Some people use the phrase “fighting like a girl” like it’s an insult. You don’t want to let Yorktown Heights’ Amanda Saccomanno hear you say that.
The 25-year-old was selected from a pool of more than 11,000 male and female applicants to appear as one of 13 contestants on “WWE Tough Enough,” a reality show in which competitors battle for the chance to be the next professional wrestling celebrity.
“I didn’t grow up dreaming of being the next WWE superstar, to be honest,” Saccomanno says. “But I think that it doesn’t matter how old you are. When you see something you like, you want to pursue it.”
Saccomanno may not have always been interested in wrestling, but that certainly doesn’t mean she wasn’t drawn to sports.
“Growing up I played basketball, lacrosse, softball and I also danced my whole life,” Saccomano says, adding that having three older brothers helped instill in her a competitive drive and a love for athleticism.
“They made me the strong and powerful woman I am today.”
When she hit high school, Saccomanno gave up most sports, electing to focus her time and energy into dancing, and performing with a dance company throughout her entire high school career.
But even when she wasn’t competing, Saccomanno couldn’t stay away from athletics and was in charge of statistics for Yorktown High School’s lacrosse team from her sophomore to senior years.
Her love of sports eventually led Saccomanno to the world of fitness-fashion, where a model’s athleticism is just as important as the clothes they’re wearing.
“About two and a half years ago I wanted to start training and have a healthier lifestyle, so I signed up with a local coach and the team that I was on was competing in all different (fashion) shows around the world,” she says.
“At first I just wanted to learn a little bit more about weight training and get more familiar with it, but then I decided to do my first competition, which was in June of 2013.”
Saccomanno placed first in the competition, inspiring her to compete in the prestigious World Bodybuilding Fitness and Fashion (WBFF) World Championship, held in Las Vegas in August 2014. She again placed first and was crowned the WBFF Diva Bikini Pro World Champion.
“It was kind of crazy because I was like the underdog who had only competed twice before,” Saccomanno recalls. “There were a lot of haters. They didn’t like that I came out of nowhere and won the show.”
Haters or not, Saccomnano would soon find that her fashion work had inadvertently been preparing her to appear on the reality show.
“It was great timing. It was a great opportunity for me to try out for ‘Tough Enough,’ since I was already prepping and being coached to help my physical conditioning,” she says. “I would definitely say that my background in fitness modeling and athletics definitely helped me get to where I am today.”
On the show, hopeful professional wrestlers compete in various physical challenges, with the top male and female contestants each winning a $250,000 contract with World Wrestling Entertainment.
The first challenge took place at Orlando’s Citrus Bowl Stadium and had contestants racing the length of the football field, first with a parachute attached, then while carrying bags of sand that match the competitors’ weights. Finally, they had to race up the stairs to the top deck of the stadium.
“It was pretty crazy,” she says. “I was the first girl and the second person overall to make it up. It was really difficult, but being prepared cardio-wise and with my conditioning, I kept going and never stopped.”
The contestants live together for the length of the show and Saccomanno says, while they try to keep a friendly atmosphere, it can be difficult to live closely with people you’re competing against.
“We’re all here for one thing and we’re not going to share that contract with anyone else. It’s a tough challenge, but I think that’s what sets most of us apart, to be able to balance that emotional and mental part of it, too.”
When contestants on the show are up for elimination, viewers at home vote for who stays and who goes through an official app or on social media. Saccomanno knows how important it is to stay up with her online followers.
“It’s up to the world to vote for you, so it’s a huge thing to stay connected with them.”
Saccomanno says that, before she was on the show, people would sometimes recognize her from her fitness work, but that now people notice her more and more.
She doesn’t seem to mind it, though, and relishes the opportunities to connect with the public.
She and two of her fellow competitors left the show’s set recently on an ice cream run. When they stopped by a local store, the group ran into a young wrestling fan who knew them from the show.
“His face lit up when he saw the three of us and we stopped and took pictures with him,” she recalls. “It’s a different type of feeling, seeing these little kids with smiles on their faces it’s so rewarding and humbling.”
“WWE Tough Enough” airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EST on USA.
10 things you might not know about Amanda Saccomanno
1. Don’t let her 5-foot-4inch size fool you. Saccomannno can squat 225 pounds.
2. No matter how tough she is, Saccomanno is afraid of snakes.
3. She’s been tough competition all her life, having been named MVP of the Yorktown Athletic Club’s basketball league in elementary school.
4. Like all big brothers, Saccomanno’s brothers had a teasing nickname for her growing up. They called her “Hamburgers.”
5. The joke was on them, though, since Saccomanno would routinely beat her brothers in arm wrestling when they were young.
6. She is definitely a true wrestling fan and her favorite personalities are Trish Stratus, Triple H and Hulk Hogan.
7. You don’t want to get in between her and a plate of fettuccini alfredo.
8. Saccomanno doesn’t just appear on reality shows, she watches them, too. Her personal favorite is “Dancing with the Stars.”
9. She got a bizarre superlative in high school, being voted as having the “nicest cheeks.”
10. Saccamanno has brains as well as brawn and majored in Speech Language Pathology at Iona College
If Saccomanno is ever among the bottom three competitors in a given episode, you can help save our hometown hero from elimination. If she’s in trouble, vote for Saccomanno through the “WWE Tough Enough” mobile app, by tweeting #ToughEnoughAmandaSaccomanno or by texting Amanda Saccomanno to 21523.
Courtesy of: Journal News