A former champion of The Challenge may have his eyes set on becoming a future champion in the world of WWE wrestling.
The paths of WWE and The Challenge have crossed more than a few times over the show’s history, with it producing one of the wrestling world’s stars.
The Miz quickly comes to mind as someone who moved on from MTV’s show to become a major wrestling superstar. Will The Challenge produce another star for the WWE wrestling ring, though?
Former Challenge champion teases WWE gig
It’s been several years since MTV’s The Challenge: War of the Worlds seasons, but one of the top stars from those installments is looking towards professional wrestling.
Turabi Çamkıran, aka Turbo, hasn’t returned to the competition series since an incident where he and castmate Jordan Wiseley got into a heated altercation.
However, the War of the Worlds winner recently shared an Instagram post that shows his potential move to the wrestling ring.
“MY LAST DREAM WILL COME TRUE SOON,” Turbo wrote in all caps in the English portion of his caption.
“What I’ve dreamed about for years is coming true. A Big Surprise Soon. ‘NO NOW WHAT MORE!’ the kind you would say,” a roughly-translated section in Turkish reads.
The Instagram post has the 35-year-old Turbo standing in the center, flanked by two wrestling greats.
On the right side is Solofa Fatu Jr., better known as Rikishi, a multiple-time WWE tag team champion and former WWE Intercontinental Champion. Rikishi was inducted into WWE’s Hall of Fame in 2015. His sons, best known as WWE’s Usos, currently wrestle with WWE and have had multiple tag team title reigns.
On Turbo’s left side is Reno “Black Pearl” Anoa’i. Based on details from the KnockX Academy, he’s a member of the legendary Samoan Dynasty and known as the Count of California. Black Pearl wrestled around the globe, including Puerto Rico, Europe, Australia, South Africa, and the South Pacific. He also worked as a promoter in the business.
Now it appears Turbo is in their capable hands as they may be developing him into a future wrestling talent. The two wrestling stars are trainers at KNOKX PRO, an academy that teaches wrestling, and also an entertainment company that puts on wrestling shows.
The IG post also features a WWE highlight reel of various superstars, followed by Turbo in a mask and costume walking on a beach. Additional images show him on the ring or in his full wrestling costume.
Turbo appeared in two Challenge seasons
Viewers saw Turbo, originally a Survivor Turkey star, in only two seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, with his big debut arriving on War of the Worlds. That season brought in several international and controversial stars, including Rogan O’Connor, Jennifer West, Georgia Harrison, Stephen Bear, Theo Campbell, and Dee Nguyen.
Turbo advanced to the final in his rookie season and won it, despite facing harsh conditions and former champs, including Wes Bergmann, Cara Maria Sorbello, and Hunter Barfield. He claimed the lion’s share of $1 million in prize money with the win, going home with $750,000.
He’d return for the War of the Worlds 2 season, but unfortunately, his temper got the best of him. Castmate Jordan Wiseley was able to rile Turbo up enough to the point Turbo was yelling threats and trying to get past security. He eventually got booted from the season due to the heated confrontation.
Years ago, a future star in the sports entertainment world, Mike Mizanin, first arrived via MTV’s Real World and The Challenge. Turbo may be next. It will be interesting to see if his dreams of getting into the wrestling world come true and have him jumping off turnbuckles and hitting clotheslines in WWE.
The Challenge is currently on hiatus from MTV. Season 38 is expected to arrive in 2022.