Kenny King Explains Why WWE Tough Enough Lived Up To Its Name

Kenny King tried out for "WWE Tough Enough" Season 2 and finished the series as one of the final four participants. While speaking to "Developmentally Speaking," the 42-year-old recalled the challenges he faced on the show, noting that it was a gruelling experience.

"It wasn't a cliche... The business was a different place; the world was a different place back in those days. It really was to see if you were tough enough. Like, if you were mentally tough enough, if you were physically tough enough... If you were interesting enough to get chosen out of all those people, then we [WWE] strap 25 pounds — it was actually 15% of your body weight, depends on how much you weighed — that was how much was in these book bags. Then you're going to run straight up a freaking mountain in Las Vegas, and we're going to yell at you."

However, that was only the early stages of the process. The competitors who made it to the next stage were beaten up for the next nine weeks as they trained to become potential WWE Superstars. King said that it was a tough process that lived up to the reality show's name, but he still had a lot of fun doing it. However, there were some days when he wondered what he was doing, as the training encompassed everything from running to military fitness programs — often in the same day.

In the end, King didn't make it to the bright lights of WWE. However, he's managed to carve a successful career for himself outside of the sports entertainment promotion, competing for promotions such as Ring of Honor, Impact Wrestling, and Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre.

If you use any quotes from this article, please credit "Developmentally Speaking" with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.