Mountain Dew Built A Real-Life GUTS Aggro Crag In NYC And Threw The Ultimate ’90s Throwback Thursday

The scene is familiar to every ’90s latchkey kid: A menacing wall with steam oozing out of every mysterious crevasse. Two contenders strapped into a system of harnesses preparing to climb to glory. Mike O’Malley holding a piece of the Aggro Crag, a trophy that epitomizes throwback greatness. Except this isn’t a GUTS rerun taped in-front of a live studio audience: It’s a real-life Throwback Thursday in an empty lot in Downtown Manhattan.

Last Thursday, Mountain Dew threw the ultimate millennial Throwback Thursday experience in New York City with Nickelodeon’s The Splat ’90s throwback block, complete with a real-life Aggro Crag and former GUTS host Mike O’Malley as a celebrity guest. There’s a good reason why the colors of the Aggro Crag didn’t look the same as you remember it: It’s *technically* not an Aggro Crag — It’s the DEWggro Crag, a competition to encourage Mountain Dew fans to vote for their favorite flavor, Baja Blast or Pitch Black. After all the votes are tallied over the next few weeks, the winner will stay in stores. The loser become a distant memory, just like your own dreams of climbing the Aggro Crag as a kid.

Since it’s just a few blocks from our office, we took a little field trip down to the DEWggro Crag. Here’s what we saw…

The head-to-head competition between friends was fierce:  

Long-time GUTS host Mike O’Malley was just chillin’ with a piece of the Crag… 

We talked to O’Malley for a few minutes, who told us that the cast of GUTS definitely didn’t bet on the contenders back in the day… In case you’re wondering what he’s up to these days, he actually created the Starz half-hour basketball comedy Survivor’s Remorse with LeBron James.

Other members of throwback shows were there as well: Here’s Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio from MTV’s The Challenge, along with Camila Nakagawa, Chris “CT” Tamburello, and Jenna Compono…

 

The trophy was just as glorious as we remember it…

 

In addition to competitors climbing for their favorite DEW flavor, attendees could also cast their Dewcision 2016 ballots for Baja Blast or Pitch Black. 

 

Ready to vote yourself in Dewcision 2016? Head over to Mountain Dew and vote for which flavor should stay on shelves! 

Brandon Wenerd is BroBible's publisher, writing on this site since 2009. He writes about sports, music, men's fashion, outdoor gear, traveling, skiing, and epic adventures. Based in Los Angeles, he also enjoys interviewing athletes and entertainers. Proud Penn State alum, former New Yorker. Email: brandon@brobible.com