Ace Amerson Says ‘The Challenge: All Stars’ Season 4 Is ‘Almost Unfair’ With All the Elite Girl Power
Preview
The Challenge: All Stars is back for its fourth season on Paramount+ this week, and some members of the cast are starting to speak out about what fans can expect from this season.
Ace Amerson previously returned for All Stars‘ first season and was a finalist in his last main Challenge season, The Inferno 3, so he was already familiar with what this particular spinoff entails — namely, that it features some of the best players of all time (some of whom only claim to be past their prime). Still, this season left him stunned in more ways than one.
“A lot of the older players like that, I had a good relationship [going in]. Like Rachel [Robinson], I had the biggest crush on Rachel back in 2005. I almost made her not gay for one night. Almost. It was so funny, I reminded her about that last time I saw her. Yeah, I had my moments,” Amerson explained.
Even so, he found himself feeling at a bit of a disadvantage: “The girls are incredible on this Challenge. It’s almost unfair how ripped up the girls are,” Amerson explained. “Like Laurel [Stucky] is — I mean, she’s so smart, so tall. And Cara [Maria Sorbello], it’s the first time I’ve ever done a Challenge with her. I’m like, ‘Oh my God, the girls are just so much better than the guys.’ So that was the tricky part, [as was] having to pay attention a lot on this one because a lot of these people are professional game show contestants. So it’s a lot going on.”
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Amerson has zero complaints about his experience in the season, though, and he thinks fans are going to have just as much fun as he did.
“This was so much fun. The things we got to do are just — imagine you’re like a five-year-old, like, ‘I would love to do this,'” Amerson explained. “They dreamed up things from being a kid. I can’t really say much about what we did [specifically], but they were so much fun. They’re going to be so much fun to watch on TV. In 20 years, this was the best Challenge I’ve ever been on, seen, the things we get to do are just absolutely incredible… Truly this was the best Challenge it’s ever been.”
And he’s already got his wishlist at the ready for who he’d like to compete with next time, explaining, “I’m really good friends with Johnny Bananas, but we haven’t competed. I haven’t been on the show with him since 2006. And C.T. [Tamburello] was only in one of mine, but he went home early [after] a fight. So I’ve never actually done one with him. So I always wanted to actually do challenges with C.T., and I just miss Bananas. I love seeing them.”
In the meantime, Amerson, who first met Chris “C.T.” Tamburello during their season of The Real World: Paris, considers himself to be his biggest fan, including for his post-Challenge TV adventures.
“I’m so proud of him because I’ve seen him from when he was 22 to now and watched him progress and grow over the years,” Amerson said. “So because of who he is on TV, he becomes kind of who he knows he needs to be, but in real life he’s the nicest, kindest person that will do anything for you. It’s kind of like what I learned about Italians. It takes a long time to get their trust, but once you’re part of their trust, it’s a love that is just undeniable. You’re just a family member. It took me a while to gain his trust and love, but we’re friends forever for that. I kind of get on his nerves because he hates praise, like he hates for you to go, ‘Hey you did a great job,’ because he’s extremely humble. But I still was like, ‘You did such a great job with The Traitors. I’m so proud of you for what you did.’ It embarrasses him for me to do that, but he has to hear it because I’m just so proud of him.”
Amerson is also chuffed that T.J. Lavin continues to host the show after being part of his debut in The Gauntlet 2 in 2005.
“At this point, I feel like TJ is a bigger part of The Challenge than the people on The Challenge. I don’t think it would be where it is today without him. He’s just such a fantastic host,” Amerson said. “But we had some good ones. I really loved Dave Mirra. I hung out with him after the show. He was a great guy before he passed away. But T.J.’s just good at this… I guess he might be the best in the world racing bikes, so he can be the best at anything he decides to do. So we’re very fortunate to have had him basically be our quarterback for this thing for 20 years.”
The Challenge: All Stars, Season 4 Premiere, Wednesday, April 10, Paramount+
