WWE Tough Enough Winners: Where Are They Now?

8. Daniel Puder

Daniel Puder became a hero of sorts (in certain circles) when he almost made Kurt Angle tap out in an unplanned, spur-of-the-moment shoot fight. Angle had easily beat Chris Nawrocki (and broke one of his ribs in the process) on the November 4th 2004 Smackdown and challenged any of the other contestants to step up. Up stepped Puder, who had previously trained in MMA. Puder caught Angle off-guard with a very painful kimura lock. Realising what was happening backstage Jerry Brisco instructed referee Jimmy Korderas via his earpiece to count Puder's shoulders to the mat and end the contest. Angle was furious and had some very stern words for the rookie afterwards. Puder won the 'Million Dollar Tough Enough', beating co-finalist The Miz (whom he also narrowly defeated in an amateur boxing match at Armageddon 2004). Puder was not well-liked by the Smackdown locker room after the Angle incident and he didn't endear himself with his cocky attitude, either. Puder's most notable WWE appearance was in the 2005 Royal Rumble, where he was brutally chopped by Hardcore Holly, Eddie Guerrero and Chris Benoit before being eliminated (Holly hated Puder after he had told his friends that he had beaten Holly for real on house shows). After that, he was sent to OVW to learn how to work but the WWE decided to release him in September as a cost-cutting move. What has Puder been up to since? He had some shoot fights, worked briefly for Ring of Honor (2007/08) and gave a lot of interviews where he talked smack about Kurt Angle. Now retired from MMA, he works for My Life Power, an organisation which mentors children and teenagers who have been the victims of bullying. He plans to wrestle again in 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFzaT1Y-0l8