WWE Tough Enough: Exclusive Interview with Producer and Host John “Big” Gaburick

RNO: You brought crib notes into our interview? I’m impressed!

Big: {laughing} You bet your ass I did! You’ve been slamming me for a while now, you didn’t think I’d bring some ammunition to get you back?

RNO: Well, now that you’ve mentioned it, what do you think about Lance’s comments?

Big: I ask the stars to come in and talk about certain aspects of their careers. With Lance, I asked him to talk about growing up and training in Calgary. Rey Misterio highlights the high-flying lucha libre style, which we’ve never really gone into before. Tommy Dreamer brings in his own comments. This is a reality show, I want it to be as real as possible. I don’t want them to come in and sound scripted like a promo, I want it to be real.

RNO: So Rey and Tommy Dreamer are two of the other guests this season?

Big: Yeah, there you go, there’s a scoop for you.

RNO: So what made you decide to go to Iceland?

Big: Iceland? Oh, wait, wait… you mean “Yup, Iceland. Just when you thought they hit the bottom of the ridiculous trips barrel with South Africa.” Iceland is the bottom of the ridiculous trip barrel?

RNO: Well, Iceland doesn’t exactly have a rich wrestling tradition.

Big: Iceland is part of my heritage, my Viking heritage. When you think about tough, you think about Iceland and the Vikings. And we participate in the Icelandic wrestling, which is called glima. Besides, Iceland is looking to build up their tourist trade and we were able to take the trip for basically nothing. They were willing to pay for it, they approached us. It wasn’t like the Bahamas, they weren’t laying around all day on the beach. It’s rugged, it’s tough.

RNO: I’d like to talk a little about you, if you wouldn’t mind.

Big: No, not a problem at all, go for it.

RNO: What exactly is your function on Tough Enough? Are you the host?

Big: I’m the Producer. I’ll say I’m the host, if someone asks me if I’m the host of Tough Enough, I’ll say yes. But my main duties are what you see on the screen. I also put the show together at the end, working with MTV. I make sure the final product has my involvement

RNO: Did the Kelsey Grammar incident (where Grammar fought to forbid the crew from filming at a house near his) cause a major problem in production?

Big: Everyone was disappointed with his outlook on not letting us use the house. I have a motto that good things happen to good people, and I extend it to “good things happen to good shows,” so it turned out to be a good thing. We ended up using an absolutely beautiful house up in the Topenga mountains, appropriately enough looking down at Kelsey’s house.

RNO: So you had daily spitting contests, to see who could hit his house the most times?

Big: {laughs} No, no, nothing like that. Everyone was disappointed, but in the end it turned out for the best. You might think I’m exaggerating, but I honestly think this is the nicest house MTV has ever used for any project. It’s that nice.

RNO: Can you confirm the rumor posted recently that a TE3 contestant had a psychotic episode?

Big: I can’t comment on that other than to say that there was a very scary situation that did occur and it – I don’t know how to put it into words, but none of us saw it happening. It was very sad. I don’t want to comment any more than that.

RNO: At this point you’ve finished filming. Obviously without giving it away, do you know right now who the winners will be?

Big: Honestly, this is going to be the toughest decision we’ve had yet. I think you’ll see what I mean and agree with me when you see these kids compete. They’re all superior athletes, and really close in terms of talent.

RNO: Any closing words?

Big: I’m excited about this season. I hope you’ll enjoy it. We’ve got a really great group of kids, and I can’t wait for the audience to see it.

RNO: I’m looking forward to it too. Thank you for your time tonight, I’ve really enjoyed this interview.

Big: Thank you.

Remember to watch the Season Premiere of Tough Enough 3, Thursday October 17, on MTV at 10 PM Eastern.

You can e-mail Mike DeGeorge at: mikmaria@earthlink.net.

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