DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Total Madness - "Backstabber"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

And so, we've made it to the last weekend of May and we welcome you Inside MTV Reality at DCBLOG... we know it's been a stressful & eventful past few days with the events in the Twin Cities, the virus, the country reopening and our nation being divided from coast to coast. But you can trust us to offer a much-needed escape from the world outside your window as we bring you our look of the reality shows you love. And that includes the ongoing season of The Challenge, which plows along with the fittingly-titled Total Madness in the Czech Republic.

Last week marked hump week of sorts when it comes to this game, as something that we had last time out in a double elimination take place at just about the halfway point of this year's Challenge. There, a timeless classic of any season, Pole Wrestle, saw rookie Fessy hand Jordan just his second early exit in a game that wasn't suited to his liking, while Nelson responded to those who've been deserting him for his behavior with becoming a top-5 elimination beast taking down Bear. And we also had Bananas & Wes deal with colors & chemicals en route to becoming power team.

For this week, there's another pair of players who will have their $1 million dreams end as it is a female double elimination week... but it may as well be a triple elimination as Big T will find out if she can continue. For those who are able to, they'll have a tricky challenge involving water - but unlike what we had last time in that ice-cold freeze, it's sewers they're dropping in for a team puzzle challenge called "Tunnel Rats." One player is thinking of taking a huge power play which may have people questioning them, as the week's elimination sees the players detonating bombs.

After the break, it's the SocialPulse of Week 9 of The Challenge Total Madness, plus reaction to a current player becoming Team MTV's newest parent and an alum of this franchise becoming the latest to say yes to a wedding ring. Welcome to the weekend everyone, you deserve this.

DC ExtraTime: Some Inspiration for the Class of 2020

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Usually in times like these when the weather is warming up, we'd be in a celebrating mode with the unofficial start of the summer being this past Memorial Day weekend, and teenagers & young adults celebrating that coming of age moment when they graduate high school and college. Unfortunately, that is not the case this time around, as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continue to permeate everywhere we are right now as parts of the country are reopening as the death toll exceeds 100,000.

It's with this in mind that the academic year has been cut short in many areas, most schools revert to distance learning via the internet to connect to their students, and the time-honored traditions of proms and graduations being axed due to social distancing and to curb the spread. It has been an unusual last quarter & trimester for those in the class of 2020 and those who had plans to have the time of their lives being cut short. This blogger's extended family knows it well, as my nephew's 5th grade promotion ceremony was called off, among other things.

However, there have been countless numbers of stories that have taken those in need of a break from the depressing news of the past two months - and the past few days in the Midwest - to give them some inspiration... and with our focus on MTV Reality and it being an escape for all of us in TV land, there are two such stories we'd like to share with you for some inspiration for the Class of 2020... which also happens to double as this DCBLOG site's 1200th post.

DC ExtraTime: The Portland Princess Has A Ring To It...

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Last week, we saw Jordan Wiseley suffer just his second elimination defeat on Total Madness just days after his small guest-starring gig on NBC's The Blacklist... and on top of him winning title #3 and proposing to fiance Tori Deal on War of the Worlds 2. Before all this, we saw his Rivals II partner Marlon Williams be among The Challenge's four representatives on Ex On The Beach: Peak of Love. And seeing them has offered those of us who've been following MTV Reality in the digital sphere for the past decade with a good reminder of where it all began for them and for us, going back by seven years.

The pair who finished 3rd in a packed final full of Hall of Fame talent in Thailand -- Bananas, C.T., Wes, Paula, Emily, Cara Maria & Camila, plus Marlon's ex Jemmye -- started their journey on The Real World Portland. It's best remembered for Hurricane Nia landing ashore and the infamous moment of her fighting the resident couple Averey & Johnny. And it was with that season that Brian Cohen started seven years & counting of podcasts in interviewing the cast before becoming Ali Lasher's partner on the MTV Reality RHAP, while Andrew Kirk got to chat with those figures, along with Anastasia, Joi and our subject who chose Memorial Day Weekend for some new jewelry.

Jessica McCain came to the Pacific Northwest from the Triangle area of North Carolina, looking to spread her wings beyond where she grew up. She also got to do four Challenges in Rivals II, Free Agents, Battle of the Exes 2 and Rivals 3 -- and we won't forget the time she braved her fear of heights and grabbed the flag in the opening challenge on Free Agents. And in both Portland and in a few challenges, she was at odds with Jordan including him doing his Tom Cruise impersonation standing on a chair... and she even had a guest spot on one of J-Deezy's rap tracks.

For someone who wore a tiara when she left the Portland house, Jess now has something that will join that crown: an engagement ring. On Memorial Day weekend and as his day/night job is still in a holding pattern for his season to start on the diamond, she & her boyfriend, minor league baseball pitcher JP France of the Fayetteville Woodpeckers (a single-A farm team affiliated with the Houston Astros), came to Nashville for a visit with relatives there as the quarantine continues. But in the same city Floribama Shore & Siesta Key invaded this winter, there would more awaiting the princess once they came to the same bridge Juliette & Alex came to after their cuddle session during their weekend in Music City.

Twitter @MTVJess

Jessica wrote on Instagram @TheJessMcCain, "Last night became the best night of my life my BEST FRIEND got down on one knee and asked me to be his Wife!! I said “YES!” 💍 @thefrenchman28 I love you more than anything in this world. You are my best friend, my confidant I can’t wait to spend forever with you!!!!!! #engaged #love #happy #isaidyes". And France added @TheFrenchman28, "Last night I was lucky enough to ask my best friend to spend forever together! I will never forget what happened on May 23rd! You are my everything and my whole world! I can’t wait to see what the future has in store but I wouldn’t want to do it with anyone else! Here’s to forever! ❤️143! @thejessmccain #proposal #nashvilleproposal #forever".

Below, the video of Jess & JP becoming official at golden hour in Music City, and we send our congrats to them, as does the rest of her MTV family - which we'll have on the SocialPulse of this week's episode of Total Madness coming up this weekend. And also, check out one of our first MTV posts on here, a FORUM look at the reunion special for RW Portland at this link, too.

View this post on Instagram

On a whim, or so I thought, we decided to come visit my brother and his gf in Nashville for the holiday weekend. After dinner my brother suggested we go downtown since @thefrenchman28 had never been before. So we park in free parking because who wants to pay to park and then we took the walking bridge over to the city, nothing strange about that. As we’re walking I notice how beautiful the sunset is and insist we get a photo on the overlook, similar to a photo we have @titans stadium. Here’s the FUNNY Part 😂🤦🏻‍♀️ I turn around pre-maturely and see people with cameras (there were tons of professionals taking photos off that bridge) in my head I was like “oh sh*t” we’re in their way, I turn to JP to tell him we have to move and he pulls me in for a kiss and BAM 💥 it all hits me at once. THIS, ALL OF IT, was planned. He’s going to ask me to marry him!!! I legit held on to the railing of the bridge because my knees went weak and my eyes filled with tears of joy as he said “I told you I was going to surprise you.” He got down on one knee and asked me to be his WIFE! I’m getting MARRIED y’all 💍!! @fireandbrilliance

A post shared by JESS MCCAIN (@thejessmccain) on May 25, 2020 at 6:56am PDT

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

Inside MTV Reality: The Challenge WRAP - Total Madness Episode 8

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Hello again, and welcome back. We know the past few days have been a tense one with the events taking place in Minnesota as well as things opening back up over the Memorial Day weekend... but we here like to think of ourselves both here on DCBLOG as well as the DC YouTube channel as "The Escape You Deserve." You do need it to escape the worries of the world, right?

We are just about at the halfway point of The Challenge: Total Madness from Prague... and last week saw a double elimination for two men on this season, colors and foam come together, and an injury involving a toe of all things. But at night's end, it saw a rarity in a man who got interrogated on NBC's The Blacklist get eliminated early, and one of the most reviled players of this new generation of Challengers silence doubters in joining the record book in two ways.

After the jump, we present to you our Challenge WRAP for Week 8 of the madness before the players tackle the sewers later tonight. And we'll also hear from the lady who had her at-home relationship scarred by one Brit. Join us next.

DC ExtraTime: The Challenge Meets... The Juice (?!)

*** EDITOR'S NOTE: Because of the controversial & subjective nature of the subject featured, comments have been turned off in this post. If you have thoughts, just tweet me to Twitter @DC408Dxtr, but do please be kind to us. :-) ***

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

This spring while live sports have been in an unprecedented lull, something special has been going on for those who are fond of nostalgia. Cable sports channels on the national, regional and league-specific levels have used this time to present encore presentations of many of the most memorable moments in sports history... so has the traditional time for sports on television of weekend afternoons on the broadcast networks. But for those eager for something fresh - and as live action is starting to make a gradual return this spring, they have been offered a treat.

For the past month, ESPN has dedicated what would've been its Sunday night timeslot for Major League Baseball for the 10-part documentary miniseries The Last Dance, chronicling Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls of the 1990's and what led up to its last chapter of the 1998 NBA Finals. The Last Dance has been a critical, ratings and pop culture success as we have gotten a deep dive into one of sports' greatest dynasties - a time for those to dust off those memories of Jordan, Scottie Pippen, coach Phil Jackson and those involved in that magical time.

It has been part of ESPN's successful foray into sports documentaries with its 30 for 30 franchise of films, continuing in a legacy of storytelling rooted in ABC's Wide World of Sports and when it pioneered coverage of the Olympics with its "up close and personal" focus on the athletes. And another defining moment of the '90s that took place in between the Bulls' two three-year reigns as champs saw ESPN and their new siblings FX take viewers into a saga that gripped the world's attention just a few years ago.

And believe it or not, there is a strange link of sorts between this and the beat we cover on a weekly basis in the world of MTV Reality and The Challenge, for which one member of the group pictured to your right in the cast of what some consider its most memorable season ever, Rivals of 2011, had a chance to spend a moment with the person who is considered the most famous serial killer of our generation who now calls the same place home in what will be the new home in the NFL come this fall. That offers some context to the story were looking back at the ordeal surrounding the man who those who saw him play in both college & pro football still call by the nickname, "The Juice."

DC SocialPulse: The Challenge Total Madness - "Live and Let Die"

*** Advisory: #DCSocialPulse contains adult language, objectionable content & spoilers for some readers. Viewer Discretion is Advised. Due to its length, take frequent eye breaks if you're viewing this top to bottom. ***

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Hey here folks, and welcome to a summer unlike any other you have experienced in your lifetime, as we bring you Inside MTV Reality and DCBLOG's view of The Challenge: Total Madness. And on this Memorial Day Weekend, we have just about reached the halfway point of a game that's just starting to heat up as the mercury is rising outside your window including flirting with the 100 mark out on the west coast.

If you are one of those who are fond of the usual format of having a challenge and a full elimination shown in one whole episode, last week saw hopefully the last of those until we get to the final... and where Jordan, Nany & Jenna held power after they put up the top time in the last challenge. They had to sit through a tense nomination where Nelson laid a low blow on Kailah and where Nany herself had her latest blowup involving a cup of noodles. But with everything going on with her relationship with Zach, somehow Jenna pulled together and prove why they call her the "Barbie Beast" when she volunteered herself in and took out Tori in a close elimination to gain a skull.

Back last October at this point of War of the Worlds 2, Week 8 of USA v. Britain saw an elimination doubleheader where Love Islanders turned WOTW1 finalists Georgia & Theo advanced onward but it was Esther of British YouTube's BlkChatLDN who won our hearts. This week, it's a Double Shot in the purgatory once again as by night's end two men will have their journeys end, and it will be a classic game that awaits them in the latest chapter that is Pole Wrestle. Before that, the challengers have to deal with toxic chemicals and colors in doing some decontamination, while the other unholy alliance plots their own move to take over the game.

After the jump, it's the 'Pulse of Week 8 of Total Madness, as it's a week of double trouble aplenty in the world of the MTV Challenge. Thanks for joining us tonight...

DC ExtraTime: A UFC Return with A Champs vs. Stars Mom

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

From April 1st when Total Madness began right up until May 8th, it was The Challenge that had to bear the enormous weight of being the only major live sport going on in this country... if you happen to be in the majority who would consider it the fifth major pro sport - and if you decide to not include horse racing in that. But on Mother's Day weekend, it was joined by a sport that, a quarter-century ago, began as an amalgamation of different fighting genres that had its growing pains, and yet grew to become the most prominent combat sport of the moment.

Fight Pictures Courtesy UFC/Getty Images

The Ultimate Fighting Championship had the honor of being the first significant live sports event to be held in the U.S. when UFC 249 was held in Jacksonville on May 9th, made possible by Florida being able to have their doors open to sporting venues in being classified as essential businesses by the state governor's office, provided it is held behind closed doors without fans. As expected for an event as much anticipated and under the public microscope, the fight card was altered several times, from a light heavyweight main event being scrapped to former Strikeforce middleweight titlist Ronaldo Souza testing positive for COVID and having his fight called off after the weigh-ins.

Like the reality TV shows that we cover here, sports has always offered those of you who need it a much-deserved escape, and casual sporting fans joined with the UFC's passionate fanbase for a memorable night of MMA that became the only game in town in a time where the NBA and NHL have yet to restart their seasons and where the first pitch of the Major League Baseball season hasn't started, among other sports. It was so big, that even those who watched the pay-per-view broadcasts were lucky enough to notice tweets from Challenger turned podcast extraordinaire Derrick Kosinski as he led Team MTV who waited a month & a half for The Challenge to have some company.

The undercard saw former lightweight champ Anthony Pettis decision Donald Cerrone in a rematch of their 2013 bout won by a Pettis 1st round KO; heavyweight Aleksei Oleinik beating Fabrício Werdum also on the cards, and controversial former Dallas Cowboy Greg Hardy win his PPV debut. The rest of the night's fights did not go the distance: featherweight Calvin Kattar notched a TKO win over Jeremy Stephens, while the night's shortest work belonged to Francis Ngannou who took all of 20 seconds to knock out Jairzinho Rozenstruik.

The two main events of the evening saw a bantamweight title fight matching 2008 Olympic gold medal wrestler Henry Cejudo from the Bay Area against former titlist Dominick Cruz, and the champion handed a late 2nd round KO to the challenger and then announced his retirement from the Octagon. And the night's last bout saw former World Series of Fighting titleholder Justin Gaethje put on a flurry of punches to score an upset over Ultimate Fighter 13 champion Tony Ferguson and gain the interim lightweight belt, now awaits a possible date with champ Khabib Nurmagomedov.

One other notable fight on the preliminary card was a women's strawweight bout matching the first champion in that weight class, Carla Esparza, and another former champion from the Invicta promotion, Michelle Waterson. If you watched Champs vs. Stars I two years ago - and with the athlete & celebrity-filled spinoffs now airing on the CBS Sports Network, "The Karate Hottie" was on Team Stars that also included Justina Valentine, Ex On The Beach's Romeo, Shawn Johnson and of course Terrell Owens. She was a top-ranked fighter in her early years and beat Paige Van Zant in a main event in 2016 to earn title shots which she hasn't yet converted into titles in the UFC.

In her fight, it went the maximum and was left in the judges hands, which saw them had a split points decision to Esparza. After that fight in the Instagram pic below, Michelle was all but smiles as she captioned: "Blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love, learn and the grow as a marital artist. Just like in life, the fight doesn't always go your way. Thank you for the dance @carlaesparza1 thank you @danawhite and all the @ufc staff for making this happen! Also want to thank all my teammates and coaches who gave me their time and energy. I have the most amazing people in my corner! And i have the most amazing fans! Thank you for always showing me love."

And for a bout delayed by a month because of COVID, Waterson's return to the Octagon would fall on, of all things, Mother's Day weekend... and she got to celebrate that springtime weekend - at least through the TV screen back home - with her biggest fan (aside from her Armed Forces husband) in her 9-year-old daughter Araya, one who her mommy refers to as the "Karate Cutie."

View this post on Instagram

Blessed to have the opportunity to do what I love, learn and the grow as a marital artist. Just like in life, the fight doesn't always go your way. Thank you for the dance @carlaesparza1 thank you @danawhite and all the @ufc staff for making this happen! Also want to thank all my teammates and coaches who gave me their time and energy. I have the most amazing people in my corner! And i have the most amazing fans! Thank you for always showing me love @joshuagomeznm @mmacoachwink @baratagb @smokin_joe_jwmma @izzystylewrestling @gregjacksonmma @doc.chandon @masteryaiyai @karatecutie @hollyholm @rymarzfreitas @captainkealohi @its_willie_v @mrsborg_mma @nashtybusiness92 @lydiapwarren @celinehaga @tevindyce

A post shared by Michelle Waterson (@karatehottiemma) on May 10, 2020 at 4:20am PDT

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

Inside MTV Reality: The Challenge WRAP - Total Madness Episode 7

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Hello again and we bring you back to DCBLOG, where we are seven weeks into The Challenge: Total Madness and things have gotten more juicy as we roll along with things at a brisk pace.

After what went down in previous weeks, last week saw a tension convention in nominations among the losers that now may have a Young Buck staring down a possible trip to the next men's purgatory. We also saw fireworks erupt among the latest threesome of ladies to possibly take over the next generation of challengers. And lost in all this, we had an elimination battle that saw proof that taking a gamble can be as complicated in this game and prove that even what has been going on back home doesn't factor in what really matters.

After the jump, a brief overview of what went down on Week 7 before what does down tonight in a double elimination taking place. See you soon.