Let’s Compare: Old(ish) School to New(ish) School Competitors — Wes/Paulie Edition

Before I get into anything here, I know. I know this sucks, and I’m probably going to get a lot of downvotes from people before they even read this article. But please, all I ask is that you hear me out. Wes has grown a lot since he first graced our television screens, but when he first started out, his storyline had a lot of parallels to Paulie’s. A lot of this could be contributed to Paulie wanting to be the face of the Challenge and copying from Wes. For that reason, there are some comparisons I left off the list in an attempt to show what may be more unintentional.

Attribute #1 — First Season Luck

To ease everyone into this comparison, I’m going to start purely on fact. Both Wes and Paulie finaled on their first season, but it was predominantly due to luck with the format.

On Fresh Meat, Wes made what was probably the worst decision of his Challenge career and picked Casey Cooper as his partner. Her stats were bad, but hey, he thought, she’s cute. With this pick, he pretty much guaranteed that he wasn’t going to win, but it’s also how he made it to the final in the first place. For those who don’t remember, for the Fresh Meat exiles, each pair had to carry weight equivalent to what they packed, and lucky for Wes, Casey pretty much only packed her swimsuit. This huge weight advantage led to them winning all 5 of their exiles and making the final, while absolutely sucking at everything else all season.

On Final Reckoning, Paulie had Natalie as a partner. She is a solid competitor, with a major flaw. She cannot perform in eliminations. Without the Redemption House, they would have been out of the game almost immediately, but managed to snake their way to the finals, partially just by the fact that they were so easy to beat in eliminations. Casey cost her team a win by being so completely horrible, but Natalie cost her team in a different way. She and Paulie had a great chance of winning the final, but she got lost, showing how weak her mental game is once again.

Attribute #2 — Unfounded Cockiness from the Start

When Wes first started on Fresh Meat, he came in with a boatload of unsubstantiated arrogance, especially for a rookie. He thought he was top dog, and that he could do anything, and the rest of the house tried to prove him wrong. Without understanding how the game worked, he thought he could flip alliances (and Tonya) and dominate the politics of the season. Fortunately for Evan and Coral DQ’d due to injury, flipping the dynamics of the house more in Wes’s favor. (Also, does anyone else remember when the Austin crew demanded that they get their own room because of all the sex they would be having?)

Paulie came in similarly, but without having the Austin crew surrounding him. Right off the bat, he thought he was the best and nobody could take him on. He started yelling to Zach and Brad about how he took their girls out, which come on, he just didn’t pick them. Since then he has proven that he can compete, and there is a good chance that eventually he will get the win he so desperately wants.

Attribute #3 — White Knights

Often, white knighting comes from a good place. All people want is to stand up for those they love. However, there are times when it becomes more than that and edges into having a lack of faith in the abilities of the other person. This attribute probably should switch out with one of the others from my honorable mentions, but it’s a pet peeve of mine, so it is staying.

Wes crossed that line pretty hard in Fresh Meat, when he chose for him and Casey to go into the Exile. Johanna even was upset with him about it, because if he went home that would be on her conscience. (Side Note: I absolutely loved Johanna on Fresh Meat. She knew who she was and stood up to Wes all the time.)

Paulie is a bit harder to pinpoint. When he stands up for Cara, it never feels like it is coming from a genuine place. Rather, it almost feels like he stirs stuff up just so that he can stand up for her. It’s not exactly white knighting, but it definitely comes from that same place of not having the proper respect for your partner. Honestly, I don’t know what to call it, so if anyone knows, please educate me.

Attribute #4 — Well Rounded Competitors

Wes has always been a dominate force any season he was on the Challenge. His biggest issue is that he plays the game in such a way that he makes a lot of enemies. It started out with JEK, but CJ took him down on BOTS2 as well. However, even when he was being targeted, he was still a threat. They had to develop a strategy for Wes being throw him in early and throw him in often, because they knew he would keep coming back.

On just two seasons, Paulie proved that he is a force to be reckoned with. Granted, I purely mean in the actual competitions, since no one seems to take him seriously in a fight. He may have finaled his first season due to the format, but every time he competed, he did well. Unfortunately for him, a team is only as strong as its weakest link. Then, on his second season, he blew the competition out of the water, before getting purged. While he is disliked by many, no one can take away his performances, no matter how much they try to.

Honorable Mentions

Girl Drama Fuels Rivalry

Manipulative

All the Enemies