Tough Enough Review and Reactions: The Finale

Hello everyone and welcome back to Talk Wrestling World, I hope you are all well and good. Last night was of course the Tough Enough finale and we were treated to an hour of wrestling based reality TV as the finalist competed in the  final week with the hopes of being crowned Tough Enough. So by the end of  the night who was left standing tall walking away with a WWE Contract? Did Amanda or Sara Lee become the latest WWE Diva? and was it Josh or ZZ who became the latest WWE Superstar? In today's blog post I'm going to be recapping all of last night's action and taking a look back at the season as a whole. I will be discussing what I think about the winners and what changes I think the WWE should make so that the next season is even better. With so much to get through in today's blog post let's try and jump right into the review. But before we get started I have a couple of updates and reminders for you. I'm going to start with NXT month. Most of you will probably know by now, but NXT season was suppose to end last week on my blog but I didn't realise how many  posts I had pre written and so for the rest of the week I will be uploading the final post in the series. In October there will be a new season and so if there is anything you would like to see in particular just let me know before the middle of September. Next week I will also be uploading my top twenty matches of the month and my top fifteen superstars of the month. I will link bellow any recent blog post including my NXT Takeover and SummerSlam Review and Reactions posts. Finally, you can let me know what you thought of last night's show by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.

So last night was the Tough Enough Finale and the WWE universe voted Sara Lee and Josh as their two thousand and fifteen Tough Enough male and female winners. I honestly could not have been happier with the vote. I personally voted for these two and I had been backing them both pretty much from the beginning so I was happy girl to say the least. Now, this season has been absolutely mental and over the past ten weeks I have had so much fun writing these Tough Enough Review and Reactions posts. I have said it before but they have been my favourite blog posts to write and to be honest, I am really going to miss writing these. The past ten weeks have gone by so fast and I've enjoyed the season way more than I was expecting too. Today. we are going to take a trip down memory lane and also recap all of last night's action including an in depth review of the four matches we saw last night. Right, let's jump right into things shall we.

If you are subscribed to the WWE YouTube channel you may have seen the video clip posted last week that showed Billy Gunn, Booker T, and Lita announcing that during the Tough Enough final the guys, ZZ and Josh would have a match with Cesaro and the ladies, Sara Lee and Amanda would go one on one with Alicia Fox. The match would see all four contestants compete in their characters dressed in gear and performing for a crowd. I really really liked that they had to compete in a full on match. It was the perfect way to not only close the season but to allow the contestants to showcase everything they have learnt over the past nine weeks. When I first heard that all four would be competing against a WWE Superstar and Diva I assumed that they would be taking on Dana Brookes and Jason Jordan considering that they have been the ones training them and helping them out throughout the competition so it was a nice twist giving them an opponent that they have never stepped in the ring with before. I will admit I was a little shocked with the choices. Cesaro and Alicia Fox are two very experienced and very very talented stars. Their both two of the best of the best and really were going to be a big challenge for the contestants but I liked that a lot. Let's take a look at each match and the overall performance of the finalist.

Now, the girls had to take on Alicia Fox. After being with the WWE for nine years Alicia is a top veteran in the WWE. She's one of the most underrated and underutilised divas in history but she is also one of the biggest female characters and challenges in the WWE divas division making her an all round perfect opponent for Sara Lee and Amanda. First up was Amanda and I was very interested in seeing how this was going to play up. During last night's episode before the match each contestant had a little sit down interview with Chris Jericho and a bunch of creative members were they discussed everything from what they were going to wear to the music to the promo they were going to be cutting on the night; Now Amanda knew exactly what she wanted. She knew how she wanted to look, what she wanted to say, her name, everything. She gave detail and the creative already knew what to do with her and their ideas matched her's perfectly. Amanda has done so well in this competition despite being so controversial. Some weeks she has looked great in the ring others she has looked terrible so it was hard to call but I was expecting her to showcase a lot of skill. She's had a much easier ride than Sara Lee and we have seen much better work from her throughout so I didn't know what to expect as a whole. Before each match they all had to cut a promo and I liked what we saw from Amanda. I wasn't sure if her character was suppose to be a heel or face but what I got from her last night was that she was showing she could make both work with her character and I liked the line that she gave to the Miz. Paige was right in saying that she looked like a diva. Her music hit and everything fitted together well. The song, the name, the ring gear everything was perfect and she really did look like a WWE Diva. The match itself was sloppy. You could tell she was nervous and over thinking it at the start but as the match progressed she clearly got more confident and the match looked better. She hit the moves that she needed to hit well. There a couple of things she did that looked really really good clean but there were a thew times were I was like holy shit is she okay. She did win me over last night and overall had a decent match.

Up next was of course Sara Lee and I was really worried for Sara, I'm not gonna lie. She has by far had the toughest journey over the past ten weeks. She's really struggled in the ring and with her character so I was worried for Sara Lee, I was really worried. Now, the entrance wasn't half as good as Amanda's. She didn't have as much excitement, and energy and character as Amanda did. With Amanda I was excited for the match and she looked fun. Sara Lee on the other hand had a rather dull entrance. I wasn't excited for the match like I was the previous one. If I'm being honest, I hated the ring gear. It was flattering what so ever and there are a lot of character changes she needs to make as well. However, her promo was great. It was her best mic work to date and I preferred Sara's promo much much more. It had story to it, she was more clear and fluent and I loved that she aimed some of her promo at Alicia Fox her competitor, I really liked that and it's something I wish we saw Amanda do. The match itself was decent. There were a couple messy moments but all round the match was cleaner and much better put together than the first that we saw on the night. There was a clearer story and all round Sara Lee really really impressed me. I actually yelled at my lap top "she's not smiling". It was as if she had stored everything that she had been taught over the past ten weeks and put everything that she had into this match. There is a lot a lot of work to do with Sara Lee and I think she will take more time to make it as  a WWE Diva than Amanda but she did great last night. She showed fight, heart and passion. She showed that she can wrestle and she does have what it takes. I just wish there was a couple of things she did better but altogether I was very impressed with her.

The guys had to take on Cesaro who was once again a huge challenge. Cesaro hasn't been in the WWE for as long as Alicia Fox but he is without a doubt one of the greatest talents in the WWE today. We all know that he's strength is out of this world and he's wrestling ability is insane, so the guys were not going to have it easy against the former United State Champion. Unlike Foxy, we have actually seen Cesaro appear on Tough Enough this series so he knows the guys a little more and so was bound to have more chemistry. First up for the boys was ZZ. I loved the entrance. Honestly, I thought the music the ring gear, the name, everything was well picked out and well suited to ZZ's actual character. It was like a super exaggerated version of himself and I love that in any WWE Superstar. I would have liked to have seen more energy and character in the entrance it lacked that quite a bit but I love the intensity he brought. The promo was my favourite promo of the night. Great story being told, he was comfortable on the mic, he's clearly a very good speaker and knows what to say and how to say it. The match was much much better than I thought it was going to be there. Is a couple of things I personally would have changed. He did look to be out of breathe a lot and the match was only two minuets so that's really worrying but he impressed me in this match I have to say.

Josh was the last to compete and it was as if they saved the best till last. Josh has been the one that has come the furthest in this competition. He was by far the stronger of the two when it come to physicality and I was the most excited for he's match, I'm not going to lie. The entrance was decent. It wasn't the best and not as good as I was expecting it to be. I liked the character, the music and the image they were going for. However, I hated the ring gear. Complete wrong choices. When they work on him the gear is the first thing they need to change. I would give him trousers/pants. He's a big guy and following similar ring gear to Baron Corbin would be best. I'd also love it if he wore black and had some bigger elements to the outfit. The promo was poor. He needs a lot of work on he's mic skills but he has the foundations. I loved it when he got the crowd to stand up. He knows what to do he just tried to put everything in one promo. The match itself was without a doubt the best of the night. He was very fast and very clean in the ring. He looked like a natural and he looked like he belonged in there. He was a little shaky at times but the fact that this was he's first match was pretty amazing because it was great. He without a doubt had the best match and has the brightest future.

Before we get talking about the winners let's take a look at the runner ups. First we have Amanda. As much as I personally don't like her, Amanda has been a great addition to the show. She's played the mean girl role perfectly making her a great reality TV star. She's been entertaining to watch, she caused controversy and has divided opinion amongst the WWE Universe. Everything that a WWE Diva should do. She may not have been a favourite with the fans but she has been such a great addition to the show. She took on every single challenge and worked her butt off. She grew so much and took a lot of stick along the way.I honestly believe that even though she didn't win Tough Enough we will see her inside a WWE ring some time in the future. She is everything you could ask for in a WWE diva and there is not a chance in hell that the WWE will just let her go. So watch this space because we are going to be seeing Amanda in the future.

As for ZZ, where do I begin? I have loved ZZ right from the very start. He's been the one that we have all favoured, keeping us entertained and keeping a smile on all our faces. It's obvious that he is passionate about the WWE but when it came down to it it was clear that he just didn't have what it takes to be a WWE Superstar. He without a doubt had the most amount of charisma but in the end it just wasn't enough. Charisma can only get you so far and when you can't match it in the ring there's no place for you. Just like Amanda he did make great TV and we all enjoyed watching him. The best thing about ZZ is he's only nineteen, he's just a baby and so if he really wants to make it in the WWE then he will he just needs to work he's butt off. I think we can all agree that the season would not have been complete without our ZZ. There was a reason he was the fan favourite throughout the show and he's always going to be our funny awesome ZZ.

When it came to who was going to be crowned the female winner of Tough Enough this year it was very easy to predict the moment that Georgia was eliminated. Even though Amanda is the better all round diva of the two finalist there was no chance in hell was she going to bag more votes than Sara Lee. Sara has been the fan favourite right from the very start and her fans have been the most loyal of the season. Now, it's no secret that Sara Lee has had one of the toughest journeys in the competition over the past nine weeks. She found the process the most difficult and has struggled the most out of all the female competitors. Week after week she took a grilling from all the judges and coaches and even Chris Jericho. One of the biggest storyline's/ themes of the series has been the ongoing tensions between Sara and judge Paige. The former two time divas champion has pushed Sara to her limits and put her in the bottom three almost every week. As the competition has progressed it became clear that Paige wasn't just picking on her she clearly was just trying to push and motivate Sara to do her best and it paid off massively. What became clear with Sara Lee is that the more she was pushed and the more she was yelled at the better she did. When she did good she did really good and proved why she was so popular with the fans. I will admit that she did frustrate me at times. There many moments were I was yelling at my lap top. You just wanted to push her or shake, do something to her to make her snap out of it and just do something. Now Sara may not have been the favourite of the judges and the coaches but she was a popular choice when it came to the WWE Universe right from the very start. As soon as I saw her submission video I knew she was going to be my favourite and even though she frustrated me plenty of times she remained my favourite female in the competition. Seeing her grow in confidence and ability has been amazing and she one hundred percent deserved to win last night. In reality, do I think she's going to have a long career in the WWE? To be honest I don't. I really like the girl, she's supper sweet and has everyone's best interest at heart but she doesn't have what it takes to be a WWE Diva. She hasn't got that fight and determination. She can't switch it up and turn it on at the click of the things like Amanda did. I'd love it if she made some big improvements and got the added extra help in NXT because I want her to do well so much and after all NXT is the perfect place to learn and grow.

I could not have been happier with the end result for both the male and female winner last night. I know I have already said it a million time in this blog post but I have been backing both Sara Lee and Josh from the very start and seeing them crowned as the winners put a huge smile on my face. Now, unlike Sara Lee who I have been one hundred per cent behind from the start I will admit that with Josh it's been very up and down. I started out a mega fan of he's. He was my favourite just on looks alone. I mean come one, you look at him and you know that he's a WWE Superstar. He's height and weight and intimidating image screams WWE superstar and come on let's not beat around the bush, he's one very handsome guy. But after week one was aired my opinions changed massively. He came across as the typical meat head relying on he's size to get him through the competition. He was quiet in the first week and in the second he was yelling and trying to start fights with everyone whether it be Tanner or Patrick and because of that I really began to dislike him. He wasn't coming across the best and there were things he would say and do that just didn't sit well with me. Saying that, I couldn't hide the fact that week after week he wasn't at the top but he grew. He got better and better every single week and that's something that no one could deny whether you liked him or not. In the character building challenge he was beyond cringe worthy with he's British Accent and while it didn't suit him perfectly he made it work and he tried he's very best putting one hundred and ten percent effort into it and as a result it worked minus the accent. From that point onwards he was the one that stood out more and more. He was the only contestant both out of the guys and girls that we actually saw grow and slowly start to become a champion. He started out as the big guy in the corner but left as the one man that we see as a WWE Superstar. He was the one that embraced every single challenge and used everything to help him grow and become the best WWE Superstar he can be. When he got in the ring he was always impressive. He moved around the ring like a guy that was half he's size and it made him even more special. He's speed and agility was so impressive for a guy he's size and it reminded me of how Big E and Luke Harper move around in the ring for their size. Talking of size, Josh lost a heck of weight and leaned up in this competition showing just how badly he wanted it and that argument worked in he's favour when ZZ failed to shed a good chunk of weight. He also had a clear vision of he's character and were he wanted to go. The whole Yeti nation thing really worked and was really effective. He won over the fans week by week and that's what made him a winner. I one hundred and ten percent believe that Josh is going to have a great career and will be the first Tough Enough winner to become WWE World Heavyweight Champion at some point. He has a long way to go before he gets to that point but he's still really really young (twenty four) and so he has so much time to grow and with an NXT contract he is going to just get better and better and I say watch out or Josh because he's got a great future ahead of him,  he's got the looks, determination, drive and passion, we're going to be seeing a lot of the Yeti in the future.

As whole the past ten weeks have been insane. I have enjoyed the season much much more than I
was expecting too however there are plenty of things that the WWE need to change next year if they decide to come back. First up the voting system. The fans voting proved to be a bad decision throughout the season and next year they really do need to change things up with that. What they should do is have the coaches decide who goes. What would be great is if the Judges put three contestants in the bottom three and then the coaches decide who leaves. It would also be great if next time they gave the contestants more wrestling based challenges and focused more on the wrestling. With this season I do think that we lost a lot of great contestants and I think there are about three or four who could easily get signed and they are Mada, GiGi, Tanner and of course Patrick. I have really really enjoyed writing these review blog post and I'm so glad you have all enjoyed reading them. I cannot wait to do this again next year. Remember you can let me know if you agreed with last nights winners by leaving a comment bellow or by tweeting me at @TezangiVictoria.