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Tough Enough: Patrick’s Elimination Devalues Competition

By Callum Wiggins

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Following his shock elimination last night, why Patrick’s departure proves Tough Enough is a cheap popularity contest rather than a wrestling show.

Last night, the front-runner of Tough Enough, Patrick Clark, was eliminated from the competition behind Josh Bredl and ZZ Loupe in the public vote. This shocking result left a bitter taste in the mouth for me personally, as it completely ruined the show for me as a whole. Whilst I was definitely with the rest of the critics that laid into its woeful production quality, reality show vibe and unlikable contestants, it could all be overcome to an extent if the right winner was chosen. Now it has nothing, which leads to the unavoidable conclusion:

Tough Enough is not wrestling.

Tough Enough is little more than a basic reality competition like Fear Factor or Big Brother garbed up in wrestling attire. Patrick, the only one of the competitors who seemed to give a damn about WWE and was a fan of the product, was cast aside by people that supposedly call themselves WWE fans. If those people that chose to dispatch of Patrick are WWE fans, I clearly can’t consider myself part of that group anymore. The decision for Josh to stay is more than understandable, as the reason he was in the bottom three ahead of Amanda, Chelsea and Sara Lee was ridiculous enough. But ZZ is a whole other issue, and again shows the flaw behind this entire show.

Yes, Patrick was arrogant and liked to harp on about how he was the best, but he was backing it up in the process. What probably killed his chances tonight was his choice to hand out some much-needed tough love onto ZZ to push him into getting into shape, and the Gator wrestler’s army of fans took pity on him. ZZ is beloved by the fans because he doesn’t like to stir the pot and represents the everyman in the WWE Universe. The one who makes a fan go “I could be in the WWE one day” as they pick Doritos off their chest for the tenth time that day. It might be harsh, but it’s plainly true, because if this was anything other than a popularity contest, ZZ would have been out of the door in the first two weeks.

Then on the women’s side there is Sara Lee, another extremely likable and pleasant person, but who demonstrably does not have what it takes to compete in a wrestling ring in front of a huge audience. She has neither the charisma or the physical skill. However, because she too gives off the average, girl next door feel, Sara Lee is placed on a pedestal by the fans that vote and that puts her above those that can actually wrestle like Gigi. During Tough Talk, when Gigi was booed over Sara my heart slightly sank, because I might not appreciate the former’s personality on the show, but she is impressive as a competitor and wrestler.

So, I’m sorry if I’ve spoiled the ending of the show for you, but ZZ and Sara Lee are going to win – and people wonder why Tough Enough has never developed any stars? Well it has, but only among the runners-up. The winners of these shows become flavors of the month, who will be dropped into the Performance Center, flounder for a while, lose the crowd support they once held and if they ever get to step foot in a WWE ring again they will disappoint because simply put they aren’t good enough. They’re certainly not tough enough. And all they will leave is a $500,000 hole in the company’s bank account.

Realistically, being eliminated from the contest is the best thing to happen to Patrick, as now he can stop pretending to be a wrestler and work towards becoming one for real. He has show all of the attributes that make a great superstar, and has a passion for professional wrestling that the others clearly lacked. He has an ego, but that will likely be taken down a peg after some time in the Performance Center or independent scene, and away from people that frankly couldn’t lace his sneakers. It was apparent he had made an impression on the Miz when he vehemently criticized his elimination, and Patrick could take his route into the business.

The Miz did not win his series of Tough Enough, but he scratched and clawed his way into the business, and worked harder than anyone to show he belonged. It was a long process, but he is a legitimate superstar now and deservedly so. As a guy who clearly has a huge passion for the company, Miz appeared visibly shaken and angry about the vote and intensely told Patrick to continue working towards his dream. Patrick could be the same if he continues to hold onto his passion, and trust me, plenty of those backstage will be interested in helping him pursue a career in WWE because he’s got it. Maybe not Hulk Hogan or Paige, but frankly after watching this episode I literally couldn’t give any credence to anything they have to say anymore.

Paige in particular has really gone down in my estimation due to her role as a judge, as she is bitter, overly dramatic and clearly playing to the cameras by being “controversial”. She used to profess about being different and stepping out of the old Diva mold, but frankly she’s as fake and two-faced as any other reality show cast member. The fact she even nominated Patrick because she didn’t like his attitude is a joke, because am I supposed to believe Paige has always been a delight backstage or towards her coworkers? Fat chance, and whilst Patrick did require humbling she had no reason to place him in the bottom three other than personal spite.

In the end, I’m glad Patrick is now ready to pursue a career in WWE like one is supposed to, rather than endure being chewed up and spat out like every other Tough Enough winner. In the same way I hope Tanner, Mada and Gigi don’t win, because they have futures in this industry. His elimination also means I don’t have to take an interest in this contest in terms of making the next Superstar or Diva because that ship has clearly sailed. This competition is now utterly devalued and devoid of any substance, and hopefully the inevitable failure of the winners to forge a successful career in WWE will finally kill Tough Enough once and for all.

Next: Tough Enough: Episode 5 Power Rankings

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