At this point in The Challenge’s lifespan, few things excite fans more than an unexpected return. If you’ve followed casting announcements in the past, you’ll know how exciting it was to see Veronica’s name pop up on Dirty Thirty, or how unexpected Shane’s return on Invasion was.
A long gap can do wonders for a Challenger’s reputation, but with the introduction of All Stars, we’re getting returns that are decades in the making. Here are the biggest gaps in Challenge resumes we’ve seen thus far, broken down into two sections: All Stars and the flagship series.
These lists include the season 40 cast, and there are a lot of big gaps there. Hopefully this excitement creates a new standard for Challenge casting moving forward.
All Stars
Because there’s no concrete way to count the number of seasons skipped with All Stars, I will use time away from The Challenge to calculate the person’s break from the show. This uses the final airing date of a competitors last season and the premiere date of their first All Stars season.
Kefla Hare: 24 years, 3 months, 27 days (Real World/Road Rules Challenge to All Stars 4)
Flora Alekseyeun: 21 years, 10 months, 21 days (Battle of the Seasons to All Stars 4)
Teck Holmes: 20 years, 11 months, 30 days (Challenge 2000 to All Stars 1)
Roni Martin: 18 years, 3 months, 23 days (The Gauntlet to All Stars 3)
Adam Larson: 18 years, 14 days (The Gauntlet 2 to All Stars 4; Note: the gap is 16 years, 11 months, 1 day, between RR: Viewers’ Revenge and All Stars 4)
Yes Duffy: 17 years, 10 months, 27 days (Battle of the Sexes to All Stars 1)
Steve Meinke: 17 years, 9 months, 17 days (The Gauntlet to All Stars 2)
Leah Gillingwater: 17 years, 5 months, 18 days (The Inferno to All Stars 2)
Cynthia Roberts: 17 years, 3 months, 17 days (Battle of the Sexes 2 to All Stars 3)
Laterrian Wallace: 17 years, 2 months, 6 days (The Gauntlet to All Stars 1)
Flagship Series
Here, I will measure breaks from the show by the number of seasons the competitor skipped. I will not count All Stars or other appearances, but I am only looking at flagship shows.
Aviv Melmed: 27 season break (Fresh Meat to Season 40)
Jodi Weatherton: 26 season break (The Duel to Season 40, returned for All Stars 2)
Tina Barta: 26 season break (The Duel to Season 40, returned for All Stars 2 and made a cameo on Cutthroat)
Ryan Kehoe: 20 season break (Fresh Meat 2 to Season 40, returned for All Stars 2)
Katie Cooley: 19 season break (Cutthroat to Season 40, returned for All Stars 1)
Nehemiah Clark: 18 season break (Rivals to Season 40, returned for All Stars 1)
Rachel Robinson: 17 season break (Battle of the Exes to Season 40, returned for All Star 4)
Mark Long: 17 season break (Battle of the Exes to Season 40, returned for All Star 1)
Shane Landrum: 16 season break (Fresh Meat to Invasion of the Champions)
Derek Chavez: 15 season break (Rivals 2 to Season 40, returned for All Stars 2)
Emily Schromm: 15 season break (Rivals 2 to Season 40, returned for Champs vs. Pros)
Trishelle Cannatella: 14 season break (The Inferno to Battle of the Seasons)
Brandon Nelson: 14 season break (Free Agents to Season 40, returned for All Stars 4)
Nia Moore: 13 season break (Battle of the Exes 2 to Season 40, returned for All Stars 3)
Jonna Mannion: 13 season break (Battle of the Exes 2 to Season 40, returned for All Stars 1)
Veronica Portillo: 11 season break (The Ruins to Dirty Thirty, returned for Champs vs. Pros)
Averey Tressler: 11 season break (Rivals 3 to Season 40, returned for All Stars 4)
Kellyanne Judd: 11 season break (Rivals 3 to Season 40, returned for All Stars 1)
Brad Fiorenza: 10 season break (Cutthroat to Vendettas)
Stop Being Polite 