Welcome back KIWTJers. Arguably one of the biggest sporting events of the year is this week and its only 5 days away..... episode 3 of Return of the Exes.
So I wanted to start out by continuing our look at the biggest talent sources of the The Challenge. And after the original Fresh Meat it would be unfair to not take a look at Road Rules X-Treme. This was unbelievably the 13th season of the program and the last that brought us fresh cast members. But MTV went out with a bang providing us 5 Challenge contenders from a 6 person cast and 4... count 'em 4! Champions.
Obviously this season has to begin with first ballot hall of famer Derek Kosinksi. He is the first and only competitor to appear in 9 Challenges and compliments that with 3 Championships. Early in his career he battled with some alcohol issues, but he was always renowned as a scrapper and a fighter. Often giving up 50+ pounds to some of his bigger competitors Derek earned his respect the hard way.
Jodi Weatherton is a relatively forgotten competitor, but was prolific in 2 of her 3 competitions. The sole Champion of the Duel 2 - Jodi had 9 challenge wins and went on to win the show on her own as a female competitor alongside a young Wes. You look at her competition from that season and it was certainly a weak crop of competitors. Those were the days when Aneesa was the baddest girl on the block.
The other two champions from this season were Kina and Ibis. Both won their championships alongside Jodi in the Gauntlet 2. There was a resounding 9 people who got their rings that day, so there certainly needs to be an asterisk next to some of these earlier era rings. That was a season of Veterans vs Rookies where the Rookies were clearly the more talented side. Also known as the season of Alton. That rookie team had Alton, MJ and Landon (from RW Philly) leading the way and eviscerating the veterans. With that said both Ibis and Kina have been known to be solid competitors. Ibis continues to fight on being one of the favorites a few seasons ago on The Ruins. Unfortunately she petered out halfway through the competition without making a huge mark.
In closing - 2 LEGITIMATE champions in Jodi and Derek. 1 Hall of famer and 2 other asterisk champions with pretty solid pedigree. Obviously can't compete with Fresh Meat, but has a nice stable of competitors.
Where does this season rank for you? Feel like Ibis is a little over rated? Did you forget about Jodi? Are you surprised that Road Rules still provides more Stars than Real World?
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ReplyDeleteThinking about it objectively, I'm surprised Real World provided even close to as many stars as Road Rules and Fresh Meat. Road Rules was a competitive show, and Fresh Meat obviously was part of the Challenge. People are cast to Real World for being either (1) likely to cause some real drama or (2) "representative" of a specific group that Real World execs think would be good on a specific season. There really is no reason why a Real World star should be expected to be good at the Challenge, because he or she was not cast to act in any sort of physical capacity and, arguably, was cast to be a little more emotional all around. I would argue that, when a Real World star IS good at the Challenge, we should actually be impressed. If you were cast to Road Rules or Fresh Meat, I think we should expect that you are at least decent at physical competition.
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if the Challenge continues to attract strong competitors now that there is no more Road Rules.... My guess is they will need to infuse the system with a lot more Fresh Meat.
Really fantastic and astute analysis.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. But I would say physical attractiveness is a quality that fits into Real World casting. And generally being buff should help you on the Challenge. Other than that - I agree.