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Last week saw Week 2 of The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars where despite their success winning the first two challenges the Champions team has become some sort of revolving door among their roster. For the Are You The One? singles, there's finally reason to be optimistic with them finally getting their first perfect match despite mixed results all season long in the matchup. And for the eight newest members of Team MTV, there's the fun of being down by the Floribama Shore.
To prepare you for all new episodes of those shows coming your way these next three nights, coming up we'll recap the first two episodes of two of those three shows, and for the third we'll look at what is ahead of them before the do or die tenth week. Then, we'll show you a car being stolen and being caught on tape. Wait, what? Find out why we are including that here ahead as we WRAP up last week in the MTV Trifecta coming up on DCBLOG.
THINGS TO KNOW
►CHAMPS VS. STARS - Weeks 1 & 2
● CHAMPS ARE HERE: After the usual pleasantries between the establishment and the upstarts, Champs vs. Stars begins with a grueling first challenge: a truck pull that sees teams of four, and then six, joining them to pull that several-wheeler with the objective to get to the finish line first. Both teams name anchors for their teams, with Zach being chosen for the Champs and Terrell Owens for the Stars as their strongest players. The Stars go out to a quick lead from the opening horn, but the choice to put T.O. up front makes things tough for the rest of the Stars, while the Champs let Thor's strength, as well as that of Emily, carry them to the win and him to MVP honors.
● A FINAL CAMILA MELTDOWN: Before the premiere, we find out that Camila wins Dirty 30 and wasn't there to accept the winners' check. The reasoning for her not being invited is explained here: everyone relaxes after their mission, with the ladies putting on their bikinis as they celebrate Ashley's birthday. However, it's Camila who overshadows the whole thing by twerking and humping around the pool, and it gets worse. In something not caught by cameras, she punches a production assistant, steals a golf cart and locks herself in her hotel room. Show Runner Matt Reucker - who we saw a lot of on Real World last year, tells her to leave the show, likely bringing her run to an end.
● CORY'S WILD N' OUT: For elimination #1, the Champs make the easy choice of throwing in Cory, but it's more complicated for the Stars as Riff Raff wants to go in as he didn't participate in the mission, but Matt Rife wants to compete and give the Stars a better chance at winning. The WNO & TRL star gets his wish, as Matt faces off vs. Cory in a Fidget Spinner-inspired battle, incorporating dodge balls and a rotating platform... objective being of trying to score as many points as possible over two rounds. This becomes as hard as it looks with both players falling at times during the match, but Matt takes advantage of Cory's lack of cardio to eventually win and send off the 2-time finalist.
● A FINAL CAMILA MELTDOWN: Before the premiere, we find out that Camila wins Dirty 30 and wasn't there to accept the winners' check. The reasoning for her not being invited is explained here: everyone relaxes after their mission, with the ladies putting on their bikinis as they celebrate Ashley's birthday. However, it's Camila who overshadows the whole thing by twerking and humping around the pool, and it gets worse. In something not caught by cameras, she punches a production assistant, steals a golf cart and locks herself in her hotel room. Show Runner Matt Reucker - who we saw a lot of on Real World last year, tells her to leave the show, likely bringing her run to an end.
● CORY'S WILD N' OUT: For elimination #1, the Champs make the easy choice of throwing in Cory, but it's more complicated for the Stars as Riff Raff wants to go in as he didn't participate in the mission, but Matt Rife wants to compete and give the Stars a better chance at winning. The WNO & TRL star gets his wish, as Matt faces off vs. Cory in a Fidget Spinner-inspired battle, incorporating dodge balls and a rotating platform... objective being of trying to score as many points as possible over two rounds. This becomes as hard as it looks with both players falling at times during the match, but Matt takes advantage of Cory's lack of cardio to eventually win and send off the 2-time finalist.
● CHAMPS CURSED? - For challenge #2, the teams tackle Parkour the Course: a giant obstacle course with mazes, trampolines, floors and levels galore as are flags with point values of 1, 2 & 5 all around the arena, with players playing offense and defense and their teammates doing slingshot. The Stars go first, and TO's talk gets the best of him vs. Bananas, while Justina scores 11 on Emily. Emily herself scores 30 points to eventually become MVP and give the Champs their 2nd straight challenge win by a 102-72 total, but it's not all smiles: when Jenna chases Shawn in her round, she falls awkwardly when jumping down below, and fractures her ankle which eventually sees her withdraw.
And that turns out to be just the beginning of what seems to be a curse that seems to have made its way into the Champs camp, all on top of the supposed curse Johnny has been in the past year. The day after, Wes breaks the news that Ashley may be considering leaving as well, but this time is for an unfortunate reason that puts family ahead of everything else: her dad is in critical condition after suffering a seizure and doctors have put him on life support. As it will turn out, papa Mitchell would ultimately up passing away, and whether or not she can still go on with her dad in mind will be answered come tomorrow.
● T.O. vs. THE CHAMPS: Before all the action began last week, there was already some rumblings with one of the Champs. After the gamesmanship we saw with Cory the previous week, T.O. showed his frustration for what happened there in the Arena after Matt's win. Later at that challenge, T.O. gets into it a little with CT before action at the park began, but it's after the news is revealed of Jenna's injury that things get a bit more tense than it should be for this charity challenge season. When CT asks of how the Champs might have to pick someone to compete in the arena being down 2 players because of DQ's, behind him TO mocks him with tears made up by his hands. It leads to an epic fight between the champ and the star... and it also leads to a Twitter fight between TO and Johnny Bananas that leaves the 6-time champ having to put the star on blast for blocking him.
And that turns out to be just the beginning of what seems to be a curse that seems to have made its way into the Champs camp, all on top of the supposed curse Johnny has been in the past year. The day after, Wes breaks the news that Ashley may be considering leaving as well, but this time is for an unfortunate reason that puts family ahead of everything else: her dad is in critical condition after suffering a seizure and doctors have put him on life support. As it will turn out, papa Mitchell would ultimately up passing away, and whether or not she can still go on with her dad in mind will be answered come tomorrow.
● T.O. vs. THE CHAMPS: Before all the action began last week, there was already some rumblings with one of the Champs. After the gamesmanship we saw with Cory the previous week, T.O. showed his frustration for what happened there in the Arena after Matt's win. Later at that challenge, T.O. gets into it a little with CT before action at the park began, but it's after the news is revealed of Jenna's injury that things get a bit more tense than it should be for this charity challenge season. When CT asks of how the Champs might have to pick someone to compete in the arena being down 2 players because of DQ's, behind him TO mocks him with tears made up by his hands. It leads to an epic fight between the champ and the star... and it also leads to a Twitter fight between TO and Johnny Bananas that leaves the 6-time champ having to put the star on blast for blocking him.
►FLORIBAMA SHORE - Episodes 1 & 2
● FIRST IMPRESSIONS: Over in Panama City Beach, the new roomies of Floribama Shore begin to get to know one another. For Aimee, she has been in a long relationship for the past decade and is anxious for what the single life has awaiting her here, including getting a pedicure too. For Codi, he is ready to party and even takes off his clothes in stripping down to an American flag-decked boxers, and later getting in some house drama himself. And for Candace and Kirk, they bring that southern style down to Florida in bringing that sense of diversity that wasn't present on Jersey Shore to the Shore franchise for the first time.
● GOING FOR A PEE: For someone who's lived her life in the Panhandle, it's no surprise that Kortni emerges as the wild child who's ready to be herself after being sheltered all these years. Well... maybe a bit more so than usual: when the house goes clubbing, she actually gets hammered so much that she actually goes to bed at 9:30pm, then when she finds out that the rest of the house had left her she goes to Candice's bed and proceeds to use it as her own toilet, leaving the house clueless. Then the next day, she gets wild on the beach and again, she pees in a garbage can after flashing to beachgoers and having a chug. She also has a date with not only one of the guys which'll be explained shortly, but also falls in love with an inflatable swan and puts on a giraffe onesie.
● NILSA OPENS UP: Unlike their Seaside predecessors and like what we've seen on Real World many times, the FBS bunch come to PCB not only to enjoy their summer but also to grow and open up about their not so picture perfect pasts. For the first to arrive, Nilsa, she recently separated from her husband after admitting she fouled up getting married too young. And as they have their first family dinner, not only does she bring up the failed marriage but also reveals that it started to come apart when she suffered a miscarriage and then her husband cheated on her when he was deployed on active duty.
● NILSA OPENS UP: Unlike their Seaside predecessors and like what we've seen on Real World many times, the FBS bunch come to PCB not only to enjoy their summer but also to grow and open up about their not so picture perfect pasts. For the first to arrive, Nilsa, she recently separated from her husband after admitting she fouled up getting married too young. And as they have their first family dinner, not only does she bring up the failed marriage but also reveals that it started to come apart when she suffered a miscarriage and then her husband cheated on her when he was deployed on active duty.
● LOVE BY THE SHORE: Making love is standard in MTV houses, and it doesn't take long for that to come to Floribama. For the likely bromance of this season, Gus and Jeremiah become attracted to two of the girls, and both go on dress-up dates to the same local restaurant in town... you'd hardly look for those there in Seaside. For Gus, he gets drawn to Nilsa and asks her out to dinner which she agrees to reluctantly. But this newly single girl then turns her attention to Jeremiah once Gus tells her that Jeremiah asked Kortni out to do the same thing, and things get awkward between the two. For Jeremiah & Kortni's date, they have much more fun, bow tie & suspenders included for him.
● DEFEND THE TURF: Given that the city is a capital of the around the clock debauchery of college kids having fun during Spring Break, it's no surprise that the roommates do plenty of clubbing in these first two episodes... even to the point where after plenty of partying they even order pizza over the gator phone after the parlors close up. One night, Jeremiah begins to get close to a 30-year-old girl named Mary Jo, who would be old enough to be a mom to the house of these crazy kids, and Kortni begins to get into words with MJ when she and Jeremiah return to the house for a pool party. Luckily, it doesn't turn into fisticuffs before it gets out of hand... quite a first two hours by the Beach.
AYTO STRATEGY ROOM
ONE MORE WEEK...
We'll be saving recaps of last and previous week's episodes of Are You The One? for a dedicated WRAP covering those and Wednesday's finale, but we're not ignoring it here. But there is one more try left for the cast to either follow what Season 5 did and lose, or what the first four seasons did and win. Below is our the match chart, which for the first time includes bold italics to signify a Truth Booth match.
MATCHUP 9 (Guys' Pick)
♥ Tyler & Nicole (6th - MC's 1, 3, 6, 7 & 8)
♥ Anthony & Uche
♥ Joe & Zoe (6th)
♥ Dimitri & Audrey
♥ Shad & Alivia
♥ Clinton & Geles (4th)
♥ Malcolm & Alexis
♥ Keith & Jada
♥ Ethan & Nurys
♥ Kareem & Diandra (2nd)
♥ Michael & Keyana (4th)
FIVE BEAMS ▲2
MATCHUP PROGRESS
♥ Joe & Zoe (6th)
♥ Dimitri & Audrey
♥ Shad & Alivia
♥ Clinton & Geles (4th)
♥ Malcolm & Alexis
♥ Keith & Jada
♥ Ethan & Nurys
♥ Kareem & Diandra (2nd)
♥ Michael & Keyana (4th)
FIVE BEAMS ▲2
MATCHUP PROGRESS
♥ 1st: 3
♥ 2nd: 1
♥ 3rd: 2
♥ 4th: 3
♥ 5th: 1
♥ 6th: 4
♥ 7th: 5
♥ 2nd: 1
♥ 3rd: 2
♥ 4th: 3
♥ 5th: 1
♥ 6th: 4
♥ 7th: 5
♥ 8th: 3
♥ 9th: 5
● Ahead of... Season 3: TWO, Season 4: SIX & Season 5/NINE♥ 9th: 5
● Behind... Season 1: TEN & WIN (+2), Season 2: EIGHT
TRUTH BOOTHS - Through Nine
♥ SEASON 1: THREE
♥ SEASON 2: FOUR
♥ SEASON 3: ONE
♥ SEASON 4: THREE
♥ SEASON 5: TWO
♥ SEASON 6: ONE
So, the house has that one beam, and they will win the full $1 million jackpot should they run the table on Wednesday - something that's not happened since Season 2. Keith took on the role of strategist that didn't work out as well as he wanted, and someone now has to take the lead of trying to bring this whole house together... after all, the strength of 22 is better than the strength of one. But then again, a guy who was a puppet master did that thing two years ago, so anything can happen.
It's safe to say that this house has had a tough go this season, but having this last week to get this all right will definitely get in the heads of everyone in the house. In the chart above, Joe & Zoe, Clinton & Geles and Michael & Keyana have sat at the matchup multiple times and no doubt should be easy picks for the house for send in. Each of the five previous seasons have had multiple Truth Booth matches, and the last time there were back-to-back matches in the lasers room was when Dario & Ashley were a match in Week 10 in Week 2... that cast won. So, it's best that they should pick any of those three and hope they get that 2nd match momentum into the last Matchup.
And as we have seen in the past, Strategy has not always paid dividends at the patio -- take what happened with Keith last week as an example. Kari from last season tweeted, "It's literally impossible to lose this game using the right strategy when everyone plays as a team." Them not being on the entire page in Week 9 was, of course, the difference when Shannon chose Tyler and the mixup cost them the cash. Everyone was on the same page when Devin channeled Doug Flutie and pulled off this show's biggest Hail Mary... and Season 4 came back from a late blackout to win also.
We hope those who went on this season got see what happened there before they went to New Orleans and learned that if you're put into this position of having to go for the cash this late, be on the same page or you'll have nightmares the rest of your life. There's that lyric in that track "Paris" by The Chainsmokers coined by Drew Taggert, who you might say could be the twin brother of Tyler of last season if he didn't have a beard: "If we go down, then we go down together." That is the premise that this house has to get by, and that leads us to this week's poll, a much more definitive answer compared to when we asked the same question before the Season 5 finale.
So, what do you will be the fate of
the #AreYouTheOne Season 6 cast?
● Go 11 for 11 and WIN 25%
● Fall Short and LOSE 75%
● Fall Short and LOSE 75%
OUT OF 67 VOTES
From above, three-quarters of you who took our poll believe that the cast's struggles of going above five beams all season will bite back and they will lose. And given that the chances of getting to 11 beams is much more harder than getting to 10, this is as hard a road the kids in NOLA have had to endure than what we have seen in the history of this show... but being able to not black out all season -- something we've not seen since Season 1 -- is at least a moral victory.
But remember as I've been able to say so many times, anything can possibly happen, and you can go from the depths to Disneyland in one week. The last time an AYTO cast had not gotten half of their beams lit in their next to last matchup was Season 3 when Devin and company got two beams and looked in all the world that they would be the first cast to lose and were ready to all but give up. But red solo cups and the flip of a quarter gave them the cash and my Underdog Award on the 2015 Debrief... don't be surprised if the Season 6 cast does the Devin trick, although it may be someone else who takes the wheel and bring this cast into Eleventh Heaven and $1 Million.
We're, of course, anxious to the tension convention of those last 20 or so minutes on Wednesday.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
#DCExtraTime Funny File
THE A-TEAM
This past weekend, Michelle Waterson fought in the first bout of the main card of UFC 218 in Detroit, where she lost a decision on a fight card that saw Eddie Alverez and Henry Cejudo win their bouts, Francis Ngannou score a 1st round KO and Max Halloway likely sending Jose Aldo into retirement. MMA's other high-profile promotion, Bellator, also held a card over the weekend at WinStar World Casino in Oklahoma, which brings us to the Funny File.
A fighter who has experience fighting in both Bellator and in the UFC is Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, who endured a tough childhood in Candace's hometown of Memphis where street fights and selling drugs was the norm when he was in high school. He would find a refuge in combat sports, first as a wrestler and then becoming an MMA fighter who first became a big name in Japan fighting on the Pride promotion before coming home to America and joining the UFC. Within months of joining, Jackson lifted the Light Heavyweight title from fellow former Pride fighter Chuck Liddell, became a coach on two seasons of The Ultimate Fighter and then lost that title to Rashad Evans and in eventually was the victim of Jon Jones' mastery in Bones' rise to UFC prominence. And after a short spell in TNA wrestling, Rampage returned to the cage -- this time with rival Bellator.
While Quinton was in town one day in this fight capital of the universe, Challenge Kailah and her reality TV & rapper boyfriend with a Rolodex of famous friends, Mikey P., spotted the van once used by the 80's TV show, The A-Team starring Mr. T and friends, and now owned by Quinton for his travels around town. What happens next is embedded below.
Maybe next time @Rampage4real will remember to take the keys out of the #ATeam van 🤷🏻♀️ @iammikeyp pic.twitter.com/eBgU3qLVGP— Kailah Casillas (@kailah_casillas) November 30, 2017
FOLLOW-UP
A NOTE TO SHAWN.... FROM A FRIEND OF #DCBLOG
Finally, something off topic, and of interest for those of you music fans. You might know a friend of ours of this site who we've featured a few times here, Eric "River" Cebellos, starting back during Real World Ex-Plosion, and then recently when we featured him in the footnote of our ExtraTime In-Depth on band Yellowcard's appearance on The Challenge: Inferno in 2004.
Last month on the site Proud 2B Me, Eric wrote a long post entitled #ANoteToShawn on pop sensation Shawn Mendes, and of how his music has helped him get through some tough times for him in recent years. A few years ago, Shawn teamed with Do Something to launch a campaign entitled #NotesFromShawn, driven by the Canadian's ability to use his fame to put social issues on a large scale, and River used this note as a way of saying thank you to Shawn.
This past week, it was reported on Radar Online that Shawn took notice of the note this site's good friend wrote on him, and both he and River are considering collaborations with Do Something coming up in 2018 to take this issue to a new audience. Congrats River from me, and check out his Proud2BeMe page for past articles, and search around this site for stuff with me and River.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
And that will do it for us here on the WRAP. With The Challenge XXX finally over, AYTO to soon wrap its season and more, here's some links of your interest to tide you over...
● A pioneer in podcasting on what would become to us the MTV Trifecta, Derrick K. made his much anticipated return to hosting podcasts this past week when he and good friend of his Scott Yeger (@AShotAtYeger) launched Challenge Mania, featuring the same in-depth talk that defined his former Ultimate Challenge Radio podcasts. Of course, Derrick talked about his 2nd place finish on Dirty 30 and everything else related to Season 30, which you can check out on Podbean and iTunes. Tony, Kailah and Champs vs. Pros bronze medalist Kameron Wimbley are slated to join Bulldog and Scott in coming editions, so be sure to subscribe to them for all the juicy stuff.
● For another person who finished just outside of the $450,000 winners' check, The Brain Candy Podcast and hosts Susie & Sarah nabbed the first postseason interview with Tori as she discussed her stellar rookie Challenge season, that failed romance with Derrick H., what's going on with her & Jordan and so much more. That chat is available only if you're a subscriber to BCP's Patreon offering which you can join there, plus the ladies posted a free podcast offering some more MTV tea as a sampler of what they offer under the paywall.
● After taking last week off for the holiday weekend, AfterBuzz TV's Are You The One? panel returned to talk both Episodes 10 and 11, as Lem Gonsalves, Nicolette Gaona, Melody Rose and Nino Llanera were joined by Zoe, Anthony and Tyler as they discussed the perfect match, Tony's ways at the Mardi Gras party and the homestretch of this entertaining season. Check out that podcast at ABTV, along with all of the site's MTV Trifecta coverage now being made easy to access all in one page on the AfterBuzz site.
● After last week's double premiere, Reality Life with Kate Casey had the honor of doing the first podcast interview with a member of Floribama Shore, as Kate talked to Gus about the show, the first episodes, the reaction he's gotten from fans on it and much more. Listen to that podcast at Art19.com, along with interviews she's done with many others in the reality TV world.
● And check out Rob Has A Podcast and its MTV coverage with Brian Cohen (@CohenBrian_), Ali Lasher (@LashTweets) and Adam Buongiovanni (@AdamBongo). Take advantage when you can of their 2017 MTV slate as Ali and Adam discussed last week's AYTO, and Brian will join him to put a bow on the season when they talk the coming week's finale.
Having just past the 200 posts milestone for this year alone over the weekend, DCBLOG is far from done quite yet for 2017. We will, of course, be all over this week's episodes for you on Friday, plus as advertised DCBLOG's exclusive look at the Dirty 30 Reunion with a friend of this site will be posted on Thursday night before our traditional weekend blog wave begins on Friday.
For now, that is how we look at it this week Inside the MTV Trifecta... talk to you later on DCNOW at @DC408DxNow for Floribama Shore. Thanks for checking us out, and see you then.
- I AM DC
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