The Challenge All Decade Team – Males

With the 2010s ending its time to pick our all decade team. 5 males and 5 females that set themselves apart from the rest of the pack over the last 10 years.

Bananas

Finals: 5

Wins: 4 – Rivals, Exes, Free Agents, Rivals 3

Best Season: Free Agents

Best Elimination: Jordan – Free Agents

Finals: 5

Wins: 3 – Rivals 2, Invasion, War of the Worlds 2

Best Season: Rivals 2

Best Elimination: Darrell – Invasion

Jordan

Finals: 4

Wins: 3 – Exes 2, Dirty 30, War of the Worlds 2

Best Season: WOTW2

Best Elimination: Theo – WOTW2

Honestly i cant even make a top 5 for the males, sure there is plenty of cast members that could fill the last 2 spots. Maybe Tyler, Zack, Frank? But at the end of the day Bananas, CT, and Jordan just dominated this decade that it wasn’t fair to add anyone else to this list.

Break out star from the latest episode…

I really know nothing about this Turbo character, no clue what show he’s from, what country he’s from or why his name is Turbo. He has barely said anything most of the season so far but after threatening to kill hunter in the latest episode Im convinced he’s a legit crazy person, and Im all for it. Give me more Turbo cast him on every show Ive never seen a guy say so little and still be that electric. And then after wanting to rip Hunters arm off he doesn’t cast a vote for him on the killing floor, what a guy of honor and integrity.

Can Wes & Dee continue their winning streak?

Its not being talked about enough on this season but Wes and Dee are absolutely crushing the challenge right now. Overall they’ve won 4 missions and most recently 3 in a row. With no real alliance and the way the UK is coming after the male Vets all Wes and Dee can do right now is keeping winning to save themselves. There is no room for error at this point. I still believe Wes will be apart of another big move before its over. And if he is apart of a huge move and keeps winning then he may be painting his masterpiece with this season.

If Wes & Dee win the whole thing (obviously way too early to predict this) where would this season rank on his list of accomplishments?

Wes’s Duel 1 season is still one of if not the best season any single player has played. He went head to head with Derrick and won. He somehow manipulated Evan into calling CT out in a Duel, and CT sent Evan home who at the time was winning just about all the daily challenges. Then he beats CT in a daily mission to avoid the final elimination. Ultimately beating Brad in the final and winning 150,000 not only was it the highest cash prize for a single player for a decade it was the first individual challenge at that time.

It would definitely be hard to top that season but if they somehow pulled a win off I think you could put it right behind the Duel 1 season.

My 5 takeaways from The Challenge: War of the Worlds so far

1.I’d be happy never seeing Nany again.

I really don’t get all the hype on Nany coming into the season. She’s an OK competitor at best. I mean MTV literally posted a video on who would win in a rematch between her and Kellyann? what? Who cares? Kellyann is a whack job. Secondly how many guys is Nany gonna hook up with before someone calls her out on it? Good god. Its every season starting with her original Real World show.

2.Cara needs to go as well

I know Cara has a huge fan base but I cant figure out why. She was one of the weakest girls on the majority of her shows. In Rivals 2 she was the weak link on a team with COOKE..Who only did 1 show! I don’t get this Cara craze. Did MTV need someone to market alongside Johnny Bananas? She has hooked up with 2 of the lamest dudes, she has weird hair, she’s always trying to tell other people what to do. I know the girls cast is always weak especially when you take out Emily, Laurel, Evelyn but viewers need a break from Cara.

3.As much as I hate to admit it Bear annoys me more than Kyle

I didn’t think anyone could irritate me on one of these shows more than Kyle, then Bear happened. Just a complete idiot. The UK kids accents make it worse I think.

4.Paulie is actually pretty good

I cant lie, he may be small, and cocky but Paulie competes every challenge. I know last season it took him forever to get back in the game but once he did I think he showed everyone that he has some ability. On War of the Worlds he and Natalie have been apart of tribunal 3 times. It doesn’t hurt that he has a stacked partner but look out for them the rest of the way.

5.This season is wide open

This is the first time in a long time where I have no idea who can win this thing. Paulie and Natalie have won 3 missions, Wes and Dee have won 2, Cara and Theo have won twice. Then throw in hunter and Georgia, and Turbo and Nany. I still feel like Wes has something up his sleeve I just don’t know what yet, but this is anyones game right now.

The Lakers and Lebron STINK

Lakers are 31-39, they just lost to the Knicks who are tanking to get Zion. Lebron’s shot gets blocked at the buzzer?! Ive never seen a superstar like that get rejected on a buzzer beater. Lebron probably didn’t want to win the game anyway. The fake injury is coming up soon he wants this season to be over QUICK!

Challengers Ranked 6-10

I had 5 in depth (sort of) blogs on my top 5 so now heres spots 6-10 wrapped up in 1 blog.

#6 Derrick

Finals wins: Inferno 3, The Island, Ruins

Pound for pound the scrappiest challenger of all time. The only reason Derrick isn’t in my top 5 is because he has no individual seasons won or seasons with a partner.

#7 Wes

Finals wins: Duel 1, Rivals 2

Wes had his ups and downs over the years but with wins like Duel 1 and Rivals 2 and then throw in that he has more elimination wins than anyone else makes him top 10 worthy.

#8 Kenny

Finals wins: Inferno 3, The Island, Ruins

Kenny sneaky had one of the best runs ever. He made 7 finals out of 8 seasons. That is ridiculous in arguably the hardest era of competition to make it to 7 finals and win 3 of them. He gets bumped down a little because he didn’t make it too far on the only individual challenge he was on and for not bringing home the W on Fresh Meat 2. I get so irritated when I think of Gauntlet 3 because Kenny is another victim of Big Easy ruining the vets championship.

#9 Mark

Finals wins: RW/RR Challenge, Battle of the sexes

I mean Mark is the Godfather he has to be on this list. Literally on the first season of Road Rules what else can you say, guys a legend.

#10 Alton

Finals wins: The Gauntlet 2

If Alton was on more challenges he’d be in the top 3 theres no doubt. Athletically CT, Landon, and Alton were just different than everyone else. He made it to 3 finals in a row winning one, the other two he had a weaker team. He took a long break and came back and didn’t seem interested in being on the show at all which you cant blame him that cast was HORRIBLE.

Cutthroat: Real World vs. Fresh Meat vs. Road Rules..the season we deserved

The Challenge did away with a lot of old formats, no more Infernos, no more Gauntlets. I think everyone agrees there should of been a Duel 3 that’s a no brainer but they have given us individual challenges they’ve just changed the name and added some twists.

All that being said, it was an extreme miss during The Challenges greatest run of shows that we didn’t get Cutthroat: RW vs FM vs RR. Think about it its 2011, all of our favorite characters are still playing and still young and in shape. It would obviously be really hard to get all these players in the game but if you’re Bunim Murray you break the back in 2011 to make this show happen. Keep all the daily games the same, all the same eliminations and even the final if you want. But replace people like Shavoun with Evelyn, or make CT an actual cast member not just a mercenary. It would of been a legendary way to take us into the new format with partner seasons i.e. Rivals and Exes 1. Taking into consideration who was actually still competing at the time.

Team Real World:

Guys: CT, Wes, Landon, Alton, Brad Girls: Emily, Sarah, Paula, Camilia, Jenn

Team RR has the best group of guys on this list. All those guys in their prime?? Come on that’s the most savage list for a guys team. Alton and Landon on the same team has proved to be dangerous just watch Gauntlet 2. The girl side isn’t bad at all either, Emily made it to the final in this season so did Jenn and Sarah. Sarah kind of crapped out which she had that coming she is way too over confident sometimes so I was happy to see that. Paula was super flakey during those years so she probably wouldn’t of made it too far. Then there’s Camilia, she was on the original Cutthroat but she wasn’t a cast member of any of the shows The Challenge used to pool from ( RR, RW, FM) she was the winner of the spring back challenge so we will just stick her on team Real World.

Team Fresh Meat:

Guys: Evan, Kenny, Noor, Pete, Luke Girls: Evelyn, Laurel, Theresa, Cara, Diem

With Evan, Kenny, and Laurel I would probably be rooting for them the most. I always thought it was dumb by the challenge to not bring Noor, and Pete back on other shows. They were pretty good and both made it to the Fresh Meat 2 final. Luke is the wild card. It was between him and Big Easy. Luke was on the Cutthroat season that aired and made it to the final so he wasn’t all that bad. Theresa was an ok competitor I don’t this she would of hurt the team. Cara was pretty worthless during this time period but she did make it to the Cutthroat final so there’s that. Then lastly you have Diem, as long as she didn’t have to go into an elimination she was pretty well rounded and good in finals. So I think the girls team for Fresh Meat team is the most solid.

Team Road Rules:

Guys: Darrell, Derrick, Mark, Abe, Derek Girls: Jodi, Rachel, Susie, Tori, Jillian

Ok maybe its a stretch that Jodi would come back for this season. She won the Duel 1 and basically retired from challenges, but I’ve always had s soft spot for her so lets just assume MTV paid her a bunch of money to come back for this show. The thing that makes this season so interesting if it actually happened is that you don’t have weak links on the either side of the teams. Rachel is a top 5 girl all time, and Susie, Tori, and Jillian have all won finals. The Guys on this team is by far the most scrappy. Mark is the godfather of the challenge, then Derrick, Abe and Darrell were all seasoned vets and winners. Now I really wanted to add Timmy Beggy to this list but he literally said he was retired after losing to Abe on Inferno 3, he was getting older so ill respect his retirement and say he wouldn’t do this show. So that doesn’t leave with much to work with in this period of shows so I had to us Derek, who wasn’t horrible but he is definitely the weakest guy on any of the 3 teams.

This made up cast format for a season that I thought was pretty solid with the original cast would be the best team challenge ever there’s no question about it. Any 3 of those teams could win. Team RW would probably never get along and would be the most dysfunctional. If Kenny, Evan, Ev and Laurel were the only ones that made it to the end for Fresh Meat I would say that’s the best combo of guys and girls. Then you have Road Rules who would probably just put their head down and go to work. I have a feeling they wouldn’t win all the daily missions but they’d have the least amount of drama and would work together better than the other 2 teams.

Never forget

With Wes being the only interesting character left on War of the Worlds should I even keep watching?

I’m not a huge Zack fan to be honest. I don’t find him funny, he’s pretty overrated given his size and athletic ability and he’s always crying about something. But now he’s gone and I don’t really have any connection to these newer people they keep throwing at us. After Bananas and CT exited early Zack and Wes were the only two guys left I didn’t completely hate.

I will always watch the show but do I tune in week after week or just wait to binge watch it. I could care less about the Cara/Paulie/Kevin?Keith? whatever his name is story line. Really im only left with 1 option Wes.

Wes probably doesn’t get enough credit, in his prime he was a top competitor, and when he won the Duel honestly he had the right at the time to say he was the best ever. Obviously that didn’t last long but at the time it felt like that. He still performs decent enough to not be at the bottom, and his politics still have the ability to shake the game up a little bit and keep him around. I just have a sneaky feeling about Wes this season with Bananas gone that he will be able to play his game and might make it far. But if something happens and he goes home then im out on this season. I cant do it with this cast.

What happened to the days when we used to watch a season and the cast would be STACKED. 2 of my favorite seasons were Duel 1 and Ruins just look at some of the names

Duel 1: Wes, Brad, CT, Evan, Derrick, Kenny, Bananas, Jodi, Diem, Paula, Anessa, BETH

Ruins: Wes, Evan, Kenny, Darrell, Derrick, Bananas, Brad, Evelyn, Diem, Susie, Sarah, Veronica, Tonya

Even someone like Leroy who has been on the shows now forever doesn’t make me want to watch the show. All I’m saying is Wes better make it far or I’m out.

Can someone get carried like a rag doll and still be considered the GOAT?

If you would of told 13 year old me that the Johnny Bananas (in the gif above) was going to be a 6x champ. Be on more seasons than anyone else in the history of the challenge. I would of fell out of my chair.

Unlike the other 4 I’ve mentioned on this list Johnny didn’t start off as hot out of the gate. He was the very first contestant eliminated in his first show. He made it to the final in his next season but he was never really a threat. Same while on Gauntlet 3. Then it all changed on the Island when he got his first win, which was well deserved according to him.

After the Island he did The Ruins and Cutthroat. He picked up a win during Ruins alongside Evan, Kenny, Derrick and Susie. We all know what happened on Cutthroat. But Bananas real legacy starts on his 7th season. He gets partnered up with his Rival and former Real World cast member Tyler and as much as i hate to admit it they were the best team as a pair. Both equally as good and level headed, both just athletic enough and didn’t have a real beef to overcome.

He follows that up with a huge win the very next season with Camila as his partner on Battle of the Exes. Where they had a comeback victory in the finals against Ct and Diem. And he didn’t stop there he would eventually Win Free Agents breaking the tie for most seasons won with Darrell. Annnd again he didn’t stop there he wont his 6th with Sarah on Rivals 3.

Since his 6th win on Rivals 3 when he decided to keep the money from Sarah which i don’t really care about because Sarah is unbearable, he has been on a 5 season drought. Failing to make the finals in any one of those seasons. That has kinda brought his GOAT status down in my mind. He still actively trains for these shows unlike CT, so the more he keeps coming on and losing only hurts him.

Finals wins: Island, Ruins, Rivals, Exes, Free Agents, Rivals 3

Finals appearances: Inferno 3, Island, Ruins, Rivals, Exes, Rivals 2, Free Agents, Rivals 3

Daily missions: After doing 18 shows id hope he’s decent on day to day challenges

Elimination record: 7-11…This is where he loses it for me look i know he has more challenge wins than anyone else but c’mon a losing elimination record thats a not really GOAT like. Johnny has also lost 1 on 1 eliminations to Evan, Derrick, Darrell and Devin.

Quality elimination wins: As a team he and Tyler beat CT/ Adam, and him and Camila beat Mark/Robin. Now 1 on 1 wins i would say beating Jordan is his best but Jordan has 1 hand so i don’t know. He did beat CT in a puzzle on Free Agents so we will count that.

Eye test: He was basically a scrub in early seasons but became a pretty great competitor.

So in review he has the most finals wins, but also has more elimination loses than anyone else. I guess thats what happens when you do 18 shows.

“I will smash his head and eat it” – CT

You knew CT was coming right? Listen if you’ve watched this show for any amount of time you know that CT is the most physically gifted and talented person to ever compete. But also the craziest. The guys has been in more fights and DQ’d more than anyone.

Its insane to me that he doesn’t have like 8 wins honestly. Just look at his first 6 seasons..

Inferno: Lost in final

Inferno 2: Lost in final

Duel 1: DQ in final elimination

Inferno 3: DQ for fighting

Gauntlet 3: Lost in final…due to DQ…..you get the point right?

Duel 2: DQ for fighting

He was DQ’d in a last elimination before the final on The Duel, which was completely bogus. Everyone with a brain watched him destroy Brad but a stupid rule cost CT a chance at the finals against Wes and Im sorry Wes was a beast back then but CT would have beat him 10-10 times in that final.

Inferno 3, i don’t even know if he made it off the plane before punching Davis and being kicked off. This realistically would have been a win for CT. They replaced him with Derrick who made it to the final and won with the bad asses team. Outside of Alton, Abe, Timmy, and Kenny the challenge wasn’t too stacked. CT was easily the best out of all the guys.

Im not even gonna get started on the Gauntlet 3 thing again…And then yeah he comes back after taking a show off annnnd punched Adam. Then after that we basically dont see him again until this moment

He comes out as a mercenary on Cutthroat and embarrasses Johnny in a way nobody has ever seen on the challenge. The next season CT finally gets cast on a regular show again where he is partnered with Adam his rival. After all that time off CT showed he was still physically dominate over everyone else. See below gif. But in the end as a team CT and Adam weren’t the best pair, losing in the last elimination.

It took a long time but CT finally got his first win on Rivals 2. Way past due the guy poured everything into these shows and things just never seemed to work out for him early on.

One of the more sad events to his already wild challenge run is that he gets re partnered up with his ex Diem on Battle of the Exes 2(which they got 2nd place on the first battle of the exes together) but suddenly Diem has to leave to receive treatment for her cancer. CT was forced to leave the show and us as viewers lost our favorite guy/girl pair. Diem eventually passed away and CT took another break from the show. He made his return on Invasion of the Champs and took home the title that season and has been competing ever since. At this point CT is pushing 40 and not in great shape anymore. Kind of like watching Jordan play for the Wizards he has moments of greatness but nothing like his prime. He has had a couple early exits the last 2 shows which is not like him. He usually makes it to the final or loses in the final elimination (or gets kicked off) I don’t believe anything can hurt his legacy at this point.

Finals wins: Rivals 2, Invasion of the Champs. Even though he only has 2 wins, they both came in during the era of Individual and partner finals which is pretty impressive. Wes and CT on Rivals 2 basically lapped Bananas and Frank thus given CT his revenge for blowing the lead in the final during Battle of the Exes 1.

Finals appearances: Inferno, Inferno 2, Gauntlet 3, Exes, Rivals 2, Invasion, Dirty 30…Two things id like to point out if CT and Diem would of pulled out the win on Battle of the Exes i think that boosts CT’s legacy into the number 1 spot, ill write a blog about that later..Also the fact that dad bod CT killed it the entire season on Dirty 30 and then made it to a final is perhaps one of his greatest accomplishments

Daily missions: Guy was a stud during daily challenges. he won a total of 10 life shields between Inferno 1 and 2..10! He also picked up 3 individual wins during Duel 1. Not to mention his team on Gauntlet 3 won 10-14 missions that season. Literally the best challenge team ever.

Elimination record: 5-4

Quality elimination wins: Evan, Leroy, Darrell.

To me the CT vs Darrell elimination game during Invasion of the Champs is an absolute classic. I don’t know if you can count the Johnny Bananas backpack as an actual win because he was a mercenary so I didn’t factor into record. Also does anyone remember when he came in as a mercenary on Bloodlines and made Cara’s cousin look like an absolute scrub?

Eye test:

Look I realize that I probably went on way too long about CT but the context and facts needed to be laid out.