WWE Tough Enough 3: An Interview with Scott Chong

Mike: First question: what the hell is wrong with you?

Scott: No idea!

Mike: No, I'm just kidding! Seriously, why Tough Enough?

Scott: It's always been my dream to be a wrestler, I've always wanted to do this! I tried out for TE2 and didn't even get the call back for Vegas.

Mike: So you're not just in it to be on TV, right?

Scott: In my high school yearbook, in the section where I state what my career ambition or future goal is, I wrote that I wanted to go to the WWF

Mike: How did you become a wrestling fan?

Scott: It's a real simple story, how I started to watch wrestling. When I was a little kid, my Grandmother would babysit me, my sister, and my cousins, while our parents worked. She watched wrestling and we simply watched it with her.

Mike: Who did you grow up watching?

Scott: My favorite childhood wrestlers were Ultimate Warrior, Bret Hart, Ricky Steamboat, and Macho Man Randy Savage. My first wrestling memory was Hulk Hogan vs. King Kong Bundy at Wrestlemania II, where Hogan was smashing his face against the steel posts.

Mike: Where are you from?

Scott: Both my parents are from South Korea. I've lived my whole life in Alexandria, Virginia. My High School was T.C. Williams, the same school from Remember the Titans. I go to college at James Madison University, which is about 10 minutes from Maven's school.

Mike: Okay, please explain the audition tape? What's with the paper-bag (not that we don't agree it was a good thing that it was there)?

Scott: No comment on the audition tape. [laughs]

Mike: No comment at all?

Scott: Well, I can say this, what you saw on TV was edited! They left out a BIG part!

Mike: AAH! Too much information!

Scott: I thought for sure that it wasn't going to get aired, but I was wrong. Dammit.

Mike: Are you ashamed of it?

Scott: Not at all, my only concern was my parents.

Mike: Was the TE3 tape different than the one you sent for TE2?

Scott: Somewhat, but not really. Let's say my tape for TE3 was R rated, and the one for TE2 was PG-13.

Mike: Did you think you had ANY chance after the whole bike thing, right before they chose the final 13?

Scott: Oh man, memories! Well, I wouldn't have been surprised if I didn't make it, but I knew deep down that I was going to. I gave it everything I had. On TV, they showed John as being the second to last pick. I was actually the second to last person chosen and then Kelly. So it was very nerve wracking.

Mike: I can imagine! Was there anyone who you thought WOULD make it and you were shocked they didn't?

Scott: Everyone that made the show, I was not surprised that they made it except for Kelly.

Mike: You don't think much of Kelly?

Scott: For the record, I do not bash people, what I say is simply my opinion. Kelly is just not an athlete. I really couldn't see her being a WWE superstar.

Mike: Did you get the feeling Wendell was going to be around for a while, or did he really come off like the drama-queen we saw in the first episode of the show?

Scott: Well, I was friends with him coming into the auditions because we were in New Orleans together and we hung out. So I got to know him a little, and he is loony and has a few screws loose in the head. The stuff that he did and said during the auditions deserves an Oscar. I thought I was going to piss in my pants after watching the stuff that he did. I couldn't stop laughing.

Mike: I can't believe he actually thought he was helping himself

Scott: He just has issues. Just imagine Wendell and Darryl in the same house!

Mike: Do you think the show did a fair job in representing how the people acted on the show?

Scott: They did a very good portraying us the way we were. But, there is a mutual feeling that Jamie was the only person that was shown on the lighter side. What I mean is, she was liked, respected, etc. Some people had major issues with her, I personally never did. I respected her on the level that she was strong minded mentally and physically and she is a good person deep down.

Mike: And you liked her pierced nipples, right?

Scott: Let's not get into that! [laughs] The only people that I know that really had issues with her are Jonah and Nick. But it's all good though.