Does Derrick Henry Deserve Another Shot at The Challenge?

Once upon a time, The Challenge cared about Are You the One? Dirty Thirty saw a single debut from Are You the One? 5 and it was from Derrick Henry. He was the chosen one, but now he seems to have faded into obscurity.

Derrick H. did two seasons, and his appeal on the show was kind of obvious. He’s a hook-up king. He came onto Dirty Thirty with Tori, did Ex on the Beach, appeared on Final Reckoning with his ex Angela (not to mention his partner and now-ex Tori), and somewhere along the line he hooked up with Ashley M.

I have to admit, there is something likable about him. He comes into the game with an unwavering confidence in himself, despite the fact that his performance proves himself unworthy of it. He also seems like the type to be the life of the party and he wants to hook up on camera.

Then, we look at his performance in the game. There really isn’t anything impressive in his history. He’s been referred to as “popcorn muscles,” and “as useful as the g in lasagna.” He got eliminated in the first proper elimination on Dirty Thirty and the second one on Final Reckoning. He was supposedly Tori’s downfall on Final Reckoning, and since that show, he hasn’t been on The Challenge.

We also can’t forget appeared on Are You the One? Second Chances where he finished dead last.

While this show primarily focused on communication and silly games, Derrick and his partner Casandra were eliminated in a race. They had to carry baggage through the city, solve a couple easy puzzles, and get to their house. It was one of the most Challenge challenges in the game.

So do we need Derrick back? Probably not. Production has wasted a spot in the house on worse people, that’s for sure. However, we haven’t seen anything impressive come from him. If he does return, his story will be revolving around Tori. This just isn’t a great environment to see him shine. Ex on the Beach was a better fit for him, and I’m sure he has tons of Exes we don’t know about.

Rumor had it, he was considered for Season 36. Now, it seems he will not be on the cast. Perhaps it’s for the best, but he might has lost his only chance to redeem himself on the show.