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We're
all in favor of body awareness here.
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Tough Enough 3
original
airdate: 11-14-02
Despite
her desire to glorify God with "an occupation that rocks,"
Rebekah chose to depart this week, to be with her mother in
her time of need. This makes Jamie and Kelly the only two
female contestants left, and it's Jamie who takes up most
of the screen time.
Jamie
is a self-styled wild girl, with issues about her appearance,
her performance, and a deep insecurity that goes all the way
down. She dithers endlessly trying to pick an outfit, makes
out with random men at the club they visit, sobs drunkenly
in the car on the way home, and goes to Big for reassurance
and attention. Talk about a dented can.
Add to
that her propensity for low-slung pants, belching, hanging
off any available males, and a burgeoning crush on John, and
Jamie is like kryptonite for Jonah. Next week, we'll see how
John feels about her, but, well, we know about how well hook-ups
have gone on this show so far. Real World it's not.
(On that
note, no, I did not watch Tough Enough week on Blind Date,
but I can't imagine it went any better than any other episode
of Blind Date.
Tommy
Dreamer stops by to tell tales of his 16 concussions and hit
Scott with his kendo stick. A clown from the Secret Circus
stops by to teach body awareness on a Club Med trapeze. And
Rey Mysterio stops by to take off his mask, not that we'd
know; the cameras very carefully stayed focused on the back
of his head.
That's
been the subject of some debate: was it respectful of MTV
not to show his face, now that he's a dedicated masked wrestler
again? Or was it silly, since he got unmasked in WCW and we
could have seen it before?
I don't
hold with either position, actually, and think the whole "mask"
segment should have been dropped from the show. Yes, it's
important to show the competitors how serious and important
wrestling can be and the kind of cultural significance the
lucha libre style has even in modern WWE, but...
None
of these kids are ever going to be luchadores, ever, and the
minutes wasted on that could have been devoted to training,
or even a montage of Rey's awesomeness, which might turn some
of MTV's viewers on to Smackdown! and boost the WWE's
sagging ratings.
As not
much else happened in the episode that bears recapping, I
thought I'd address some of the comments Mr. Goodson has made
in Chair Shots recently.
The way
the show is set up now, as a joint venture between WWE and
MTV, I don't see there being much room for established amateur
wrestlers. They wouldn't provide the drama MTV wants, nor
do they really need the opportunity the show currently offers.
If you're already in OVW, why go on a show that might, maybe
give you a contract to go back there?
Granted,
the extra exposure would be a bonus, but what I'd prefer to
see instead is a regular WWE feature on either show, with
established stars visiting some of those independent promotions
to train with the up-and-comers, or to scope for new blood.
Potential talent for WWE, national TV exposure for the indie
feds, and everyone's a winner.
Unless
the small-timers make the pros look worse by comparison, and
really, that can only be good in the long run.
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