Is Jordan the Greatest Challenger of All Time?

Jordan is cocky, arrogant, rude, and great at this game. In his five season on the show, he has won three times. This means he has won as many times as CT, won more money than CT, but done it in less than half the number of seasons as CT.

Bananas may have won more than Jordan, but Bananas currently has a 32% win rate. Jordan has a 60% win rate and more prize money than Bananas.

Clearly, Jordan is doing something right on the show. After his win on War of the Worlds 2 he is being discussed as one of the greatest to ever play the game. There’s a lot of reasons Jordan shouldn’t be good at the game, but somehow his excels in almost every aspect.

Rivals 2

In his rookie season Jordan did really well. He won two eliminations and made it to the final. Of course, he came in their in the final, but this is still an impressive accomplishment for his rookie season. Once he got to the final, his competition was really tough: CT & Wes and Bananas & Frank. If he wants to be one of the best, he needs to beat these people and he didn’t accomplish that as a rookie.

Free Agents

Free Agents is the season where Jordan did the worst. It’s also the season where he established himself as one of the rookies to watch. On this season he had to get political. While he kind of sat out of politics on Rivals 2, he had numbers this time around. This is also the season where he flipped all the cards and faced Bananas in elimination. Why would he voluntarily send himself into Wrecking Wall knowing he only has one hand? It has to be a matter of pride. This would prove to be his biggest detement on the show, and the reason he lost his only elimination.

Battle of the Exes 2

Jordan scored his first win on Exes 2, and it was mostly smooth sailing for him and Sarah. Despite some tensions with his partner, they worked well together. Most of the politics on the show were between Wes and Bananas. Sarah chose to ride the middle until the end when she sent Bananas against Leroy in the final elimination. Not only did Sarah get most of the blame, but the move did benefit Jordan. The team won, mostly because all of his major competition was eliminated prior to the final and a lay-up team made it all the way to the end.

Dirty Thirty

After a few seasons off, Jordan returned with new allies and the same attitude. He worked with Bananas and maintained loyalty to the alliance throughout the entire season. Still, he was cocky and argumentative throughout the season. While he made some enemies early on, it was also a benefit for him. He would make power moves at the Double Cross and send power players like CT into Redemption without an apology. Jordan is willing to fight for his life in the game, and this season showed that. He fought his way back from Redemption and won the whole season despite a parachuting accident in the final.

War of the Worlds 2

Of all of his wins, War of the Worlds 2 was the least competitive season. However, it’s also the season where he was the biggest mess politically. He was opposing the majority alliance and switched teams mid-season. Still, he managed to excel every time he was tested. He was a great swimmer, highly logical, and showed great endurance. Even when he was arguing with people, there’s no doubt he was an asset in the competition. If he just bit his tongue, everyone would want him on their team.

Is Jordan the Best Challenger?

I have a hard time finding a reason why Jordan wouldn’t be the best. He may not be the strongest or fastest, but he might be the most well-rounded competitor. Puzzles are usually a breeze for him, he’ll eat most things, his endurance is strong, and he’s really good at the “jenky carnival games.” Jordan has a background in construction and played extreme sports growing up. This has given him skills allowing him to adapt well to The Challenge. Even though he only has one fully functional hand, he can usually use his body to find another way to win. The End of the Rope elimination against Josh is a great example of this. He learned Josh’s movements and won by predicting his behaviors.

His ego seems to be his biggest issue. Even though he’s good at elimination, he could have avoided some of them if he just threw his pride to the side. However, this also results in some situations where he impresses. We never would have seen some of his defining moments if he played a meeker game.

In the short term, Jordan might be beatable. I think CT could push him off a platform and Wes might be able to swim faster. When you look at a full season or a full final, Jordan is the competitor you want by your side. Nothing is going to destroy him, and he consistently performs well. If he continues to play this game, I think he’ll continue to make money. But, if you ask him, he already has the ultimate prize: Tori!