BY DC CUEVA
For Challenge fans, there have been reasons to be excited the past several months: all-time beast CT becoming a two-time champion on Invasion of the Champions, underdog Ashley M. upsetting Camila to become the biggest surprise champion in more than a decade, and a lot of drama south of the top of the victory podium in Thailand. And of course, there is this special treat of those three, as well as seven other champions joining them to face off against ten professional athletes to see who is the best, while also letting twenty different charities and causes become the true champions of this season in all the money won here going to them on behalf of those competing on Champs vs. Pros.
But at the top of the heap has been a bevy of one-on-one elimination battles that has gone down both in Asia inside the Fortress, and in the Cali sun for this special Challenge spinoff series. And this past week saw the latest Champs vs. Champs battle, which also marked the first-ever faceoff in an elimination arena between two of The Challenge's best-known competitors, and winningest players. That is the subject of this latest edition of ExtraTime In-Depth, where in the wake of this past week's battle, we focus on The Backstory of the rivalry between Johnny Bananas and Wes Bergmann.
Whether you can classify this Champs vs. Pros season as an actual Challenge season for the purposes of counting the stats the champs accumulate in SoCal for the record book, we'll leave it up to you to determine that. But it seems that this has certainly felt like Christmas when it comes to Challenge elimination battles that we have seen over the course of the past four months.
On Invasion which ended earlier this month, we had the show's first-ever multiple-player elimination week in the Underdog Bloodbath where we had a lot go down there when not two, but four players had their shot at their first title come to an end. That was the venue for the bickering between Cory and Nelson that began when the AYTO hothead decided to play both him and Shane by going all in at the opening horn, and then reignited at the reunion.
And of course, the Champions had throwback eliminations during the weeks they were up for the cut: Darrell taking down Bananas in Balls In, CT besting Darrell in the last elimination battle, and an emotion packed battle that same week between Laurel and Cara Maria. And there was the game changer that paved the way for what happened on the girls side: Camila being the first to ever send the seemingly invincible Laurel home early.
This past week offered us another heavyweight tilt between two past champions of this fifth major pro sport, and offered us the first-ever meeting in an elimination round between the two guys who, after what happened a few weeks ago, now stand 1-3 in total prize money won here. And much like every other widely anticipated matchup, there was a long prelude to them meeting in the center of the ring with standing in this game and money for charity at stake, but certainly much more as far as their legacy goes. This is something that has been in the making for some eight years, with both having solid histories on The Challenge, and both having gotten their starts on The Real World: one on a most memorable season in Austin, the other on a most memorable cast in Key West, FL.
For Wes, it's safe to say that he has become the king of these win or go home battles since we first saw him on a Challenge on Fresh Meat in 2006. Entering this past week, he had been voted into the elimination chamber 19 times, and 14 times he has returned to the house victorious - both of them are Challenge records. As noted back last year, he won five eliminations as a rookie in his first go-around in Australia when he was paired with a girl named Casey, beating then girlfriend Johanna, Austin castmates Danny & Melinda and Evelyn & Shane en route to a 3rd place showing behind future enemy Kenny and eventual winner Darrell. He went on to notch 8 straight elimination wins before that loss to Cohutta on The Ruins, and since then he has achieved a 5-5 record.For Johnny Bananas, he has had a checkered record in eliminations: fourteen of them he has been in, and has achieved a record of seven wins and seven losses: a .500 record. But unlike Wes, Johnny's Challenge career started like most other rookies on their first try: being sent in week 1 and going home. When I first saw him on a Challenge I watched live, he, along with Wes, didn't even go to a single Jungle on Rivals II, but in the only Challenge I've binge watched - Rivals I six years ago that I watched before #2, there was his revenge over CT. That came after the most shocking battle ever: the Bostonian coming in to surprise everyone on Cutthroat, and we know what happened there. And Johnny's elimination mark the last four seasons? 1-4 since Free Agents.
When you look at the comparisons between these two, the most notable thing Bananas and Wes have in common is that they have both taken on the role as the resident villain on these shows. They have played the role of being the ones who fans love to hate in The Challenge, and whenever they win or lose the feeling of those viewers are either of elation for the winner, despair for the loser, and relief or even more hatred that the player they had the greatest hatred for had won or lost.Both have been able to master the art of manipulation so much and so often in the course of their times on this franchise. For Wes, we've seen him do this so many times in being able to handle the politics in the house during his eleven years' worth of Challenges, using the skills of a businessman to get into their heads...from his arch nemesis to rookies. For Johnny, we have also seen him have his fair share of moments playing with players' minds, especially those of the girls but all the while staying loyal to his guys... and obviously there was what he did on that mountaintop last summer.
Both have been engaged in some way to two other key figures of this show: Kenny was aligned with Bananas during his time on the show, and Mr. Beautiful was, of course, Wes' arch nemesis whose rivalry stemmed from the Jersey guy deciding to take away from Ginger's Austin girl Johanna, and began a similar and most intense rivalry that lasted for five years. And for CT, there was what happened in Prague, yes, but there was also the time where he and Wes had a stare down in Costa Rica, but then on Rivals II paired with Wes to beat Bananas & Frank in Thailand.
There are, of course, notable differences: Bananas has won six finals - more than any other competitor - and has won $685,000 in prize money, while Wes has two titles to his credit and has accumulated $248,000 in earnings, now 3rd among all players after CT's win earlier this month. Bananas makes a living of competing on these shows and has a gold medal snowboarder girlfriend, while Wes has an actual day job to fall back on as a KC entrepreneur and last year got engaged. Johnny calls home that dynamic, carefree place by the ocean known as Southern California, while Wes is based in the Midwest, where hard work is always valued and appreciated in the heartland. And for this site's sake, both have also been subjects of long-form posts here.
It was that outburst in New Zealand where the history of this bickering began, but it wasn't until Rivals that this really began to take shape and escalate the big rivalry that it is. Since then, whenever both Wes and Bananas are in the same Challenge season it's become a big storyline to see how they handle this game play, how many of the competitors can align themselves with either of them in joining their alliances, and see how far they can go towards potentially playing down to the point where these money on the line. This has been the case on all three of the Rivals seasons, as well as Exes II.
And much like what we'll be seeing with the Warriors and Cavaliers come Thursday, the Bananas vs. Wes rivalry has become a trilogy when it comes to their competitive battles on the field when it matters most. Early exits by either of them - Bananas on The Duel and Wes on The Ruins, delayed their inevitable showdown in the final challenge, which has happened twice, both coming on Rivals and both coming down to heads-up down the stretch.
The first one came on Rivals I, the first final to take place outside of the country that hosted the regular challengees, and best became remembered for Wes being carried on the back of Kenny when Ginger was aching in that run up the mountain in Argentina... of course, Johnny & Tyler came away victorious. And on Rivals II, it was Wes who had the more appealing partner in CT after their fight on Rivals I and on The Duel, while Bananas' rival came about by way of an internet beef in Frank. And it was the strength of that beast from Boston that propelled Wes & CT to the win, and giving them a 1-1 tie in these finals battles head to head.
It was before that Rivals II final that the guys found themselves in another big argument... that one is embedded below and just after they had their finals berths confirmed by relative rookies who let the vets take a free pass without a trip to the jungle to earn their spot.
After Wes and CT escaped Nightmare Island, it was expected that Wes and Bananas would meet again the next time they were on a Challenge together to finally see who would emerge on top and offer a definitive final chapter in this rivalry, but it wasn't meant to be. The Exile twist on Exes II and an emotional elimination battle between Wes' Rivals III partner Nany and her bloodline Nicole, and the cousin winning, prevented this from happening.
It was after the Champs won and words exchanged with CM Punk that this gave the winning captain for Team MTV, Jordan, an opportunity to set up this battle by deciding to vote in Wes. And then, it was Ginger deciding to call out Bananas and let everyone else vote him in by proclamation. As those fans who like to say, you always try to do whatever you can to avoid going into elimination and not have to worry about the possibility of your stint getting cut early. And though this is a more fun Challenge than is usually the case, JB wanted to save himself for that elimination moment until later on...but when the man you hate more in the house is there and playing for a cause bigger than yourself, then why not?
Before this went down, Wes confessed, "Winning in any elimination is awesome, but beating Johnny Bananas in anything, it's gonna be particularly rewarding. I've had a very long book with Bananas... many chapters. And it doesn't feel right to have never battled him one on one. It's time to settled this." And on the other side for Johnny, similar words in having a special organization he's volunteered many times with and the man who beat him helping out: "I'm playing for Special Olympics. This is a big deal. There's a lot on the line here. Darrell is calm, cool, collected, and hopefully that will transfer through to this elimination. Wes has that ability to just irritate the f___ out of you. Beating him, finally, in an elimination would be huge."
And the man who set this up, and who was beaten by Bananas when he drew up all the kill cards on purpose on Free Agents to go up against him in an elimination he lost, Jordan was left to say, "I got no idea what's gonna happen. I'm thinking, 'Okay Wes, come back in. Like I know you're gonna come back in. But if you got a chance to send the big dog home, send him home'," knowing very well that if Wes beats Bananas, then he will be up for possibly being the next guy to bite the dust.
So, it came to "Blindsided" -- competitors blindfolded, them relying on the voice of the person they choose as their coach, and having to navigate around a circle swinging a stick, and having to win a best of three series to stay. Sure, this might have been the one a lot of you wanted in the all-out physical tilts that always becomes some of the exciting television there is, but quintessential to any Challenger's success is being adapt in skills... take all those puzzles they always have on these shows. They always are the equalizers when it comes to making it fair for everyone: size or strength not necessarily required and you don't have to be as fit as Challengers normally are. And we saw this on Rivals II with Knight & Preston and Derek & Robb, and Cooke & Cara Maria and Jonna & Nany.
And like other big time elimination battles on The Challenge, and not like some other meaningful one-on-one battles in the sports world, this Bananas vs. Wes one delivered, and offered what likely might be the definitive final chapter in this longtime rivalry, being contested in the fading light in the six-time champion's backyard. Fittingly, the guys split the first two bouts of what can amount to an Olympic gold medal match in the sport of fencing by the way of them going at it when they got close. And it all came down to the tie breaking bout, and Wes diving to the ground and gaining the win.
Who remembers this legendary elimination? 💥 Don't miss an all new #ChampsVsStars TOMORROW at 10/9c! https://t.co/jLyFGC95YL pic.twitter.com/scH5sViWmb— The Challenge (@ChallengeMTV) May 7, 2018
Of the 15 times, officially or unofficially in this case, that he has gone into a Challenge elimination and returned a winner, then it's no doubt that this has to feel like the most satisfying moment of Wes' Challenge career, aside from the two times he has reigned victorious at season's end. Him being able to win two of the three meaningful battles he's had with his nemesis in a winner take all scenario should rank as a top moment in his Challenge career. And with him tweeting to Bananas after the battle, "No way bro, that's it. We're done. I won. Game over. Never again," this may be the last battle, with a comfortable job in two cities (Tulsa, OK has joined Kansas City as co-location of his company Betablox), many companies and employees to help out in the Midwest and a fiancé making it all the more unlikely for him to compete on a full-scale Challenge.
For Johnny, there is possibly no bad feeling than having to lose to your biggest adversary, even if this is all for fun in this Champs vs. Pros miniseries. As we noted in our portrait of him & #1 fan Kasey Harvey last year, there's no one among active Challenge participants who devotes his life and career to this fifth major pro sport than him. And in the wake of his steal last summer, the persona of him being the show's biggest villain being defeated will come as a joy to those who hate him, and a let down for those who've been on his side. This is the first time since his first Challenge, The Duel, that he's had the status of being the first guy to be eliminated… something Wes had in recent Challenges. This now makes him 1-5 in eliminations since overtaking Darrell as the show's biggest champion, and a sign that he may be past his prime after his loss to Darrell on Invasion.
Though the rivalry may be continuing on, this left Bananas with not much to say after the loss in him being left mostly speechless after shaking his hand and before leaving the arena. For him, it's devastating, to put it well: "Some losses sting a little bit more than others, this one definitely does. Should I have dove? Should I have spun around? I don't know. I mean, when you cant see what you're doing, champs played a huge role in this. Losing never feels good. Losing to Wes feels worse. But from here on out, it's gonna get a lot more vicious and a lot more brutal. I'm just gonna require a lot more athleticism. So if he isn't the next one gone, I will be absolutely shocked."
For Lolo Jones, she has one-less ally: "I'm a little bit frustrated because Johnny's pulled me aside a few times and tried to give me advice and just talk to me. So, my spirits are obviously not the highest right now." And for Wes, great satisfaction: "For the first time ever, Bananas was speechless. I do not know how I did it. But this does feel good."
As tennis' French Open is has just begun at Roland Garros in Paris, those who follow the men's game have had it good the past decade with a number of epic matches among the Big Four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray with an astronomical number of Grand Slam and ATP Tour titles among them. That is very much the case with what we've had with many Champion vs. Champion duels on The Challenge this year with strong duels on Invasion, the multi-player underdog bloodbath there, and now this Champs vs. Pros elimination.
We had all these years of bad blood among two champions with eight Challenge titles and over twenty total seasons among them, and a rivalry dating back eight years to The Ruins. It was there in Thailand where Wes stated his intentions to send Johnny home, in a season he would surprisingly lose his first elimination and saw his rival take the cake. After two Challenge finals that saw them trade titles, this led to last week, and Ginger taking down Bananas in their first-ever one-on-one elimination battle. If things go the way they are, this may be the last time we see Wes on a Challenge, and when that opportunity comes for him to leave with either the big prize or a donation to his charity in the American Red Cross, he'll leave with the feeling of having won two of his three competitive battles with his nemesis out in California. It does take time for promises to be kept, and last week Wes kept to his word of taking down the six-time champion. This means much more.
For Lolo Jones, she has one-less ally: "I'm a little bit frustrated because Johnny's pulled me aside a few times and tried to give me advice and just talk to me. So, my spirits are obviously not the highest right now." And for Wes, great satisfaction: "For the first time ever, Bananas was speechless. I do not know how I did it. But this does feel good."
As tennis' French Open is has just begun at Roland Garros in Paris, those who follow the men's game have had it good the past decade with a number of epic matches among the Big Four of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray with an astronomical number of Grand Slam and ATP Tour titles among them. That is very much the case with what we've had with many Champion vs. Champion duels on The Challenge this year with strong duels on Invasion, the multi-player underdog bloodbath there, and now this Champs vs. Pros elimination.
We had all these years of bad blood among two champions with eight Challenge titles and over twenty total seasons among them, and a rivalry dating back eight years to The Ruins. It was there in Thailand where Wes stated his intentions to send Johnny home, in a season he would surprisingly lose his first elimination and saw his rival take the cake. After two Challenge finals that saw them trade titles, this led to last week, and Ginger taking down Bananas in their first-ever one-on-one elimination battle. If things go the way they are, this may be the last time we see Wes on a Challenge, and when that opportunity comes for him to leave with either the big prize or a donation to his charity in the American Red Cross, he'll leave with the feeling of having won two of his three competitive battles with his nemesis out in California. It does take time for promises to be kept, and last week Wes kept to his word of taking down the six-time champion. This means much more.
▪ ▪ ▪ ▪ ▪
THE BIG NEWS...
Now before we go, big news is about to be announced here at the end of this post. DCBLOG will, of course, have tomorrow night's episode covered this weekend as we always do. And our MTV Trifecta coverage will roll on in between this season and the next cycle in the fall with several In-Depth long-form posts such as the one above, and the mid-year Reality Debrief with me and fellow MTV fan Andrew Kirk, plus sports and pop culture posts too. The rest of the posts for Champs vs. Pros will be somewhat truncated because of what is about to be announced here.For most every year the past ten years, I have anticipated the annual big vacation I take outside of where I live in the Bay Area, and it's taken me to Las Vegas seven times, and New York City in 2008. But come the end of next week on Thursday, June 8 and continuing to the end of that weekend, there will be a new location I will be going to, and somewhere I have not been to in fifteen years when my sister graduated from college and went to her graduation. That happens to be Southern California, and come that second weekend of June I will be spending it in Anaheim at the Disneyland Resort. I visited the park three times in the '90s when I was a kid, and now this fourth will be with my niece and nephew, along with my sister and brother in law.
As has been the case in my Las Vegas trips, this trip to SoCal will be shared with the rest of you in the social media world, I plan to utilize my entire social media networks to great extent to bring that joy to all of you. DCNOW @DC408DxNow will again serve as primary hub to my weekend with Mickey and friends with live tweets and updates, pictures, music playlist selections and more. If you follow me on Instagram @DC408Dxtr and Flickr @DCCueva, there will be plenty of pictures to be posted. Last year in Vegas, I signed on SnapChat @DC408Dxtr1 for the first time, and that along with Instagram Stories will be where I'll share those 10-15 second snippets with all of you there, as well as live video on IG, Periscope and Facebook, with 360 pictures too. And there's about YouTube.com/@dc408dxtr, and DC@TUMBLR's best-of-mix at dc408dxtr.tumblr.com. And to join the conversation, use my hashtag #DCSoCal.
That is something to look forward to in ten days from now. But for now, that's how we look at it this week Inside the MTV Trifecta...thank you for joining us. Talk to you on Twitter, and see you back here this weekend. And until then, happy Memorial Day and enjoy your week ahead.
- I AM DC
UPDATED: May 8th, 2018 to include Twitter video of Bananas and Wes' elimination battle
No comments:
Post a Comment
Got something on your mind? Let us know! But please be mindful and do not post spam or negative comments (due to that, all comments are subject to blogger approval... and we reserve the right to disable these sections if things get way out of hand).