Asaf Goren said he would’ve preferred to compete in a much more physical elimination against one of The Challenge’s all-time greats.
In Battle For a New Champion, Asaf was the latest competitor called out at The Arena to face one of the show’s champions.
His opponent was five-time champion Chris “CT” Tamburello, who returned ready to do battle and take out an opponent.
The champ had to take on one of the new cast’s competitors. Due to a stalemate vote by the cast earlier, CT could choose any guy except two of the daily challenge winners.
CT opted for Asaf as he indicated he didn’t know him well like the other guys. The two battled in a somewhat physical and mostly intelligence-based math equation game called Mind Grind.
According to Asaf, he would’ve much rather faced CT in the Hall Brawl, one of the most physical events around.
Asaf addresses being called out by CT for elimination
In an interview with The Messenger, Asaf said he was “happy” to get called out by one of the best champions in the history of The Challenge and nearly volunteered because he knew he’d get picked.
“I was happy because how many times do you have the chance to go against the champ of champs? I love this game as much as the money. I am a fan. If I ever have the opportunity to go head-to-head against the best, let’s go,” Asaf said.
“That’s the mindset I came to the show with. I played it a little bit safer than I planned,” he said regarding not volunteering for other eliminations.
While Asaf was happy to take on CT in an elimination, he wasn’t excited about facing him in what he called a “math puzzle.” According to Asaf, the event took over two hours, and neither he nor CT could solve it, so production decided to change the equation for them.
Interestingly, castmates were in the stands trying to yell helpful advice to Asaf, but he claimed he had to figure it out on his own.
“Unlike other eliminations against the champs, no one in the house could help me. They were not allowed to help me so I had to deal with it by myself, so it was boring. I would take a hall brawl against CT or anything else,” he shared with The Messenger.
Asaf revealed one big reason he’d return for The Challenge again
As Season 40 cast rumors swirl, Asaf’s name remains among those cast members considered “Up in the air.” With filming anticipated for March, that gives plenty of time for him to be added as a main cast member or alternate.
Would he return to the show, though? He said a specific vendetta would give him reason to appear in another season.
Asaf said he now has vendettas with Season 39 castmates, including Melissa Reeves, Kyland Young, Big T Fazakerley, and Corey Lay.
One of those rivals, Melissa, reacted to a Challenge Instagram video showing CT’s win over Asaf by calling CT “the best” and including the clapping hands emoji.
Along with his Season 39 castmates, Asaf mentioned vendettas with various veteran stars “talking s***” about him online. He named Darrell Taylor and Devin Walker, who competed in Season 39 eliminations but battled other cast members.
Asaf said if Devin were cast for the same season and he could go in against him for the first elimination, he’d jump at the chance. He might get his wish based on early speculation about the cast, but he might want to start brushing up on his math and puzzle skills.
The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.