Top 10 Most Underrated Eliminations in MTV Challenge History
By: Allan Aguirre
Tags: Television, The Challenge, Sports, TV, Reality

Blind stick fighting is probably the most polarizing elimination in Challenge history. It is so absurd and stupid that people either love it or hate it. I’m on both sides of the debate. Part of me embraces the fun and simplicity of the game, and then when it gets used to settle the Blood Feud of Bananas and Wes on Champ vs. Pros, I get pissed off. Then I think of Knight & Preston playing against Robb & Derek on Rivals 2, and I smile.

The first time this elimination got played, Knight, who is statistically the worst daily challenge competition of anyone with decent sample size, came up with a brilliant strategy. He and Preston came up with the codeword “NOLA,” a nod to their RW season, which they would use as a means for Preston to tell Knight to get low & swing. They lost the first round of this best of 3 and then adapted from there. Preston and Knight were one of the most entertaining pairs this show has ever had because they had legitimate disdain for one another, along with the fact they each weren’t great competitors. In this moment, they struck Gold and created the meta for what this elimination would become. I feel bad for Robb/Derek because they were the better team, but Knight/Preston made great Reality TV. Fun Fact: Knight went into 4 eliminations during his Challenge career and never once got voted in.

3 Jenna vs Tori on Total Madness

When people talk about the Jenna vs. Tori elimination, they do it mainly as a means to clown the ever-overconfident Tori Deal. Tori welcomed being the House Vote thinking that Jenna would volunteer and throw the elimination, and it would be a Free Red Skull. Of course, we know it ended with Jenna winning and Tori going home looking like a clown. The actual elimination was a back and forth banger.

Players had to run up and down a ramp, grabbing wooden bricks they would smash on a grate, where the broken down bricks would fill up a wheelbarrow below, first to fill up the container wins the elimination. Jenna smartly turned her brain off and went into competition mode; she quickly grabbed bricks and chucked them into the grate over and over again. Tori overthought everything; she did not have the form down, tried to shove small pieces through, and was a disaster. The crowd participation elevated this elimination, with Jordan having a meltdown as Tori lost. As the elimination goes on, Tori gets the hang of it and physically outpaces; it is a little too late because Jenna pulls out the win. This elimination did not get the credit it deserved due to the Jay/CT and Nelson/Rogan eliminations that got all the attention. It is one of the best cardiovascular eliminations this show has ever had.

2 Sarah vs Katie on the Ruins

There is something special about eliminations where players have bad blood. During the Ruins, Katie and Sarah had an infamous where the Champs played a prank by putting a plunger in Katie’s bed. Katie sees red, and once she sees Rookie Sarah Rice laughing at her, she takes out her anger on Sarah. Among all the chaos, Katie kicks Sarah out of the room, hurls some low-blows Sarah’s way, and tosses out the very reasonable line: “Don’t laugh at me while I have a plunger in my bed, bitch.”

I know the Plunger Fight is technically not part of the elimination, but it kind of is because they faced in elimination the same episode!

Katie and Sarah’s battle in the O-Ring in elimination is so perfect because it is so simple. Wrestle for control of a ring in the middle of the air. Ironically, the trick to this elimination is more about holding on than ripping the ring free. Katie takes the first round, throws Sarah the bird, and gets cocky. Sarah takes round two, throws the bird back, and Katie curses her out. Fuck, any elimination where the players can verbally combat each other on top of just competing makes for an excellent elimination. Sarah makes a comeback by winning the third round and gets her revenge. Just pure entertainment here.

It pains me that Katie’s last main season of the Challenge was Cutthroat instead of Rivals; she was originally supposed to be Sarah’s partner instead of Katelynn. Sarah’s Type A competitive personality paired with Katie’s mix of both indifference and fiery passion would have made for great television. Imagine Katie cursing Sarah out for being the puzzle master who lost to Jonna/Jasmine in the most basic Cracker Barrell-esque puzzle.

1 Darrell vs Zach on Invasion

People take for granted how much of a dream match-up, Zach and Darrell, in a Pole Wrestle elimination was in 2017. While Darrell has been active on the Challenge over the last five years with six appearances across main seasons of the show and spin-offs (All-Stars + Champs vs. Pros), it is easy to forget he was gone from the Challenge universe for over 6 years prior, and only made 2 appearances over a ten-year span from 2007–2016. Wait, 3, he was on the Spring Break Challenge, which was a thing. His return for Invasion of the Champions in 2017 sparked a fire in many OG fans, especially those Road Rules lifers. Zach had also taken a two-season break following the passing of his Challenge-best friend, Ryan Knight.

The stars aligning for this match-up to happen is special. I don’t even know what the 2021 equivalent of this elimination is; maybe on Season 38, we got Frank Sweeney vs. Theo Campbell in a Hall Brawl. In terms of the actual elimination, Darrell proved that even though he got a majority of his wins in the two-team era of the Challenge, he was still a certified beast, as he took apart Zach in a decisive 2–0 victory. Zach tried to use brute force against a man stronger and smarter than him. Darrell focused on leverage and wearing down to Zach till it was the right moment to attack. Watching Zach get put in his place in a headbanger elimination is incredibly satisfying, especially when someone as cool as Darrell is the one to do it. If you wonder why I don’t mention Bananas or CT vs. Darrell, it’s because those aren’t underrated.

Before you leave this article, if you liked the elimination last week, check out Hughie’s interview with the Redditors React Podcast: