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I am in favor of paying dues. However, there are those who seem to transcend and are good right off the bat (Cena, Lesnar, Angle, etc). But, for every Brock Lesnar, there is about 20 Lex Lugers or Big Shows who were handed everything right off the bat and got out of control egos (Show even admitted as much on an episode of, get this, Tough Enough).
Sometimes, the guys are amazing off the bat, others it takes time to devolp. Three come to mind: "Mean" Marc Callous, Rock and Flash of the Blade Runners, and "Stunning" Steve. When they first came out, they didn't have what it took to be the biggest names of the sport. After learning the craft, paying their dues (Oh, the Horror), and devolping their skills, all four became Mega Stars. I'm sure the last is the most of obvious (He went from being "Stunning" to just "Stone Cold"), the other three are well known as well. Mean Marc, after a stint as a Skyscraper and as a singles star being managed by Paul E. Dangerously, went North for Survivor Series as an Impressive Monster by the name of the Undertaker. Rock was a bit of a flash in the pan, going to WCCW as the Dingo Warrior, and finally he went North as well, becomming the Ultimate Warrior. Flash stuck it out in UWF when it was bought out by the NWA. He was the only UWFer who got over on his own merits, as the rest were subsequently buried. He is now one of the best known wrestlers never to have worked for Vincent K. McMahon: Sting.
Paying Dues, when done properly, is a good thing. Personally, I have agreed with Holly's words: Most of the Tough Enough Talents are green and should still be honing their craft away from the big time. Does that justify him roughing up the kids? Hell no. Should he have Main Evented? Definitely not. Then again, I've always thought that Jake "The Snake" should have been given a WWF Title run, so I can't know a whole lot.
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