The arrival of MTV’s The Challenge: Ride or Dies super trailer has brought plenty of excitement and reactions online as fans speculate about the season ahead.
MTV’s 38th season of the show will feature pairs of competitors teaming up due to a strong bond, such as husband and wife, brother and sister, or boyfriend and girlfriend.
The former champions returning to compete include Johnny Bananas, Darrell Taylor, Jordan Wiseley, Veronica Portillo, Amber Borzotra, Kaycee Clark, and Laurel Stucky.
They’ll be vying to add another championship to their accomplishments but have to battle past intense daily challenges, potential eliminations, and, of course, the other competitors hungry for a win.
With the super trailer, there have also been reactions from some of the past and present cast members as they marvel at how great the season looks or admit they wish they’d competed in this installment of the show.
They included Paulie Calafiore and Cara Maria Sorbello, two cast members who aren’t part of the season but many fans might have hoped to see.
Paulie and Cara react to Season 38 super trailer
Following the release of MTV’s The Challenge: Ride or Dies super trailer on social media, three-time Challenge competitor Paulie was amongst the cast members commenting.
The former Big Brother star, last seen in MTV’s War of the Worlds 2 season, left a comment expressing how “amazing” it would’ve been for him and Cara to be part of the show. In addition, he wished luck to the show’s cast.
“This would of been amazing for @misscaramaria and I. Wish we had a chance to show y’all how far we’ve come since WOTW2 ❤️ Looks like a bada** season. Good luck everyone ?,” Paulie commented.
Cara also left a comment expressing similar sentiments to Paulie, indicating that her boyfriend would have been her Ride or Dies partner had they been part of the season.
“Strongest bonds in challenge history… my ride or die for 4 years and still goin strong @paulcalafiore_. Would have been so bad a** to do this with ya ? best wishes for a successful season everyone! ❤️” Cara wrote in her comment.
Why aren’t Paulie and Cara Maria in Season 38?
The Challenge: Ride or Dies will feature some powerful duos competing to win the season, including Bananas with Nany Gonzalez, Devin Walker with Tori Deal, Amber with her boyfriend Chauncey Palmer, and Darrell with Veronica.
However, many fans have been baffled over why Paulie and Cara aren’t part of the season’s lineup. The previous speculation is that production might not have been asking the duo back following their behavior during and away from reunion shows or comments they’ve made online.
This past June, rumors surfaced that production considered them for Season 38, but that they decided to go in a different direction. Those rumors initially arrived via a superfan’s Instagram post, which has now been deleted.
More speculation has popped up online about the couple not being in Ride or Dies, including that they turned down the calls or that the timing didn’t line up with other important events they had going on.
As mentioned, the last time Paulie and Cara appeared in an MTV season of The Challenge was War of the Worlds 2. The pair mostly ran the season via a strong alliance they formed. That power allowed them to eliminate some formidable opponents from the game, avoid eliminations, and reach the final.
However, the final arrived, and Paulie collapsed to the ground exhausted during one stage, which likely played a part in his team losing. They were also up against a squad consisting of multi-time champions CT Tamburello and Jordan, part of Team UK’s remaining members with Rogan O’Connor and Dee Nguyen.
Team UK captured the championship, which made for Paulie’s second trip to the final, which he failed to win. For Cara, it was her ninth time in a Challenge final.
It’s also worth noting that Paulie got called to participate in MTV’s filming of The Challenge: Untold History documentary series which looks at the origin and evolution of the competition series over the years.
However, Cara was seemingly not asked to be part of the series, despite being a longtime cast member and two-time champion of the show.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies premieres Wednesday, October 12 at 8/7c on MTV.