Looking Back At The 2019 Monster Jam All-Star Challenge

In lieu of the Superstar Challenge from Anaheim kicking off our 2024 broadcast season on MAVTV, I decided to take a stroll down memory lane and revisit its predecessor – the All-Star Challenge.

In October of 2019, the Monster Jam All-Star Challenge took place over two nights in what would be the final Monster Jam event at Sam Boyd Stadium (*for more info on Sam Boyd check out last week’s article), pitting Team Fire against Team Ice in a unique format that featured 24 drivers competing in four competitions.

Before we get into the event itself, lets rewind to how we got there. Throughout the 2019 season, six Fire and Ice trucks were competing on various tours and those drivers would automatically qualify for the All- Star Event, while fan-voting selected ten additional superstars, with the final eight drivers being chosen by the respective team captains.

Once all the competitors were announced, the six Fire and Ice drivers joined Dennis Anderson and I at the Monster Jam studios for the inaugural All-Star draft. I was absolutely fascinated with how the draft unfolded. Team Ice won the right to select first by accumulating the most in-season points, and Scott Buetow, Jon Zimmer Sr, and Cynthia Gauthier used the first pick to select Ryan Anderson. With the second pick, Tom Meents, Cory Rummell, and Bari Musawwir chose Adam Anderson and we kept going until all 24 superstars had a team. Every single pick was authentically done in real time. There were draft boards, and war rooms, and did I mention that I got to hang out with Dennis Anderson all night? I sincerely hope we find a way to do another draft again and let Dennis and I cook one more time.

Now let’s get back to Vegas. The All-Star Challenge had a World Finals feel to it and it was ambitious and, in my opinion, wildly successful. It was also the first and only time Chicago-style racing was run at Sam Boyd Stadium and the first time in years that a Monster Jam event was available behind a pay-per-view wall for our international audience. For the broadcast and live event I was joined by Morgan Kane, Leslie Mears, and Ryan LaCosse in what would be one of the most chaotic and incredible events I had ever witnessed.

Team Ice dominated night one with a “Leduc” vs “Anderson” final race that lived up to expectations and Brianna Mahon showed why she is the “Princess of Carnage” as she launched Whiplash to a win in the Best Trick Competition. Night two was no different as Coty Saucier kept getting faster each round and led Monster Energy to the Vegas-racing win while Ryan Anderson “Iced” the Overall Event Championship and team win with another historic Sam Boyd Stadium Freestyle victory bringing an end to the 2019 All-Star Challenge.

Monster Jam was able to build on what went down during those two epic nights in Vegas and elevate the game even more with last year’s Superstar Challenge which you can watch on MAVTV now, as well as on our YouTube channel beginning this Saturday. When you’re done reliving Team Neon’s dominant win, I invite you to check out the All-Star Challenge and the draft. You will have a blast. I know I did.