The Challenge: Vets and New Threats has an official premiere episode at the end of the month, but MTV unveiled a Day Zero special last week.
That special introduced viewers to the new rookies from shows like Big Brother, The Amazing Race, Survivor, Love Island, and Married at First Sight, as well as those from other backgrounds.
Additionally, the preview episode featured an early challenge where competitors had to hike a mountain and then return to the Challenge house.
The order in which competitors finished became essential for them when selecting a teammate later on.
Each team featured one veteran and one rookie, as per the format that host TJ Lavin had announced.
One of the rookies revealed some involvement in a sneaky activity with Cara Maria Sorbello that the episode didn’t include.
Rookie shares what he and Cara Maria did in Day Zero
Ben Davies was one of the rookies who had minimal screen time in the special. During his rookie interrogations, he informed host TJ Lavin that he came from the world of boxing, where he was a commentator.
Due to that, he didn’t necessarily fit the mold of a typical reality television star. However, he still participated in some sneaky or “dastardly” activity with one of the vets.
According to Ben, he and Cara were keeping a similar pace during that early mountain challenge in Day Zero. He also mentioned Turbo Camkiran and Dee Valladares were at a similar pace.
Along the way, there were also signs indicating which direction competitors should take on the mountain’s hiking path.
“I did kind of play a villainous card on this run down the mountain,” Ben explained to his co-host, adding, “I took one of the signs down the path showing which way- me and Cara Maria took one of the signs and put it somewhere else.”
He shared that once they got down the mountain, he overheard castmates on the trail getting lost. Ben said he felt bad after realizing what they had done.
That act wasn’t included in the episode’s final footage, but it appears to have played a role in the outcome.
Nonetheless, it didn’t necessarily cause anyone to be eliminated or disqualified. Instead, it helped determine the order of selection for teammates later in the episode.
Cara reacted to the Day Zero challenge
In her remarks after the Day Zero special, Cara seemed annoyed about having that mountain challenge right after getting to the airport.
She said vets felt they shouldn’t have been competing and instead should have been relaxing at The Challenge house, watching the rookies compete.
Don’t forget that there is a highlight in the Season 41 trailer, where TJ addresses some “cheaters.” It appears this happens in another episode. Cara had a stunned look on her face during that scene.
Season 41 vet shut rookie down during teammate selection
When it came to partnering with The Challenge veterans, most of the rookies had some ideas about who they wanted to work with going forward. During Day Zero, the selection was based on how they finished in the mountain hike competition.
According to the latest season’s format, teams consisted of one rookie and one veteran, and they had to be male-female pairs.
Amazing Race star Yeremi Hykel outdid everyone in the event and selected Aviv Melmed with the first pick.
Meanwhile, Ben said he’d hoped he and Cara Maria might team up, but it didn’t work out that way. Instead, Love Island UK’s Jake Cornish chose Cara before that could happen.
During his DNR podcast, Ben said that he asked Ashley “Millionaire” Mitchell if she wanted to pair up with him, because other castmates had already selected their preferred partners.
However, he shared that Ashley quickly turned down his request and shook her head, saying, “No.”
Ultimately, Ben ended up with Nany Gonzalez, who has extensive experience competing in The Challenge and significant connections. Ben indicated Yeremi had spoken about potentially picking Nany as his partner, so he felt good about the team-up.
The Challenge: Vets and New Threats airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
