Top 10 Final Reckoning Pairs That Could Have Been
While Final Reckoning has a solid cast, it is always fun to consider the pairs we missed out on, the people we would love to have seen or maybe want to see in a future format. I found some of the most tantalizing rivals and exes the Challenge could have given us for Final Reckoning.
10 Josh Murray and Nick Viall
The Bachelor and Survivor will eventually find their way onto the Challenge. Josh Murray from the Bachelorette made an appearance on Champs vs Stars 2, making it to the final. Jasmine Goode and Chasey McNary, from the same franchise, appeared on MTV’s Ex on the Beach. If you were going to bring in a pair, bring in two athletic males who actually hate each other.
Nick and Josh were on Season 10 of the Bachelorette in 2014. Their antagonistic relationship culminated in Josh getting engaged to the girl, and Nick leaving heart-broken on finale night.
Two years later, Nick arrived on Bachelor in Paradise and hit it off with a girl named Amanda Stanton. A few days later, Josh washed up on shore and stole Amanda. This grinded Nick’s gears until he sparked a romance with a girl named Jenn. Nick and Jenn were planning to use Paradise’s boom boom room, except Josh never wants Nick to be happy:
In the end, Nick became the Bachelor, getting the last laugh in this rivalry. Both men were college athletes. Josh was a professional minor league baseball player while Nick set Wisconsin records in track and cross country and is currently a cross-fit junkie. These gentleman can compete.
9 Ashley Cain and Stephen Bear (or anyone and Ashley Cain)
You can replace the name Stephen Bear with Kayleigh or Melissa or someone else from the UK. The Challenge needs is Ashley Cain. He’s a former professional soccer player, a workout junkie with a temper. If I had to compare Ashley to a Challenge competitor, he would be a British CT — pre-dadbod. On Ex on the Beach UK: All Stars, he appeared draped in gold and had a threesome to start his stint on the show. Ashley could be a Challenge superstar. Imagine Hunter with a personality.
8 Kayleigh Morris and Jemma Lucy
During Ex on the Beach UK: All Stars, Kayleigh and Jemma argued throughout their duration on the series. Jemma hooked-up with Kayleigh’s ex Ashley Cain because she enjoys the sex and hated Kayleigh. Jemma’s stint on the show ended after she got into a physical fight with Kayleigh. Jemma is a 5'8 girl with a crazy body full of tattoos. She plays with boys and girls too! This team would have been so much fun to watch on Final Reckoning together.
7 Thomas Buell and Abram Boise
At first, I thought this would be a better on-paper rivalry than an actual one. When Abram blew up on Thomas during Bloodlines, everyone wanted this duo as a rivals pair. Now that a couple of years have passed and the two are a few seasons removed from the show, both have probably calmed down. Thomas likely wants to stay away from Abram, and Abram might not want to murder Thomas anymore. However, the idea of Cara Maria living in a house with Abram, Thomas, Paulie, and Kyle … maybe this pair should be #1?
6 Rogan O’Connor and Holly Hagan
If you remember correctly, Rogan was Kyle’s vendetta last season. They were vendettas because Rogan slept with Kyle’s ex-girlfriend Holly Hagan. The Geordie Shore co-stars had dated for three years before separating. Kyle is sitting too pretty on Final Reckoning as he has multiple girls into him and a beast partner. Bringing on the girl that he loved with a guy that he hates would result in a much different version of Kyle on our television screen.
Rogan is a potential gem who we lost too early on Vendettas. The dude is cocky and hilarious. If he flops, he flops. Regardless, he is going to have some good soundbites.
5 Jay Mitchell and Johnny Bananas
Ha.
4 Tori Hall and Brad Fiorenza
We have already seen a divorced couple compete together when Melinda and Danny were on Team Austin for Battle of the Seasons (2012). Except they are two of the worst players in Challenge history. Brad and Tori combined for 3 Challenge titles and 4 finals appearances during the three seasons they did together. Watching them air out their dirty laundry while competing together sounds like an absolute nightmare for them and a masterpiece for fans of good reality television.
3 Tina Barta and Beth Stolarczyk
Look … I know this duo might be the first team eliminated … but are you telling me you do not want to see a nearly fifty-year old Beth compete alongside quick-tongued Tina Barta? Tina was on a good challenge run where she performed decently in challenges and won three eliminations to make it to the final of both Inferno 2 and Fresh Meat 1. Her Challenge career ended when she threw one of the worst punches ever at Beth on the Duel 1. Whenever fans clamor for a comeback from some veterans, I usually roll my eyes. This duo would get me jumping out of bed.
The crazier thing is both are somewhat open to coming back.
2 Frank Sweeney and Nany Gonzalez
Both Nany and Frank have hinted in the past couple of weeks that they may want to return to the Challenge. Nany and Frank were both franchise cornerstones during their time on the show. Their fight on Battle of the Seasons is one of the craziest fights ever. Frank makes a comment about Nany’s sister having a heroine addiction. Nany then throws some homophobic slurs his way (though Frank closet shames Dustin). It is easily one of the best fights in Challenge history and resulted in Dustin’s epic line: ‘Hey, Catholic Schoolboy! You Wanna Get Street, Bitch?’
Returning together as a duo would be incredibly tantalizing and it infuriates me that it is not happening.
1 Wes Bergmann and Darrell Taylor
In all of Wes’s Challenge feuds, his rivalry with Darrell over the years is without a doubt the most underrated. The Wes and Darrell is so criminally underrated. During Wes’s first season, Darrell was part of the veteran coalition who voted Wes into five eliminations. Then, Darrell best Wes in the final and left the Challenge for a few years. Darrell is about winning and humbility, while Wes wants you to know he is winning and he is better than you. Wes went on to win the Duel and had a “retirement” from the show.
When they both made a comeback on the Ruins, Darrell was immediately against Wes. He especially despise Wes throwing challenges as it would take money out of his pocket. Darrell got into an argument with KellyAnne (Wes’s GF) that led to Wes almost fighting Darrell. I don’t think Wes wanted to fight, but he wanted everyone to believe he did, leading to his famous “DARRELL WANTS TO FIGHT ME” yell while being held by a couple people. On Fresh Meat 2, Wes guaranteed Darrell’s demise by even getting Kenny to agree to vote to put Darrell into the first elimination.
The two did not do another Challenge again until Champs vs Pros where Darrell took the title and Wes finished in 3rd in the final. Darrell and Wes are on good terms now, even having a fake social media feud to have fun with the fans. However, this duo is a rivalry still and needs to do a season together as partners before they are done.
