When fans look back on 2019 in
The Challenge, they can think of this year as one of redemption. After the long, dragged out trilogy and the bitter taste of its last act on
Final Reckoning last year, many longtime viewers were just about ready to move onto other things. But after the first & second installments of
War of the Worlds, and both producing third titles for C.T. Tamburello and Jordan Wiseley and a popular rookie champion in Turabi "Turbo" Camkiran, we leave this year a little more satisfied with
The Challenge than we were twelve months ago around the Christmas tree.
War of the Worlds represented, to a certain degree, a reboot for this show, and it & its sequel introduced us to a slew of people from outside the MTV system in continuing to stretch its wings beyond just its American borders. Those from Britain continued to pour into this show after debuting on
Vendettas including that fascinating personality known as Bear, while the
Big Brother universe expanded in the same year of CBS & Viacom's reunion as Season 19 champ Josh Martinez showed that you can be emotional as he is and still back it up to be a consistent contender.
This year's female Challenge rookie contingent saw promise for this next generation: Georgia Harrison went from being on
Love Island to be a finalist on WOTW1 and also put up a good sophomore season. Someone who competed with her in the final this spring, Mattie Lynn Breaux, will join fellow rookie Challenger Gus Smyrnios and the rest of his southern mates tonight on
Floribama Shore. And another woman who made it all the way not just there in Namibia was also the only rookie of that season to get another crack at the cash on WOTW2 in Thailand.
It's because of
The Challenge's winningest player as far as rings are concerned, Johnny Bananas, and him trying his luck at the most treacherous obstacle course on television for his first season hosting NBC's 1st Look, that the MTV fanbase opened their eyes to
American Ninja Warrior. An alum of two seasons of
ANW and a few spinoffs of the franchise,
Natalie "Ninja" Duran, competed with Georgia, Mattie, Turbo, Cara Maria, Hunter, Theo and Wes in what was called the toughest final ever on the show, and she was the only female to make it to the end despite not cashing in 4th place.
Ninja made quite a mark in her two seasons competing on
The Challenge, and she knew that she had to adjust to a whole new mindset being in the house itself, in addition to doing what she does best and compete. She was part of the fall's most-memorable elimination when she and Laurel went toe to toe in a closely contested battle that, for a moment, thought that the one-time queen of one-on-one battles had won... only for receipts to prove that Ninja had gotten the puzzle correct - and she won. And Ninja then made it to the WOTW2 final on an U.S. team with Ashley, Cara, Kam, Leroy, Paulie and Zach, though they fell short of the top prize to the Brits... though she no doubt felt happy for the one she grew with the strongest being part of the winning side in fellow Asian Dee Nguyen.
