John Hennigan was voted out of Survivor: David vs. Goliath following a dramatic Tribal Council in which two hidden Immunity Idols were played during Wednesday night's Season 37 episode on CBS.
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John, a 38-year-old professional wrestler from Los Angeles, CA, became the ninth castaway to leave the game on Day 22 through a 7-3-2 vote at Tribal Council.
Christian Hubicki received seven votes, but Davie Rickenbacker played an idol for him. And although Angelina Keeley received two votes, Dan Rengering played a hidden Immunity Idol to save her as well. John was therefore ousted after Survivor host Jeff Probst only read his name out loud twice.
"In classic Goliath fashion, David with the sling! Two votes from a distance, it's all it takes to take down a Goliath in the game of Survivor. And ironically, I predicted tonight a brochacho blindside," John said with a laugh in his final words. "I was talking about Christian though! And it ended up being me. Ugh, son of a b-tch."
During an exclusive interview with Reality TV World on Thursday, John talked about his Survivor experience and that chaotic Tribal Council session. Below is a portion of what he had to say.
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Reality TV World: It didn't seem like much of a mystery out there that Dan Rengering had at least one hidden Immunity Idol. The Davids didn't seem to even consider using Carl Boudreaux's "idol nullifier" advantage though, so what are your thoughts on that?
John Hennigan: I don't know why they would use the "idol nullifier." Those types of advantages, like the "steal a vote" one we saw last night, as well as the "idol nullifier," I feel they are more effective when the numbers get smaller, so that makes sense to me why they would've saved it.
It also wasn't a 100-percent sure thing from their point of view, I don't think, that Dan was going to play his idol and he was going to play it for Angelina. So just taking a gamble that that was what was going to happen, it's way less of a sure thing than the way [Davie Rickenbacker] played his idol.
Reality TV World: Right. I was just thinking about their other options because at one point, viewers saw Davie expressing how he didn't really want to play his idol for another person given he could save it for a time he's in trouble down the road.
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John Hennigan: Totally. But I think he knew it was a good strategic call, clearly, because I'm out and not Christian. (Laughs) But I think if you think logically about the move he made, it just logically made the most sense.
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Reality TV World: Nick Wilson pondered what would happen if the Davids used the "steal a vote" advantage to take a Goliath vote and then vote twice. It sounds like you think it was too early to throw that card in as well?
John Hennigan: People think of all kinds of scenarios and strategies... There's never 100 percent anything in Survivor, and the "steal a vote" could've backfired and then they Nick would be on a side with even less numbers and he'd have a big target on his head.
So yeah, those advantages, I think the longer you keep them, the more effective they are because there are less variables and people.
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Reality TV World: Do you think the Davids were unaware of how much of a threat Christian really was to win, or do you think they were simply focused on trying to maintain their numbers?
John Hennigan: At 7-5, they were obsessed with keeping the numbers, and I think that was smart because 7-5 is better than 7-4. At some point, it starts to get so low that it's hard to come back from a big numbers deficit, right? I'm sure they had [Christian] in mind, like, everyone was thinking everyone was a threat.
It's hard for me to speak on that because I don't know exactly what they were thinking, but I'm sure they were aware Christian is a big threat in the game.
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Reality TV World: Angelina was frustrated because when she pitched Christian's name in last week's episode, no one listened, and then when Mike White broached the topic, everyone agreed with the vote and was onboard. Angelina felt the situation boiled down to a woman's voice not being heard and a man being taken more seriously. Would you say she was right?
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John Hennigan: I think that's an oversimplification. I don't blame Angelina for being upset... [but] reducing it to people listening to a man vs. a woman is an oversimplification.
I was convinced, especially from where I'm standing now, it would've been better for me if Christian went out at the first Tribal instead of [Elizabeth Olson]. But the situations were different -- that's how it was told to me.
They showed Mike talking about what idiots we were for not voting out Christian, but there was a time when he walked up to everybody and talked about how badly he wanted his dad to come to the family visit and he was worried the only person who might mess that up is Christian.
"We've got to get Christian out! He is running things." It made a lot of sense, what he said, especially at the time. Elizabeth was just a real, quick target and it was kind of [easy] for people.
So, I think it was more of a situational difference than people listening to a man versus a woman. But I totally agree with Angelina and I wish we had gotten Christian out.
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To read the first part of Reality TV World's exclusive Survivor interview with John Hennigan, click here. And be sure to check back with us soon for the concluding portion.