Zach Nichols, a multi-time competitor on The Challenge and winner of Battle of the Seasons, revealed why he hasn’t returned to MTV’s show since Season 34.
He previously mentioned not getting calls for recent seasons and recently explained that it is due to someone involved with the show having an issue with him.
During his Zach Nichols Podcast, he told co-host Pierre that he “might get a couple of letters” about what he had to say.
He explained that his family physician had cleared him following an injury he suffered during Season 34, also known as War of the Worlds 2.
Zach said he received a call at a work event from “someone [high-up] from the network, which is different from the production company.”
He shared that the person who called said they wanted to do a “side project” with him to keep him “relevant” to the show and were “so upset” that he couldn’t appear with Jenna Compono in the upcoming season.
Zach was puzzled by network higher-up’s remarks
During the call, Zach said the high-up network representative told him they were “dying” for him to be on the show but that he’d failed his physical, which is necessary to participate on The Challenge.
However, Zach said that wasn’t true, as his family doctor cleared him a month ago. He also told them he had never even had the physical exam they were referring to.
The person on the phone indicated that the network “ordered” Zach to be on the show but that the production company sent back paperwork indicating he failed his physical due to health issues he suffered during the WOTW 2 final.
The individual told Zach they were “staring at [his] failed physical” as they spoke.
Zach said he was confused because he never got a confirmation call to be on that Challenge season’s cast.
On his podcast, Zach explained that part of the process for The Challenge is that once a cast member receives a confirmation call, they must get a physical for the show’s requirements.
Zach claims someone from production kept him off the show
Eventually, the person on the phone claimed they would look into the matter and get back to him. A few days passed, and Zach hadn’t heard anything, so he called back.
He claims he became extremely frustrated when the person he’d spoken with acted as if they “had no idea” about their previous call or that they made comments about him failing his physical.
Zach revealed he later received a message from a person connected to an important individual from production he’d “butted heads with in the past.”
He claimed that this person told him, “I could lose my job for this, but after the War of the Worlds 2 final, [an unnamed producer] said, ‘I will do whatever it takes to make sure that kid never gets on another show.’”
Zach appeared in nine of MTV’s Challenge seasons
As mentioned, Zach hasn’t appeared on The Challenge’s main cast since War of the Worlds 2, when he reached the final with Team USA. He’s previously spoken about an injury that sent him to hospital after that grueling final, which is what he is referring to with his family doctor clearing him.
While Zach wasn’t on the main cast of Season 35, aka Total Madness, he still appeared in parts of the show. His then-girlfriend, now wife Jenna Compono was part of the cast, and they were dealing with relationship issues.
Zach confronted Jenna on video calls about rumors someone told him about messages she’d sent another guy. The drama led to Jenna wanting to quit the show so she could go home and work things out with Zach. Castmate Aneesa Ferreira eventually eliminated her.
Before that, Zach appeared on nine regular seasons of MTV’s show. In his rookie season, Battle of the Seasons 2012, he won the final alongside some of his castmates from The Real World: San Diego. He reached three more finals after that.
According to previous comments on his podcast, Zach said he wasn’t expecting a call for Season 40 or beyond and seemed to indicate he would no longer appear on The Challenge.
The Challenge: All Stars 4 premieres Wednesday, April 10 on Paramount+.