Every WWE Tough Enough Winner: Where Are They Now?

7. Linda Miles (2002)

Maven WWE Tough Enough
WWE.com

Then: The striking and imposing Linda Miles was handpicked as a joint winner alongside Gayda during Tough Enough's second season in 2002. A complete rookie, Linda nonetheless had a basketball background that impressed officials. She was somewhat viewed as 'another Chyna' back in the day, clearly due to her physique and believability when mixing it with men on the roster.

Linda didn't last long on her own once she was called up to the main roster, so they sent her back to OVW for more seasoning. Then, out of the blue, she was promoted again in 2003, stuck with The Basham Brothers, and cast as a dominatrix called Shaniqua.

How's that for a reinvention?! By 2004, reports of Miles having a poor attitude backstage contributed to her release late in the year, and she hasn't wrestled since 2005.

Now: Miles returned to basketball and became a referee in the sport. She's also made some TV appearances on the side. Not many, and they've chiefly been tied to her basketball career, but they exist if anyone cares to look them up. Other than that, there's no much to go on - Linda keeps a low profile, for the most part.

WWE don't really spotlight her dominatrix gimmick with Doug and Danny Basham these days. They've no reason to. It wasn't a high profile act even back then, and none of the members involved went on to do anything else of significance.

Overall, Miles can be considered a bit of a Tough Enough bust. WWE had high hopes for her, but she couldn't match those expectations.

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Lifelong wrestling, video game, music and sports obsessive who has been writing about his passions since childhood. Jamie started writing for WhatCulture in 2013, and has contributed thousands of articles and YouTube videos since then. He cut his teeth penning published pieces for top UK and European wrestling read Fighting Spirit Magazine (FSM), and also has extensive experience working within the wrestling biz as a manager and commentator for promotions like ICW on WWE Network and WCPW/Defiant since 2010. Further, Jamie also hosted the old Ministry Of Slam podcast, and has interviewed everyone from Steve Austin and Shawn Michaels to Bret Hart and Trish Stratus.