Challenge Vendettas Player Preview: Kyle Christie
Because of the abrupt release of Vendettas, I was not able to watch enough Geordie Shore in order to create a full opinion of Kyle from his shows for this preview. From what I have seen, I think we should be excited, and here are a couple clips to start us off:
Kyle’s friends from the Geordie Shore give their favorite memories of Kyle. Hilarious that most of them mention Kyle being super into his hair and looks. He is a bit famous in the reality television world for having paid to undergo hair transplants, including a beard transplant. Kyle Christie loves himself and his looks, making him perfect for this world.
Here’s a video where Rogan reacts to some of his most memorable fights with his ex-gf Holly Hagan. Holly is actually the girl who hooked up with Rogan O’Connor, leading to the Vendetta between the two. He has a decent sense of humor despite all the fighting.
From tracking online search results about Kyle, his life revolves a ton around his relationships with people, specifically females. His debut on the Challenge will follow a similar note:
You may or may not have seen this in the trailer, but Kyle is *rumored* to have hooked up with Cara Maria, and the two are currently “dating” without the label of boyfriend/girlfriend. She was teasing having a new guy in her life during her interview with Reality Steve a month ago. If you wanted more proof:
She took him to meet the family!!! He got to meet Challenge Champion, Jamie “Cuzz” Banks!!!
This man caught himself a big fish as a rookie.
Skills & Physical Strength: If you were ever wondering, yes, Kyle does have his own cook book to teach you how to gain muscle.
Kidding aside, Kyle cares a ton about his body, and is decently committed to fitness. According to a fitness profile of him from two years ago, Kyle stands at about 6'0 and in the 150–155 lb range, though I’d guess he is between 170–175 about now. If I had to compare his body to past competitors, optimistically you are looking at Shane Landrum (Invasion), Mitch Reid (Bloodlines), or a smaller version of Wes from Fresh Meat 1.
Kyle has the build of a soccer player. He has ripped abs, a decently large chest, and long legs built to run. If Kyle is a cross-fit type of athlete, I expect him to translate incredibly well to the missions on the Challenge, if he is a skinny guy who lifts a lot, then it might not go as well. He must have been a decent athlete to have impressed Cara. Then again, Thomas Buell was not a world class athlete.
Social, Mental, & Political Game: According to social media, Kyle and Zach became good friends on this season. He basically dates Cara Maria, was drinking with Devin in Boston this weekend, and coming into the season with other people from the UK.
Kyle hypes himself up as this social mastermind who is able to get people to like him. Maybe he wasn’t wrong. Cara Maria is the strongest girl in the house and will consistently be winning challenges. She will have power and say into who gets voted in, versus who doesn’t. Zach might be the best guy on the cast — he also has a voice in the game.
The Challenge loves to label players as political masterminds when they do very little in reality. Maybe Kyle could be the first person to enter the game as a rookie, and play these people as puppets. It’s scary how beloved he is by the other veterans, and that MTV let him to do a Facebook live for the Challenge. Big things could be in Kyle’s future.
Side-note: A major strength of Kyle could he his 1.5 millions Instagram followers (around double CT & Bananas followers combined). People on this show have been accused of being camera whores, imagine what they will do for a guy with that many followers around them.
Eliminations & Winning Potential: I do not like Kyle’s potential in elimination. A good body and size comparison for Kyle is Shane Landrum. Shane isn’t a slouch when it comes to size and strength when they have to lift weight, including their own. Their problems come from when they have go up against a bigger opponent who has more size, and sometimes more natural athleticism or burst.
In an individual game, it is hard to foresee a Kyle victory. With Bananas, Nelson, Zach, Brad, and others also hungry for the win, a Kyle win in his rookie season with low expectations would be kind of crazy. Based on how other people in the cast regard him, maybe there is something special we won’t see until the show airs.
Overall Rating: 76/100
