The Terryfying Oblivion
Gladiators was the highlight of many people’s Saturday nights back in the 1990’s, and when we heard that they were back with a new cast (but the same old John Anderson) we had to get suck in and take on a couple of the scariest people I’ve ever seen wearing lycra.Oblivion claims to leaves nothing in his path – extinguishes his opposition and as Wolf’s replacement, I was determined to crack his steely façade and expose his sweet side; which proved to be easier said than done.
Hello Oblivion!
[In a super scary voice] Who is this?
It’s Ruth! [In my sweetest voice ever]
Hello Ruth
Don’t try and scare me Oblivion.
I don’t think I need to try very hard
Ooh stop it with that horrible voice, I don’t like it, just tell me if you’re enjoying life as a Gladiator?
I am loving life as a Gladiator and I absolutely love being the villain. As far as I’m concerned I don’t care whether people like me or not, as long as they’re talking about me that’s all that matters.
Now don’t say that Mr, you want everyone to like you!
I don’t.
I don’t like it when you get really nasty and pick on those contestants, its not nice and its really unfriendly.
Listen, I don’t care whether they like me or not because at the end of the day, everyone remembers The Big O.
Yeah right. So are you trying to replace Wolf as the baddie?
I already replaced Wolf. He’s nowhere to be seen. He’s at home soaking his dentures reminiscing of yesteryear. I’m here carving out a new niche for myself, making waves across the ocean as the new ultimate bad boy.
True, true, Wolf who? So who was your favourite from the original series then?
My favourite was actually Saracen, so I’m really hoping they bring him in if we do another legends as I would absolutely love to pit myself against him.
Do you think you could win?
Yeah, of course I would. He’s a tough cookie though, and he’s still a fireman and a very honourable, brave and impressive guy so it would be a tussle and I would have no shame in losing but I would definitely be up there kicking his ass.
How did you come up with the name Oblivion?
Which one?
Oblivion; obviously.
Well that was actually given to me. However, t’was I who coined the phase The Big O. I am the Big O.
And how did you come up with that little gem all by yourself?
Well I liked it because it has several meanings. What happened was, I was just ranting and raving on the microphone and I just said it. It all started with my pose that I do and I noticed that the hand gesture that I do with my right hand before it goes out and flexes my muscles makes a big O so I thought it was like my name.
Then Destroyer thought that was really funny and I realised; “Hey, I am The Big O! I’m not making the big O, am The big O
Wow, that’s so intelligent. So what made you decide to pursue this cruel and demanding life as a Gladiator?
Well we were selected. We’re a very elite group of people. We’re not Johnny-Cum-Lately Gladiators [FF: You’re a lean mean fighting machine] Yes I am. I am very mean. We were all well known in our respective fields and the producers of the show were looking around for various avenues and we all got shortlist and selected to try out.
Fun times. You’re also a professional wrestler; do you think that would be your main occupation if you hadn’t become a Gladiator?
It still is. Professional wrestling has been my passion from a very early age and Gladiators has actually helped to further that part of my career as I’ve been getting booked at various places around the country and I’ll be heading out to the States soon to be wrestling on American television but watch this space as I’m not allowed to give you any more details on that just yet.
Okay, but can you just tell us your wrestling name?
I tend to wrestle under my own name; Nick Aldis.
Original and simple, I like it. So What’s your favourite event from this series?
I love Earthquake because I love getting physical.
So tell me, do you all get on really well off set and are you all actually as scary as you make out?
Yeah we all get on; we’re like a big family. Everyone always wants to know if there are any rivalries and there aren’t. The only time I remember rivalry was on the first day when none of us really knew each other and we were all training and these was a bit of posturing and gesturing and male testosterone which led to a bit of tension.
Once we all got to know each other though that went out of the window because once the contestants come into it you realise that we’re all a unit and we have to take them on together and I really hope it stays that way. However, I think that inevitably, the lure of fame and fortune can bring out the worst in people but so far I haven’t seen any of that.
So what do you like to get up to when you‘re not putting the fear of God into innocent contestants?
I live a pretty normal life. I train a lot and my whole life is dedicated to my body and profession so I spend a lot of time at the gym but luckily my girlfriend is also very keen on training and her body so we’re able to do it together.
It’s a great life I’m leading now and obviously I’m a lot wealthier than I used to be too! A lot of opportunities have opened up for be because of it, for example I’ll be doing panto this Christmas.
Ooh, tell us more!
I’m going to be playing Igor; the Queen’s evil henchman.
Oh come on Oblivion, why can’t you just be something nice like a Prince?
Prince Charming? Don’t be ridiculous [FF: It could be a new avenue, you might like it.] I could do Prince Charming I guess as I’m a pretty charming guy.
Haha, pass me the bucket… if you could take anyone on, who would it be?
That’s a tough one, I guess Hulk Hogan is a huge idol of mine and I would like to get him on Earthquake and have a tumble with him. But I think I’d prefer to do it in the wrestling ring.
That’s a good answer. Now try and be nicer and I look forward to seeing you in the new series now I know you’re not that horrible really.
I bet you are… grr. Bye.
FemaleFirst - Ruth Harrison