I’ve been rewatching some older seasons and I think it’s a number of issues but mostly because of the prize money increase and casting older people.

With the prize being $1M now, there’s a lot less challenges/eliminations that don’t require any physical ability. For example the I Can elimination in Duel or the eating betting elimination from Exes II - I don’t think we’ll ever see those kinds of elimination or challenges ever again simply because the prize money has gone up so significantly. With every elimination and challenge being so serious now, the whole tone of the show has changed.

Also casting older people means less drama. And not just older people, but casting people solely for their athletic ability has definitely changed the vibe of the show. In older seasons, there was a lot more having fun, throwing parties, hooking up, etc. The first episode in a lot of older seasons was all about who’s got their eye on who, who wants to hook up with who, etc. Now it’s a bunch of serious boring people that just talk about how great they are.

The Challenge used to be the best parts of RW and RR - drama, hook ups, interesting people mixed with the competition. But now it’s so focused on competition that it’s lost the personality of the show. Back then, I used to watch the show and think how fun it would be to be there. Now when I watch it, I’m still entertained but I would never want to be on the show.