10 Legitimate Fighters Who Competed In WWE

Anyone who has enrolled at wrestling school knows that the first rule of wrestling school is that you don't talk about wrestling school. The second rule is that results are predetermined, and you probably shouldn't under any circumstances try and beat up your opponent for real.

Tough Enough rookie Daniel Puder skipped the inaugural lesson, however, which is why on an November 2004 episode of SmackDown he put Kurt Angle in a Kimura lock, a submission hold he had picked up from his time as a mixed martial artist. To be fair, Angle did arrogantly challenge the newcomers to a real fight, on the basis he expected to win easily.

Fortunately for Angle - who, so we're led to believe, was just a few seconds away from tapping out to a wrestler nobody had ever heard of - the referee had the presence of mind to count a quick pinfall whilst his assailant's shoulders were (sort of) parallel with the mat.

This would turn out to be the highlight of Puder's tenure with WWE. After presumably getting a stern talking to backstage, he was punished in front of the cameras with a series of stiff chops from veterans Eddie Guerrero, Chris Benoit and Hardcore Holly at the Royal Rumble a couple of months later.