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.

The golden boy

In my mind Landon was only 1 win away from being the undisputed Challenge GOAT. Landon basically had everything except for a political game. He could take a scrub partner and them into a winner. He was never in drama, just played the game straight put his hard hat on and won A LOT.

We only got to see him on a total of 4 shows, which is wild when you think about his impact. People still consider him the best and he hasn’t done a show since 2010. Winning the first 2 challenges he was on. His 3rd challenge, The Duel 2 he was looking like a lock to win the whole thing. Dominating everyone and everything that season. A stacked season with consisting of Evan, Mark, Brad and MJ. Of course CT getting kicked off after 1 episode probably could have changed some things but Landon was just that good that I don’t know if it would have mattered. The reason he isn’t the undisputed champ is because he ended up losing a close elimination to Brad right before the finals leaving everyone in shock.

He more than made up for it on his next season Fresh Meat 2 when he carried a not so great partner Carley to a finals and then won the whole thing. They were heavy underdogs against Kenny and Laurel who crushed everyone almost the entire season until the end.

But he has basically been a ghost since then leaving everyone to wonder how much more he could have won….

Finals Wins: Inferno 2, Gauntlet 2, Fresh Meat 2

Finals appearances: 3/4..

Daily missions: Pretty much unstoppable on a day to day basis. On Inferno 2 he won 4 out of 8 life shields on his team. During The Duel 2 he won 5 out of 10 daily missions.

Elimination Record: 5-1

Quality elimination wins: I would say both of his wins on Fresh Meat 2 were pretty incredible. His partner was such a dud and they pulled it out both times they got sent in

Eye test: The golden boy, i mean what else is there to say. He rides mountain bikes for fun.

That 1 loss to Brad changes everything. If he beats Brad then he goes a perfect 6-0 in eliminations and probably wins 4-4 finals. But much like when Jordan retired to play baseball for a year and a half we are left with a lot of what ifs…

Darrell’s fight with Brad probably cost him the #1 spot

Sometimes I think Darrell gets forgotten about, which is crazy because his record holds up almost better than anyones.

Like most challengers on this list theres a lot of what ifs. Darrell won 4 out of his first 4 shows he was cast on. On his 5th show he basically had a straight shot to the final after beating Cohutta. Then out of nowhere he gets in a fight with Brad therefore DQ’d from The Ruins.

After that he didn’t really pick up any steam in Fresh Meat 2. After losing first during FM2 we didn’t see him for a long time. He finally made his return on Invasion of the Champs, had 2 really solid elimination wins before finally losing to CT. Had he beat CT I don’t think he would of even had to win the finals, because beating Bananas, Zach, and CT in the same season is legendary stuff.

Finals Wins: 4. Gauntlet 1, Inferno 1, Inferno 2, Fresh Meat 1. Darrell has 3 wins in the old school team format, but he does have a pretty quality win with the very first partner season. I think Fresh Meat 1 is when the challenges started to get more competitive.

Finals: Out of 8 shows he made it to 4 finals

Daily Missions: Darrell wasn’t a liability during daily challenges but he wasn’t as good as the other guys in my top 5. People feared him more in a finals setting or 1 on 1.

Elimination record: 5-2..I don’t really know how to count his loss in Dirty 30 he didn’t really get voted in in a normal way so Im not counting that against him.

Quality Elimination wins: As i stated earlier Darrell took out Johnny Bananas and Zach in the same season. This also came after a long hiatus from Darrell.

Eye test: Golden glove boxer, physical fitness trainer. He was obviously a legit athlete

P.S. I know he won a champ vs stars but for the sake of this argument im not counting those wins.

Who is the G.O.A.T? ( Male challengers)

Before we get into discussion about who the ‘GOAT’ is lets talk about this site first. thefinalchallenge is the blog for the die hard challenge fans BY a die hard challenge fan. Ill be discussing classic moments, hall of fame inductees, current seasons and everything else related to The Challenge.

Now its the question asked in every sport who is the greatest of all time? In baseball some say its Babe Ruth, some say its Barry Bonds. Basketball you got MJ fans or Lebron fans, or Magic Johnson. The point is there is no definitive greatest of all time everyone has different opinions and criteria on what makes someone the greatest.

When it comes to the male competitors i have a top 5 in no order, CT, Landon, Johnny Bananas, Darell, Evan. I could honestly hear a case for any of the 5

But before we find out who the greatest is we need to figure out what makes someone the greatest. Whats the criteria?

The criteria I use (and you should too if you’re a sane person) is

Final Challenge wins…Now there are challenge wins that hold more weight than others. Team challenges from back in the day are not as important as INDIVIDUAL wins. Wins with a partner are also better than team wins
Finals appearances…How many times have you made it to the end.
Daily missions…On a day to day basis how do you compete against everyone else and how do handle the weird challenge games
Elimination record.. Simple whats your record in elimination rounds, how do you compete when you back is against the wall
Quality elimination wins…Who did you beat? Was it 1 on 1? For example CT beating Shane in Inferno 1 is not a quality win. But him Beating Darell in Invasion of the Champs is as good of a win as you can get.
Eye test…Maybe its me but when i watch sports i have to see how who looks athletic who jumps, and runs, and makes it look effortless. Who can throw a ball without looking god awful.

Ok so now we have a base on what it takes to be called the GOAT in The challenge, ill lay out the facts for the competitors I’ve named above and you can figure it out.