WWE Tough Enough winners: Where are they now?
WWE has presented six seasons of Tough Enough over the past two decades, and in that time there have been several winners who have gone on to compete in WWE.
While every former winner of the competition has now been released, there are several former contestants including The Miz, Sonya Deville, and Mandy Rose who are still signed to the company.
It has been almost two decades since some of these superstars won the competition, and the following list looks at some of the biggest winners of Tough Enough and where they are now.
#6. Season 1 winners: Maven Huffman and Nidia Guenard
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Maven Huffman and Nidia Guenard became the first-ever winners of the competition back in 2001 and both stars were later signed by WWE. Maven went on to become a three-time Hardcore Champion before he was released from the company in July 2005.
Maven later competed for TNA before wrestling several matches on the independent circuit. The inaugural Tough Enough winner announced his retirement from the business in 2016. In an interview with Chris Van Vliet in 2021, the former star revealed that he now works in finance, specifically on Wall Street.
Nidia was also signed by WWE following her Tough Enough success, but wasn't able to make much of a statement in the Women's Division, and was released in 2004.
Nidia went on to wrestle in the independent scene before retiring from the business in 2005. The former star has since gone on to marry and welcome two children. Nidia then developed an interest in cooking and attended the Culinary Institute Len么tre in Houston, Texas.
#5. WWE Tough Enough 2 winners: Jackie Gayda and Linda Miles
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Linda Miles and Jackie Gayda were the winners of the second season of Tough Enough in 2002. As with the previous year, the two women were signed to WWE following their victories but didn't last long on the main roster.
Linda Miles made her debut not long after her Tough Enough victory and worked mainly under the ring name Shaniqua. The former star had a background in basketball and was used to the life of a professional athlete, but this didn't help her in WWE.
Miles was released from the company in 2004 and went on to retire shortly afterward. She has since returned to her roots and is working as a college basketball referee.
Like Miles, Jackie Gayda was handed a one-year contract with WWE after her Tough Enough win and went on to meet her future husband Charlie Haas in the process.
The couple went on to marry before both being released from WWE in 2005 and going on to pursue several business ventures together. Haas recently revealed that the couple had divorced and whilst he has returned to pro wrestling, Gayda retired in 2011 and has focused on raising her four children.
#4. Tough Enough 3 winners: John Hennigan and Matt Cappotelli
After the success of the first two seasons, Tough Enough returned the following year and this time John Hennigan and Matt Cappotelli were announced as the winners.
John Hennigan made quite a splash in WWE as one-third of MNM alongside Melina and Joey Mercury and went on to win the Tag Team Championship. The star went on to have a successful run as a singles star before being released from the company in 2011.
After impressive success on the indie scene, Morrison was resigned in 2019 and went on to align himself with The Miz for a couple of years, before being released from the company once again in 2021.
Following his release, Morrison has returned to the independent circuit and is now known as "Johnny Superstar" in AAA and "Johnny Caballero" in GCW.
Matt Cappotelli is the only Tough Enough winner who didn't go on to actively compete in WWE. Whilst working for the company's OVW brand, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor and underwent surgery to remove it.
After being released from the company in 2009, he returned as a trainer in OVW in 2013, before it was revealed in 2017 that he had a grade IV glioblastoma multiforme. The former star's wife announced in 2018 that he had chosen to cease all medical interventions and passed away in June 2018 at the age of 38.
#3. Tough Enough season 4 winner: Daniel Puder
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In response to the annual Diva Search, WWE announced just one winner for season four of Tough Enough, Daniel Puder. The star made quite the name for himself upon making his debut after he nearly legitimately beat Kurt Angle in a shoot fight on SmackDown.
Puder competed in a Dixie Dog Fight against The Miz at the 2004 Armageddon pay-per-view. In the 2005 Royal Rumble, he was attacked by both Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit before being eliminated by Hardcore Holly.
Puder was later sent down to OVW and was released from his contract in 2005 as part of a cost-cutting measure.
The star retired from the business in 2011 and is now the founder and owner of four different companies. Puder has also worked as a deputy sheriff and currently provides mixed martial arts instruction using the private coaching service called CoachUp.
#2. Tough Enough season 5 winner: Andy Leavine
#OnThisDay in 2011: Andy Leavine is announced the winner of the Tough Enough reboot on RAW from Richmond, Virginia.
Just two months after his win, he violates the WWE's Wellness Policy and is suspended for 30 days. He's released in April 2012. https://t.co/aK11SwgZSt
Andy Leavine won Tough Enough when the show made its return back in 2011. He then earned a one-year contract with WWE, but after a backstage appearance with Stone Cold Steve Austin and CM Punk, he was sent back to FCW.
It was later confirmed by the star himself that he had been released from the company a few months later. Leavine then went on to work for the World Wrestling Council in Puerto Rico, where he is a former WWC Universal Heavyweight Champion.
#1. Tough Enough season 6 winners: Sara Lee and Joshua "Josh" Bredl
Tough Enough made its return on the WWE Network in 2015 and saw Sara Lee and Josh Bredl announced as the winners. Whilst other contestants such as Velveteen Dream, Mandy Rose, and Sonya Deville have since become much bigger stars, Sara and Josh were handed one-year deals following their victories.
Sara Lee was unable to make much of an impact in NXT but remained with WWE for a year before being released in 2016. Lee went on to marry fellow WWE Superstar Wesley Blake and the couple have since welcomed three children.
After two years, Bredl was released from WWE in 2017 after managing to make a number of enemies due to insensitive tweets towards the stable The Social Outcasts.
Bredl is married and has two children. He has since remained in the fitness world and invented his own app for people to use where he is known as "The Yeti".