What If Season 20 Was Heroes vs. Villains?
Being on the air for 20 seasons is a landmark accomplishment for any show.
The Challenge celebrated its 20th season back in 2010 with Cutthroat — a solid season with a great format — but there was nothing celebratory about it.
Whereas just one year earlier Survivor’s 20th season brought back arguably the greatest cast in the history of the show (All-Stars is its only competition), sparking one of the greatest seasons of all time.
What if The Challenge — which has not been a stranger of copying Survivor (see: The Island and Bloodlines) — had done a Heroes vs. Villains season of their own for season 20?
I’m going to put on my casting director’s hat and select what the cast of 32 would have been for that season, operating under the assumption that the appearance fee for the season would be much higher and lure back some people we hadn’t (and still haven’t) seen in awhile.
But I’m also going to try to be somewhat realistic, and take out people like The Miz, Theo Von, Jamie Chung, ect. who were deep into their careers in show business.
I’m also going to remove Timmy Beggy (as much as it breaks my heart) because of the long-term injuries he sustained on Inferno 3, and I’m not going to consider Tonya after her being perpetually blacked out on The Ruins and it being clear that the show wasn’t a good environment for her anymore.
Pretty much everyone else is fair game.
Heroes
Mark Long (Five seasons, three finals, two wins)- An easy pick, the original Road Ruler is considered one of the nicest guys to be on the show (whether or not that’s really true is debatable). He’s the Godfather, he’s an OG, and he is an obvious pick for the Heroes.
Landon Lueck (Four seasons, three finals, three wins)- This would have been immediately following his incredible win on Fresh Meat II, making Landon an obvious choice to be a hero. One of the most straight-forward players in Challenge history, Landon embodies the hero role.
Alton Williams (Three seasons, three finals, one win)- Reuniting the dynamic duo from Gauntlet 2, Alton and Landon once again would have been a force to be reckoned with. Remember, this would have been before his legacy-staining season on Battle of the Seasons, where he not only was disappointing competitively but was also kind of an asshole.
Derrick Kosinski (Eight seasons, four finals, three wins)- Another no-brainer selection, Derrick was coming off three consecutive victories and would have been looking to tie Darrell’s record of four in a row. A pitbull of a competitor and an overall good dude, Derrick is an easy pick for the Heroes.
Darrell Taylor (Six seasons, four finals, four wins)- Darrell was on a bit of a downward trajectory after fighting Brad on The Ruins and being the first boot on Fresh Meat II, but he still makes this cast easily.
At this point he still had the most championships all-time with four, and his fight with Brad wasn’t enough to make him be considered a villain.
Eric Nies (Three seasons, one final, one win)- Having an original Real World castmember and one of the series’ most popular males would have been great to see on this season. I’m sure he would have brought his jump rope.
Frank Roessler (Two seasons, one win)- Not too long after his improbable victory on Gauntlet III, Frank would have given the Heroes one of the most cerebral players in Challenge history.
Brad Fiorenza (Seven seasons, three finals, zero wins)- Despite being a great competitor, Brad would have probably been the third-worst male on the Heroes team and would fail to make the final, wiping out his only victory that he secured on Cutthroat.
Diem Brown (Five seasons, one final, zero wins)- The most obvious selection on the Heroes team, of course the woman who competed on the show with cancer has to be on the season.
Ruthie Alcaide (Four seasons, one final, zero wins)- Considered pound-for-pound one of the best females of all time, Ruthie was similar to Landon in that she focused on competition and didn’t care about politicking.
Coral Smith (Six seasons, four finals, one win)- Probably the biggest female character of all time, Coral could plausibly be placed on either team (especially after quitting on her last season), but Coral makes it as a hero for me.
Paula Meronek (Six seasons, three finals, zero wins)- A sympathetic figure based on her Real World season and her getting left off the winning boat on The Island, Paula surely qualifies as a hero.
Laurel Stucky (One season, one final, zero wins)- Laurel would be considered a villain today, but after her rookie season on Fresh Meat II there wasn’t much reason for her to be called a villain. She and Kenny overcame a huge numbers disadvantage to make the final, and despite her only being on one season she was already being considered one of the greatest female competitors in Challenge history.
Jodi Weatherton (Three seasons, two finals, two wins)- The first female individual champion, Jodi and Laurel would have given the Heroes a devastating 1–2 punch on the girls side.
Katie Doyle (Eight seasons, two finals, one win)- I think you could argue Katie for being either a hero or a villain based on her fiery personality, but her classic Inferno season — where she picked up a victory despite her team throwing missions to get her eliminated — makes her a hero in my book.
Aneesa Ferreira (Six seasons, two finals, zero wins)- At the time, Aneesa was considered one of the greatest females to never win the show. She won three eliminations on each of The Duel seasons, giving her a 6–2 elimination record going into season 20.
Villains
Wes Bergmann (Four seasons, two finals, one win)- The biggest active villain at this point in the show, Wes would be a no-brainer selection based on his actions on The Ruins and Fresh Meat II.
Kenny Santucci (Seven seasons, six finals, three wins)- Coming off his most heroic season on Fresh Meat II, Kenny still makes the Villains team for his overall asshole persona. Plus, who wouldn’t want to see Kenny and Wes on a team again?
Johnny Bananas (Five seasons, three finals, two wins)- Another easy pick, Bananas was coming off his most villainous seasons on The Island and The Ruins. He wasn’t the face of the franchise that he would later become, but he was still a big enough star to make this season.
Evan Starkman (Five seasons, three finals, two wins)- Similar to Kenny, it could be argued that Evan was just as much of a hero as he was a villain. Evan was in his kingpin/godfather role on Duel II and The Ruins, but there really wasn’t anything outwardly villainous about him (putting aside the Tonya allegation, which came out after Rivals).
Truthfully, I just put Evan on the Villains team to help balance the teams.
Reunited with Kenny and Johnny, would the trio run the Villains like they did the Champions on The Ruins, or would everyone target them?
CT Tamburello (Six seasons, three finals, zero wins)- I’m cheating a little bit by putting him on this season considering at the time he was in exile for trying to kill Adam, but he did appear on season 20 as a mercenary. The thought of wiping away the Bananas Backpack moment almost makes me happy Heroes vs. Villains didn’t happen.
Abram Boise (Six seasons, three finals, two wins)- I don’t consider Abe a true villain, but the dude got kicked off both of his Road Rules seasons for fighting. In this hypothetical season, Abram wouldn’t have met Cara Maria, and the two wouldn’t have had their famous up-and-down relationship.
Ty Ruff (Rookie)- You may be scoffing at this selection, but Ty was one of the most hyped rookies of all time coming off his run on Real World: DC, so it wouldn’t have been a surprise at all for him to be on this season. He would sort of be the Russell Hantz of the season as the unknown castmember, but unlike Hantz who strategically dominated season 20, I think Ty would probably be the first male eliminated.
Dunbar Merrill (Three seasons, zero finals, zero wins)- Stop laughing. Please stop laughing. Seriously, please stop laughing.
I thought about a lot of options for the eighth male villain, and I honestly couldn’t come up with a more likely option.
Dunbar was a fairly major character on all three of his seasons up to that point and was a decent competitor. I’ve always found Dummy Bear unintentionally hilarious, so I don’t mind putting him on this cast.
Veronica Portillo (Eight seasons, four finals, three wins)- The original Mean Girl and the Parvati of The Challenge, Queen V has to be on this season despite being past her prime.
Rachel Robinson (Six seasons, three finals, two wins)- The black widow of The Challenge, Rachel wasn’t a villain in the traditional sense, but she was a part of the Mean Girls on Inferno II.
Evelyn Smith (Six seasons, three finals, two wins)- If The Challenge did Heroes vs. Villains after The Island, Evelyn would have been an easy choice for a hero. But after quitting The Ruins and having arguably her least likable season on Fresh Meat II, Evelyn could have plausibly been put on the Villains team for season 20.
KellyAnne Judd (Two seasons, one final, zero wins)- KellyAnne would have joined her best friend Evelyn on season 20 after they were pitted against each other on The Ruins. She also would have been on a team with her ex-boyfriend Wes and longtime enemies Dunbar and Bananas, which likely would have brought out the psychotic side of KellyAnne.
Susie Meister (Four seasons, four finals, two wins)- Arguably the biggest female manipulator in Challenge history, the passive aggressive Susie would have been an easy choice for the Villains.
Jenn Grijalva (Four seasons, two finals, zero wins)- A huge hothead and a major character in the middle seasons of the show, Jenn would have fit right in on the Villains.
Julie Stoffer (Five seasons, two finals, one win)- The Villains would have been sorely lacking in crazy Mormon women without Julie on the team. If there was a heights challenge, Veronica would have to watch her back.
Beth Stolarcyzk (Seven seasons, zero finals, zero wins)- The Villains team wouldn’t be complete without the biggest villain in Challenge history. Yeah, she was over 40 years old when season 20 aired, but who cares? She has to be on this season.
Who Wins?
Just to recap, here are the teams:
Heroes: Mark, Landon, Alton, Derrick, Darrell, Eric, Brad, Diem, Ruthie, Coral, Laurel, Paula, Katie, Jodi, Aneesa
Villains: Wes, Kenny, Bananas, Evan, CT, Abe, Ty, Dunbar, Veronica, Rachel, Evelyn, KellyAnne, Susie, Jenn, Julie, Beth
Let’s say the format of the season was copied from The Ruins, one of the best structures in Challenge history from a gameplay standpoint (it’s a shame it hasn’t been brought back in some form).
The Heroes would have probably the most stacked team of males in Challenge history, while the Villains have a couple of guys who don’t stack up in Dunbar and Ty.
The female lineups would have been fairly even, as both teams had two of the four best females in Challenge history (Laurel/Jodi on the Heroes, Ev/Rachel on Villains), a strong supporting cast (Ruthie/Diem/Paula and KellyAnne/Susie/Jenn) with a couple of weaker links (Katie/Aneesa/Coral and Beth/Julie/Veronica).
I think the Heroes would have gotten off to a strong start, but once the Villains started trimming their fat they would have been a very strong team, especially with their roster of girls.
But let’s think for a second about how absolutely nuts the Villains team would have been.
You have the longstanding rivalry between Kenny/Bananas/Evan and Wes/Evelyn. Bananas also had feuds with Susie and KellyAnne. There would no doubt be a power struggle between JEK and the rest of the team, and this time they would have a lot less friends in their corner.
CT would be making his return after trying to murder Adam.
You have the love triangle between Veronica-Rachel-Jenn (not to mention Rachel’s ex Aneesa on the Heroes team), plus exes Wes and KellyAnne on the same team.
Not to mention Abe, Ty, Dunbar, Julie and Beth, who all belong in a mental institution.
With all their internal issues, I don’t think the Villains would have had much of a chance to beat the Heroes.
Unlike Survivor season 20 in which all three of the finalists were villains, the Heroes would have come out on top.
