Should CT Have Retired After War of the Worlds 2

Remember back in 2013 when CT won Rivals 2, his 9th season? Since then The Challenge hasn’t been too bad to him.

He continued to do The Challenge until Exes 2, took a brief hiatus after that season (understandably), then returned on Invasion of The Champions. On that return, he won.

So, he proved he’s a great competitor. He returned again on Dirty Thirty and made it to the final again, but this time he came in third. On The Challenge this started a bit of a decline. Final Reckoning rolled around he CT left midway through the show. Blame Veronica all you want, but he was also the fourth veteran boot on War of the Worlds. CT seemed to be sinking in a game he once dominated.

Of course, I’m not factoring Champs vs. Pros/Stars into the mix. He did all three of those seasons and won two of them.

Then, War of the World 2 came, and CT won.

This marked his third win, but this win felt a bit different. CT played a very social game. The badass who’d face anyone in elimination was replaced by an indecisive player trying not to ruffle feathers. CT never went into elimination, his team frequently lost, but he worked with his allies. The strategy worked, but it was very unlike CT.

Some fans think CT should never retire, while others think he’s just lucky to get a third win and should retire on top.

From a production standpoint, keep CT coming. People love him, even when he’s not the wild badass we saw from 2006-2013. He will bring in viewers, and it’s clear they know this. He showed up in the Total Madness trailer just to smile and laugh, but production knows people want to see his face. MTV has also released various promos asking Total Madness cast members questions. CT is always in these videos, but dances around the question. Example, MTV asks “Who Wouldn’t You Want to See in Elimination?” CT gives some BS response about “heart,” rather than giving a name.

If you want to preserve the legend of CT, retiring after War of the Worlds 2 would have been a good move. He would have gone out on top, especially when he returned for a season when he had a lot of doubters. He’s given MTV a great story, and this would have been the perfect ending. But, he’s back on Total Madness so we all know he didn’t retire.

Personally, I kind of expected him to retire. I understand why he’s coming back, and that’s because he could win again. If he wins, it will be a victory similar to War of the Worlds 2. He’ll win because he works with allies and skates to the end. The longer he stays in the game, the more his legacy will revolve around his dad bod and alliances. If he retired after War of the Worlds 2, he’d likely be remembered as the CT train coming full force at Tyler or like this:

That’s the CT I want to remember, but it feels more and more distant.