Following a big twist in the previous episode, MTV’s The Challenge: Ride or Dies saw its ratings rise for the season’s tenth episode.
The number of viewers was also steady compared to the previous week, indicating that fans may be starting to tune in as the season is past the halfway point and moving toward the final.
Season 38, Episode 10 included the first daily challenge after new teams formed, with Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat and Moriah Jadea as team captains.
There was a continuation of the issues surrounding two cast members due to their former relationship and a new showmance that created some awkward moments.
Episode 10 also featured another elimination at The Zone, which hadn’t been seen in Episode 9 of the show, and there was a post-elimination twist.
This report will feature some spoilers from The Challenge: Ride or Dies Episode 10.
The Challenge 38, Episode 10 rating moves higher
According to Showbuzz Daily’s report, Episode 10 had a 0.30 rating in the key 18-49 demographic, which was up 0.04 from the previous episode’s rating.
Regarding viewers, The Challenge had 561,000 watching the live episode, which aired on MTV on Wednesday, December 14, at the 8 p.m. Eastern Time slot. That number was down slightly from the previous week.
The competition series’ latest episode finished fourth overall for the evening’s cable telecasts. Finishing ahead of it was All Elite Wrestling’s AEW: Dynamite on TBS and two NBA telecasts featured on ESPN.
Despite slightly lower viewers, the numbers have trended higher since Episode 8, which could signal increased interest in the Ride or Dies season.
Overall, the number of viewers still has some catching up to do to compare with last season’s Spies, Lies & Allies, which tallied as many as 720,000 for the season finale, and eight episodes with 650,000 or more viewers.
Episode 10 brought new teams into play, post-elimination twist
Viewers saw the new Ride or Dies teams compete in Episode 10, with the team members handpicked by Episode 9’s daily challenge winners, Fessy and Moriah. From the start of the episode, the considerable size and strength advantage of Fessy’s team was a talking point.
There was also a continuation of Tori Deal taking issue with Jordan Wiseley’s showmance with rookie castmate Nurys Mateo, feeling Jordan was doing it “out of spite” in front of her.
That came into play later as Tori spoke with Jordan during the cast’s night out and said she was looking to protect him from elimination since she and Devin were allied with Aneesa Ferreira and Jordan.
Moriah and Fessy’s teams competed in a daily challenge which also spotlighted that mismatch. Competitors had to battle it out on a huge beam hanging above the water. One man or woman from each team would battle someone from the other team and try to knock them off the beam.
Horacio Gutierrez continued to show why he’s one of the season’s rookies, besting seven-time Challenge winner Johnny Bananas in the event. However, his outmatched team lost the event, leading to their men being up for elimination.
The event also saw Nany suffer a scary fall, hitting the water and requiring medics to take her away by ambulance to get checked out. She’d return later, informing everyone she was OK despite things looking bad. That had her girlfriend Kaycee Clark ecstatic.
With Moriah’s team losing the daily, it meant Kenny Clark, Jordan Wiseley, Devin Walker, and Horacio were eligible to go into the first solo elimination matchup of the season.
Fessy’s team chose Horacio for the elimination. Devin then pulled the “Safe” dagger at The Draw and opted to save Jordan, which put Kenny into the elimination matchup.
Horacio would beat his fellow rookie in an event involving smashing through various walls using a selection of tools in The Zone. The win kept Horacio in the game and gave him a 4-0 record in eliminations, while Kenny had to leave.
Although that wasn’t truly the case because after TJ sent the Challengers back to the house, Kenny returned to The Zone. The Challenge host informed him he was still technically alive in the game as long as his Ride or Dies partner Kaycee didn’t get eliminated.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.