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Do The Champs Have This 'Challenge' Season In The Bag?

So far, the Stars team is eating dirt. Chin up, guys

Where The Challenge: Champs vs. Stars is concerned, Season 2 looks like it might amount to a little bit of history repeating itself.

On tonight’s premiere episode, 10 Challenge legends including CT, Johnny Bananas and Emily squared off against a roster of 10 celebrities that ranged from Olympic gold medalist Shawn Johnson to NFL icon Terrell Owens (and, naturally, Riff Raff). And at first glance, Wes — who competed on the show’s first season against the likes of Lolo Jones, Kam Wimbley and more feared athletes — predicted the newest batch of Stars would be much less of a threat than the first.

“When I’m looking at the opposing team this season, I’m far less intimidated than I was last season,” he said. “This is just too easy.”

It might have seemed like flagrant bravado at the time, but once the two teams finally squared off on the battlefield, Wes’ words proved to be pretty prescient.

In “Tow Truck,” show host, WWE superstar and former Challenge giant Mike “The Miz” Mizanin told the game’s 20 players that their first mission would test their strength and would task each team with pulling one of two semis (that’s 21,000 pounds per team) across an inclined course. The first team to get their respective truck to touch a finish line would be named the day’s winner, and a designated MVP from the winning team would earn $5,000 for his or her charity.

Instantly, The Stars came out of the gate with a lead thanks to a commanding performance from T.O., but the wheels only remained in motion for so long, and very quickly, The Champs caught up.

And then, they began to make a mockery of their opponents. Though The Champs hit a small roadblock when their truck began to roll the wrong way, they adjusted handily and wound up blowing The Stars out of the water.

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“Today was so hard and so humbling,” Shawn lamented. “Once I finally got the chance to jump in and help my team, it felt like we were pulling concrete…[The Champs] are a team that we need to take more seriously.”

Still, all hope was not lost for The Stars, and in the game’s first elimination round, comedian Matt Rife beat out The Champs’ ambassador — Cory — in a game of “Target Practice” in motion. But was the victory enough to compensate for the day’s loss where The Stars are concerned?

What do you think — do The Champs have this game in the bag, and are they likely to defend their title? Or was the first matchup a fluke, and will The Stars redeem themselves in Episode 2? Share your thoughts, and check out the next new episode Tuesday at 10/9c!

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