The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Olivia Kaiser

In the span of 18 months, Olivia Kaiser went from the future female face of The Challenge to now a weird role where she’s a “villain” who truly has no desire to even be a villain. I don’t think we’ve ever seen such a dropoff between an immediate ascendance to an instant fall-off since Ashlee Simpson got caught lip-syncing on SNL. One could argue Dee between War of the Worlds 2 and Total Madness, but I don’t think Dee was anywhere near as beloved.

Olivia is back for Season 40, and the question now is whether she can forge a path that will make us forget about Battle For A New Champion.

Olivia’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)

Introducing Olivia:

Olivia’s original reality show was Love Island USA Season 3. I’ll be upfront in saying I’ve never watched Olivia’s Love Island season or Love Island USA in general. That said, the consensus wrap I’ve heard is that Olivia seemed to play her experience a bit strategically rather than for love, which worked as she won the season.

The first exposure that most Challenge fans and I had for Olivia was Ride or Dies, where she and Horacio came in as “additions” to the game midway into the first episode. On Ride or Dies, Olivia had an elite rookie season, where she and Horacio racked up elimination wins and made it to the Final. Olivia, specifically, though, was really at the core of the show, where she was heavily featured in confessionals as both a narrator and comedic relief. Additionally, she was part of the main plot as she & Horacio were nominated for elimination after elimination. On top of all that, Olivia had her showmance with Nelson. From a casting standpoint, Olivia was a triple threat because she competed at a high level, had a showmance & drama, and could show charisma in confessionals.

And then, during Ride or Dies Final, a freak accident happened with a slingshot that resulted in Olivia’s face getting shattered. It was a brutal scene yet also heart-tugging because, with her face all bloodied, Olivia was crying and pleading to still compete with Horacio because she felt so bad for him, and then he felt so bad for her. Although it was an awful accident, it was a superstar-making moment for Olivia, reminiscent of when Cara broke her hand on Free Agents. From that moment on, I thought Olivia would be the female face of The Challenge based on the way the fandom was behind her.

Then Olivia goes on Battle For A New Champion, a season with no Champions, where she’s already one of the most experienced players and entering with multiple pre-game alliances…It felt like a season set up for Olivia to dominate and win. Instead, Olivia didn’t stand out in the daily challenges, spent much of the early season nowhere near the game’s plot, and mainly existed as someone judging her friend’s decisions rather than having a storyline for herself. When Olivia finally got thrust into the plot, she turned her back on her best friend (Nurys) and former partner (Horacio) in a move where she got politically manipulated by Jay (& Michele). The move was historically awful for Olivia because the alliance, which had been targeting her friends, gave Olivia a chance to pull a savvy move and save them all, and rather than being loyal & smart, Olivia played a scared game that didn’t even pay off as they all threw her into elimination the following week.

It was a catastrophically bad move by Olivia, and the worst part was that she had instant regret. Rather than being a cold, calculated villain move, it was someone betraying their friends and tarnishing their reputation for nothing… It’s hard to imagine that fans will ever come close to Olivia as much as they did after Ride or Dies, which, if she can somehow achieve, hats off to her. I’m rooting for it because, to me, it would be one of the most impressive Challenge turnarounds ever.

Player Vitals & Stats

Olivia Kaiser: 31 Years Old, 5'7, 2 Seasons, 1x Finalist, 3–1 Elimination Record, 4th place on Ride or Dies

Skills and Physical Strength:

One of the most bullshit things I saw after the fallout of Olivia’s betrayal of Horacio, Nurys, and Kyland was people online just lying that Horacio completely carried her on Ride or Dies.

I watched Ride or Dies, and while Horacio was clearly the better physical competitor, Olivia more than held her own and proved competent in almost every daily challenge as a rookie. Whether it was strength, cardio-based, carnival games, heights challenges, or required teamwork and communication, Olivia and Horacio were always in the hunt. Not to mention, in their Hall Brawl elimination, Olivia won three rounds against Ravyn, while Horacio dropped a round to Johnny.

I won’t sit here and lie to you that Olivia is the next Laurel or Tori or Janessa. At the same time, I need people to know that Olivia has the size and natural athleticism to be pretty damn good in any daily challenge. While I’m unsure if she has the competitive drive to become a kickass dominant competitor — she’s never going to be bad.

SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:

Coming off Battle For A New Champion, the immediate thought is that Olivia is likely going to have a giant target on her as nobody who just played with her can trust her. Well, they didn’t cast many people from 39 on 40. Yes, Nurys, Horacio, and Kyland will likely target her — except they’re only 3 people in a 40-person cast. Olivia made loads of friends doing Ride or Dies and appearing at 87 Challenge Mania’s. She also has a natural ability to gab and make friends. I think Oliva is likely in a better spot than Nurys if we’re being honest. She enters the game with strong connections to Derek & Michele, and if you haven’t noticed from all the social media posts, Olivia seems to be in a relationship with Theo Campbell after this season.

Puzzles, mental comps, and strategy are all clear weak spots for Olivia. Her indecision on Season 39 killed her and she never really showed any individual puzzle ability. I don’t think Olivia is a zero when it comes to puzzles, but I would say she’s below average.

Eliminations & Winning Potential:

Look, Olivia “won” three eliminations on Ride or Dies; except two of them came with heavy crowd involvement. The one elimination she won without crowd interference was a very impressive Hall Brawl beatdown of Ravyn, which has aged much better after seeing Ravyn thrive as a physical competitor on Battle For A New Champion. Olivia has the size and build to give almost anyone on this cast some trouble in a headbanger elimination.

My only question is whether she will come into this season with a competitive edge. On Ride or Dies, she was completely checked out by the time of her elimination with Nurys and James. If that’s the type of competitor who shows up, then Olivia will be a cakewalk opponent for everyone else in the game.

Can Olivia win? I’m going to outright say no. Olivia is a good player; unfortunately, this cast is stacked with elite players who have more experience than her. Just making the Final on a season like this would be a crazy achievement.

Olivia’s Overall Rating: 82/100

Previous Ratings I’ve Given Olivia:

Battle For A New Champion: 86/100