‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin has been away from active in-ring competition for two decades now. Barring a one-off match against Kevin Owens at WrestleMania 38 he hasn’t competed at all. But that doesn’t mean the fans do not get their regular dose of ‘Stone Cold’. He does appear on WWE programming from time to time. This did include his appearance as the host of the 2011 season of the WWE reality show, Tough Enough which also featured Trish Stratus.
The former WWE champion recently spoke about his unconventional career at the Stamford-based promotion-backed show. He opened up about how he fell in love with reality television through the show.
‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin discusses his time at Tough Enough
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
He was recently speaking on his The Steve Austin Show podcast when he made the revelation. Austin said, “See man I fell into the reality television game when WWE contacted me about you know hosting a show called Tough Enough. Trying to find the next WWE superstar, at least that was the task at hand back in the day.”
“And the show kicked a**, didn’t get picked up for another season and it was kind of you know reincarnated you know when I myself, Bill DeMott, Trish Stratus , and Booker T took it over and had a blast making it. And that’s when I fell in love with it.” added the iconic performer.
Tough Enough was an interesting concept that saw many aspiring wrestlers vie for the famed WWE contract. Although the series started way back in 2001, it was rebooted in 2011. ‘The Texas Rattlesnake’ would serve as a host and Bill DeMott along with WWE Hall of Famers Stratus and Booker T taking up the trainer’s role.
It sure would have been an incredible learning experience for contenders. The revived version of the show was won by Andy Leavine who was unfortunately released by WWE in 2012. However, the reality TV show has given the wrestling juggernaut some famous names.
Tough Enough has given a lot of WWE superstars over the years
From main roster talents of yesteryear like Maven and Spirit Squad’s Mitch, Tough Enough has contributed to some solid talents to WWE. Matt Morgan who later made profound waves in Impact Wrestling (fka TNA) was also a participant in the series. Former MNM members Melina and Johny Nitro aka John Morrison were also a product of the reality show. The latter was recently in the news for his boxing debut.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
He won the third season and went on to carve out a successful career in the sports entertainment world. However, arguably the biggest name to have come out of Tough Enough has to be The Miz. He was the runner-up in the fourth iteration and was a whisker away from winning it all. Though he had the last laugh after enjoying a long and fulfilling career in WWE.
Stone Cold Steve Austin definitely had a great time with his colleagues during the show. And as he said, it was the start of his love affair with reality TV. It would be great for the fans to learn that the legendary wrestler had a great time while filming Tough Enough in 2011.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
What do you think about Stone Cold Steve Austin’s remarks on Tough Enough? Let us know in the comments below.
Watch This Story: 52-year-old ECW Legend Details How John Cena And Dwayne Johnson Made WWE A Lot Of Money Despite Having A Lot Of Issues