Ranking The Challenge All Stars 2 Cast by How Much I Want to See Them Back
After last season of The Challenge All Stars I ranked every player by how much I would like to see them back for another season of All Stars. Well, I am back to do the same for the cast of All Stars 2 as well. I know that All Stars 3 has already been filmed and some of these folks are on it. But this is more about how much I personally want them back and not about how likely I think they are to be back. So without further ado, here is what I think about the entire cast of All Stars 2 in terms of who I want to see return for more.
I’m Good with Them Not Coming Back
24. Leah Gillingwater
I liked getting to see people like Leah brought on to seasons of All Stars. She was a person that was pretty easily forgotten and it was interesting to see what she is up to with her life. However, I really do not need to see her back again. Instead I’d much rather see another person who was on a season or two back in the day get that chance and see if they shine.
23. Ryan Kehoe
Ryan has always been a pretty unimpressive competitor in terms of athletic ability and looked to be in worse shape compared to some of his better seasons like Duel II & Fresh Meat II. On top of that, he rarely brings much to the show in terms of drama. So although I really think Ryan is a nice guy, I think this should be the end of the line with bringing him back. I would not be actively mad if he was on another season, but I just am much more interested in 90% of other past competitors.
22. Katie Cooley (neé Doyle)
Don’t get me wrong, Katie is an absolute legend and was one of the best personalities on The Challenge for years. I was really excited to see her name on the cast list for All Stars. But she lost the tenacity she had back in the day. I hoped it might change but at this point, they won’t stop doing heights dailies and she won’t stop going in early because of it. Maybe I’d like her back on a different show like Road Rules Homecoming. Some show that is less purely physical might be a better fir for her. However, her terrifying fear of heights means that The Challenge has moved past Katie in my opinion.
21. Cohutta Grindstaff
I know there are a number of people who love Cohutta and I am sorry to disappoint you, but I find him to be one of the most boring people on the show. Each season he gives one or two good “aww shucks, I’m a country boy and don’t get something” type confessional. He is an incredibly average competitor with big weaknesses in his physical strength, puzzles, and height. He gets along well socially and back in the day he used to get in some relationship drama, but now that he is in a committed relationship so that is not even an option anymore. He by all accounts is a nice guy who got incredibly unlucky this season. However, I don’t need to see him back just to get halfway through the game by being really average in the dailies and then gettting thrown in and destroyed in physical eliminations when all of the house targets are gone.
I Don’t Need Them Back Immediately
20. Derrick Kosinski
Derrick is certainly a Challenge Legend and he is one of the top competitors, but he has gotten really grating recently and just feels like he is forcing things. On All Stars 1, he was following around Mark all season and this season he tried to be the ringleader. Between being the vocal leader and the joker, he keeps trying to be someone he is not. Derrick is really good as the likable underdog and the guy who gets so hyped up by the thrill of competition and having fun in the house. But I get the impression from Derrick that he feels like he needs to be more bombastic in order to keep getting the callback. I’d be way happier to see him act more genuine. I expect him to keep getting the callback, but there are many people I want to see more.
19. Sophia Pasquis
Sophia is similar to Leah for me. I had not thought about her in a while but it was nice to see her again after all this time. The difference is the fact that Sophia showed herself to be a more reasonable athlete. She also got pretty screwed over by Ayanna which was an entertaining dynamic I’d be interested to see again (assuming they bring Ayanna back also). I think Sophia is a good option to give another shot, but she does not feel like a necessity. Maybe having her as an alternate again if someone backs out is a good option.
18. Steve Meinke
Steve was a really delightful surprise this past season. He was only ever on The Gauntlet previously and was not particularly memorable, but this season he did pretty well in some of the dailies (even winning trivia). He was willing to make a big move in the game by throwing in Derrick against Brad and was pretty entertaining, between joking about Derrick’s outfit and betraying his old castmate Katie. I do not necessarily want to see him on every season, but he’d be an interesting choice for someone to have back again to see if he brings a similar spark.
17. Derek Chavez
Derek has never been that great of a competitor in his challenge career, but it felt particularly bad seeing him as the first one out this season considering the tragic situation with his younger sister. He has a fun personality and seemed like he was in better shape than he has been in the past, so maybe give him another shot in a few seasons?
Sure Why Not?
16. MJ Garrett
The way that I view MJ is as a strictly better version of Cohutta. He is also a relatively quiet personality who will pop up occasionally with a handful of good confessionals. The major difference is that MJ is a much better physical competitor than Cohutta. I would be happy enough to see him back, particularly since I always like to see the past champion get a chance to defend their title. Aside from that he is a good but not great competitor and tends to play an under-the-radar game where he is one of the weaker competitors in the alliance with all the top dogs (for example this season with Darrell & Brad, Duel II with Landon, Mark & Brad and Gauntlet 2 with Alton, Landon & Jamie).
15. Laterrian Wallace
Laterrian is an absolute bruiser of a physical competitor. He has a ton of heart and intensity which is nice to see in a competitor. He got a bit unlucky, getting downgraded from having Kendal as a partner to Jasmine this past season. I like that there is an element of chance with Laterrian. He has some clear weaknesses compared to others especially in puzzles. But at the same time he won the minifinal on All Stars 1 against a really tough field and I genuinely do not know if anyone could beat the man in pole wrestle. He is the kind of person I am never going to be mad to see back, but I also don’t think I would jump for joy to see him on the next cast list.
14. Janelle Casanave
Janelle was someone who I had as a big question mark going into All Stars 2. She had one great result back in the day winning Inferno 3, but also got humiliated by Jillian on the Gauntlet III. She proved this season that at a minimum she is fully capable physically, even if she was a pretty boring tv personality. In that case, since she is a good competitor and we have not seen that much of her, I would be fine with her being back.
13. Tyler Duckworth
Tyler had a relatively quiet run during All Stars 2, playing the middle through the first half of the season. Then, the game caught up to him when he got one of the last picks for partners and ended up losing the daily. He is still a really entertaining personality and I would be hoping to see him come back and play a more active game. I get the impression that Tyler himself realized that he needs to change his game if he comes back to be successful. I am hopeful that Tyler will be brought back since he also brings levity to the house and is strong in confessionals but he is not someone I see as a necessity.
Yes but Something is Holding Me Back
12. Casey Cooper
Casey really impressed me this season since she showed up with way more fight than she has in the past. Casey has always been a fun personality, but this season she was willing to make the big move by pitting Derrick against Brad. Casey is what I wanted Katie to be. Since coming back for All Stars she does not back down from the drama and is entertaining in confessionals. Unlike Katie, Casey was actually willing to face her fear of heights and wants to be there and stay out of eliminations. In comparison Katie volunteered to go in during All Stars 1. We also didn’t get to see a complete season from Casey on All Stars 2 since she had to leave due to her pregnancy. I think her personality makes up for the fact that she is one of the weaker competitors, but could understand people arguing that she is too weak.
11. Jasmine Fougere (née Reynaud)
Jasmine was awesome to see back this season, particularly with getting to see her back again interacting with her old Cancun castmates Jonna & Derek. She is a really fantastic tv character to this day, even if she is not breaking ceilings as frequently nowadays. Even though Jasmine is one of the weaker physical competitors she has so much heart which makes her incredibly easy to root for. What is holding her back a bit for me compared to others is that similar to Casey, Jasmine is also not the best athlete. I understand the argument for wanting more strong competitors on the show.
10. Tina Bridges (née Barta)
Tina is probably the person who I was most excited to see return for this season. While she was there Tina absolutely delivered with cutting confessionals, made big game moves, got into arguments, and even performed well in the daily challenges. Her rivalry with Jodi was great, especially considering the roots go all the way back to one of my favorite moments from The Inferno II where Jodi pulled a shady but great game move by manipulating the game rules. The only thing that keeps Tina from the absolute top is that she quit this season. I understand her stated reasoning that she “Did not want to act like that anymore,” but with her rumored to be on the All Stars 3 cast that comes across as significantly less genuine to me and more like the kid who gets mad and takes his ball and goes home.
Yes Please, I Really Want Them Back Soon
9. Darrell Taylor
Darrell is undoubtedly an icon on The Challenge and one of the top competitors of all time. He has gotten close but has been unable to pull out the win during both All Stars seasons. He has been a good character on All Stars and definitely given it some legitimacy in its level of competition. I am always happy to see him back but he has been on the show consistently enough that I don’t get the same kind of excitement as I do for someone coming back that has not been back in a while.
8. Kendal Darnell (née Sheppard)
Kendal was one of the absolute stars through the first season of All Stars with me putting her second on this list after last season. This season she was much less visible, which makes sense since she was less of a house pariah and ultimately got disqualified from an injury about midway through. She is one of the top female competitors and was a pretty messy game player throughout the first season of All Stars. I was really disappointed to not see her play out the game this season and I really hope to see her back more.
7. Jodi Weatherton
Jodi was someone I was really happy to see making her return on All Stars 2. While she has never been that big of a personality, she does have a tendency to get into drama. This is because she plays a really snakey game but then claims not to be and gets upset when people call her out for how she plays. On top of that, Jodi is also one of the top best women competitors that have ever been on the show from a competition standpoint. She was not brought back enough during her first run on the show, and this season she got taken out right before the final. I really hope she is not forgotten about on All Stars going forward.
6. Brad Fiorenza
Brad played a really great season on All Stars 2 and he and Jodi looked like they had the odds on favorites with one elimination remaining. However, he ended up out of the game right before the final when he made a dumb mistake. Brad is an interesting case where I feel like some people massively underrate him, calling him an awful competitor which is absolutely not true but then I feel others have responded by massively overrating him. I think of Brad as somewhere between the top 15 & 20 men of all time, but he also has some definite volatility to him. Examples of his chaos include him getting in the fight with Darrell on the Ruins, his “midlife crisis” Britini on Vendettas & Final Reckoning and just tearing the boxes apart in the final daily this season. He brought a lot to this season and I would be happy to see him become a regular for the All Stars seasons.
They Better Be Back
5. Nehemiah Clark
I will fully admit that I was rooting for team “Save the Palace” and have always been a Nehemiah fan from back in the day (The Real World Austin was one of the first Real World seasons I watched). Even without that, I think he has brought a lot more to All Stars than he did in past seasons. He has been one of the top competitors and a driving force in the storylines of both seasons. I like that he has a different vibe of quiet confidence compared to some other strong competitors like Derrick or Jordan or Johnny Bananas who all feel like they need to be the loudest one. I also think The Challenge is at its best when there are two defined sides, and Nehemiah has always been willing to go against the big alliances. I think he is a good staple for the All Stars franchise.
4. Melinda Collins (neé Stolp)
Melinda was a major surprise for me this season. She was never a big factor in her previous seasons and going into All Stars I was not excited about her return. However she was in significantly better shape this season, winning both a daily challenge and at least one elimination (two of you count Tina’s forfeit. She makes for interesting television with her storylines on previous seasons surrounding her relationship with Danny and her moment of vulnerability regarding her miscarriage helped bring more spotlight to something very difficult that many go through. I have fully turned around and would now be thrilled to see Melinda again for more All Stars.
3. Jonna Mannion
Jonna has really had a coming out party of sorts in terms of her athletic ability across the two All Stars seasons. She has always been an entertaining personality but was often considered a lay up during her time on the regular Challenge. However she was one of the top finishing women in the All Stars 1 final and now walks away with the win on All Stars 2. She was one of the main characters throughout this whole season and it would be absurd to not have her back to defend her title on more All Stars seasons.
2. Teck Holmes
Teck has been incredible for both seasons of All Stars both as one of the most entertaining tv characters particularly in confessionals and he has also completely held his own physically. I think it’s amazing that he was not someone that the show invested more in back in the day. He has a lot of fight like when he got physical in the elimination against a much larger Steve. He also was a really supportive partner most of the time while being tethered to one of the most chaotic players in the game. I would be incredibly disappointed if we don’t get more Teck in the future.
- Ayanna Free (neé Mackins)
I will be honest prior to this season I mostly remembered Ayanna just for her “I slept in my uniform” moment and getting removed from Extreme Challenge for violence. Ayanna has taken this opportunity remind people that she is an incredible reality tv personality. Between her beasting two elimination, the drama of her throwing in Sophia in episode 3 and of course everything that went on with the Greek salad drama both between her and Jasmine and between her and Jodi. Ayanna also was a strong competitor who has only gotten better since running out of gas in the final with her apparently losing an additional 30 pounds since. Ayanna carried the show entertainment wise for several weeks and I would be so pissed if this is the last we see of her.
