WWE News: ‘Tough Enough’ Update — Finalists Announced, Network Special Planned, More Seasons To Come?
WWE Tough Enough will make its anticipated return on June 23 on USA Network. More than 11,000 applicants submitted audition videos to WWE since the company opened registration in April. The applicants ranged from bodybuilders and fitness models to independent wrestlers and celebrities such as Gabriel Iglesias.
The reality series will eventually pit 13 contestants against each other with a one-year, $250,000 WWE Superstar and Diva contract at stake. Of the thousands of applicants, the field was whittled down over the weekend to the top 40 finalists who were revealed on this week’s Raw.
Adam Ohriner, Long Island, N.Y.
Alexander Frekey, Dallas
Alexander Galizia, Springfield, Mass.
Amanda Saccomanno, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
Ashley Urbanski, Oakland, Calif.
Ava Knight-Salicka, Las Vegas
Carly Marshall, Los Angeles
Chelsea Green, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Danielle Kamela, Scottsdale, Ariz.
Daria Berenato, Los Angeles
David Michael Barnes, Mandan, N.J.
Dianna Dahlgren, Spokane, Wash.
Don Arner, Pittsburgh
Gabi Castrovinci, Southington, Conn.
Giorgia Piscina, Brisbane, Australia
Hank Avery Jr., Macon, Ga.
Jason Vazquez, Oak Lawn, Ill.
Jeremiah Kingdom, Los Angeles
Joshua Bredl, Thornton, Colo.
Kahlil Bell, San Jose, Calif.
Kevin Penczek, Belle, W.V.
Krishany San Jorge, Puerto Rico
LaRayia Gaston, Los Angeles
Lorenzo Davis II, Los Angeles
Mada Abdel Hamid, Los Angeles
Michael Mio, Staten Island, N.Y.
Mike Hayes, Louisville, Ken.
Nehemiah Kingdom, Los Angeles
Nicholas Cuffari, Lakewood, Ohio
Patrick Clark, Washington, D.C.
Philip Guilford, Atlantic City, N.J.
Samantha Sage, Los Angeles
Sara Bettencourt, San Jose, Calif.
Sara Lee, Hope, Mich.
Stephen Tezanos-Pinto, Sacramento, Calif.
Tanner Saraceno, Boiling Springs, S.C.
Tommaso Giannuzzi, Germany
Vinny Tortorella, Staten Island, N.Y.
Zach Boss, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Zamariah “ZZ” Loupe, Bayou Bluff, La.
Fans may recognize two familiar faces on the list: Chelsea Green and Adam Ohriner. Green appeared on Raw last summer as Daniel Bryan’s physical therapist under the name “Megan Miller.” In the buildup to their Summerslam match, Stephanie McMahon suggested to Brie Bella that her real-life husband was having an affair with Miller while he was sidelined with an injury. Bryan spoke out against the crass angle and it was quickly scrapped. She was never brought back nor mentioned again.
Ohriner is a close friend of Zack Ryder, and has made multiple appearances on Ryder’s Z! True Long Island Story YouTube show. At the show’s peak, Ohriner (who developed a persona by the name of “The Big O”) developed a loyal following due to his muscular look and unique personality. The charismatic bodybuilder had WWE aspirations, but lacked wrestling experience. Since the conclusion of the show, he’s wrestled on the independent scene in the northeast and even appeared on Impact Wrestling as a part of TNA’s Gut Check in 2013.
Wrestlezone has reported there could be more seasons of the show in the works, basing on an email sent to candidates not selected for this season’s competition by WWE COO Triple H.
“Thank you for your video submission for WWE Tough Enough. As you can imagine, we received thousands of entries, and the competition was fierce. Unfortunately, you were not selected as one of the finalists, but please consider once again submitting a video for future seasons of WWE Tough Enough.”
WWE announced it will invite the top 40 Tough Enough finalists to the WWE Performance Center in Orlando, Fla. They will take part in a mini-camp June 10-12, which will be filmed and later packaged into a WWE Network special set to air on Tuesday, June 16, just one week ahead of the season 6 Tough Enough premiere. The special will announce the final 13 participants who will move on to the main weekly broadcast.
[Image via WWE]
