The extremely long-running MTV series The Challenge is about to enter it’s thirty-fifth season, subtitled Total Madness. The game’s creators are consistently looking for new twists to change the game, and their latest innovation is that anyone who makes it to the final of the season has to win an elimination first.
The challengers themselves seem to be formidable opponents this season, and with the elimination twist it’s really anyone’s game. So here is every male challenger on the season, ranked in order of their potential to win.
Asaf Goren
Asaf looks like a pretty strong individual, but as a rookie all of the cards are stacked against him anyway. He might not be the first out, but it seems like there’s almost no chance of him being the last man standing.
The only connection he even has with anyone in the season is with Tori, a girl that he unceremoniously cheated on during their season of Are You The One.
Christopher “Swaggy C” Williams
Swaggy C is yet another newcomer to The Challenge, and while all rookies have a chance of making it to the end, they are almost always the sacrificial lambs of the season.
As a Big Brother alum he really hasn’t been tested in a Challenge-style environment, and if he winds up making it to the end or winning it will only be because he beat pretty much every other man in the series. So it’s possible, but improbable.
Josh Martinez
Normally we wouldn’t rank any veteran’s chances as lower than a rookie’s, and as an actual physical competitor Josh seems decent, but after his showing last season it’s kind of hard to expect him to get to the end.
In one of the most baffling moves of all time, Josh screwed over the major alliance he was a part of, switched to the opposing alliance, and unintentionally ensured that his new alliance was on the losing end of the game for the rest of the season. So it safe to say, his political game is a black hole of skill.
Jay Starrett
Realistically speaking, Jay’s chances here do not seem great. Yes, he was a competitor on Survivor, and yes, his social game is probably better than any other rookie, but he’s still a rookie.
And for those who don’t follow the MTV drama, Jay was officially with Morgan during their season of Ex On The Beach, then Morgan went on The Challenge, met Johnny Bananas, and dumped Jay for Bananas. Coming in with any sort of issues with a vet like Johnny is not a great way to start off.
Nelson Thomas
Nelson is someone who is an above average physical competitor, and as one of Cory’s biggest allies in Challenge history it seems safe to assume he’ll make it at least a few episodes in.
But the real issue here with Nelson (and the rest of Team Young Buck) is that while physically he can do the job, he’s not the brightest bulb in The Challenge, and his political game is terrible.
Rogan O’Connor
Rogan is a really weird example of how The Challenge is constantly throwing wild cards. In his first season he didn’t even make it past the first day, and on his second season he made it to the final.
However he still hasn’t been really tested, he has a significant injury that can always rear it’s ugly head, and his willingness to throw Dee under the bus demonstrated that he’s not a very reliable ally.
Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat
It’s pretty extraordinary for a rookie to have the kind of chances that Fessy has going into his premiere season on The Challenge, but as a former competitor on American Ninja Warrior it seems like his chances are way above average.
Total Madness is a season that requires competitors to face elimination before getting to the final, and Fessy seems like someone who is both tailor made to win Challenge finals and like someone who no one else will want to face in an elimination.
Cory Wharton
When he first arrived on The Challenge, it seemed like Cory was going to become one of the new faces of the show. And perhaps it’s just because the expectations were high, but ultimately he has been a real disappointment so far.
He’s done okay, but he always seems to make really obvious mistakes that most halfway decent Challenge contestants would know to avoid. If he can avoid them then he might go far, but if he screws up again then his prospects are bleak.
Stephen Bear
Stephen Bear is one of those people who seems to be born for reality TV, and he knows it. He’s one of the most annoying contestants in the history of the series, and that is completely intentional on his part.
He’s a pretty good competitor overall, but his sort of reverse political game is what sets him apart. Instead of trying to play the game by manipulating everyone, he just tries to rile them up and throw them off as much as possible, a strategy that has actually worked well for him in the past.
Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio
It might be surprising to see Bananas this low on this list, considering that he’s won more Challenges than anyone else. And he very well may win this one too, but in terms of the game’s format, this is going to be one of the most difficult styles for him to win.
Johnny is really tough to beat in finals, but his history in eliminations is not great. An elimination is the easiest way to get him out of the game and the other players know it, and since people have to win an elimination to get to the final it could be a rough road for Johnny.
Kyle Christie
The UK kids have shown themselves to be formidable opponents in general, but Kyle has probably performed the best out of this whole new crop of recruits. Kyle’s social game appears to be great, and while he’s not the best competitor in any particular arena, he’s above average in almost every skill that’s necessary for a Challenge win.
And at this point he’s somewhere between the sacrificial rookies and the intimidating vets, so he might be able to fly under the radar for a while too.
Jordan Wiseley
As Jordan will gladly tell anyone on planet earth with eyes and ears, he is one of the best Challenge competitors of all time. He’s really not on the level of a Johnny, a CT, or a Wes, but he’s still better and more well rounded than the vast majority of competitors.
However the problem with this season is that he actually is among a few competitors who can beat him, and if the rest of the contestants are smart, they’re going to be throwing the big threats in against each other as much as they can.
CT Tamburello
CT is a beast who should have (and probably would have if he could keep his temper in check) won way more seasons of the show than he has. But he’s one of the vets that even the other vets are scared of.
If any of the guys on the bottom of the totem pole get the choice on who goes in, CT will likely be their number one choice every time, but that’s because he is physically impossible to beat in eliminations.
Wes Bergmann
CT is pretty much unstoppable in physical competitions, and his other game skills are pretty solid too, but Wes is the kind of player who demonstrates that being above average at everything makes you a stronger player than having exceptional skills paired with weaknesses.
Wes’ prospects for winning the season rest on one thing, the fact that he’s an incredibly strong vet who is astoundingly tough to beat in eliminations. In an elimination-focused season, his history of elimination wins coupled with the rest of his stellar skill set give him the best shot.
