MTV/Instagram Some stars of 'The Challenge'
There have been many different rankings in past years of top “Challengers” but an Entertainment Weekly list of the top 50 players ever from MTV’s “The Challenge” recently caused a stir among some of the stars of the show.
Although the list was created and shared by Entertainment Weekly in June 2021, it resurfaced in March 2022 after fan account “challengetea911” shared it on Instagram. It didn’t take long for several “Challenge” stars to comment on their placement on the list.
The top 10 on the list, in order, are Chris “CT” Tamburello, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, Darrell Taylor, Landon Lueck, Emily Schromm, Jordan Wiseley, Sarah Rice, Laurel Stucky, Derrick Kosinski and Wes Bergmann. The publication also listed another 40 competitors for a top 50 including a mix of names from early and later seasons and male and female competitors.
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Many Competitors Commented on Their Placement in the List & Some Shaded Others
Hunter Barfield, who came in 41st place on the list, wrote in the comments of the challengetea911 post, “41… this stings more than not getting the money,” he said along with some crying laughing emojis. “Grateful to be on this list though,” he added.
Nelson Thomas didn’t make the list at all and he commented, “I know this jk, is it April 1st.” He then listed his record on the show of 8 seasons, 2 finals and said he holds the 2nd highest elimination record. Cory Wharton also didn’t make the top 50 and wrote, “Dam not even top 50 I’ve done 8 season and been in 4 finals. Elimination record – 8-4. I guess not.”
Tori Deal placed 37 and she pointed out in the comments, “37 is my fav number omg.” Kyle Christie parroted her, writing, “45 is my fav number omg.” In the comments of Kyle’s reply, Jordan Wiseley wrote, “you earned it big guy!”
A couple of “Challenge” stars commented on Dunbar Merrill’s placement at number 50 on the list. Fans may recall Dunbar winning “Cutthroat,” his only finals appearance and win out of 6 seasons on the show. Tyler Duckworth, who was on the winning “Cutthroat” team as well, wrote, “Dunbar can say he’s a champ thanks to me.” Brad Fiorenza added, “& me hahaha.”
While the post on challengetea911 is private, screenshots are also available on this Reddit page.
Fans Also Gave Their 2 Cents on the List & the Order of Some of the Competitors
Some people had issues with the women’s rankings on the list. One person wrote, “Sarah ranked higher than Laurel and Evelyn is silly.” Another said, “It’s impossible to imagine any justification for the ranking of the women in this list,” while yet another person pointed to Camila Nakagawa ranked in 18th and Devyn Simone making the top 50.
Fans were also surprised to see neither Nelson nor Cory make the final list. “There is no way I see Johnny reiley up there and not nelson and cory lmao,” one person said. Another agreed, “Nelson and Cory should def be in over Dunbar and Reilly.”
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