Derrick Kosinski knows a few things about winning multiple eliminations and competing in finals on MTV’s The Challenge.
The OG initially appeared on Road Rules and later won three seasons of MTV’s competition series. He returned to compete in the first three seasons of the All Stars spinoff.
Derrick reached the final in that first season but was eliminated during the event’s first leg due to struggles steering a kayak or canoe.
While he’s not part of the All Stars 4 cast, he and Challenge Mania podcast host Scott Yager have been reviewing the season.
They recently highlighted the show’s eight finalists, which Episode 11 revealed, with Derrick praising a former All Stars castmate.
He shared that he felt that individual could become a more worthy All Stars winner than Yes Duffy in Season 1.
Derrick praises his former All Stars castmate as finalist
One of the eight finalists for All Stars 4 is another former Road Rules star, Steve Meinke, who debuted on MTV’s The Quest season. Steve appeared in just one MTV Challenge season, The Gauntlet.
He and Derrick were co-stars almost 20 years later for All Stars 2, although both got eliminated midway through the season.
In Steve’s return for All Stars 4, he’s been more impressive, winning several eliminations and robbing his castmate of their Star just before the final.
While discussing the various finalists on Challenge Mania, Scott mentioned that Steve and Derrick probably didn’t have the greatest history as castmates from their previous season. Still, he asked for Derrick’s thoughts.
“If Steve Meinke wins this thing, dare I say in Derrick Kosinski Gauntlet 2 fashion, going in one after another and taking people out along the way. Is Steve a worthy winner of All Stars Season 4?” Scott asked.
“Yeah, I think he is absolutely, and maybe more of a worthy winner than Yes [Duffy] was during All Stars 1,” Derrick said about Steve.
“A win’s a win, and he did it in form against three athletic dudes, and this would be the complete season for a competitor to win,” he said.
However, Derrick added that he felt Steve faced tough competition to beat in the final with MTV Challenge winners Cara Maria Sorbello and Laurel Stucky, as well as multi-time finalist Leroy Garrett. Derrick suggested that Leroy might struggle to defeat Cara or Laurel if there’s a puzzle.
Additional finalists competing for the win include Ace Amerson, Derek Chavez, Veronica Portillo, and Nicole Zanatta. Of those competitors, Nicole has twice appeared in Challenge finals, and Veronica is a four-time MTV show winner.
What is Derrick’s Challenge history with Steve?
While the two are Road Rules stars, they appeared in different seasons of the former MTV series. Steve was in Season 10, Road Rules: The Quest, with Adam Larson among castmates. Derrick was on Season 13, Road Rules: X-Treme, with future All Stars castmate Jodi Weatherton.
Following Road Rules, Steve was in Season 7 of The Challenge, The Gauntlet, aired in 2003. It featured OGs such as Adam, Alton Williams, Rachel Robinson, Tina Barta, Darrell Taylor, Mike Mizanin, and Theo Von.
However, Derrick was not part of this show, as he first appeared on MTV’s The Challenge two seasons later in Battle of the Sexes 2.
Fast forward to All Stars 2, filmed in 2021, and the two Road Rules OGs were finally castmates. That season was disappointing for both of them, as Derrick got eliminated in Episode 4 and Steve one episode later.
Early in that season, Steve commented to Derrick about his unique outfit choice, which Derrick took some offense to.
Both guys were also in different alliances. Steve aligned with Nehemiah Clark, Laterrian Wallace, Teck, and Melinda Stolp. Derrick worked with MJ Garrett, Cohutta Grindstaff, Brad Fiorenza, and Darrell.
In Episode 4, Steve won the daily challenge for the men. Derrick commented in a confessional that since he “took a shot” at Steve earlier, Steve would probably return the favor.
That was true, as Steve discussed his moves with Teck and Nehemiah, indicating he wanted to eliminate the “three-headed monster” of Brad, Derrick, and Darrell.
Ultimately, Steve’s strategic decision to nominate Jodi and Cohutta for the elimination forced them to use their Lifeshields for protection in the game. That set up an epic elimination of Brad versus Derrick, with Brad sending his friend and ally home.
As mentioned, Steve went home a season later. However, he’s now on an impressive All Stars 4 comeback, with Derrick indicating he could potentially outdo Yes’ Season 1 win.
The Challenge: All Stars 4 airs Wednesdays on Paramount+.
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