Smackdown's 2004 Tough Enough contest is primarily famous for introducing The Miz to WWE and televising Daniel Puder getting the better of Kurt Angle in a legitimate sparring encounter. There was another finalist, though, who came very close to being a notable part of the season -- former Arena Football League player Dan Rodimer. Tall, muscular, and blonde, Rodimer had the look WWE wanted. He reported to Deep South Wrestling in 2006, then was shifted over to Ohio Valley Wrestling in 2007. He also worked WWE house shows during this period, taking the name Dan Rodman. Rumors began to swirl during this period that Stephanie McMahon was particularly high on Rodimer, and that a debut as the bodyguard for Rated-RKO (Edge and Randy Orton's short-lived tandem) was imminent. He even challenged John Cena for the WWE Championship at a house show in June of 2007. Apparently, though, Stephanie McMahon was the only person who really saw anything in the rookie, and though her word goes a long way, it isn't the be-all and end-all. Vince McMahon allegedly got wind of agents' reports that Rodimer wasn't ready for prime time, and was quite angry. Stephanie decided to abandon his push, and after he suffered a couple of losses on Heat, Rodimer was canned.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
