Anyone who watched WWE’s most recent version of Tough Enough likely had very strong opinions about ZZ Loupe, the extremely young alligator wrestler from Florida. ZZ, despite not having any real ability as an athlete or pro wrestler, and had zero skills on the mic or in creating a good and believable character, wound up outlasting many far more qualified contestants based solely on his puppy dog personality and goofiness and lucked his way into being the runner-up for the men. He was basically Chumlee from Pawn Stars, but without it being a gimmick.
After the show, ZZ was one of the “almost everyone” from Tough Enough to score a developmental contract. After reporting to the Performance Center last year, ZZ became a regular focal point of Breaking Ground, the Performance Center’s behind-the-scenes reality show. He was last seen on the Breaking Ground Reloaded special, where he revealed he had dropped 25 pounds, had gotten much better in the ring and had finally earned the respect of his fellow wrestlers.
Now, ZZ has been released from his developmental contract, according to Pro Wrestling Sheet. So I guess not every alligator wrestling story has a happy ending. “Crocodile” Dundee lied to me, man.
Loupe had been under contract since October of 2015. He recently made his NXT Live Event in-ring debut, where he defeated Oney Lorcan, a.k.a. Biff Busick, although Lorcan vehemently denied the reality of the situation on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/_stardestroyer/status/713919635989655553
https://twitter.com/_StarDESTROYER/status/713947663327236096
Probably wise.
