Cory Wharton will be one of the veteran competitors returning for The Challenge Season 37. Viewers previously saw Cory and his partner, “Killa” Kam Williams, competing for their share of $1 million on Double Agents.
Now, he’ll be back for The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies, but he and his fellow veteran stars of the show are outnumbered. That’s because there are 19 rookies and 15 vets competing for the $1 million on Season 37.
Cory recently gave his opinion on which rookies are the ones to watch and also teased his strategy for forming alliances in the upcoming season.
Cory names rookies to watch on Spies, Lies & Allies
In 2015, Cory officially debuted as a rookie on MTV’s The Challenge, competing on the Battle of the Bloodlines season alongside his cousin Mitch Reid. They’d reach the final and finish in second place, bested by Cara Maria Sorbello and her cousin, Jamie Banks.
That was his first taste of the final in his Challenge career. He’s been back three times in his eight seasons ahead of his Spies, Lies & Allies attempt. In his previous season, he and Kam failed to claim first place in Double Agents, but still got to split $100,000 for coming in second.
He’s still hungry for his first Challenge final win but will have 33 cast members also looking to win on Spies, Lies & Allies. That includes the many rookies from all over the globe. During an interview by Emily Longeretta for US Weekly’s Watch With Us podcast, Cory revealed his take on the top rookies for Season 37.
“We literally went all over the world to find the best agents that TJ [Lavin] could find, and now we have a season together,” Cory said.
He also mentioned having such a diverse cast in the house with so many different personalities and ways about them was “life-changing. He jokingly added that’s despite the fact he wants to “kill some of them.”
He’d go on to reveal the newcomers to look out for, which include Too Hot to Handle’s Kelz Dyke, who he called a “beast” at 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds. He also brought up soccer star Logan Sampedro from Survivor Spain and Survivor Romania’s Emanuel Neagu, who Cory said has “major Jordan [Wiseley] vibes.” He added Emanuel is “kind of good at everything.” Could that explain why there are rumors of Emanuel dating Tori Deal after filming?
Cory also went on to praise five of the new ladies joining the cast. They included Priscilla Anyabu (Love Island UK), Esther, Bettina Buchanan (Paradise Hotel Sweden), and Emy Alupei (Survivor Romania). However, Cory also brought up Tacha Akide on The Challenge, saying of her fans, “I’ve never seen a fan base like this.”
“I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Tacha Titans, but they’re legit,” Cory said. He added he was happy about the former Big Brother Nigeria star bringing more attention to The Challenge due to her loyal and supportive fans.
“All I can say is I’m a vet, and I’ll be damned if I’m gonna let a rookie come on my show and think they run my show,” he teased about the new competition.
“These rookies are bringing it this season, and they mean business. So we better be ready,” Cory also said.
The Challenge star teases Season 37 strategy
With rookies outnumbering the veterans, a smart strategy might be for all the veteran competitors to form a huge alliance and get rid of rookies one by one via eliminations. However, based on early previews, it appears to be partners this season, some of whom are rookies teamed up with veterans. During his Watch With Us interview, Cory teased his strategy when approaching Spies, Lies & Allies.
“This season, I think it’s safe to say that a lot of the vets are gonna stick together, and a lot of the rookies are gonna crumble,” Cory told Emily Longeretta.
Cory also mentioned that he used to be “that rookie” who wanted to get rid of all the veterans. Due to that, he understands that a lot of the rookies want to keep getting called back to the show by making a name for themselves.
By now, Cory knows all the veteran competitors pretty well and could easily just side with them. However, it appears he’s not necessarily going to limit his potential allies when it comes to The Challenge: Season 37.
“I’ll say this. I wanted to build my wall of protection, nice and tall. Why not cover all the bases?” Cory teased about the upcoming season.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies premieres on Wednesday, August 11 at 8/7c on MTV.
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