Meredith Weir is the third Valley resident to compete on the third season of "Steve Austin's Broken Skull Challenge" for a chance to win $10,000 -- but she's the first to also have a chance to get to know the former WWE superstar, as well as her fellow competitors.
"He is actually one of the coolest people I've ever met," said Weir, a Tempe resident who grew up a pro wrestling fan, about the show's host, "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
You can watch Weir go for the $10,000 Sunday night on CMT.
"Generally when they film (the show), the only time you see him is when you're on TV," Weir said. "My group was fortunate enough that there was some (inclement) weather when we recorded.
"So, we had a couple extra days and we had a chance to sit around a couple hours one afternoon and hang around with him, and bask in the glow that is 'Stone Cold' Steve Austin."
"Broken Skull Challenge" is a weekly one-hour show filled with grueling physical competitions in which eight competitors go head to head for a chance to win $10,000.
Weir decided to audition for the show as part of her mission to get in the kind of shape she was in when she attended Mountain Pointe High School in Ahwatukee.
"I did track and cross country, and I was on the wrestling team in middle school and the first year in high school," she said. "I’ve always just been super active, always done running.
"But I went through a phase where I got 30 pounds overweight and I decided that wasn’t working for me, so I turned back into a runner. But then, everybody told me I was too skinny, and that’s when I found weights 2-3 years ago."
These days, when she's not busy working as a bartender or raising her 14-year-old daughter, Weir spends 5-6 days a week at the gym. Along with weightlifting and kickboxing, she participates in obstacle courses, such as a recent Warrior Dash event.
She's also planning to do Pat's Run on Saturday. "I've done that every single year since that started," she said.
Upon arriving on the "Broken Skull Challenge" set, Weir was ready to steamroll the competition by using what she calls her "resting bitch face" to intimidate her opponents.
But that plan was altered a bit when the weather didn't cooperate.
"The way it worked out is we actually were there three days longer than we were supposed to, and they wanted (the competitors) to just say in rooms and not get to know each other," she said.
The idea is that, if the ladies became acquainted with one another, they would be less likely to pummel each other when the show's competitions finally got underway.
But the producers didn't get their way, as the ladies got to know each other and become good friends.
"We still talk all the time. We have group chats and everything like that" Weir said. "We were the exception to the rule, so it was hard."
But when the time came to fight, such as the "Trench Warfare" event Weir competed in during the first round of the show, she was ready.
"You've got to be a little meaner," she said. "We're all competitors."
We'll have to wait until Sunday to learn whether Weir took home the ten grand, which she said she planned to use to pay off her recent kitchen remodeling job.
But if she's ever asked whether she'd like the opportunity to compete on the show and hang out with "Stone Cold" again, Weir knows what her answer will be.
"Absolutely. I had a blast," she said. "I said to myself: You can’t lose if you try."
