With the arrival of The Challenge: All Stars 3 comes the return of all three of the spinoff’s defending champions. Featured among the 24 OGs in the cast will be Season 1 winner Yes Duffy and Season 2 champions Jonna Mannion and MJ Garrett.
The All Stars season will also feature all finalists, upping the level of the competition. Many fans watching the spinoff have probably felt that certain cast members could still compete on MTV’s main version of The Challenge against the younger competitors.
Would MJ Garrett be up for that, though? The former Real Worlder recently gave his thoughts on the possibility of appearing on MTV’s The Challenge, following his success on the spinoff.
MJ Garrett comments on a potential return for MTV’s The Challenge
The Challenge: All Stars’ MJ Garrett was the latest guest on Mike Lewis Podcast, where he spoke about his history in reality television. That’s included his start on The Real World: Philadelphia and then appearing in several seasons of MTV’s The Challenge.
His last appearance on that main MTV show came in 2009 on The Duel II. While talking with Mike Lewis, he mentioned that he’d been so far removed from reality TV that coming back for The Challenge spinoff was something he never even dreamed of.
He’ll now be back for a second appearance in the spinoff series, where he’ll join other former champions, including Wes Bergmann and Jordan Wiseley, two cast members who have been on recent seasons of MTV’s flagship show.
Mike Lewis asked MJ if he’d ever consider going back on the main show now that he’s returned to The Challenge: All Stars. In his answer, MJ gave what could be a minor spoiler for the upcoming All Stars 3 season.
“There’s no doubt. There’s no doubt in my mind,” MJ said, adding, “I’m coming off an injury right now. Had my ACL totally reconstructed in January, so I’ve been going through physical therapy and doing all of that.”
“By the end of this year, December, I’m gonna be 100 percent back. Let’s put it this way. There’s some exciting stuff coming up,” MJ told Mike Lewis.
During the interview, Mike Lewis also asked MJ if he liked how the direction of The Challenge has moved away from reality TV and become more sports-oriented in terms of the presentation.
“Dude, I love that it’s taking on more of a sport. That was more refreshing to me,” MJ said of his return to compete in All Stars.
He reminisced how his Gauntlet II season was fun times, including “unlimited alcohol” with production wanting cast members to get “riled up.” However, nowadays, the production limits cast members in that department.
“I like the way that it is now, and I think the fans are truly seeing that too, like there are people following doing stats, and it’s blowing my mind,” MJ said.
MJ also mentioned that The Challengers coming into the show are taking things way more seriously with their training to compete. He praised how fit and athletic some cast members are, saying he may start checking out the MTV show to learn more about potential opponents.
The Challenge Season 38 rumored to film soon
Based on MJ’s answer, he’s open to returning to compete on MTV’s show. He’s 42 years old, putting him in the same age range as other recent competitors, including Chris “CT” Tamburello, Darrell Taylor, and Johnny Bananas.
However, MJ mentioned he’s not going to be “100 percent” until the end of the year. With that in mind, it seems to rule out his potential return for Season 38. Filming is expected to begin in May, although it could always get pushed back.
With MJ teasing “some exciting stuff coming up,” one has to wonder if he’s getting calls for other reality TV shows such as Survivor, Amazing Race, or American Ninja Warrior, or if he’s been getting calls from casting for The Challenge. Another possibility is that some sort of All Stars season is in the works featuring OGs and newer MTV cast members.
Online rumors have been going on about who will be in the Season 38 cast. Bananas, a seven-time Challenge winner, already teased fans about his return to MTV’s show. There’s also been speculation that other vets could return, including finalists Tony Raines and Melissa Reeves and former winner Laurel Stucky.
Most likely, fans would love seeing OGs like MJ Garrett return to the main MTV show, to see how he fares in the competition against today’s younger stars.
The Challenge: All Stars 3 premieres on May 11 on Paramount Plus. The Challenge Season 38 is TBA for MTV.