Champs Downtown just got a whole lot spicier.

Five staffers ventured to Champs Downtown to test out the new collaboration between the hit YouTube series “Hot Ones” and Champs to try the show’s renowned fiery sauces.

With two challenge boxes at play, our staffers were ready to dig in. Each box contained 12 wings, and a variety of six available sauces: Original Buffalo, The Classic Chili Maple, Los Calientes Verde, Los Calientes Rojo, Los Calientes Barbacoa, and The Last Dab Apollo Hot Sauce. On the side, our staffers were also provided with a few orders of Reaper Mode fries.

All of the sauces accompanied the wings on the side in order to keep the chicken crispy and true to the YouTube series experience. Our staffers got to dip their wings just like the guests on the show.

If our reviews get your mouth watering for some of your own, you can check out the menu features of six-piece or 12-piece wings and crispy chicken sandwiches through HotOnesDelivery.com for pick-up or delivery. Major third-party delivery platforms such as DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub, are also options for ordering.

Ally Eaton

I somehow decided to volunteer myself to the Champs Hot Ones experience, and it was certainly something. I am a wing fan but had never heard much about the series, so I didn’t really know what I was getting into, but I can never pass up a good side quest.

I began first with the Hot Fries, and quickly ended that journey. I took one bite and decided they were not for me. I found the spicy aftertaste to be weird.

Next up, the wings. I appreciated how they left the wings naked so that they could remain crispy. The wings themselves even plain were delicious, but the whole point of this excursion was the sauces.  I first tried the Los Calientes Verde, which was very similar to a Salsa Verde and I really enjoyed it. I found myself returning back to this sauce as one of my favorites.

Next, I tried the Los Calientes Rojo, which was sweeter and thicker. It had a twinge of a tomato taste, and I enjoyed this one. The Original Buffalo was up next, and this one surprised me. The buffalo flavor was a lot richer and creamier, and less like your authentic buffalo sauce. It was still a good classic.

Los Calientes Barbacoa was up next, and I enjoyed this one. I like Barbacoa beef, so this had a nice BBQ-esque taste and was very authentic to the meat itself. Not super spicy!

Finally, I went with the Classic Chili Maple. This one was more thin and saucy than the others, but I really enjoyed it! This one hits the top of my list! Perfect amount of spice and flavor for an awesome experience.

All in all, it was a great early afternoon getting an exclusive look at these wings. I hope Champs and Hot Ones have a successful collaboration!

Ella Wehmeyer

I excitingly volunteered myself to try out the new Hot One wings experience and it was definitely something. I really love wings and spicy food, so I was excited especially since I’m a fan of the Hot Ones show.

I began this adventure by trying the Hot Fries. These were definitely a punch in the face. I tried a singular fry and that’s all it took for me to not want to have another. I didn’t know fries could be that hot.

The first of the wings and sauces I tried was the Classic Chilli Maple sauce. I really enjoyed this sauce paired with the perfectly crispy wings. It was a great basic hot sauce and I would definitely eat multiple wings with this on it again.

I then went on to the Original Buffalo Hot Sauce. This was definitely not one of my favorites of the six. It’s described as having a rich and tangy twist on the iconic sauce, and that’s exactly what it was. I’m not a huge buffalo fan to begin with, so this would be a pass for me if I ever did this again.

The next sauce I tried was the Los Calientes Rojo. This was my second favorite just behind the Chilli Maple. I loved the light, sweet, and tropical taste the sauce brought to the wings. I would definitely order multiple wings with this sauce again.

Los Calientes Verde was up next. This sauce was very similar to salsa which was interesting, but I didn’t love it. I had a similar experience with the Los Calientes Barbacoa. This had a more barbecue taste to it, but its chunkier texture threw me off.

Lastly, I had The Last Dab Apollo. This sauce scarred me. I only had a tiny dip of this sauce on some of the wings and the heat of it has been sitting in the back of my throat ever since. The Last Dab is so hot I drank two glasses of water and shoved 10 fries into my mouth just to try and relieve the pain. I later looked up what The Last Dab is made of just to find out the Apollo pepper is a mix of the Carolina Pepper and Pepper X and sits at 2.5 million on the Scoville scale. I will be staying far far away from this sauce in the future.

Evan Halfen

I’m obsessed with Sean Evans and his Hot Ones interviews, so naturally, I volunteered to be one of the first folks to try out its collab with Champs. Once we got there, we dug in right away (after getting pictures, of course) and started with the hot fries. Boy, did those have some kick.

After cleansing my palette with some water, I tried my first hot sauce: the Original Buffalo. This one had the perfect amount of spice to it and made my tummy happy. Next on the list for me was the Los Calientes Verde, which was probably one of my favorites since it had both sweet and spicy tastes to it. The Classic Chili Maple was my next bite and had a similar taste and vibe to it.

After my first few wings, and cleansing the palette again, I kicked things up a notch and tried the Los Calientes Rojo. I really liked the zesty and tropical undertones of this sauce and would definitely try it again. Next up was the Los Calientes Barbacoa, which had a much bigger kick than some of the other sauces but still manageable.

The last sauce I tried literally made me tear up, and I’m not even being dramatic. The Last Dab Apollo is no joke. I made the mistake of pouring way too much onto my wing. I seriously almost saw my life flash before my eyes and started coughing because of how insanely hot it was. Although I will never try it again, I definitely recommend trying it at least once if you’re adventurous and like trying stupid new things.

Overall, this was a fun experience, and now I know that these infamous sauces really do live up to the hype.

Julia Romankow

Hot Fries – These are way more spicy than I expected at first glance. Before you eat them, just be wary of how hot they are. The spicy aftertaste is very strong.

Classic – Not bad at all! Has a bit of a tang but is not super spicy at all. I was still feeling the spice from a hot fry at this point, but it wasn’t bad.

Los Calientes Verde – This one was sweeter than the classic and with a little bit more of a kick. Not anything too crazy hot

Buffalo – This was not crazy spicy but still a good-tasting Buffalo sauce with a hint of spice. The sauce is definitely more spicy than the Verde.

Los Calientes Barbacoa – My favorite by far. The taste is really great and it’s just the right amount of spice. Just a small kick, but it’s really good.

Los Calientes Rojo- This sauce is very sweet and a little bit spicy and definitely has more of a kick than the Barbacoa.

Nolan Wick

I took one bite of the hot fries and immediately knew I was in for quite the affair. These were spicy fries, and only a preview of what was to come.

All the sauces had a kick, with varying levels of spiciness. My personal favorite was the Buffalo sauce, which honestly, you really can’t go wrong with. But from start to finish, my mouth was on fire and I was constantly sipping water to ease the burn.