The Challenge: Battle of the Eras looks to revive the competition series following a season of primarily newcomers competing for the win.
While viewers saw OGs and former winners appear as mercenaries to battle main cast members in Season 39 eliminations, many legendary players return to compete for the entire Season 40.
The new installment features a cast of 40 competitors selected from the 39 seasons of MTV’s The Challenge.
Some of the heavy hitters and superstars include Cara Maria Sorbello, Chris “CT” Tamburello, Jordan Wiseley, Johnny Bananas, Rachel Robinson, and Laurel Stucky.
Some of the cast from Season 39 also returns, including fan favorites like Nurys Mateo, Horacio Gutierrez, and Kyland Young.
While a recent trailer revealed plenty of intriguing scenes in its footage, some fans mentioned they felt it needed to show a bit more.
Fans react to Season 40 trailer’s lack of ‘drama’
On X, formerly known as Twitter, The Challenge shared their Season 40 trailer with the caption, “The same game you love like you’ve never seen it before.”
Viewers see footage of the four Era teams featuring 10 competitors from different eras of MTV’s franchise. Host TJ Lavin presents details about each team, from the MTV OGs to the newcomers on the show.
Footage shows blood, sweat, and tears as competitors battle in daily challenges, eliminations, and the mentally taxing political and social game that is The Challenge. Check out the complete trailer below.
While the trailer seems to have some fans excited, others expressed they were bored by not seeing enough in the footage.
“please keep in ALL the tea and fights!” one fan wrote in the comments.
“where’s the drama? new trailer please,” a fan wrote with a sleeping face emoji.
“No fights? ZzzzZZz,” another fan commented.
Another commenter suggested that viewers “watch the show for arguments and the competition is a side dish.”
“please show more beef bc I know you have the material,” the commenter said.
“where’s the drama?” a fan asked, with another commenting, “I’m so ready and pumped for this season.”
Recent The Challenge seasons featured arguments that didn’t make final footage
Viewers saw some fights and drama in recent seasons of The Challenge, although many fans believe the show gets too heavily edited. A significant example is how Season 37, also known as Spies, Lies & Allies, featured competitor Ashley “Millionaire” Mitchell in many episodes until her sudden “deactivation.”
The reason for her deactivation, which meant she was sent home from the show, wasn’t explained beyond the fact that she’d violated rules. Ashley appeared prominently for more than half the season before her mysterious removal.
However, rumors online suggested she had a heated altercation with a castmate and crossed the line with things she said to that castmate. Several cast members later confirmed it, but Season 37 episodes didn’t include the incident or any discussion of it by cast members.
Rumors suggested the recent All Stars 4 spinoff had some intense arguments between cast members, but they didn’t all make it into the final footage. That included cast member Janelle Casaneves deciding to leave the show, but the episodes possibly lacked a complete presentation of what led to her decision.
In the Season 40 trailer, viewers see hints of potential arguments and drama, including Amanda Garcia confronting castmate Tori Deal and Tina Barta yelling at someone off camera about castmates disliking them.
It’s unknown how much drama fans will receive when the Battle of the Eras episodes arrive. With 40 cast members, many things could be left out of the final footage.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras premieres Wednesday, August 14 at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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