrestler and it seems that WWE is leaning more towards women’s wrestlers as opposed to the divas.  Likewise, I’m sure if she does well enough, she won’t be put into the bottom three as she’d be at a distinct disadvantage being so new.

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10) Gabi Castrovici (Last Week #10)

Gabi is gorgeous, but unfortunately that is where her good qualities start and end.  Gabi continues to cause drama with the other girls in the house and really bullied Amanda, so much so, that I expected her to be kicked out of the house.  Furthermore, I question how bad Gabi actually wants this as she continues to spend time away from the Barrocks with her husband.  The main part about Gabi though is that she really lacks likability which means that if she’s ever in the bottom three, she won’t get the votes needed to stay.

That’s going to do it for me this week but as always if you disagree with my power rankings, feel free to let me know where I was wrong.  Be sure to catch WWE Tough Enough live tonight on the USA Network at 8Pm EST.


The Spotlight WWE Tough Enough Power Rankings For Week 2

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The first episode of Tough Enough is in the books and with it comes many changes to our last week’s power rankings.  While we were dead on to rank Hank as the final male contestant (12th overall), we damn near lost our number one ranking (Joshua) the first week. Let’s get right into it with updated rankings of all of the contestants following week 1.  Obviously, this week there are only 12 contestants, following Hank’s elimination.

1- Tanner Saraceno ( Last Wk- #7)

IMG_4056What else can be said about Tanner really?  The guy completely dominated every one of the physical competitions including almost doubling all of the other contestant’s times during the in ring competition.  The only thing to worry about with Tanner is that he has never disputed reports that he’s only in this for the money and that right after he does a year in WWE, he’ll be right back in MMA.  He seems to really have the support of his trainers, who even seem to like his confident attitude but if he doesn’t dispute those claims, he may lose it.  Tanner has also come across both friendly and humble on Periscope.  It’ll be a good idea for Tanner to show this attitude during the shows because the more likable he is, the more likely people are going to vote for him.

2- Patrick Clark Jr.- (Last Week- #3)

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Patrick remains steady this week, up a spot from last week. While Patrick remained a notch below Tanner throughout the first week of Tough Enough, he’s a notch above all of the other contestants. Patrick also continued to show his heart & motivation for how bad he wants to be a WWE Superstar. Patrick remains the most active on Periscope, even deeming it Patriscope, so he’s developing a good report with the fans.

3- ZZ Loupe (Last Week #8)

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” I belong on this show because I was made for this, I love making people smile and that’s what WWE is all about, making people happy!” Any other contestant would have a hard time climbing five spots following a week where he finished in the bottom 3 but ZZ is up to the third overall spot this week. Like I said last week, now that it’s been determined that the voting is going to be determined by the fans, how is ZZ ever going to be voted out? He is obviously the fan favorite and the most likable contestant on the show. Having him in the bottom three last week probably only added sympathy and more support for ZZ as well. From the outfit he wore to the live show last week to him taking off his underwear in the hot tub with the ladies, he has undeniable charm and charisma. The physical attributes will develop.

4. Amanda Sacaranato (last week #2)- 

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We didn’t see too much on the live show from Amanda, to be honest, last week which is why she drops a couple of spots this week. That said, none of the female contestants did enough for me to overtake her for the top spot. “Mandy Sacs” seems to be a bit more level headed that some of the other females & hasn’t complained about missing her boyfriend yet either. Another thing about Amanda is that she remains close to ZZ (the two do some periscope shows together) which will only help her likability factor.

5) Sara Lee (Last Week #13)- 

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Making the biggest jump of the week this week is Sara Lee. Sara has really gained a bit of a following as someone that people can relate to. She has become the average Joe that Hank was trying to pass himself off as last week. Sara has also showed a good amount of personality in getting used to Periscope and Twitter. I think Sara is going to be in this competition for quite some time.

6) Mada Abdelhamid (Last Week #4) 

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Mada didn’t do too much to impress me this week until his appearance on Tough Talk. When Mada was asked about his child, he revealed how he has a six month child at home and the child is completely the reason why he’s doing this.  While Dianna seems like she may drop out of the competition due to missing her loved ones, Mada seems ready to use his loved ones back home as motivation to win this competition.  Mada also has a good look but really would fare better staying away from the “Quadruple Towers” and developing his own personality because that clique has a bad stigma around them.

7) Dianna Dahlgren (Last Week #9)

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So Torn On Dianna because truth be told that despite her silly complaints about the twin size bed, she did do far better than any of the other female contestants during the competition, and this was with an injury, no less.  Furthermore, if you look up Dianna’s personal twitter, she is already pretty well established with over 65,000 followers.  This would lead one to assume that she has the backing to get votes if she were placed in the bottom three.  That said, I wonder how much longer Dianna is going to stay in the competition just because she seems so preoccupied with her wedding.  If she can’t last a week without her fiance, how is she going to last 10?  If there’s one contestant who will remove themselves from the competition, it’s going to be her.

8) Daria Berenato (Last week #5)

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Daria drops 3 spots this week because she really didn’t show too much last week.  I think Daria has a good personality and she shows it on social media and periscope but for whatever reason seems a bit camera shy under the bright lights of live WWE television. Even when Daniel Bryan obviously threw her a softball by asking her the riskiest thing she’s ever done, (because he, like me, is a fan) Daria became timid and couldn’t really find a real risk she’s taken.  This of course comes a week after she came out on national television.

9) Joshua Bredl (Last Week #1)

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Yeah you read that right, last week Joshua was my top pick on the tough enough power rankings but this week he takes a big time tumble to number 9, the biggest drop of the week.  Joshua was basically non existent during the first episode and was just 3% of the vote away from not even surviving week one.  Joshua needs to show some personality and needs to also realize that he won’t get by just on his look. He may look a little like Roman Reigns but Reigns has about 100 times more charisma than Joshua showed week 1.  To make matter worse, when Joshua was asked his opinion on ZZ on periscope following last week’s episode, he said ZZ was obviously only there because of the television aspect of the show.  Putting down the favorite of most viewers isn’t going to do Joshua any favors.

10) Gabi Castrovici ( Last Week #10)

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The only contestant to remain idle on the rankings this week is Gabi.  Gabi continues to show off a good amount of her attitude that got her kicked off the show in the first place.  She has to stop questioning Dianna’s injury and just find a way to improve.  I also think the fact that Gabi continues to see her husband while she’s staying at the Barrocks won’t do her any favors as it will be hard for her to fully commit to the competition.

11) Giorgia Priscina ( Last Week #6)

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Another contestant that I fell out of love with after last week is Giorgia.  While none of the female contestants seem to like Gabi, at least they have an opinion on her.  I didn’t see much of anything from Giorgia last week and haven’t seen much of her on Periscope throughout the week.  This comes off the heels on her courageously showing off her full face birthmark on one of the most worthwhile periscopes I’ve seen during the first week.  Hope to see more from Giorgia this week or she could just be the person to go home next.

12) Alex Frekey (Last Week #11)

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Last week Alex joined the “Quadruple Towers”, a clique that was called out by Paige, didn’t do well in any of the competitions and was called out by Daniel Bryan after saying that Tanner couldn’t “Pack A House”.  Not exactly a strong week for “The Freak”.  I’ll give Alex credit for appearing on periscope and trying to interact with the fans but he really needs to become more familiar with the business and the WWE product or he too could be the next to go.

That’s going to do it for me this week but be sure to check out Tough Enough tonight on the USA Network at 8 PM EST. As always, if you agree or disagree with my power rankings, I would love to hear yours!

The Spotlight WWE Tough Enough Power Rankings for Week 1

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Hello everyone and welcome to the first edition of my Tough Enough Power Rankings where each week I will update my list of where each one of the final contestants on the new season of Tough Enough stands. My rankings will be based on progress, likability, fan interaction, trainer feedback & intangibles. Of course with tonight being the premiere episode of this season of Tough Enough, my rankings will be based mostly off background, what we saw on the competition special as well as some of the social media aspects surrounding each individual. Remember, at the end of the day, these rankings are my opinion (they’re no reflection of WWE) so if you agree or disagree I’d love to hear your opinion. Hopefully we’ll have a little bit of fun with these power rankings each week for WWE Tough Enough. With that bit of a disclaimer out of the way, let’s get into this week’s Tough Enough Power Rankings.


1- Joshua Bredl-
 This may come as a bit of a surprise but Joshua Bredl, The Yeti is my top ranking going into the first episode of the show tonight. Joshua is 6-8, 275 pounds and just turned 24 years old, he simply has all of the intangibles and actually bears a striking resemblance to Roman Reigns. Joshua also comes from a good athletic background having played as a defensive end for the Green Bay Packers. While I don’t personally think that “The Yeti” is a character that has legs in WWE, it’s getting pretty over with some of the fans as evidenced by some of his interactions with the fans on Periscope. This bit of likability will only help Joshua if eliminations are really determined by a fan vote.


2- Amanda Saccomanno-

If there was a girl who stands above the rest heading into the show, for me, it’s Mandy Sacs. Amanda was the winner of that WBBF pro world bikini championship that they continued to reference during the competition special as WWE did some scouting for Tough Enough at that show. Amanda also seemed to be really passionate about wanting this opportunity and seems to have a good support system at home as evidenced by her phone call with her supportive, presumable, boyfriend and his support of Amanda’s father. Let’s also not discount that Amanda is a beautiful blonde, which WWE is actually lacking for the first time in recent memory.


3- Patrick Clark Jr-

Patrick is admittedly a little young, at only 19 years old, but I like the kid a lot. Not only is he a lifelong wrestling fan, who has even ran trivia contests with fans on Periscope to prove what a true fan he is but he’s been able to show a bit of his personality during these episodes. Patrick also has a bit of a leg up on the competition being that he’s already been through six months of training to become a wrestler and is the only member of the finalists who is a trained wrestler. He also seems to be determined to make this happen and I don’t see any reason he can’t.


4- Mada AbdelHamid-

I gave Mada the bump here over the others because he has a completely different look than everyone else with his bleached blonde mohawk. He’s also Egyptian so you figure he can be a great embassador for WWE in that regard as he’s made it clear he wants to be an Egyptian representative for WWE. He’s also a 6’6 245 pound former professional basketball player. I would like to see Mada show a bit more personality but I’m sure over time, it will come.

5- Daria Berenato-

Perhaps a little high for Daria but she made an impression on me both with her character of the Jersey Devil and also showed a lot of trust in WWE by coming out on national television during the competition special.  Daria is also a professional MMA fighter and the host of UFC Afterbuzz TV so you figure she has a good amount of fan support from that.


6. Giorgia Priscina- Giorgia is someone who really made an impression on me since the competition special when she revealed that she has a full face birthmark that she has been a bit self-conscious about. Giorgia revealed the birthmark on Periscope and has since gained a ton of support across social media platforms. Aside from that she’s also a 21 year old bikini competitor from Austrailia so, like Mada, I believe this can only help her cause.

7- Tanner Saraceno-
I don’t recall too much about Tanner from the competition special but he seems to be the only Tough Enough finalist with an amateur wrestling backround. Aside from Brock Lesnar and Dolph Ziggler, I’m unsure if anyone else on the WWE roster currently has an amateur wrestling background but using those two superstars, Shelton Benjamin and Kurt Angle as role models, amateur wrestlers tend to pick up the WWE style fairly quickly. I do question with Tanner though, just how bad he wants this based on the fact that he’s chosen MMA as a career over pro wrestling. He’s another one that I’d look to see him develop his personality a bit more.
8- Zamariah Loupe-  I’m sure many of you aren’t too happy to see ZZ way down at number 8 on the list and if its turns out that fan voting is the determining factor here, he will jump up to number one as he’s far and above the most popular contestant amongst fans.  Hoever, if it goes to a judge’s vote, I can see ZZ voted out tonight.  I’m a ZZ fan as well but there are three things to consider with him: he’s already been cut so there’s something WWE already questioned about him, he’s the youngest contestant on the show at 18 years old and he’s never been away from home so it’ll be interesting to see how he holds up. One other thing, and I know we’re in a new era where Bray Wyatt, Kevin Owens and Samoa Joe are all focal points of WWE television, but ZZ is the one contestant who isn’t in the greatest of physical shape.
9- Diana Dahlgren-
Another contestant that I really don’t remember from the first competition special but based on her past success she may move up the power rankings as early as the next edition. Diana is a very accomplished bikini model who has won several IFBB competitions. I had also heard from f4wonline that she was already down training in the performance center prior to the show which would indicate that she’s already on WWE’s radar. She could end up doing very well in the competition.
10- Gabi Castrovici-  I’ll go back to what I said about Mada and Giorgia, Gabi is Brazlian with a ton of Brazilian pride. This is something that WWE will only like as they used to headline South Africa with Justin Gabriel. Likewise, if you follow the tough enough trends on twitter, you can definitely sense a big Brazlian contingency really coming out to support Gabi. With that said, Gabi has already been cut and was cut because of her attitude and her making fun of the other contestants. That’s obviously a pretty big red flag on her but the saving grace for her could be that her biggest supporter, at least from the competition special, was Triple H, who’s the guy who brought her back.
11- Alex Frekey-
By the looks of it, Alex Frekey looks like he could have just what it takes to be the next WWE Superstar as he’s got a bodybuilder’s physique and an athletic background. My issues with Alex are that he seemed to really struggle through the drills during the competition special and I haven’t seen much from Alex in terms of personality. Furthermore, from some of the videos I saw of Alex on Periscope, it doesn’t seem like he’s too familiar with WWE. If you remember the winner of tough enough 3, John Hennigan (Morrison) didn’t make it on to the Tough Enough Season 2 cast based off not knowing what a spinarooni was because he didn’t follow the product.  For example, when asked what his favorite WWE moment was of all time on Periscope, Alex said Goldberg’s streak, which obviously took place in WCW.
12-Hank Avery Jr.-
From the fist look, Hank looks like a good ole boy who’s probably a lot of fun to hang out with as most of his appearances on Periscope have been him singing country music. Hank’s also responsible beyond his years (23) as he has a wife and kids. However, Hank was only on screen during the Tough Enough Competition Special when he was being criticized by the trainers and Triple H. He was even one of the names being considered during the first round of cuts, so I was very surprised he even made the final 13 and that’s why he finds himself towards the bottom of the list.

13-Sara Lee-

I like Sara, as a matter of fact for my personal taste, she’s the most attractive of the female contestants. I just didn’t really get anything from her during the competition special and she hasn’t established herself amongst the different forms of social media available to the contestants. She also seems to be the only female contestant who doesn’t have a bikini modeling or mma background. While I appreciate that she comes across as down to earth and a girl next door type, I do believe she starts as a notch below the other female contestants due to all their respective backgrounds.
In the end, it’ll be interesting to see how close I was with my pre show power rankings or if perhaps Joshua or Amanda will be the first cut tonight. Regardless, it’s bound to be a fun show when WWE Tough Enough debuts on the USA Network at 8PM EST tonight!