In October 2004, Mike Mizanin entered the fourth season of "Tough Enough", a televised competition which awarded the winner a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) contract and US$1,000,000. Despite coming last in an arm wrestling tournament on November 25, Mizanin outlasted six other wrestlers and reached the final round. At Armageddon, Mizanin faced the other remaining entrant, Daniel Puder, in a three-round "Dixie Dogfight" (boxing match). Neither man achieved a knockout, and the contest was awarded to Puder on the basis of crowd reaction. On the December 16 episode of "SmackDown", Puder was declared as the winner of "Tough Enough" by head trainer Al Snow. Despite coming up short on "Tough Enough", Mizanin had piqued the interest of WWE and he was eventually offered a developmental contract.