The Challenge Season 37 premiere had plenty for viewers to take in, including an opening mission to determine teams, many brand new competitors, and rules that could change at any moment.
Some of the new cast members have already begun to make a name for themselves based on their commentary or other actions during the Spies, Lies & Allies premiere.
While multiple-time champions Johnny Bananas and Wes Bergmann aren’t part of the Season 37 cast, they’ve been watching from afar. Each mentioned who their favorites are so far on The Challenge season.
Wes Bergmann reveals his ‘favorite rookies’ from cast
Viewers last saw two-time Challenge champion Weston Bergmann on Double Agents, as he lost early in the season to his friend, Devin Walker. Following his time on that season, he revealed he was unable to return for Season 37 of The Challenge.
However, he’s still a fan and spectator away from the show and gives weekly thoughts on the episodes on his Patreon. He sometimes shares a few things about castmates here or there too.
In a recent slide he shared on his Instagram Story, Wes let people know the “early front runners” for his favorite rookies this season.
They include Emy Alupei, Esther Agunbiade, Tacha Akide, and Corey Lay. From the start, these rookies had some entertaining commentary or showed themselves to be impressive competitors.
For example, Emy was responsible for being a “spy” who brought knowledge of that infamous list to the attention of the vets. Corey proved himself a more than worthy competitor by winning his first-ever elimination alongside Michele Fitzgerald.
While Wes didn’t give reasons why those are his favorites in his post, he shared a message with fans about giving the new cast members a chance.
“Friendly reminder to fandom: change is okay. We’re hardwired to fear change as an instinctive way to protect ourselves from Woolly Mammoths, not new Challengers,” he said.
Johnny Bananas gives thoughts on Season 37, who he’s rooting for
Seven-time Challenge champ Johnny Bananas is sharing his weekly thoughts about Spies, Lies, & Allies on his brand new podcast. The first episode of his Death, Taxes, and Bananas podcast included him going over the Season 37 premiere with guest Bill Simmons from The Ringer.
In his review, Bananas said he felt the first episode was “mild” and “tame” in terms of the drama or footage presented. He also commented that maybe production or whoever created the latest season’s concepts was “trying to do too much.”
However, he got a kick out of one of the teammate situations, featuring his castmate Ashley “Millionaire” Mitchell.
“The Hughie-Ashley partner combination is probably my favorite thus far,” Bananas admitted on the podcast, referring to Ashley’s partnership with rookie Hughie Maughan.
The team has already been one that fans have been mentioning online due to Ashley yelling at her rookie partner to stop talking so much. So far, it appears to be a love-hate partnership that should be fun to watch.
In terms of picking a favorite to win Season 37, Johnny kept it political. He didn’t give one specific name, but several individuals he’s pulling for.
“I’m pulling for the vets, man. When it comes to The Challenge, it’s like I am like a parent, right? Looking over my child and if I can’t be there to be the babysitter to watch over them, it’s like I want to know that it’s in good hands,” Bananas said.
“There’s so many people on the show that I’ve spent so much time with, and I feel like those are the only people whose hands I’m comfortable with the show being in these days,” he added.
He went on to list off Nany Gonzalez, CT Tamburello, Cory Wharton, Nelson Thomas, and Kyle Christie, among those he’s pulling for this season.
“Believe it or not, I am actually pulling for Devin [Walker]. I think Devin has a very underrated sense of humor,” Bananas shared, seeming to indicate he’s moved past their feud on The Challenge years ago.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.