During The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, Tori Deal had several rivals lurking within the 40-person cast – each ready to potentially cause drama.
They included Amanda Garcia, who had to co-exist on the same Era 3 team with Tori, and former War of the Worlds 2 rival Cara Maria Sorbello.
Tori’s Amanda problem got eliminated early in the season, but Cara was one of the top contenders.
Due to that, Cara remained a potential finalist throughout most of the season, meaning she and Tori might butt heads.
However, she and Tori made amends during Season 40 and ultimately became friends before their elimination clash in the water.
During a recent episode of Johnny Bananas’ podcast, Tori revealed that there was an unaired conversation in which she received an apology from Cara.
Tori said Cara apologized to her during an unaired Season 40 conversation
It was a redemption tour for Cara Maria in her first full-time Challenge season since War of the Worlds. During a pre-season special, Amanda and Cara seemed to get on the same page despite Amanda’s previous trash talk toward her.
While Amanda and Tori might never be on the same page, Tori and Cara surprisingly squashed their previous beef. Bananas asked Tori during his Death, Taxes, and Bananas podcast if it was because Cara was running out of options for allies in the game.
“The reason why I say no is because a whole conversation with Cara and I happened that never made air,” Tori shared, adding, “It was way back when CT [Tamburello] was there because he witnessed the whole conversation.”
“Cara was basically like, ‘I just want to apologize for the years of hatred I’ve spewed your way. It was because I wasn’t on the show and you were,'” she revealed.
Tori called it the “most vulnerable” and “spot-on” thing she’d ever heard from Cara Maria and said it was “too real to be fake.”
Tori admitted that she also apologized to Cara for things she’d said about her over the years. As the game progressed, they became allies – later creating a friendship.
However, as Tori mentioned, her and Cara’s “vulnerable” conversation didn’t get into the final episode footage.
Tori and Bananas addressed speculation about ‘rigged’ elimination
During his podcast, Bananas mentioned how some fans suggested the final elimination seemed rigged in favor of Tori because it was in the water. Many fans slammed Season 40 for not having a different event for Tori and Cara to settle the debate over who might be better.
Cara’s swimming issues were mentioned previously during The Challenge, making it seem like she had no chance against Tori in their treading water elimination. Still, their battle went on for several hours, with Tori outlasting Cara to send her home.
“You are at the universe’s discretion, not producers,” Tori said about the show, adding, “Truly, if it’s meant for you, it’s meant for you.”
“I don’t think that anything is set up for anyone to win or for anyone to lose because these things are set up so far in advance,” she shared.
Bananas argued that fans also claimed Michele Fitzgerald got her elimination win against Cara on Battle For a New Champion because it was a puzzle, another of Cara’s weaknesses.
Regarding her water elimination win, Tori said Cara isn’t out there claiming it was a setup. However, Bananas mentioned that Cara wasn’t “clearing it up” and that she was allowing fan accounts to spread conspiracy theories.
“I personally don’t need Cara to go out and set the story straight,” Tori said, adding, “If people want to believe that, that’s on them.”
While Cara may not have specifically said the elimination wasn’t rigged against her, she appeared in a recent interview with Golden Derby praising Tori’s win.
“Everything just happens the way it’s meant to, and at the end of the day, Tori just pulled it out. She had a great season and she definitely earned it,” Cara said.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
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