The Challenge: Cutthroat had many unexpected twists and turns, and Johnny Bananas and CT discussed how these events led to the five Orange Team cast members winning. The two multi-season champs gathered for the Death, Taxes, and Bananas podcast to break down some of the best moments we saw — and didn’t see — on Cutthroat.
Eventually, the duo discussed the captain twist. Both CT and Bananas anticipated the position would be scarier than expected, and CT initially felt bad for dissuading Nelson from taking the role.
While Josh became the Blue Team’s captain, Bananas revealed he wouldn’t have walked straight to the final. Bananas said that if Josh hadn’t been disqualified, and if Chris (or Leo) held the captain position longer, they would have faced a mercenary.
Specifically, Bananas said Zach and Darrell were slated to appear in the role. He also claims they would have competed in either Pole Wrestle, Balls In, or Hall Brawl. That last option never actually appeared on the show.
While it makes sense that we didn’t see two male mercenaries after three men were ejected from the game, it did decrease the season’s level of excitement.
This revelation also leaves us with more questions. Specifically, would all four mercenaries have been used?
Bananas only named three possible eliminations, which makes sense. The game originally had three teams with three captains, so it would make sense to bring in three mercenaries.
But we have four names, so it’s hard to know production’s original intentions. However, we do know the teams merged by the time Rachel & Sarah always showed up. Perhaps Cutthroat’s format always intended a merger near the end of the season. If this had been the case, each team would send down one male and one female to compete against Sarah, Rachel, Darrell, and Zach.
It’s also possible one mercenary was an alternate, because Cutthroat’s format couldn’t ensure gender balance among captains.
Do we know Zach & Darrell were the mercenaries?
While I trust Banana’s insider knowledge, it’s not 100% confirmed. Before Cutthroat aired, spoiler account PinkRose revealed Zach was slated to be a mercenary. She also said Devin declined the invitation, but production halted the male mercenaries because of the triple DQ.
Darrell fits the mold as the fourth option. He’s a champion, and he appeared as a mercenary on Battle for a New Champion and Vendettas. So, he’d likely accept the invitation. However, I have heard rumors (likely baseless) that Kyle was offered the chance to be a mercenary.
What do I think would have happened?
If I had to guess, I believe three mercenaries were intended to be used. But production wanted a fourth option because captains could change, which would impact the gender of the required opponents.
I believe Cutthroat was meant to have three teams run the final, just like the original installment. Why do I think this? Because of the prize money.
I’m guessing UFC committed $75,000 to the show, which would have been awarded to the three winners of the mercenary battles. But only two eliminations occurred during the Trial by Combat, so the final $25,000 was thrown into the final. Because, let’s be real, it made no sense for UFC to be mentioned during this puzzle-and-power-source-themed final.
Right now, we don’t know any of this for certain, but you never know. This might change, because people talk, and details often come to the surface.
