Instagram/MTV TJ Lavin
In the last episode of “The Challenge: USA,” fans saw the debut of a classic elimination on the CBS spinoff as two competitors faced off in Hall Brawl.
As host TJ Lavin introduced the elimination, he said it was his favorite type of contest. Afterward, the official “Challenge” Instagram posted a video of the matchup, between Leo Temory and Enzo Palumbo, and asked fans, “Raise your hand if Hall Brawl is also your fave elimination.”
However, several “Challenge” stars spoke up against the elimination and criticized the show for including it on “The Challenge: USA,” as fans also shared their dissatisfaction with Hall Brawl. In response to the Instagram post, eliminated contestant James Wallington shared, “I’ll keep it real, it’s one of the worst & my least favorite.”
He wasn’t the only one, as Tyson Apostol and Leo also spoke out against it, with Leo saying he was told by producers it wouldn’t be featured on the show.
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Tyson Said He Hates the Hall Brawl Elimination & Felt ‘Gross’ Watching It
During his recap of the episode on the “Surviving the Challenge” podcast, Tyson was clear about his feelings on the classic elimination, telling his co-host Amelia Wedemeyer, “I hate the Hall Brawl. I think it’s brutish, I think it’s barbaric and I think unless you have two people that are excited to compete in a Hall Brawl against each other, it’s kinda disgusting.” He said he “didn’t get any pleasure from watching” the elimination.
The “Survivor” champ added, “This is gross, and it only lasted like 4 seconds. It’s like I drove an hour-and-a-half to see this 4-second show?” He added:
I didn’t like it, I didn’t like being there, it felt kind of gross watching it and not doing anything or being able to do anything about it. And I was like, am I proud of Leo for trying and standing in there or would I have been more proud of him to just be like, ‘f*** you guys, I’m going home, this is stupid why would I put myself at risk here.’
Like there’s head injuries, they’ve got us in those little bike helmets… Maybe it’s just me, a concussion is not worth any amount of money or any amount of pride on a reality TV show.
He also said that although he “loves” TJ, he found it a bit strange that the host said it was his favorite elimination given his history suffering a traumatic head injury. “He should know how delicate heads and brains are,” Tyson explained. He concluded, “all of it just rubbed me the wrong way from the very second I stepped into the arena, I felt very, very dirty about being there and about watching it.”
Leo also spoke about Hall Brawl during an exit interview with TV Insider, telling the publication, “I did a Hall Brawl against someone that’s 60 pounds heavier than me, which I shouldn’t have, because we were told there wouldn’t be any Hall Brawls.” Tyson made similar comments on his podcast as he shared that the Hall Brawl was “everybody’s reservation going into the show,” but that many competitors were told “it’s not gonna be the same.”
Many Fans Also Criticized the Classic Elimination & Said It Was Only Fun to Watch Even Matchups, Which Are Rare
Many fans agreed with Tyson as they replied to “The Challenge” Instagram account to say that Hall Brawl wasn’t their favorite. Someone wrote, “it’s very easy to predict the winner before the challenge, too fast, and hardly any suspense.” Another said, “This only works well if the opponents are in the same weight class (or near at least).” Someone else agreed, “It’s my favourite when it’s evenly matched.”
Someone commented, “Only when the matchup is good, which is almost never!” Another person said, “Only when the match up makes sense. Dumbest elimination to watch when it’s so lop sided like this.” One person went a step further and wrote, “RETIRE HALL BRAWL. The excitement of the challenge is each person should have a chance to win. Hall Brawl = size wins.”
Someone else said, “No. Barbaric. How many people got hurt for no reason. You didn’t even give them good helmet[s].” Another wrote, “No!! Honestly=the only factor that determines the winner is size. Totally unfair and I cringe every time.” One person commented, “Not as fun when it’s just one person getting slammed. But also ever since Fessy [Shafaat] did it, it’s been ruined.”
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