Cara Maria Sorbello's "Challenge" resume represents something of a Cinderella story. After she and her partner Darrell Taylor were sent home first on Cara's debut season, "Fresh Meat 2," she proceeded to return and appear in 14 more seasons of the show. Over the course of nine years, she participated in 19 eliminations, ran 10 finals, and took home the title in three seasons: "Battle of the Bloodlines," "Champs vs. Pros," and "Vendettas."
Cara Maria's "Challenge" stats qualify her as a franchise legend, but she stepped away from the show for valid reasons. After making her debut at 23-years-old, she became a fixture on MTV for almost a decade — and by the end, both viewers and fellow competitors worried her entire personality and perspective had become enmeshed with the show.
In the almost five years since Cara left "The Challenge", the show has changed significantly. MTV made it a mission to introduce new talent and to try to diversify its pool of winners (much as we love the veterans, CT Tamburello and Johnny Bananas can't win every time). While that's not a bad idea in theory, in this particular instance, this push limits Cara Maria's ability to remind people of her "Challenge" legacy and the strength of her abilities. But perhaps she's viewing it as a warm up: She's also slated to participate in Season 4 of "The Challenge: All Stars," where she'll actually get to play the game.
Now that Cara Maria is back on "The Challenge," tune into "Battle for a New Champion" on MTV on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST to see how she fares.
