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Previously on Tough Enough: Baby Huey got the red tag, meaning that he was the first contestant to be cut. Paulina felt a lot of pressure, because she doesn't want to be "the only big, slow person." Al Snow wept at Shadrick's poor bumping technique.
House of Pain. Al Snow hopes that Baby Huey's being cut will give the rest of them some motivation. In an interview, Chris-tian says that everyone was on edge that day. Al Snow stands over Shadrick while he does some squat thrusts. Shadrick looks like he's about to puke. Again. Shadrick voice-overs that he's "the underdog," and there's a lot of pressure on him. At least I think that's what he said. It's hard to tell.
Various contestants do mid-air flips, landing on their backs. Al Snow gives Shadrick some pointers about being aware of his body while in the air. Shadrick keeps going over kind of crooked, which doesn't look too good. Tori points out that Shadrick's landings are fine, but that he has "a definitive weakness on one side." Big agrees. In an interview, Jacqueline says she wants Shadrick to do well because he's a nice guy.
Tazz uses Josh to demonstrate a maneuver. Josh lies on his back and Tazz lifts up his legs, and then shows how Josh has to let Tazz do whatever he wants, because he has no control. In an interview, Josh (who is sporting some new highlights) says that the impending cuts make you work as hard as you can. In an interview, Al says that Josh is at a slight disadvantage due to his smaller size, but that it just means Josh will have to work a lot harder.
The contestants practice moves in the ring. Nidia takes Chris-tian down, and Tazz stops them. He points out the way Chris-tian put his hands behind him to break his fall, and Al notes that he will break his arms that way. Tazz gives a little speech to the effect that you always have to be ready to take a bump correctly, and claims that if he slipped on some milk on the floor of the supermarket, he could take the bump. Seriously, I would pay money to see Tazz slip on some milk and fall. Not that I don't like him -- I just think it would be funny. In an interview, Chris-tian says that when he first got there, he thought he would be a natural, but now he is discovering that his natural ability doesn't exist.
Back at the house, Maven is on the phone with his mom. He tells her that she can't watch the episode in which he dressed up like a girl. She thinks it would be funny. Maven agrees that it was hilarious. In an interview, Maven says that his mom is very supportive and happy for him. His mom calls him "an old dyke," which is actually pretty funny, because it's totally something my mom would do. She'd try to use some phrase she doesn't quite understand, and get it totally wrong. Maven asks what she said, and then laughs at her, but not unkindly. Aw, Maven loves his mommy. His mom realizes that she said the wrong word, and laughs with him.
Big arrives at the house with videotapes of Smackdown for them to watch together. In an interview, Chris-tian says that it's interesting to watch now, because they look for technical things, and he was wondering whether he would be on the show in nine weeks. Big wonders where Josh is, since he talks about wrestling more than anyone. Nidia explains that Josh can't watch the show with anyone, because he gets too annoyed. Shadrick says that Josh considers the rest of them casual fans. Big is all, "Really?" and calls Josh over. In an interview, Josh says that Big got the wrong idea, and that he doesn't like to watch it with others critiquing the wrestlers, because the people on the show have been doing it for a number of years. Josh thinks it's ridiculous for the contestants, who have been doing it for a few weeks, to be critical. I see where he's coming from, but he really needs to lighten up a little bit. I don't think anyone was being disrespectful, and I think it's probably helpful for each contestant to watch real matches and see how the pros recover from mistakes.
The contestants relax around the house. Maven talks to his mom on the phone again. In an interview, Maven tells us that his mom was diagnosed in January with bone marrow cancer, and that it was the hardest issue he's ever had to deal with. On the phone, Maven asks his mother about her blood. In an interview, Maven says that his mom has an "uproad" battle ahead of her, and that sixty to seventy percent of his days are consumed with thoughts of his mother. On the phone, Maven and his mother tell each other they love each other. In an interview, Maven says, "She is my life. She is my everything." How could you not be rooting for Maven now?
House of Pain. Al gives them twenty-four hours' notice until the cut. In an interview, Chris-tian says that he was sure the second cut would be him. The contestants practice various flips, bumps, and tosses. At one point, they all start hip-tossing each other onto a mat. Chris-tian does one to Shadrick, and Al Snow stops and yells at Shadrick for screwing it up, threatening to pull him out of the ring. Cut to an interview with Shadrick, who is crying. He says he's upset because he's not performing the way he knows he can. Jacqueline goes over and tries to comfort him. Al walks over and asks what's up. Shadrick says that the pressure is getting to him. Al says he doesn't know what pressure is until he walks into the ring in front of millions of people across the country on live television, and says that if Shadrick can't handle the pressure now, he won't be able to handle it in the WWF. Al concludes by asking Shadrick how bad he wants it. Shadrick says that he does want it, and Al encourages him to get back in the ring and try again. Shadrick does, and I guess he does okay, because no one yells at him.