It has been a long road for ex-WWE Tough Enough winner Matt Cappotelli.

Cappotelli was a part of the third season of the WWE's Tough Enough reality show to crown a new WWE Superstar. That season, Cappotelli won the series alongside fellow former WWE Superstar John Morrison. As a result, Cappotelli got the opportunity to appear on mainstream WWE programing such as Monday Night RAW, Sunday Night Heat, as well as WWE Velocity.

He was later sent do the WWE's then-developmental territory of Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) to brush up on his promo skills and continue to sharpen his in-ring capabilities. Cappotelli had a great run in OVW, however, it was set back by a couple of significant injures such as a broken fibula and a concussion. 

Cappotelli had the highlight of his professional wrestling career in November of 2005 when he defeated his former tag team partner Johnny Jeter for the OVW Heavyweight Championship. It was around this time that the WWE was planning to bring Cappotelli up to the main roster, however, he was unfortunately diagnosed with a grade 2/3 astrocytoma in December.

It was later revealed that the tumor was, in fact, cancerous and he was forced to relinquish his OVW Heavyweight Title in an emotional speech on OVW programming to promotional owner Danny Davis.

In May of 2007 Cappotelli finally underwent surgery to treat the brain cancer, and WWE released an official statement on their website soon after noting that the surgery was successful and the majority of the tumor was removed. Cappotelli's WWE contract expired in January of 2009 and he was not re-signed to the company, however, OVW hired him as the trainer for their beginner's program in 2013.

Earlier this year Cappotelli announced that the tumor had unfortunately returned, and much worse than before. He underwent surgery last month but had to wait some time to get the pathology report back. Cappotelli announced on Facebook that he was diagnosed with a grade IV GlioBlastoma Multiforme and will have a spinal tap on Friday to determine if the cancer has spread to his cerebral spinal fluid.

He will meet with doctors next week to discuss his treatment options:

"Update: Diagnosis is in. I have a grade IV GlioBlastoma Multiforme (GBM). This is not the news I was looking forward to hearing or sharing, but it will in no way deter me from continuing my fight.

"Spinal tap this Friday will determine if the cancer cells have spread to my spinal fluid. Monday is a follow up with my team of doctors to determine the treatment steps needed to beat this. Thanx to everyone on #TEAMCAPP??"

What are your thoughts on Cappotelli's unfortunate string of battles with a brain tumor? Have YOUR say in the comments section below and the fourth episode of GiveMeSport’s WWE podcast is here!

Check it out via this link: https://soundcloud.com/user-818579649/gms-wwe-podcast-money-in-the-bank-fallout