‘The Challenge’s Mark Long Is ‘Just Getting Warmed Up,’ Teases ‘Road Rules’ Reunion (VIDEO)

The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras has only just begun, but already it’s been an all-out bloodbath as a whopping eight contestants across all four of the eras were eliminated on Wednesday’s (August 21) cutthroat episode.

One such was one of the series’ OG-est OGs, Mark Long, who had to face the “Pole Wrestle King” himself, Derrick Kosinski, in the arena after placing last in the season’s first challenge. If that wasn’t tough enough, Derrick also happens to be his best friend in real life, so the match-up stung even more.

Long might not have been, well, long for this season, but he’s still one of the best-known Challenge champs in show history — and one of the longest-lasting MTV stars for that matter. And you shouldn’t expect him to go anywhere anytime soon. In fact, he fully contends he’s “just getting started.”

TV Insider caught up with Mark to find out how he really felt about that arena showdown and what’s next — including a potential Road Rules reunion.

What was it like to find out that you wouldn’t just be competing alongside the Era 1 team, but you’d have to go against someone on your team?

Mark Long: Oh, I think that was the first curveball of the game, was T.J. [Lavin] telling us that. Because even before we got down to the first competition, we kind of realized that we were gonna be put into Eras, obviously, but we were also excited because we were like, “Man, I can’t wait to see Derrick go against Horacio [Gutierrez Jr.] or myself go against Theo [Campbell] or all these other combinations because I think from a fan of the show, we wanna see that, right? I mean, we’ve seen us go against each other for years. So the fact that of course T.J. threw that curveball, and we’re all like, “Well, s**t.” So I was definitely taken off guard, but again, that’s T.J. Always likes to throw those curveballs.

Was there anyone on your team that you were hoping you’d go against instead of Derrick?

Well, Derrick and I had some conversations once I came in last on that dastardly puzzle boat combination. We definitely had some conversations that weren’t shown, but I would have liked to go against someone other than Derrick, but I knew Derrick’s position in the game. I knew his history with Darrell [Taylor], and, you know, I think Derrick was in a position where he wanted to kind of come out and make a stand and make some big moves. And look, if I’m gonna lose against anyone, I’d rather lose against Derrick because I feel like a win from each of us is a win for both of us because he was my number one alliance going in. And I’m hoping that the win against me gave him some confidence and some wind in his sails to maybe send him all the way. We’ll have to wait and see.

But I would have liked to see what would happen against a Darrell or a Brad [Fiorenza]. I mean, just curiosity alone, you know? But the problem with Era 1, especially the guys, is we’re all friends. So, anyone that I would have went against, I consider a friend. I do consider Derrick a brother. So it was a little more intimate in there in the sand with him. But I talk to Darrell a lot outside the show. I talk to Brad a lot outside of the show. And, you know, we were truly a brotherhood. So it was a little weird, but we had to do it. That was the rules in the game.

Going in the pole wrestle, when you pulled that, what was your thought — knowing that Derrick has so much experience with it and then also that you’re doing wrestling in real life and might have something to prove?

Well, let’s just say professional wrestling is a little different than pole wrestling in the sand. We’ve all seen Derrick go against Joss [Mooney], who was much bigger, and I think this, you know, I haven’t done it that much. So my strategy was probably not the best and I will say this, I don’t think that game is built well for someone taller and lankier like myself. I’ve pointed to this when I spoke to Derrick, when you give Derrick a pole, he’s like a pitbull that bites it and does not give it up. So I tried to lay on him. I tried to outlast him, but he truly is the pole wrestle king for a reason.

And I want a rematch. Hopefully, it’s not with him, but I want a rematch because I think I’d do it differently. I think my strategy would be different. But yeah, I might have to just bring a pole up to Derrick’s front yard and say, “Let’s try this again, brother, let’s do this one more time.”

Speaking of wrestling, I wondered, did Mike Mizanin have anything to do with you deciding to do that? And is there any chance we’re gonna see you guys hit the ring together?

Well, it’s funny you say that. Look, I’ve been a huge fan of Mike since he joined WWE. He and I have a special wrestling relationship. I would say growing up he was a little bit bigger of a fan than me and WWE, but watching him and then watching my best friend Grayson Waller — who’s a WWE superstar now who lives in my hometown — watching these guys and then getting the opportunity to wrestle down in Boca Raton, with Boca Raton Championship Wrestling, I thought, “I don’t care what age I’m at. I’m still physically fit. I still feel very powerful, very confident.”

So the fact that BRCW let me go down there and now I’m on the roster… I’m actually the current BRCW all-star champion. I actually have the belt right here… I’m actually [doing this]. It’s not just fantasy land. I actually do wrestle. But yeah, Mike had a huge influence on me, and you never know! I mean, never say never. Could Mike and I be at some sort of one-off tag team? You’ll have to wait and see, I guess.

So you mentioned T.J. earlier and how he is always bringing a twist. You hosted The Challenge a long time ago. What makes him in your mind so special for the role?

I always say, “You’re a veteran, a real true Era 1, when you started your Challenge relationship before T.J.” There’s before T.J. and after T.J..

Hosting The Challenge takes a lot of different personality traits. One of them is commitment. And I think when T.J. is there, he’s totally committed to the show. He is all in. He lives and breathes The Challenge. He does. I don’t think he even has any of his friends come over until like later in the show, but he’s there by himself. He’s totally committed. He’s a huge fan of the show and we love him. And I think there is no Challenge now without T.J. And I think there’s kind of not a T.J. without The Challenge nowadays. So the fact that he’s done it this long, the fact that the fans have taken such a liking to him, the production loves him, Paramount+ and MTV love him. So you have to be all in on these things.

I’ve hosted many shows outside of this, and one of the things that I feel like he brings that I bring is you wanna commit yourself to the project and give them your total self. And I feel like he does that every year and you see he — to put it blatantly — gives a s**t when he’s down there and doing stuff, you can tell he gives a s**t. So I think T.J. is one of the best. I’d like to see him do something else as well. I can’t wait to see what else he does beyond The Challenge.

MTV

Even though you’re not hosting anymore, you still have some behind-the-scenes input on the show. Kefla Hare told me that you had talked to him about kind of the All Stars idea a long time ago and he finally came on the show. What was it like for you to see him finally get on after all those years?

It was amazing. Kefla is one of my favorites because we actually started our Challenge career — we like to say it was the official Challenge, Real World vs. Road Rules, in ’98. And he was on my team, and there’s certain people that you meet that they’re just good people down to the core and he’s one of them. I reached out to him when I was trying to get this going years ago and he was like, “Absolutely.” He’s like, “I’ve been waiting for something like this. I’ve been waiting for a call to come back and at least test myself or prove myself.”

And the fact that he finally got the call and had such an amazing time, and not only that, the fans welcomed him with open arms, and he came off of that show as a fan favorite. So I hope it’s not the last time we see him. We’ve had major success with All Stars. Hopefully, it’ll keep going for many seasons. But I think it’s a nice sister show to the main show because of the people like Kefla, the Real OGs. You get the people you haven’t seen in years. And that’s one of our special sauces to All Stars, is being like, “Wow, they’re back. I can’t believe she’s back.” So it was amazing seeing him. He’s one of my favorites.

I got to spend time with him a few weeks ago in Atlanta and also in Pittsburgh. So he’s one of my favorites, and I hope it’s not the last time we see him.

You mentioned OGs. Is there anybody else that you have in mind that you kind of want to bring back that we haven’t seen in a while?

Oh, so two people always come up when I like tweet something. People want Shane [Landrum] to come back. You remember Shane? He was always, always a divisive character. People want Ashley Mitchell to come back. The same, very divisive character. I’d love to try to them out. I know it’s impossible because of the schedule, but I’d love them to come and maybe guest host an episode or be like a guest judge. That would be amazing.

But the real coup d’etat, as they say, would be Coral [Smith]. Coral would be amazing. And I don’t know if she’s scared to come back or if she’s totally moved on or if she feels like she left on such a high note that coming back, she doesn’t do that, it’s gonna tarnish her legacy. But I’ve told people whether you come back for an episode or the whole thing, people just wanna see you, you’re not gonna tarnish anything. So maybe one day we’ll get her back. Coral would be amazing.

Another one that I hear all the time is Timmy [Beggy].

Timmy is my guy. Timmy is great. I think the problem with Timmy is just scheduling. He’s really involved producing a lot of stuff on his own. So, I think if the scheduling was in line with something that he would have open in his schedule, he would definitely consider it.  He went on one of our live shows recently and enjoyed that the fans loved him. He’d be great. Timmy’s always great because he’s comic relief, but he still gives a s**t about the game, and I think fans would love it.

There’s a funny moment in the episode when you’re talking about your Challenge career and looking back and the first thing your mind goes to is the speedos and the ice. I’m just curious why did that come up first for you? When I think of your biggest challenge, I was thinking of the honey. 

The honey challenge was amazing because I was in tip-top shape. Then even at that age, I was in tip-top shape. I’m like, “Speedo? Bring it on!” The ice block challenge to me is so Era 1 because what we’re doing and the strategy that the guys were using was so caveman-ish that it was just hilarious. The fact that we were laying on each other thinking that the weight of our bodies would melt the ice faster and giving Shane his big gay fantasy that he said was the best thing ever. Like, it’s just so funny to me that that just stood out and back in the day. You always knew it was gonna be a wacky challenge when you woke up and it was, your Speedo hanging on your bedpost. Like, “Guys, your uniforms are on your bedpost.” And they were like, “Speedo. Fantastic. Can’t wait for this one.” But it’s just that I get so many people that ask me about that ice challenge — for the girls, too. I mean, it just was so wacky and so different. I don’t know if they could pull that off in this era of 2024. Back then it was perfect. It was amazing.

There’s The Challenge fan circuit that you’re very active in. What is it about the fans of this franchise that makes them so invested and make it so interactive with you guys?

What it is — and I’ve spoken about this with fans over the past few years, hosting these live shows across the country — is so many of our fans have grown up with us. Like me, I was a huge fan of 90210 when it first came out. So I felt like I was part of that pop culture era, and I feel like it’s the same nostalgic feel that you get watching us as we continue to grow, some become fathers, some become mothers, and we become adults.

The great thing now for me is to meet someone, man or female, that’s older. And they’re like, “Hey, we actually watch this with our daughter now. This is our show, like All Stars or The Challenge, the franchise — this is our show.” So I feel like the fact that they’ve seen all of us grow up, and we’re not actors, we’re not playing a role, we’re playing ourselves, and the fact that we do things for fans to meet us throughout the year, it definitely is a bond that’s so special that other shows, especially reality shows, don’t get that.

I mean, my first show, my very first show of reality TV was 1995, Road Rules. And the fact I feel like I’m more relevant now than I did back in ’95, and I’m at my age? So the fans are great. I love them. They’re the best fans ever. And I will say this, it’s the best show ever. The Challenge is the best show ever. Yeah, we gripe about certain things here and there, but at the end of the day, we’re always so grateful to be on that show, and this is definitely not my last rodeo. That should be the headline of this article: “The Godfather is just getting warmed up.” Because I’m physically fit. Again, I feel like I’m more relevant than ever, and I love this show. I love this game. So hopefully you’ll see a lot more of me.

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Any chance of you trying to push for a reboot of Road Rules?

Next year is the 30th anniversary of Road Rules. I’ve already spoken with Kit [Hoover] from my original season. Many other Road Rulers… I’ve actually planted the seed with Bunim Murray and said, “Hey, next year is the 30th anniversary. You guys did a Real World: Homecoming. Maybe we have to do some sort of Road Rules homecoming slash All Stars thing, maybe a modified two-week on the road kind of thing.”

So if they don’t do it, I’m definitely doing something because the fans demand it, and I am a man of the people so I will deliver. But, no, in all honesty, hopefully Bunim Murray will do something fun for us. Kit Hoover now is a huge star. She’s up for it, which is great. Derrick is up for it, Veronica [Portillo] is up for it, Susie [Meister] is up for it, Darrell is up for it, Rachel’s up — there’s so many people that I feel like if they did a modified two-week trip, it would be great, and I think the fans would eat it up.

You mentioned before in the confessional that your mother has been undergoing cancer treatment. I just wanted to see how she’s doing.

It’s crazy because during the first season of All Stars, she had got diagnosed, and she was a year into her treatment of stage four breast cancer. And you hear stage four, you think the worst, right? You think this is gonna be — we actually googled it and the two-year success rate of stage four was like 22 percent. I’m happy to say she is now in her fifth year fighting stage four cancer. She has definitely slowed down, but she hasn’t lost her spirit. She hasn’t lost her positivity. I moved back to Florida. I’m now closer to her. I get to see her every week, and she’s a huge fan of not only the show, but she’s just a fan of just the fans being supportive of her and sending her all these prayers on all of these live shows. I have so many people come out and say, “How’s your mom? I’ve been praying for her.” So I thank them from the bottom of my heart and she does, too.

But, you know, knock on whatever, she’ll be here for Season 45 of The Challenge or the 30th anniversary reunion special of Road Rules because she’s been a huge part of my life. Everyone’s asked like, “What’s your why?” She’s always my why of doing things as I always wanted to be not only respectful, but I always wanna make my mom feel special and give her a special life toward the end of this lifetime. I mean, the battle is hard but she’s fighting, and that’s all I can ask for.

The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras, Wednesdays, 8/7c, MTV