‘The Challenge’ Host T.J. Lavin Admits ‘Ride or Dies’ 100-Hour Final Was a ‘Bit Much’
The Challenge: Ride or Dies featured a historic 100-hour final that ended with Devin Walker and Tori Deal walking away with their first win. Many viewers thought the lengthy finale was too much, and host T.J. Lavin agreed.
‘The Challenge: Ride or Dies’ featured a 100-hour final
After 16 episodes, The Challenge: Ride or Dies concluded with Aneesa Ferreira and Jordan Wiseley, Olivia Kaiser and Horacio Gutiérrez, Devin Walker and Tori Deal, and Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Nany González facing off in a historic 100-hour final.
It began with an overnight portion that forced the players to cycle over 60 miles on a stationary bike to unlock a box that contained their sleeping supplies.
The following day, the four teams had to race to several checkpoints and solve a series of puzzles to determine the order in which they would begin the third day.
First, they had to throw 10 bolas on a structure and had the opportunity to sabotage another team by giving them a disgusting smoothie with each one they landed. On the way to the station, Aneesa appeared to roll her ankle when Jordan directed her off-course. During the challenge, Olivia cut her finger and momentarily had to stop so the medical team could bandage it up.
Olivia Kaiser and Horacio Gutiérrez medically disqualified from the finals
Next, they had to arrange tires with the names of eliminated contestants on a pole in the order in which they were sent home.
At station three, which required them to fire golf balls into targets, Olivia’s slingshot got tangled up and reversed, hitting her in the face and disqualifying her and Horacio in fourth place. The remaining two stations involved the participants solving puzzles before calling it a night.
Day 3 required them to push a car down a track and eat massive amounts of pasta, bread, and ice cream. The following day, the teams had to launch chalk bombs at targets and navigate through a dark corn maze, with only the first team to arrive receiving safety from a final elimination.
Nany and Bananas defeated Jordan and Aneesa to advance to the last stage against Devin and Tori. The duos faced off in a multi-level zone which required them to complete four levels before reaching the middle, where the first team to pull the lever won the title and cash prize.
T.J. Lavin admits the 100-hour final ‘was a bit much’
The teams were even until the second level, where they had to build a puzzle out of 200 cinderblocks. BaNany appeared to misplace a key brick and didn’t see the point in redoing it, as Tori and Devin were already hours ahead.
The friends pulled out their first win and gifted the other finalists $38,000 each. Following the finale, many fans complained it lasted too long. Host T.J. Lavin agrees.
Speaking to the seven-time champ during an episode of his podcast Death, Taxes, and Bananas, the long-time presenter admitted the historically long conclusion “was a bit much.”
He continued, “there’s overkill, and then there’s that.” According to Lavin, the lengthy finale was a massive undertaking for the crew, and he wasn’t fond of the idea afterward. Regardless, he’s glad they went through it, mainly due to the “sick” scenery they were able to capture, namely the enormous corn maze.
