The Challenge All Stars 3 Player Preview: Laterrian Wallace
It’s surreal to think just recently that we hadn’t seen Laterrian on a Challenge in over fifteen years. He basically stayed off the grid social media-wise, and then suddenly these OG spin-offs become a thing, and now he’s back for his third straight season. Talk about a welcome surprise because Laterrian has brought an intense energy to the show, has shown so much of himself that we didn’t get to see in his original run, and he’s become one of the Kings of the Pole Wrestle. Even though Laterrian has had success and stand-out moments in these All Star spin-offs, he is yet to make a Final in a season where players can get eliminated in any way. He is hungry to make it to a Final finally and hopefully win.
LT’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)
Introducing Laterrian: After making his way onto Reality TV through the Road Rules Maximum Velocity, Laterrian debuted on one of the original seasons: The Extreme Challenge. Immediately, Laterrian became recognized for being a muscular intellect. While his body and fitness were top priorities, he enjoyed reading and graduated from school with a degree in biology. Despite being an impressive human, Laterrian didn’t have much success on the show. The Road Rules team lost most of the challenges on Extreme Challenge, and he never took home a daily challenge Team MVP award. There were no eliminations on the season either, and his team lost the Final challenge. Despite being an intelligent guy in great shape, Laterrian didn’t have the natural knack for the goofy carnival games or extreme high-stakes challenges. Laterrian wasn’t built for the show’s early days as a competitor.
He came back for Battle of the Sexes 1 and was the second guy out (first voted out) in an 18-person male cast due to poor performance. Laterrian later returned for the Gauntlet 1, where he didn’t stand out much and eventually got demolished by Alton in an elimination. Then it seemed as though we would never see him again…that is until All Stars.
Laterrian stepped up to be the captain for the first daily challenge, a rookie mistake as he had to go directly into elimination when his team lost. He faced Ace Amerson in Pole Wrestle, and that’s when his Challenge career changed. When Laterrian debuted on the challenge, eliminations literally did not exist, and by they weren’t even introduced until his final season. Eliminations weren’t as physical as a Pole Wrestle back then, either. For the first time, Laterrian got to show the beast inside as he manhandled Ace en route to one of the most dominant Pole Wrestle wins ever. He continued to find success, winning the mini Final alongside Kendal, proving to be strong mentally and physically. Ultimately, he went down while partnered with Katie in an intense elimination against The Godfather Mark Long & Kendal. Even though he lost, Laterrian changed the narrative of his Challenge career.
On All Stars 2, Laterrian joined the King’s Palace alliance consisting of Teck, Nehemiah, and Melinda. He was the fierce enforcer of the group, competing with loyalty and passion. Laterrian looked formidable with Kendal as his partner going into the partner phase. Unfortunately, Kendal tested positive for COVID and got removed, leading Laterrian to fend for himself against Tyler in a Pole Wrestle. He overcame Tyler’s weight advantage to pull a dominant 2–0 win. After that, Laterrian got Jasmine as a partner, where the two had little chemistry, and fell short against Nehemiah & Melinda in the elimination arena. Laterrian has gone far into both All Stars seasons yet has not reached the Final.
Player Vitals & Stats
Laterrian Wallace: 44 Years Old, 6'0, 185 lbs**, 3 Seasons, 0–1 Elimination Record, 1x Finalist, 2 All Star Seasons, 2–2 All Star Elimination Record
Skills and Physical Strength:
Laterrian’s biggest strength is his raw physicality and brute force. Fitness has always been a big part of his life. Laterrian has the power to go against heavyweights and the cardio to keep up with the rest.
Where he struggles is everything else that generally goes into daily challenges. Laterrian’s not the most adept when it comes to heights, he is a below-average swimmer, and in most daily challenges, he either lacks the experience most of the men do, or he’s just going against stiff competition. In the aggregate, Laterrian might be fantastic at daily challenges; the problem is everyone else on the cast is a former champion, and 8 out of 12 are multi-time champions. So Laterrian is going against the cream of the crop. He needs to stick to what he’s good at and make sure he doesn’t come in last in any daily challenges.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:
He enters the game with Nehemiah and Melinda, forcing me to assume he will have Wes on his side by proxy. Having Wes & Nehemiah on his side is a blessing and a curse. Those two will make a concerted effort to rally numbers their way, something Laterrian would likely not try to do on his own as he tries to stay low-key. At the same time, their efforts will put a target on themselves, and Laterrian could end up in the crosshairs quickly.
From a political/strategic standpoint, Laterrian is extremely loyal to those who have his back and will fight for those people. He does need to play a little bit more for himself going forward. On the mental side, the guy is naturally brilliant and did a stellar job memorizing patterns and working with Kendal during the mini Final of All Stars 1. Then again, on All Stars 2, he and Jasmine faltered mentally, coming in last in a daily, and later had no communication during their elimination against Nehemiah/Melinda. LT is hit-or-miss in mental challenges.
Eliminations & Winning Potential: We have never seen Laterrian win a non-Pole Wrestle elimination. I need to see him pull out a win in a Knot So Fast or a puzzle game before I can definitively say he’s a good elimination player. Again, it’s tough to compare because he will be facing a champion in any elimination match-up.
Can Laterrian win All Stars 3? No. I’m not trying to be mean because, on paper, Laterrian has most of the skills you want in a final. Laterrian is super fit, mentally capable of solving puzzles, and has the individual heart and desire to win. It comes down to the fact that he has no experience running a real Challenge Final, and he’d be going up against people who not only have that experience, but some are the best Final runners the show has ever seen. I would love to see Laterrian make it to the Final to test himself, and if he succeeds, I think he could pull out a win in a future season. As it stands, I wouldn’t bet on him winning.
