The Real Worlders Who Should Have Been Challenge Stars

The Real World has given us some of the best Challengers. As later seasons aired, viewers would begin to pick out the roommates who’d be best suited for The Challenge. Sometimes these competitors would meet expectations, others would underperform. Then there’s a few competitors who never made the jump. They just did The Real World and nothing further.

This post is inspired by the fact that Pluto TV is airing old Real World seasons (channel 111, not sure how long it will be on). It seems like every time I think The Real World is dead, we see a pulse of life.

These are the people who probably would have done well on The Challenge, but we’ll never know. MTV is highly unlikely to give them a call, and if they do call, these people are unlikely to show up.

10. Katrina Stack (Real World Bad Blood)

The Bad Blood cast is underrepresented on The Challenge, probably because the season was viewed by so few people. If there was ever a compelling storyline to come out of the show, it was probably the Stack sisters. Their relationship was filled with animosity, jealousy, and deceit, and it was clear they weren’t able to make meaningful relationships. Both of them would have been interesting on The Challenge, but Katrina’s size would make her the more intimidating of the two sisters.

9. Will Gilbert (Real World Hollywood)

This is one of the people I am truly surprised we never saw. He seemed to want to invest himself with MTV, as one of his Real World plot lines focused on his relationship with Janelle from Key West. Perhaps he wasn’t the most physically intimidating people, but he wasn’t completely incompetent. He seemed like a social butterfly that would thrive in some aspects of the game. Instead, we got Nick Brown.

8. Tami Roman (Real World Los Angeles)

In the early days of The Challenge, it’s clear production wanted to cast the most interesting characters from The Real World. Tami was one of them, but she left MTV behind her by the time The Challenge was born. She certainly would have created some drama and could have been involved with a Challenge romance. Clearly she had her eyes set on real athletes, as she would appear on Basketball Wives in the future.

7. Dylan Moore (Real World Go Big or Go Home)

It seems like Dylan was strictly brought onto The Real World to become a Challenge addition. There was really no reason to bring an eighth roommate onto this flop season otherwise. He was a runner, so he could have performed well on The Challenge, and was an alternate on Invasion. He flew all the way to Thailand, but was sent home without ever getting to compete.

6. Ashley Lindley (Real World DC)

On Real World DC, Ashley was one of the more outspoken girls. That season was pretty mellow, and she would have adapted to a Challenge landscape a little better. She came across as headstrong enough to advocate for herself, but she wouldn’t be overbearing comparing to the crazies in the Challenge house. Her personality seemed like she would have become an obvious Challenge transplant, but MTV went with Emily instead. Maybe it’s because Emily is the true athlete, or maybe it’s because Ashley was a little stubborn when it came to the shows.

5. Kyle Brandt (Real World Chicago)

If The Real World was casting an “All-American” guy, Kyle would be the archetype. He was a Princeton frat boy and played football there. His time on The Real World wasn’t the best, and he focused on acting after the show. Now, he’s a sports commentator and seems to have left MTV far behind him.

4. Sarah Becker (Real World Miami)

The tomboy of the Miami cast, Sarah would be been great for the Real World team during the early days of The Challenge. She embraced more extreme activities and enjoyed a good competition. Of course, her Real World season aired a few years prior to the formation of The Challenge (though Road Rules 2 did invade the Miami house, a catalyst that would star the RW vs RR concept), and Sarah seemed to have moved on before her phone started ringing.

3. Brian Williams (Real World Ex-Plosion) 

Another guy obsessed with fitness, Brian seemed like he’d been training for The Challenge his whole life. Sadly, themes kept Bryan (and Jenny) away from the show. They didn’t want to appear as Exes because he was back together with Jenny, and they weren’t a big fans of being associated with Cory. Brian and Jenny would become parents, Cory would become the face of the Challenge, then he would become a father thanks to The Challenge.

2. Ashlee Feldman (Real World New Orleans)

Of all the people on the second NOLA season, Ashlee seemed to be the most fit. She was a college basketball player, had strength, and we all know height benefits girls on these shows. For some reason, the NOLA cast had to wait about two years before they debuted on The Challenge, and the ship had sailed for Ashlee. The communications major got a job as a radio host. The nerve!

1. Scott Herman (Real World Brooklyn)

During his casting tape, Scott even said he wanted to do The Challenge. He’s a fitness machine and seemed tailor made for competition. He never showed up on The Challenge, but not because MTV didn’t try. Scott wanted to focus on modeling, and didn’t want his appearances on MTV to cost him jobs (this would later prevent CJ from doing the show). Scott is still as buff as ever, and can be found on YouTube teaching people to become buff.