WWE Tough Enough Alumnus ZZ Says He’s Not Retired, Just Busy With Other Ventures

ZZ was a competitor on WWE Tough Enough in 2015, and he says he isn’t retired as of yet. The wrestler, who was also part of WWE Breaking Ground, hasn’t worked many matches in the ring and said in an interview with Fightful) that he does not consider himself retired and is just busy with the swamp tour he runs. You can see highlights below:

On training after his time on Tough Enough: “When I got home, everybody wanted me to go wrestle on the independent circuit. ‘Okay, alright.’ I’m a people pleaser, so I’m going to do what the crowd wants. I went to find an organization out of New Orleans called WildKat Sports. When I got there, I went through all the dues and did all the running. I was in there for a little while, but it slowly started to fade out for me. You are gonna eat powdered meat and Vienna sausage until you get to the top. That’s just what it is. There is no middle comfortable crowd. You’re either living from couch to couch on the independent circuit or you’re at the top.”

“I understand that some wrestlers have found a sweet spot and can make a decent living wrestling for different promoters and they charge different prices, but at the time, where I was and who I was, my age, for me, this swamp tour is what made me. This is my bread and butter. I couldn’t give 100% to wrestling at the time and I couldn’t give 100% to [the swamp tour]. The more I worked here, the more tired I was at wrestling practice. The more tired I was at wrestling practice, the more I got hurt. The more I got hurt, the more I couldn’t give 100% to [the swamp tour]. They were hindering each other, and eventually, I had to pick. ‘What do I want to be known for? Where do I see my life in five years?’ I came back home and I settled in. I don’t have any hard feelings towards WildKat Sports. Luke Hawx is a great guy. Whenever he has family come in, we’ll do tours together. I came home and I leaned into my tour.”

On not being retired: “By no means am I retired. I didn’t leave WWE and go sit on a ranch somewhere in the middle of nowhere, but I did come back to my swamp tour and my swamp. Not full-blown retired, I’m still incredibly busy, but this is more or less where I believe I’m meant to be.”