S37: John Hennigan

[Netta Leven]

Hi.  I'm a professional wrestler and a mixed martial artist known as things like the "Mayor of Slamtown" in the wrestling world.

Wrestlers are typically tools and/or heels, so I expect this guy to be the same.  Ugh.  Add the fact that he's a fan of Cochran and Worlds Apart Mike, and I'm already sick and wary of him.

[BK1978]

Well he has been mostly a heel for the vast majority of his career but that means nothing unless he is going to go all Fairplay and live his character while on the island.  From what I have seen of him outside of wrestling he seems to be a nice guy.  

He is a tremendous athlete and will be an asset during challenges.

[KimberStormer]

I would say it depends, because some athletes can't function without a lot of calories.  I'd say he has a good chance to be more on the challenge monster side of things, though.  I'm not a huge fan of Mike or Cochran but it's better than saying he wants to play like James or something.  I'm fascinated that he attributes his wrestling success to his political acumen.  Never would have thought I'd be intrigued by a guy like this, but I am!

[LadyChatts]

I could see it going either way for him.  I've never heard of the guy as I don't follow wrestling at all, but I like him from his bio.  Not as obnoxious and arrogant as I was expecting.

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

I'd say he has a good chance to be more on the challenge monster side of things, though.

And not just because of raw strength.  He's also pretty good at parkour, incorporating those skills into his wrestling performances.  So he's not just strong, he's also agile.  Plus fighters and wrestlers have to be greatly aware of their body and where it is in relation to the ring (or above, or outside, etc.).  So he'll be a huge asset for all sorts tribal challenges...and naturally the biggest threat post-merge.  If he makes the merge (he'll likely be the last pre-merge boot), he's going to need to go on an immunity run like none before in order to make FTC.

He'll also be one of the most comfortable having cameras around constantly, since he's got lots of experience with that as well.

He was with the WWE at the same time as Ashley Massaro, who was briefly on the China season.  And I'm sure her poor performance (mainly due to illness, same as Ramona back in the day) will be weighing on his mind to some degree.  To do better than her, he'll need to either get past the second boot or the survive to the F14, depending on how you want to count it.

[BK1978]

Thumbs up to everything Bob said.  This guy is a very agile athlete.  Check out this video below to see what we are talking about (the main part of interest is near the end of the video)…

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=johnny+nitro+royal+rumble&view=detail&mid=AF5D90AE48771D40EF76AF5D90AE48771D40EF76&FORM=VIRE

Sorry for the lack of a video and making it a link on this page.  I could not figure out how to link the actual video to the page. 

Edited September 12, 2018 by BK1978

[Bryce Lynch]

My first impression is I kind of like him.  He seems to have a quirky sense of humor:

What's your reason for being on Survivor?
I want to win and I want the money. I'm planning on buying a Corvette the size of a Hummer, but as fast as a Corvette. With some of my winnings.

If he doesn't cross the line to annoying, I think he could be fun.  

[simplyme]

I don't know anything about the guy's personality, but he's had an active career as a pro wrestler for 16 years. Generally that takes either some kind of intelligence or a really good manager to pull off. (Wrestling isn't my thing to watch, but I do find it interesting as a business. One of my friends once called it a sort of athletic soap opera for guys. With all the storylines and heroes and heels and switching between them, I could see the similarities.) 

[SVNBob]

On 9/26/2018 at 10:08 PM, simplyme said:

(Wrestling isn't my thing to watch, but I do find it interesting as a business. One of my friends once called it a sort of athletic soap opera for guys. With all the storylines and heroes and heels and switching between them, I could see the similarities.) 

As a "former" wrestling fan (having not watched in many years due to a lack of cable), this is an accurate description.  I think I've even used it myself.  The main difference to the "standard" soap is the stuntwork involved and that the performers are performing all their own stunts, in front of live audiences no less. 

While we're on this topic; before anyone says it: Wresting Is Not "Fake."  It is predetermined, meaning that the results of the matches are scripted ahead of time, as are a number of the actions to take place during said matches to help lead to the results.  But the actions themselves are very real (Ok, most of the punches aren't, but that's a safety thing.), and the performers are putting their bodies on the line every time.  Real injuries can and do occur.  For a "good" example, look up Darren Drozdov.

 

From the first episode thread:

3 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

 Does anyone remember all the names he listed?

A thread on the Survivor sub-reddit has you covered:

• Johnny Blaze

• Johnny Spade

• Johnny Nitro

• John Morrison

• Johnny Mundo

• Johnny Impact

• Johnny Ultra

• The Shaman of Sexy

• The Monday Night Delight

• The Friday Night Delight

• The Ambassador of Abdominals

• The Maharaja of Manliness

• The George Bushy of Tushy

• The Mayor of Slamtown

• Mr. AB-raham Lincoln

[Trepis]

13 hours ago, SVNBob said:

As a "former" wrestling fan (having not watched in many years due to a lack of cable), this is an accurate description.  I think I've even used it myself.  The main difference to the "standard" soap is the stuntwork involved and that the performers are performing all their own stunts, in front of live audiences no less. 

While we're on this topic; before anyone says it: Wresting Is Not "Fake."  It is predetermined, meaning that the results of the matches are scripted ahead of time, as are a number of the actions to take place during said matches to help lead to the results.  But the actions themselves are very real (Ok, most of the punches aren't, but that's a safety thing.), and the performers are putting their bodies on the line every time.  Real injuries can and do occur.  For a "good" example, look up Darren Drozdov.

 

From the first episode thread:

A thread on the Survivor sub-reddit has you covered:

• Johnny Blaze

• Johnny Spade

• Johnny Nitro

• John Morrison

• Johnny Mundo

• Johnny Impact

• Johnny Ultra

• The Shaman of Sexy

• The Monday Night Delight

• The Friday Night Delight

• The Ambassador of Abdominals

• The Maharaja of Manliness

• The George Bushy of Tushy

• The Mayor of Slamtown

• Mr. AB-raham Lincoln

Thanks for this list; so far I like this guy and I hope he keeps entertaining. and I hope he has more names to list off, haha. 

I also appreciate the quick run down on how Wrestling works ; I was vaguely aware that it is more athletic entertainment then genuine athletic competition but never really knew what was determined before hand. Quick wrestling question if you don't mind , why does he have so many different names ? is that a common thing these days ? When I watched as a kid we had guys like Hulk Hogan, Jake the Snake, The Undertaker ... as far as I recall they only had one stage name, but maybe I am mis remembering .
Thanks

[cujo]

12 minutes ago, Trepis said:

12 minutes ago, Trepis said:

Thanks for this list; so far I like this guy and I hope he keeps entertaining. and I hope he has more names to list off, haha. 

I also appreciate the quick run down on how Wrestling works ; I was vaguely aware that it is more athletic entertainment then genuine athletic competition but never really knew what was determined before hand. Quick wrestling question if you don't mind , why does he have so many different names ? is that a common thing these days ? When I watched as a kid we had guys like Hulk Hogan, Jake the Snake, The Undertaker ... as far as I recall they only had one stage name, but maybe I am mis remembering .
Thanks

 

So the guys you listed off are all from the WWF now known as the WWE - the Undertaker is still around believe it or not but only wrestling once or twice a year. In the WWE/F he's known as the Undertaker (originally Cain the Undertaker but quickly dropped and then had a brother Kane - wrestling.... am I right? HAHA) but had various versions of that same character. He wrestled in other promotions as different names as well most commonly as Mark Callous (not his real name), Mean Mark Callous, Texas Red, etc. 

 

Right now the WWE holds copyright on a lot of the characters they create and their names. So if you go and wrestle for them your name will more than likely change. He debuted as Johnny Nitro in a tag team, after he went to be a singles wrestler he became John Morrison to play off his arrogant character and similar looks to Jim Morrison. He left the WWE but they kept the name. So to keep some recognition guys will try to still play off that fame and use variations of the names they were most famous for. For him John is his real first name so all of the variations come from that in Lucha Underground Johnny Mundo, he's wrestling a bit for Impact Wrestling now as Johnny Impact etc etc. The other ones are more nicknames he gives himself as his character - so the arrogant American in Mexico will use the presidential names when talking about himself. Think of how Bret "The Hitman" Hart would call himself The Best There Was, The Best There Is, The Best There Ever Will Be.

Lucha Underground takes the soap opera aspect of wrestling and turns it up a bit more as it's all filmed beforehand - same arena all the time - and has a big script that it adheres to for the season and that's it. It gives the wrestlers the ability to wrestle elsewhere and not be tied down every week. In contrast WWE runs their main shows on Mondays and Tuesdays on TV with the Pay Per Views once a month and all the time.

[ratgirlagogo]

6 hours ago, cujo said:

Right now the WWE holds copyright on a lot of the characters they create and their names. So if you go and wrestle for them your name will more than likely change.

Or you can just wrestle under your own legal birth certificate name, which WWE cannot copyright.  A big reason why you don't see as many fun creative character names in wrestling anymore.  You don't want to become famous under a name you're legally not allowed to use in any other promotion, as the posters above explained.  WWE only came up with that bright copyright idea relatively recently, during the Monday Night Wars (ratings wars that is, from the mid 90's t0 2001 or so) between themselves and World Championship Wrestling when the two promotions were each  actively trying to poach hot wrestlers from the other show.

It's striking to me how well he's done in many different promotions, which suggests to me that he's good at getting along with others, a crucial skill many otherwise good wrestlers lack.  If he tanks on Survivor I don't think it will be because of a poor social game.   Also I think he's the only  person to come out of Tough Enough who has been actually successful as a professional wrestler.

[Machiabelly]

The Miz was on Tough Enough. But that's about it.

[LadyChatts]

Next to Natalie this guy was the only other Goliath that didn't annoy me.  He seems like the type that will be kept around for strength and will know how to work his tribe mates, all the while laughing at them behind their back for how neurotic and into themselves they are.  I know nothing about wrestling so I went in with an open mind on this one.  He seems cool so far.

And thanks to everyone for the wrestling expertise!  That's interesting to read.

Edited September 29, 2018 by LadyChatts

[BK1978]

On ‎9‎/‎29‎/‎2018 at 12:32 AM, Machiabelly said:

The Miz was on Tough Enough. But that's about it.

Taking this off topic...

It depends on what you would consider successful because the following have all had at the very least decent careers in wrestling and they were all on Tough Enough.

Ryback- He was a mainstay on the main roster for years. 

Matt Morgan- He found his success in TNA/Impact Wrestling

Kenny King- Found success in both TNA/Impact Wrestling and ROH.  He was also a contestant on the Bachelorette.

Josh Mathews- Never made it big as a wrestler but is head play-by-play guy for TNA/Impact Wrestling

Sonya Deville, Velveteen Dream, and Mandy Rose are all currently with the company

[Trepis]

On 2018-09-28 at 3:10 PM, cujo said:

So the guys you listed off are all from the WWF now known as the WWE - the Undertaker is still around believe it or not but only wrestling once or twice a year. In the WWE/F he's known as the Undertaker (originally Cain the Undertaker but quickly dropped and then had a brother Kane - wrestling.... am I right? HAHA) but had various versions of that same character. He wrestled in other promotions as different names as well most commonly as Mark Callous (not his real name), Mean Mark Callous, Texas Red, etc. 

 

Right now the WWE holds copyright on a lot of the characters they create and their names. So if you go and wrestle for them your name will more than likely change. He debuted as Johnny Nitro in a tag team, after he went to be a singles wrestler he became John Morrison to play off his arrogant character and similar looks to Jim Morrison. He left the WWE but they kept the name. So to keep some recognition guys will try to still play off that fame and use variations of the names they were most famous for. For him John is his real first name so all of the variations come from that in Lucha Underground Johnny Mundo, he's wrestling a bit for Impact Wrestling now as Johnny Impact etc etc. The other ones are more nicknames he gives himself as his character - so the arrogant American in Mexico will use the presidential names when talking about himself. Think of how Bret "The Hitman" Hart would call himself The Best There Was, The Best There Is, The Best There Ever Will Be.

Lucha Underground takes the soap opera aspect of wrestling and turns it up a bit more as it's all filmed beforehand - same arena all the time - and has a big script that it adheres to for the season and that's it. It gives the wrestlers the ability to wrestle elsewhere and not be tied down every week. In contrast WWE runs their main shows on Mondays and Tuesdays on TV with the Pay Per Views once a month and all the time.

 

Thank you , I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this. Of all the possible reasons to have so many stage names, I would not have guessed it was copy write related. I did a little reading about the Lucha Underground, never heard of it before this, its interesting how different leagues have different approaches to the story telling. I remember Bret Hart for sure, I actually think he is from my city, but I might be mis remembering that.

Looking forward to cheering for him on the Goliath team. re-watched the episode last night with my wife and she laughed at his antics as well. He's got so many years working in front of a live crowd and improvising to entertain I bet those skills will help him gel with his tribe. His Achilles heel could be calories, but there have been many contestants that had strong builds and didnt collapse from lack of calories 

[cujo]

38 minutes ago, Trepis said:

 

Thank you , I really appreciate you taking the time to explain this. Of all the possible reasons to have so many stage names, I would not have guessed it was copy write related. I did a little reading about the Lucha Underground, never heard of it before this, its interesting how different leagues have different approaches to the story telling. I remember Bret Hart for sure, I actually think he is from my city, but I might be mis remembering that.

Looking forward to cheering for him on the Goliath team. re-watched the episode last night with my wife and she laughed at his antics as well. He's got so many years working in front of a live crowd and improvising to entertain I bet those skills will help him gel with his tribe. His Achilles heel could be calories, but there have been many contestants that had strong builds and didnt collapse from lack of calories 

Bret Hart is from Calgary home of the famous Hart Dungeon that trained so many amazing wrestlers. 

I'm 100% behind John this year. I think he'll get taken out just before the merge or his first immunity loss after it - depending how strong his alliance is or how many members they have but either way the first target after they trim the fat if they have the numbers. He's got a parkour background as well so doesn't rely on his strength fully either as he's more agile. Will be interesting to see him in some of the challenges.

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, cujo said:

[John's] got a parkour background as well so doesn't rely on his strength fully either as he's more agile. Will be interesting to see him in some of the challenges.

I’d dearly love to see what challenges Production might come up with which were customized to take advantage of THAT particular skill set.

[Trepis]

4 hours ago, cujo said:

Bret Hart is from Calgary home of the famous Hart Dungeon that trained so many amazing wrestlers. 

I'm 100% behind John this year. I think he'll get taken out just before the merge or his first immunity loss after it - depending how strong his alliance is or how many members they have but either way the first target after they trim the fat if they have the numbers. He's got a parkour background as well so doesn't rely on his strength fully either as he's more agile. Will be interesting to see him in some of the challenges.

Sweet, Im from Calgary :)

Unfortunately, I can see John going right after the merge. Like you say, as soon as his alliance feels they dont need him,  they will see him as a challenge threat and get booted. 

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

I’d dearly love to see what challenges Production might come up with which were customized to take advantage of THAT particular skill set.

Thinking about the first challenge , the physical part seemed pretty scripted ; didn't really leave any room for Parkour + Creative thinking to present a unique solution. I wonder if for liability reasons they are required to structure the physical challenges and not allow much out of the box solutions. I think it would be great to see some challenges that are more free form and let the teams create their own solutions.  

[simplyme]

Parkour might translate to the courses Survivor sets up on water that inevitably have balance beams and chains of floating lily pads or barrels. You know, the courses Ozzy didn't just win but always smoked everyone on.

[Nashville]

12 hours ago, Trepis said:

Thinking about the first challenge , the physical part seemed pretty scripted ; didn't really leave any room for Parkour + Creative thinking to present a unique solution. I wonder if for liability reasons they are required to structure the physical challenges and not allow much out of the box solutions. I think it would be great to see some challenges that are more free form and let the teams create their own solutions.  

Hell, they’re in Fiji - where I doubt the liability considerations extend much further than “no towing employees in the water behind your boat to draw in the sharks”.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 10/2/2018 at 1:09 AM, Nashville said:

Hell, they’re in Fiji - where I doubt the liability considerations extend much further than “no towing employees in the water behind your boat to draw in the sharks”.

Not sure I get what you're saying here.  That Fiji is a pretty safe place or a place that's pretty lax about safety?

[OutOfTheQuestion]

On 10/1/2018 at 7:43 PM, simplyme said:

Parkour might translate to the courses Survivor sets up on water that inevitably have balance beams and chains of floating lily pads or barrels. You know, the courses Ozzy didn't just win but always smoked everyone on.

Frosti from the China season was also supposed to be some kind of parkour whiz, but he was nothing special in challenges.

[Nashville]

8 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

Not sure I get what you're saying here.  That Fiji is a pretty safe place or a place that's pretty lax about safety?

More like the citizens of most countries aren’t NEAR as inclined as Americans towards liability litigation as a default.  So - fewer regulations.  :)

[Bryce Lynch]

I hate Natalie, but I kind of like the idea that John is thinking outside the box to try to make an alliance with her.

I imagine his ugly American in Mexico heel character must be hilarious.  It makes me think of the pro wrestling of my childhood when they had great Russian and Iranian heels.  

[marys1000]

I was prepared to dislike this guy out of the gate but so far he seems quite sane, a nice guy and a decent player.  When I heard he had a geology degree I was both surprised and happy.  Worked as a typist in a University Geology dept in my younger years and they tend to be a fun down to earth crowd.  Like the outside, camping etc.  

I'm beginning to think he may go far, or at least a lot farther than I initially though. 

[LanceM]

John talks about his new tribe and how he think they won't lose because they have meshed so well together. He is very  complimentary towards Christian and Gabby who he described as tough in that he hasn't heard her complain once .

 

[SVNBob]

On 9/10/2018 at 1:45 AM, SVNBob said:

He was with the WWE at the same time as Ashley Massaro, who was briefly on the China season.  And I'm sure her poor performance (mainly due to illness, same as Ramona back in the day) will be weighing on his mind to some degree.  To do better than her, he'll need to either get past the second boot or the survive to the F14, depending on how you want to count it.

Quoting myself here because John has surpassed Ashley by both metrics.  And by the look of it, he's in a decent enough position to have a serious shot at the finals.

[ByaNose]

John seems to be getting along with everyone and also seems well liked. That said, I don't see him really talking strategy that much. Maybe, I've missed it. I'm curious to see how he does this week moving forward. Of course, some people do one or the other so it's not like it's hurting his game. Also, his abs are looking awesome. Usually, the built guys burn out early because they need so much food but John seems to be doing fine.

[Special K]

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

John seems to be getting along with everyone and also seems well liked. That said, I don't see him really talking strategy that much. Maybe, I've missed it. I'm curious to see how he does this week moving forward. Of course, some people do one or the other so it's not like it's hurting his game. Also, his abs are looking awesome. Usually, the built guys burn out early because they need so much food but John seems to be doing fine.

He was shown early on talking about aligning with Natalie in a secret alliance, since it would be unexpected.  And I definitely think the brochacha thing is strategic.  Those guys need each other (mutual meat shield), and they need Christian.   I think he is strategic but also fluid enough to go with the flow.

[ProfCrash]

He has been on a winning tribe the entire time. The only time his tribe lost, his vote was an easy one. Jeremy made a comment that John thoought would make him look bad and agreed with Natalie to vote out Jeremy. So one tribal with a unanimous vote. (Shrugs) There has not been much reason to show John talking strategy because he has not had to. We have heard a bit from Alison and Dan, mainly because the merge is coming up and because Christian and Gabby have reached out to talk to them. 

John has a good social and physical game. I suspect that he has a huge target on his back and will be someone who totally earns the win because he is not on the block all the time due to great social play or winning a ton of immunity or he will gone as soon as the other Goliath's feel that the numbers favor them enugh that they can vote out John.

[Jextella]

10 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

He has been on a winning tribe the entire time. The only time his tribe lost, his vote was an easy one. Jeremy made a comment that John thoought would make him look bad and agreed with Natalie to vote out Jeremy. So one tribal with a unanimous vote. (Shrugs) There has not been much reason to show John talking strategy because he has not had to. We have heard a bit from Alison and Dan, mainly because the merge is coming up and because Christian and Gabby have reached out to talk to them. 

John has a good social and physical game. I suspect that he has a huge target on his back and will be someone who totally earns the win because he is not on the block all the time due to great social play or winning a ton of immunity or he will gone as soon as the other Goliath's feel that the numbers favor them enugh that they can vote out John.

Yeah, John's not a threat now, but when it goes to individual gameplay is when we'll know for sure.  

Meanwhile, John reminds me of the expression about clothes - a person wearing a suit (meaning the suit fits nicely and is flattering) vs. a suit wearing a person (meaning that the suit fits poorly and is not flattering).

John seems like he is wearing the suit.  He's playing the game...the game isn't playing him.  He's calm, personable, thoughtful, and good in challenges.  He is not flustered nor is he scrambling.

He's got this thing in a very subtle way.   

I wouldn't be surprised if he goes to the end.

Edited November 6, 2018 by Jextella

[SVNBob]

11 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Usually, the built guys burn out early because they need so much food but John seems to be doing fine.

That's the difference between gym strength and "Man Strength".  John has the latter, even if it was developed partially in gyms throughout the country.  It's been retained by his work in the ring.

Also, wrestlers travel a lot, and often have to pay out of pocket for food on the road.   In their early days, they learn how to survive and perform on minimal and/or substandard caloric intake, while still maintaining their physiques.

[ByaNose]

I just attempted to listen to Jon's exit interview on EW Live and it was bruital. I think the reason he plays a wrestling character is because he doesn't have his own personality to begin with. Maybe, he's just shy or something but they could barely pull answers from him. He seemed really nice and didn't bug me on the show. I was glad he was playing himself but from an interview perspective he isn't very good. IMO!!! That said, I don't want anyone judging me when I do my Survivor exit interview. I might suck. LOL!!!!

[ProfCrash]

His Ponderosa video spends some time on that very topic. He is aware that it is hard to figure out who he is and who his persona is.

[ByaNose]

6 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

His Ponderosa video spends some time on that very topic. He is aware that it is hard to figure out who he is and who his persona is.

Just watched it. He was was much better here. Maybe, it's in the interview prcoess is where he isn't good. At least, that was my impression. He didn't seem to know how to talk about the game itself. That said, he seems like such a nice person.