Some things I learned watching Tough Enough

[Loss]

Yeah, I have definitely realized watching Tough Enough how awesome Steve Austin is on camera. Not that it really needed to be reinforced, but Rock is the guy people usually talk about more with the superstar presence and charisma.

[Jingus]

Bryan and Dave though that selling Vince's slap and falling to the floor was the right reaction. While I thought standing there and taking it would have been the "right" option. No?

 

Am I wrong?

Probably depends on what mood Vince was in that day, and what his cronies and yes-men were whispering in his ear. I could see him reacting positively or negatively to both of those reactions.

[Mr Wrestling X]

Although the right guy won the show, I really don't think his proper debut will be met with much fanfare. I'm hoping WWE send him to FCW for at least 6 months to give him some fine tuning. He did sell the Stunner really well last night, but the real question is, can he wrestle a full 10 minute match without botching too much?

[Victator]

Tough Enough has never helped anyone become a star. Even Miz and Morrison had to build a lot of distance from Tough Enough before they made it as even mid carders.

[Tim Evans]

Tough Enough has never helped anyone become a star. Even Miz and Morrison had to build a lot of distance from Tough Enough before they made it as even mid carders.

Wasn't Miz/Cena basically built around Miz being a former Real World/Tough Enough reject that became World champion?

[Victator]

To make the current Tough Enough seem relevant.

[Johnny Sorrow]

Yeah, Miz doing Tough Enough never was a major part of the character. It's "former Real World guy who loved wrestling" getting shit on by everyone but hanging in there and working hard to get over and become a great wrestler.

 

It's such a great babyface story, but it works even better as a heel's journey.

[Johnny Sorrow]

So my pal has a blog where he's talking about his experiences getting into "the biz", and it's pretty good.

 

http://www.millershow.tv/blog/2011/6/13/th...winnemucca.html

 

I needed to be at the RWF building at 11am so that I could catch a ride with one of my trainers Paul Isadora, and the other members of the ring crew. So I got up at 6:30am with my wife, and waited until 9:30am to catch the bus that would take me there. A ring crew is a group of people who help assemble and take down a ring, at shows, and help out in any other way they're either asked to or volunteer to. This was my first time ever as part of the ring crew, and I was more than excited.

 

I arrived at RWF at about 10:40am, and I waited for a sign that people were showing up, the first person to show up was another member of the crew, Devon, who drove up from Carson City. We didn't talk much, I shook his hand, and he popped in an MP3 player. I could tell Devon was a lot younger than me, and besides being part of the crew, we really didn't have much in common. Regardless I feel like I tried my best to try and interact with him, but it didn't get me very far.

 

Soon after, Paul arrived with Tony, Nick and Marie, the other members of the ring crew. I had met Nick and Marie before as Marie is also training to become a wrestler at RWF, and in fact is way more advanced than I am at the moment. Nick is her man, and a pretty decent dude, he is there when she is there. Tony was a new face, but I could tell we were closer in age, and we'd most likely get along well enough. I was glad that they arrived because it meant we'd soon be on our way to Winnemucca.

 

I had brought my bag with me, and at first I felt weird about that, but I had a feeling I might need it, and I have a rule that if I ever travel, even for a day trip, I bring a change of clothes, some Aleve and a roll of toilet paper, because you never know what might happen, and you could need these things. It's better to have them and not need them, than need them and not have them.

 

We loaded up the Truck with assorted items needed for the ring, and our personal stuff, then attached the trailer that had the ring, to the truck. It was time to get on the road. The trip could've been a long boring affair, but in fact it seemed to breeze by because we had a conversation on wrestling in general, and Reno wrestling specifically with the promoter of the other promotion becoming the target of some well placed and accurate barbs. By the time we knew it we were in Winnemucca.

 

The night before I had checked the weather forecast for Winnemucca and saw that it called for isolated showers, normally this wouldn't be an issue, but this show was being held outdoors. Not only would rain put a damper on the attendance, but it also could've created some real safety concerns. I told Paul about what I had read online about the weather, but he had a remedy, he said he could bring the tarp from his pool to cover the ring if any real showers might happen. It was Devon who vocalize my fears when he mentioned the possibility of rain once we got there. It sprinkled a little bit and he took a good portion of crap from some of the other ring crew about jinxing the show. Luckily it wouldn't matter, because while it did sprinkle a bit, there weren't any real showers to speak of and the tarp wasn't needed.

 

We set up the ring, and still had a few hours before the show, so the ring crew went out for lunch. There was a lot of talk about what foods we liked but couldn't eat, but I mostly stayed out of this, as I was still feeling out how I'd fit into this family. Being new, I knew that I could do a lot of damage being annoying, but sometimes I fear this tentative attitude may make people think I'm either stupid, or aloof. A decade earlier it was this same attitude that gave my mother-in-law the first impression that I was "a dolt", as she put it. That still bothers me. Tony, Marie and Nick were all very friendly and made a real effort to make me feel like I belonged there, and for that I'm grateful to them. I hope in the future I can open up a bit more, but when I first meet a person I tend to be guarded, to my own misfortune, usually.

 

After a lunch I shouldn't have had, because of my new diet, we returned to the event area, and hung out for a while. I started to get a bit tired, so I excused myself and made my way to the closest gas station so I could get a 5 Hour Energy and something to drink. I decided to try Pepsi Max, for the first time and discovered it wasn't that bad. The shape and color of the bottle confused a few people when I walked back to ringside, as they thought I was walking down the street drinking a beer. I thought that was funny.

 

I got to witness my first "rib" when Drake Nelson, the television producer for RWF had his shoes hidden from him. He didn't seem too concerned and a while later he located them, but it was sorta cool to witness something I'd only heard about happening in the past. I know eventually I'll most likely be the victim of one of these ribs, and it'll most likely be worse than losing a pair of shoes, although I hope it's not as bad as some I've heard about in the past.

 

There were some wrestlers from Utah who had made it to Winnemucca, I can only assume, to see if they could get work on the show, or perhaps a future show. It was clear that while these wrestlers had the dedication to drive hundreds of miles for a shot, they weren't nearly in the same class as the workers on the card. Still it was cool to see them work through some moves and "try out". They weren't included on the show, but I'm sure it was an important networking opportunity that they're glad they chose to make.

 

There are rules of etiquette when it comes to showing your respect to those who work in professional wrestling. They're not super unique, but you'd be surprised how most of us have lost the common courtesy we most likely were taught as children. One of the most important rules is to shake everyone's hand, this not only is a sign of respect, but also a way to meet new people you could potentially be working with in the future. I tried to shake the hand of everyone I saw that day but unfortunately I think I might've missed a few. I hope that it they read this, they will realize it wasn't a lack of respect, but either me feeling awkward, or a lack of opportunity. I'm still getting used to all of this, and I hope that these mistakes will be seen for what they are, the mistakes of a new person, not the rude actions of someone who thinks he's better than anyone. I most definitely do not think I'm better than anyone.

 

It was getting close to show time, the people started filing into, what was a parking lot hours before, but was now, the arena. Drake asked me if I'd like to work a camera, and I didn't hesitate to say yes. This might've been the biggest honor of the night for me. Drake went through what he expected from me as far as recording the action, and I felt I could handle it so it was settled.

 

I won't go into the details of the matches, as that would take a long time, and most likely it'll be released as a video on the RWF website but I will say that I had a blast recording the show, and being so close to the action. It reminded me of my college days when I studied video and film production, and also reminded me of why I'm doing any of this in the first place, I love professional wrestling.

 

The battery on my camera went dead before the last match so I actually got to stand back and watch a really great match between Dylan Drake and Malachi. After a hard fought match, Dylan won with a small package, which is like a surprise quick pin, and as he celebrated his victory he was destroyed by Malachi, who used a modified "pile driver". And with that the show was over.

 

After the ring crew and a lot of the wrestlers tore the ring down for it's trip back to Reno, Paul told us all we were having dinner before we left, and that it was comped by the casino. We made our way over to the casino diner and there were already a lot of the wrestlers eating there. I was sitting with Devon, who was the one member of the ring crew I didn't feel was as welcoming as the others. I ordered a patty melt, he ordered a cheese burger with a fried egg on it. Later he ordered a whole orange, which confused the waitress and me alike. I made my way to the ATM so I could have cash to leave a tip, even though the casino is paying for the food, the wait staff still are doing a job and deserve to be tipped. I came back and enjoyed my meal even with the lack of any decent dinner conversation, as the people I wanted to talk to were all at other tables. Devon had no money for a tip, so I told him I'd cover for him. I left a pretty decent tip, but he asked me to leave more since he'd ordered unusual items, I told him no. It's not my fault he didn't have cash left, sorry pal.

 

Anyways, we got back to the truck and it was time to make our way back to Reno. We were into our trip home and I really enjoyed listening to out Referee, Sparkey Ballard, talk about what he went through to become a ref, and how it was both similar and different than training to wrestle. Stories like these are the kinds of things I find so very insightful. My job here is to learn as much as I can, both in the ring and out of it about how this business works, without opening my mouth and talking about things I don't know yet. There was also a lot of talk about how a lot of the Reno wrestlers who worked on the show had to then go to Los Angeles the next day, and then Las Vegas after that. Right now it's hard to imagine such long road trips, but I know that I hopefully will eventually realize why they do it. Not just for money, but because they love what they do.

 

We were about fifty miles outside of Reno when I felt something in my gut. It was a rumbling feeling that I knew was not good. Ten miles later I unfastened my belt to allow the pressure to lessen. Five miles after that I realized with horror what was about to happen. I made it clear that I needed to get to a bathroom. Paul suggested that he stop so I could take a leak outside, then I said the most childlike thing I had said that day, "No, it's number two." The second it left my mouth I knew I shouldn't have said it that way. Regardless the clock was ticking, and there was no way I'd make it back to Reno, without an embarrassment the scale of which I could never live down. We spotted a gas station, but it looked like it might be closed. It was closed, and there was no outside access to the restroom. I realized at this moment I would have to use my toilet paper, and how happy I was that I had brought it.

 

My business done, we got back on the road to Reno. but I knew that this was going to be a story with some legs on it. I was going to be "the guy who had to shit behind the gas station at 2am". I would wager that's still better than "the guy who shit in Paul Isadora's truck with six other people in it". I will take solace in that.

 

Eventually I made it home, and went to bed with thoughts of the matches, and the day in my head, as well as the events of the ride home. I have to say all in all it was an excellent learning experience and a really fun day. I met a lot of really cool people, who I will hopefully meet again, and I feel like I'm part of something awesome.

[FLIK]

I needed to be at the RWF building at 11am so that I could catch a ride with one of my trainers Paul Isadora

Heh, not that he's horrible but having seen Paul Isodora wrestle a ton of times before he woud not exactly be at the top of my list of guys I would think of as making good trainers either.

 

Cool blog tho, hope the guy makes it.