Reintroducing the Cast of The Challenge: All Stars 2 Part 1 The Women
We finally got an official cast for All Stars 2 and I am excited as always for a new season so let's catch up with who we will be seeing when it premieres on November 11th. Starting off with the ladies…
Ayanna Mackins (Road Rules: Semester at Sea)
Last Seen… getting voted off early on Battle of the Sexes 2 because the only other options were Coral & Sophia who both were great that season making it all the way to the final.
Most Memorable Moment… Getting removed on Extreme Challenge for getting in a physical altercation with Christian when she misunderstood a conversation and thought he used a racial slur.
Who they know… It has been a while but Ayanna knows Teck from doing Extreme Challenge together 20 years ago, She and Laterrian did both Extreme Challenge & Battle of the Sexes together, and Katie, Sophia, Tina, Derrick & Brad were on Battle of the Sexes 2 with Ayanna.
How Excited I am for them to be back… 5 out of 5 Back in the day she was a fun personality, decent competitor and she is as OG as they come.
Can they win? Maybe, It has been a really long time but Ayanna was alright back in the day and looks in shape now. I think she has the same likelihood as Yes had of All Stars 1 (assuming there are both male & female winners).
Caseey Cooper (Fresh Meat)
Last Seen… Losing the final elimination to Susie on The Ruins
Most Memorable Moment… Winning a record-tying five eliminations in one season with Wes during Fresh Meat.
Who they know… Casey was an alternate for All Stars 1 with Sophia, Ryan & Cohutta and that group seemed to really bond. She did Fresh Meat with Tina, Derrick, Melinda, Ryan, Katie & Darrell. She was on The Duel with Jodi, Tina, Derrick, Nehemiah, Brad & Tyler, Gauntlet 3 with Janelle, Katie, Melinda, Nehemiah, Brad, Tyler & Ryan. She did The Ruins with Katie, Cohutta, Derrick, Darrell & Brad.
She is probably closest with Derrick and Ryan. She has been very involved with Derrick’s podcast Challenge Mania and she has known Ryan since they were Fresh Meat together and were both alternates together for All Stars 1.
How excited I am for them to be back… 3.5 out of 5 stars Casey is a lot of fun and gave absolutely fantastic confessionals back in the day but she is a major liability in challenges.
Can they win? No, Casey is great for the entertainment of the show and people forget that she is a solid runner (Wes did not win those exiles on Fresh Meat completely alone) but she is bad at pretty much everything else so I don’t think she can.
Jasmine Fougere (née Reynaud)(The Real World: Cancun)
Last seen… getting absolutely obliterated by Laurel at Balls In when she drew the kill card on Free Agents
Most Memorable Moment… Her & Jonna pulling off a major upset by beating Sarah Rice & Katelynn in a puzzle during Rivals
Who they know…Not too many people Cohutta was on Free Agents with her, Jasmine & Tyler were both on Rivals and Melinda was on Battle of the Seasons (2012).
Jasmine’s two big connections are her Real World cast mates Jonna and Derek. Jonna was her partner during Rivals, on her team during Battle of the Seasons (2012) and they did a 2 more Challenge seasons together. Derek and Jasmine were on a team together for Battle of the Seasons (2012) & did Rivals II together and he listed her as one of the people he is the closest to, in one of the promo videos released on The Challenge twitter account.
How excited I am for them to be back… 2.5 out of 5 stars Jasmine was always really loud and feisty on her previous Challenge seasons and I am hopeful that she brings that same kind of energy but she is definitely not someone I would consider an OG.
Can they Win? No, Jasmine is like Casey somebody who was a liability in Challenges but I will give her that she does have more heart. However Jasmine is both at a major disadvantage due to her size and looks to be lacking in terms of allies.
Janelle Rose (née Casanave)(The Real World: Key West)
Last Seen… getting humiliated in an elimination by Jillian early on in The Gauntlet III after bragging about being a champion.
Most Memorable Moment… Getting electrically shocked during a daily challenge on The Inferno 3
Who they know… Janelle competed on The Gauntlet III with several people including Katie, Melinda, Nehemiah, Brad, MJ & Ryan. She also won the Inferno 3 as a part of the Bad Asses team with Derrick. Her closest connection is her Real World roommate Tyler who was even in her wedding recently.
How excited I am for them to be back… 3 out of 5 stars Janelle is an OG by most standards but she is not somebody I would have had near the top of my list to see on All Stars.
Can they Win? Yes, Janelle won the Inferno 3 and then got humiliated the next season so I could see her havng a lot of motivation to prove herself. She looks to be in good shape coming in to this season and I would not be surprised if she talked to her “good friend” Johnny Bananas about what to expect on The Challenges nowadays.
Jodi Weatherton (Road Rules: X-Treme)
Last Seen… becoming the first individual Challenge Champion and walking away with the $150,000 prize.
Most Memorable Moment… It probably should be the win on The Duel but for me it has to be the whole messy situation between her Mark & Robin on The Gauntlet 2 which resulted in Mark punching a bus.
Who they know… Jodi did Gauntlet 2 with MJ & Katie, did The Duel with Tina, Casey, Tyler & Nehemiah and was on The Inferno 2 with Darrell & Tina . Jodi was friends with Brad back in the day since he was on all 3 seasons she did at worked with her in an alliance on The Duel but her number one will be the same that it has been dating back to Road Rules, Derrick. Derrick did every season that Jodi did and when asked who she still keeps up with very matter of factly she only said him.
How excited I am for them to be back… 5 out of 5 stars. I am thrilled to see Jodi back it was a shame that she was apparently never invited back after her dominant run on The Duel. Jodi was the person that was the hardest putting only as an honorable mention in my top people I wanted for All Stars 2.
Can they win? Absolutely! She is a huge threat to win this game she is a two time champion and was one of the top competitors. She has her number one Derrick who is well connected and Jodi is also a cutthroat game player willing to make moves. For Example on The Duel Jodi let CT gas himself out when they were paired for the first part of the final daily challenge so she could conserve energy for when it became individual halfway through.
Jonna Manion (The Real World: Cancun)
Last seen… finishing a really impressive tied (with KellyAnne)for third place and first place among the women on All Stars 1.
Most Memorable Moment… I was really shocked at how well she did in that final on All Stars 1 so that is what I am going to give it to.
Who they know… Jonna knows everybody who was brought back from the first season of All Stars so Kendal, Katie, Laterrian, Teck, Derrick, Darrell & Nehemiah. She also did Rivals with Nehemiah & Tyler.
However Jonna’s biggest connections are her The Real World: Cancun cast mates Derek & Jasmine. Derek and her both talked about eachother still being close in the promo video on The Challenge twitter they did Battle of the Seasons(2012) and Rivals II together. Finally Jasmine and Jonna were paired for Rivals, were part of a team on Battle of the Seasons (2012) and did Free Agents and Rivals II all together so I expect them to have eachother’s back.
How excited I am for them to be back… 3 out of 5 stars. She is not someone I consider an OG but I am genuinely happy to see her keep coming back especially since her storylines on her later seasons of the regular Challenge usually revolved around Zach being horrible to her.
Can they Win? Absolutely! Before All Stars 1 I would not have been as confident but she did a great in that final. It looks like if anything she is in eve better shape now then she was going into that season.
Katie Cooley (née Doyle)(Road Rules: The Quest)
Last seen…Losing in a tug o war elimination to Kendal during All Stars 1
Most Memorable Moment… Her run as the Inferno Queen during the original Inferno where half her team was trying to throw Challenges and get her off their team. She won two eliminations including one against a man and then proved herself to hold up fine in the Final and take home the win.
Who they know… Well everyone! Katie has incredibly done a season with every single person on the cast except Jasmine. She has always been pretty close with Derrick so I anticipate him being one of her stronger allies. Kendal and her are former real life roommates and they seemed good still during All Stars 1. Finally, Steve and Sophia are both from her original Road Rules season and according to Sophia they are still friends.
How excited I am for them to be back… 3.5 out of 5 stars Katie is absolutely an OG and that gave her a boost for me but like I said when ranking the All Stars 1 cast by how much I wanted them back her volunteering for elimination was not great and it felt like her heart was not in it.
Can they win? I really do not think so. Katie only won one season back in the day as a part of a big team. They do teams a lot less frequently, The Challenges have gotten more difficult and like I mentioned her heart seemed less in it on All Stars 1.
Kendal Darnell (née Sheppard)
Last seen… as a messy but absolute Bad Ass competitor on All Stars 1 losing the final elimination with Nehemiah.
Most Memorable Moment… It is hard to believe it considering her showmance with The Miz back in the day was iconic but her incredible run last season winning 3 daily challenges & 2 eliminations has topped that for me.
Who they know… Kendall knows the whole crew from the first All Stars so Laterrian, Teck, Nehemiah, Derrick, Darrell, Katie & Jonna. She also beat Leah in the Brick by Brick elimination so seeing how that effects things will be interesting. She and Katie are former roommates so I expect them to still be tight. Kendal’s number one has always been Darrell, they were on the same Road Rules, they won the Inferno together and he had her back 100% on All Stars 1 like when he coached her through the Knots of War elimination.
How Excited I am for them to be back… 5 out of 5 Kendal is awesome an as I said when I ranked the All Stars 1 cast by how much I wanted them back, she was one of the stars of All Stars 1 and is a great competitor. She was the exact kind of person I like seeing on All Stars and I am glad for her to keep coming back for more All Stars.
Can they Win? Definitely! Kendal is a huge threat to win as she proved throughout All Stars 1 particularly in the mini final. She is a bit of an erratic player which is not ideal. However Kendal is one of the top physical competitors and as long as she does not get in her own way can win.
Leah Gillingwater (The Real World: Paris)
Last Seen… competing in the most chaotic elimination round of all time which included one of the competitors streaking across the Inferno, CT screaming at Leah and The Miz berating Kendal and both teams erupting into chaos with the majority of the other Challengers getting drunk and fighting with each other all while Leah & Kendal kept moving bricks back and forth across a balance beam. She got smoked by Kendal but to her credit never gave up in an elimination that lasted three and a half hours.
Most Memorable Moment… having a panic attack and not being able to complete a heights mission.
Who they Know… She is probably the least connected person on the cast. Leah lost an elimination to Kendal on The Inferno where she also competed on with Katie and more notably Darrell who she had a showmance with that season with him notably running to her after the incident with her having the panic attack.
How excited I am for them to be back… 4.5 out of 5 stars. Leah like Janelle is not exactly who I had in mind as people I was hoping to see come back but she is an OG and I particularly am looking forward to see the potential awkwardness between her and Darrell.
Can they Win? I have no idea. Leah was not a great competitor back in the day but that really does not inform that much now. She does look and sound driven in the clips I have seen but it is truly a mystery to me how she will stack up in the competitions.
Melinda Collins (née Stolp) (The Real World: Austin)
Last Seen…losing an elimination with her ex-husband Danny on Battle of the Seasons (2012)
Most Memorable Moment… There is not much notable but what stands out to me is her getting bashed in the head during the middle of a daily on The Gauntlet III and Danny freaking out about it.
Who they Know…Melinda did Fresh Meat with Tina, Darrell, Casey, & Ryan. She was on Gauntlet 3 with Tyler, Brad, Casey, Ryan & Nehemiah. She did Cutthroat with Katie, Derrick & Derek and Battle of the Seasons (2012) with Jasmine, Jonna & Derek. In terms of her tightest allies Melinda was partners with Ryan on Fresh Meat and I think they are still friends but her biggest ally is probably Nehemiah who goes all the way back as her roommate on The Real World: Austin.
How excited I am to see them back… 1 out of 5 stars. as I said on my Ten Challenge Contestants who were on Too Many Seasons I do not understand why she was brought back so often. She was pretty boring on her seasons and a dreadful competitor but will at least give her the 1 star for being an OG.
Can they Win? No way! She was a truly abysmal competitor with an 0–4 elimination record across her Challenge career. On top of that she was even considered one of the weakest competitors on the dreadful rookies team during the Gauntlet III. She is the person I have the lowest for everyone on this cast when it comes to chances to win.
Sophia Pasquis (Road Rules: The Quest)
Last seen… losing in the Battle of the Sexes 2 final
Most Memorable Moment… leading the women’s team to one of their few wins on a challenge that mixed together pop culture trivia & jumping a bike off a mini ramp.
Who they Know… Sophia is a part of the alternates group who seemingly had a really good time on a vacation in Argentina earlier this year with Casey, Ryan & Cohutta. She also did Battle of the Sexes 2 back in the day with Ayanna, Tina, Brad,Derrick & Katie. Finally, Sophia said in the promo video on The Challenge twitter that she still keeps up with both Katie & Steve who did Road Rules: The Quest with her.
How I excited I am to see them back… 5 out of 5 stars. Sophia is a true Challenge OG she was a strong competitor on Battle of the Sexes 2 and an early pioneer for black queer women on reality tv.
Can they Win? Yes, Although it was a long time ago, she was one of the best competitors making it to the final for the women's team on Battle of the Sexes 2. Sophia looks motivated and seems in decent shape so she would be a good out of the box pick in my opinion.
Tina Bridges (née Barta)(Road Rules: South Pacific)
Last seen… allegedly throwing the heavy hitters elimination to Tori on Cutthroat as a “wedding present” for Brad(and Tori)
Most Memorable Moment… I mean its got to be punching Beth in the face during the first daily challenge on The Duel
Who they Know…Tina did The Gauntlet with Steve, Laterrian, Darrell & Katie. She did Battle of the Sexes 2 with Brad, Derrick, Katie, Sophia & Ayanna. Competed on Fresh Meat with Melinda, Ryan, Casey, Derrick & Darrell. Did the Inferno 2 with Brad, Derrick, Jodi & Darrell. Finally she was on The Duel for a very brief time with Nehemiah, Tyler, Casey, Jodi, Brad & Derrick.
Tina’s closest relationships are probably with Brad who she allegedly threw an elimination against his (at the time) fiancé to as a wedding present and with Derrick who she did multiple seasons with and made it to the end of Inferno 2 with.
How excited I am for them to be back…5 out of 5 stars. Tina is an OG legendary character from the earlier years of The Challenge. Would I have preferred to see one of her fellow “Mean Girls” Veronica or Rachel or another one of her old allies Coral? Yes, but that does not mean I am not happy to have Tina this season. She was one of my honorable mentions when I made a list of the top people I wanted for All Stars season 2 and I stand by that. Tina has been a good physical competitor, was great at confessionals and does not back down from a fight.
Can they Win? I think so. She had one really poor final performance where she was a major reason why the Bad Asses lost The Inferno 2 but after that she improved her running putting up a strong finals performance on Fresh Meat. Another underrated thing is she was a puzzle master back in the day. Tina never won back in the day but she looks in great shape right now and if she comes in ready like she did during Fresh Meat I think Tina could finally get her win after all this time.
