WWE Tough Enough has received mixed reactions over its 13-year history. Some like the show because it offers a look behind the scenes, but some hate it because it's just like every other reality show out there.
The show was established as a way of finding the next breakout Superstar while giving people who might never have an opportunity at a WWE career under normal circumstances the chance to live their dreams.
Like every reality show, some of the people who were competing were just there to get on television. For every Mike Mizanin who wanted to be a WWE Superstar, there were a handful of people who had no intention of making a career out of wrestling.
The concept has potential, but WWE needs to decide if it wants to find a real Superstar or if it wants to produce another meaningless reality show with no intention of pushing the winners.
This slideshow will look at some of the ways WWE can improve Tough Enough if the show ends up returning for another season.
#5 Get Better Judges
Nobody will argue with the credibility of Daniel Bryan as a judge, but Paige and Hulk Hogan didn't seem like they were there to find the best wrestler. They just wanted some time in the spotlight.
Bryan tried to offer real feedback to the contestants while Hogan blurted out soundbites and Paige tried to establish herself as the female version of Simon Cowell. The show has to be entertaining, but it shouldn't come at the expense of the competitors or the quality of the program.
At times, it felt like Booker T, Billy Gunn and Lita should have been the judges while Bryan, Hogan and Paige served as coaches at the Performance Center.
Tough Enough could be a great show, but WWE tried too hard to walk the line between a legitimate competition and a reality show which is obviously scripted.
#4 Put Less Focus on Drama
Tough Enough is a reality show, but WWE doesn't have to make it just like every other one on television. While the drama portrayed in the house might provide a small amount of entertainment, it has nothing to do with picking the best winner.
Because the show focused so much on the arguments happening between contestants, people at home ended up voting people off the show who didn't deserve to go.
We all know these programs are edited to make things look different, and some of the contestants even called the producers out for these practices during the Tough Talk aftershow.
Sara Lee ended up winning last season, not because she was the best wrestler, but because the other women in the house were made to look like bullies. If WWE had spent more time showing how they were progressing as wrestlers, the results might have been very different.
#3 Reverse the Voting Procedures
The way voting was done last season was one of the worst parts of the show. The judges picked three people to nominate for elimination, and then fans would vote for the person they wanted to stay.
This meant ZZ Loupe escaped elimination just about every week while people like Patrick Clark and Daria Berenato were sent home because people thought ZZ was funny.
If WWE wants to make the process more legitimate, all it needs to do is reverse the voting process. The fans should be the ones picking the bottom three and the judges should have been the ones to make the final decision on who goes home.
If this had been how WWE ran things the entire time, we would have ended up with winners who might already be on television instead of one who was released and another who is still training at the Performance Center.
#2 Give Fans More Time to Vote
The voting process had many issues, and one of them had to do with how much time fans were given to cast their votes. Once the bottom three were chosen, the WWE Universe had less than five minutes to make a decision.
This format forced fans to watch the show live, which is not how people consume content anymore. On-demand, DVR and streaming services dominate the market.
The only way to fix this issue would have been to add a second weekly episode of Tough Enough to reveal the results just like American Idol used to have. That way people would have 24 hours to vote instead of a few minutes.
It might increase the cost of production a bit, but giving fans more time to consider their options would have led to more votes being cast and more logical eliminations.
#1 Use More Indy Wrestlers
With the exception of Patrick, last season of Tough Enough didn't feature anyone with previous wrestling experience. This put WWE in a corner when it came to how the winners would be used.
By intentionally picking rookies, management made it so we wouldn't see the winners for a long time, if at all. What's the point in giving someone a $250,000 contract if they might never make it on television?
It might be more interesting to watch people who have never stepped into a ring before learning the basics, but after six seasons of the show without a winner who went on to be successful, it's time to start thinking about making changes.
Picking indy talents for the show doesn't mean there is nothing for them to learn. Many would be coming in with no previous TV experience, so they would have to be taught how to present their character to a larger audience.
Also, indy wrestlers with only a few years under their belt would still have plenty to learn between the ropes. If anything, wrestling fans would like watching people who are already passionate about the business instead of people who are just looking to get famous on a reality show.
