If "Silent Rage" Andy Leavine Hadn't Been Fired

[Deleted]

With Tough Enough's 1st season coming to the Network, I was reminded of ol' Silent Rage.


If he hadn't been quickly fired post-TE5 Where would he be now if he had actually debuted on the main roster? Would he have even lasted a year?

[YAKMAN is ICHIBAN]

The only thing I remember about him is Austin mocking his nickname.

[BigWill]

He was so bad, he likely wouldn't have even made it out of developmental.

That's what happens when you prioritize trying to create a reality show storyline over actually looking for the next WWE star, which is what the show was suppose to be about.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2015 14:24:01 GMT -5 YAKMAN is ICHIBAN said:

The only thing I remember about him is Austin mocking his nickname.

I remember the vignettes they did about how he pretty much lived in a hell hole, but that's all I remember too

[Brood Lone Wolf Funker]

He would have kept checking the door to make sure it was locked

[Hypnosis]

Jan 11, 2015 14:24:01 GMT -5 YAKMAN is ICHIBAN said:

The only thing I remember about him is Austin mocking his nickname.

Also, "NO SIR, I HAVEN'T!"

[Jeff Mangum PI]

Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiilent Rage.

[theryno665]

If he hadn't have been fired then, he'd have been fired later.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2015 14:26:14 GMT -5 BigWill said:

He was so bad, he likely wouldn't have even made it out of developmental.

That's what happens when you prioritize trying to create a reality show storyline over actually looking for the next WWE star, which is what the show was suppose to be about.

They turned down Austin Aries for the show. Presumably, for being too good.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jan 11, 2015 14:50:47 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

Jan 11, 2015 14:26:14 GMT -5 BigWill said:

He was so bad, he likely wouldn't have even made it out of developmental.

That's what happens when you prioritize trying to create a reality show storyline over actually looking for the next WWE star, which is what the show was suppose to be about.

They turned down Austin Aries for the show. Presumably, for being too good.

That kind of makes sense. Aries IS too good for Tough Enough. Isn't Tough Enough supposed to be about a bunch of nobodies trying to chase their dreams and become a pro wrestler? Aries wasn't just too good, but too famous. Either he has to win because he's obviously that much better, or he loses and it becomes that obvious that the competition is rigged.

[Jeff Mangum PI]

I'm still pissed Luke didn't win. Dude was a great annoying heel.

[bob]

Jan 11, 2015 14:28:01 GMT -5 Brood Lone Wolf Funker said:

He would have kept checking the door to make sure it was locked

is he related to Lex Luger?

[Juice]

That guy was terrible. He would have been released after one or two matches if he actually made it to the main roster.

[Push R Truth]

Silent Rage was like a Silent Fart. At best nobody would notice, otherwise it just stinks

[TGM]

Somebody on these boards had the username Silent Botch and it still makes me laugh.

[CH Punk]

Jan 11, 2015 15:03:55 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

Jan 11, 2015 14:50:47 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

They turned down Austin Aries for the show. Presumably, for being too good.

That kind of makes sense. Aries IS too good for Tough Enough. Isn't Tough Enough supposed to be about a bunch of nobodies trying to chase their dreams and become a pro wrestler? Aries wasn't just too good, but too famous. Either he has to win because he's obviously that much better, or he loses and it becomes that obvious that the competition is rigged.

Andy Leavine was already under WWE contract and asked for a release to do that show. So, he was on the way to live his dream, dropped it so he could chase it again.

[xCompackx]

Jan 11, 2015 15:40:15 GMT -5 CH Punk said:

Jan 11, 2015 15:03:55 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

That kind of makes sense. Aries IS too good for Tough Enough. Isn't Tough Enough supposed to be about a bunch of nobodies trying to chase their dreams and become a pro wrestler? Aries wasn't just too good, but too famous. Either he has to win because he's obviously that much better, or he loses and it becomes that obvious that the competition is rigged.

Andy Leavine was already under WWE contract and asked for a release to do that show. So, he was on the way to live his dream, dropped it so he could chase it again.

Since this was before NXT, Tough Enough was a better chance of making it than whatever Andy was doing at the time in developmental. The guy probably knew he wasn't good enough to make it to the main roster on his own.

[CATCH_US IS the Conversation]

Jan 11, 2015 16:10:24 GMT -5 xCompackx said:

Jan 11, 2015 15:40:15 GMT -5 CH Punk said:

Andy Leavine was already under WWE contract and asked for a release to do that show. So, he was on the way to live his dream, dropped it so he could chase it again.

Since this was before NXT, Tough Enough was a better chance of making it than whatever Andy was doing at the time in developmental. The guy probably knew he wasn't good enough to make it to the main roster on his own.

But if he didn't ask for his release and stayed in FCW, he might have gotten more time to be groomed and improve. At the very least, he would've stayed employed until the Red Endeavoring. They would've been more patient with him, and he might've gotten to have an actual TV debut once NXT became developmental. He would've at least become good enough to work on NXT TV during the early days before all the awesome indy/international stars started coming in.

Going on Tough Enough was a mistake because once he was in the public eye, he had a shorter window of time to become a decent worker. They put him in a sink or swim position and unfortunately he sank.

[xCompackx]

Jan 11, 2015 16:20:54 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

Jan 11, 2015 16:10:24 GMT -5 xCompackx said:

Since this was before NXT, Tough Enough was a better chance of making it than whatever Andy was doing at the time in developmental. The guy probably knew he wasn't good enough to make it to the main roster on his own.

But if he didn't ask for his release and stayed in FCW, he might have gotten more time to be groomed and improve. At the very least, he would've stayed employed until the Red Endeavoring. They would've been more patient with him, and he might've gotten to have an actual TV debut once NXT became developmental. He would've at least become good enough to work on NXT TV during the early days before all the awesome indy/international stars started coming in.

Going on Tough Enough was a mistake because once he was in the public eye, he had a shorter window of time to become a decent worker. They put him in a sink or swim position and unfortunately he sank.

True and I'm not saying that it was a smart decision, but someone that has a deal and quits to be on a TV show is probably only doing it because they knew they'd get seen. WWE is pretty well known for keeping developmental guys far longer than they would keep main roster guys so I have no doubt that Andy would've lasted until NXT started, but the publicity from Tough Enough was probably more attractive than waiting.

[Deleted]

Jan 11, 2015 15:03:55 GMT -5 CATCH_US IS the Conversation said:

Jan 11, 2015 14:50:47 GMT -5 @lovehater said:

They turned down Austin Aries for the show. Presumably, for being too good.

That kind of makes sense. Aries IS too good for Tough Enough. Isn't Tough Enough supposed to be about a bunch of nobodies trying to chase their dreams and become a pro wrestler? Aries wasn't just too good, but too famous. Either he has to win because he's obviously that much better, or he loses and it becomes that obvious that the competition is rigged.

Yeah, he is too big of a star for the show they want to put across. I don't like how some people had experience and some had none in the most recent season though. To me, that really killed the point. Having someone like Matt Cross, who's just as experienced as Aries, competing against people who had never wrestled or had a handful of matches in developmental and eliminating him right away was silly. At least try and show a semblance of legitimacy.

Then the winner is a guy they released from developmental just to put on the show, and he beat a guy who had 5 years on the indies before the show. There was the one girl who lied and said she had 11 years in the biz but took 6 years off because of her family. It was just all over the place, they obviously weren't trying to find the best prospect, they wanted to put on a contrived reality show.