Regarding drama at The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion reunion, viewers saw second-place contestant Nurys Mateo involved in several segments.
None of those instances involved the former champions who appeared as part of the special.
Instead, Nurys aimed at her Season 39 castmates, including Jay Starrett and Olivia Kaiser, whom she felt did her wrong during the season despite being friends ahead of filming.
Meanwhile, several Challenge champions were in the building, who Nurys expected to have more drama during the event but didn’t.
She recently shared that she thought she’d see more interaction between Laurel Stucky and Cara Maria Sorbello based on their Challenge history.
Nurys said she was “shocked” that there was actually more drama with Tori Deal going after Cara, though.
Nurys ‘shocked’ by Season 39 castmates’ drama
“Taking a step back and as a fan, I wanted more drama between Laurel and Cara,” Nurys admitted while on Challenge Mania Podcast.
She mentioned the two champs’ “long rivalry,” which has existed throughout their Challenge careers.
“I enjoyed seeing them there together and seeing how they were going to interact- if it was going to be a lot more of them hating each other, but it wasn’t that at all,” she said.
Nurys also admitted she was “honestly shocked at Cara and Tori having this beef because I didn’t know that there was beef.”
She said often during the reunion filming that the topic would be something related to the Season 39 cast, but Tori would “change it to be about her and Cara.”
However, Nurys said Cara wasn’t taking the bait when Tori did this.
During Part 1 of The Challenge 39 reunion, an early segment focused on the cast’s alliances. Specifically, Jay and Michele Fitzgerald’s alliance, which featured many cast members, received some of the champions’ feedback.
After Cara shared her thoughts, Tori interjected, bringing up The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2. It led to a brief back-and-forth between the former castmates, with Cara explaining her side of why things happened the way they did.
Viewers saw Tori appear in Season 38, Ride or Dies, which she won alongside Devin Walker. That season also featured Nurys exploring a showmance with Tori’s ex-fiance, Jordan Wiseley, which led to some drama during the episodes.
War of the Worlds 2 featured Cara and Paulie’s alliance
During the War of the Worlds 2 season in 2019, Cara and boyfriend Paulie Calafiore orchestrated a large alliance in the game, keeping themselves safe from eliminations.
At one point in the game, their strategy involved targeting specific players on their Team USA side, including Tori and her then-boyfriend Jordan. It created a rift, leading Tori and Jordan to defect to Team UK after winning their eliminations.
There was also that infamous moment when Jordan proposed to Tori after winning an elimination, and Cara made a negative remark about the engagement.
Ultimately, she and Paulie reached the final along with Team USA castmates, including Zach Nichols, Kam Williams, Leroy Garrett, and Ashley Mitchell. However, Jordan and Tori were among Team UK’s finalists, along with Chris “CT” Tamburello, Rogan O’Connor, and Dee Nguyen.
Tori was purged out in an early leg of the final, while Jordan and the rest of Team UK won the final. Following Part 1 of the reunion airing on MTV, Paulie brought up Tori’s WOTW 2 mention, including that he found it “weird” since he and Tori are friends now. He also admitted part of his and Cara’s plan failed because he gassed out during the final.
Nurys and viewers may see more of Laurel and Cara’s drama. The Challenge: All Stars 4 was revealed for April 10 on Paramount+, with both former champs part of the spinoff show’s stacked cast.
The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion airs Wednesday, March 6 at 8/7c on MTV.
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