In 2015, MTV had a genius idea: bring family members onto The Challenge. The Bloodlines season was a bit of a mess, but viewers kind of assumed the rookies would be ushered into future seasons like Fresh Meat were.
That didn’t really happen. A few people got a second chance, but only one person appeared on more than two seasons. Of course, that was Nany’s cousin Nicole.
We haven’t seen her since season 31: Vendettas. Now that a few years have passed, it seems unlikely (but not impossible) that Nicole will return. While Nicole might be off the show, she does leave some type of a legacy behind.
Battle of the Bloodlines
On her first season, Nicole was one of the more prominently displayed Bloodlines. She only survived half the season, but she was often on the winning team. Her highlights include arguing with Tony and Dario, as well as dominating the trivia Challenge. In fact, she might have one of the most impressive performances on a trivia Challenge ever. Ultimately, she left the show, but she was an extension of Nany’s loss in The Pit.
Nicole is small, and people didn’t really expect a lot from her, but she definitely tried to do well and did put a solid effort into the game.
Rivals 3
If you watched The Challenge, Rivals 3 is likely Nicole’s best performance, but she floated in the middle most of the season. Dario may have had some support from AYTO kids, and Nicole had some support from Nany, but their team wasn’t too high on the food chain. They also weren’t at the bottom, and it took a long time to flush the weak teams out of the competition. So, Nicole & Dario made it close to the end.
The team won one daily challenge, but it was Take It To the Grave — a Newlywed-style game. Again, it was trivia, but Dario did the bulk of the heavy lifting. Nicole also defeated Nany in elimination, but it was really Dario who outpaced Wes in Tunnel Vision. Regardless of their position in the game, Nicole & Dario were no competition for Bananas & Sarah. They weren’t going to win.
Dirty Thirty
OK, let’s not pretend Nicole was some type of stellar athlete on this season. She did OK, and she never gave up, but she only survived halfway through the season because the other girls outperformed her. She survived the Purge in part of the second heat because she was on the right team. She won Cool Under Fire because she’s small and the platforms didn’t have a lot of space. She put in great efforts in her elimination and redemption games, but she wasn’t victorious.
Yet we saw a lot of personality from Nicole this season. She was a funny player, probably not a dirty one as the season might imply, but she did have great confessionals. This is where Nicole brought the most value.
Vendettas
Purged out on episode 1. What else is there to say? She seemed to resign to her fate early this season, but she did get to stay in Ibiza with the alternate crew, so hopefully she had a nice vacation.
What is Nicole Ramos’s Legacy on The Challenge
My gut feeling is that production wanted her to be an accessory to Nany’s success on The Challenge. But, she was funny on Rivals 3, and production invited her back a few times without her cousin to bring the LOLs. She’s also the type of player you don’t become too attached to. So, she might take a risky move (like double crossing Kailah) without worrying about the consequences too much. If she gets eliminated early, fans don’t feel too bad. At least she had some good one-liners in confessionals.
Nicole was a wild card in the game, but as far as wild cards go, she was a fun one. Ex on the Beach might have been a better fit for her. On that show, her personality could shine through more. On The Challenge, commentary only gets you so far.
In all honesty, I think she has a small chance of returning if she wants to and Nany is on the show. She’s definitely our most notable Bloodlines alumna, and she always made the show a little more fun. I’m not heartbroken we haven’t seen her, and it would make sense to cast someone more athletic. But if I had to choose between a random international influencer or Nicole, I’m taking Ms. Ramos every time.
Stop Being Polite 