The Challenge can get fairly predictable at times. Newbies go home first, people make bigger moves close to the end, and Nany skates to the final. But this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes people make decisions that no one is expecting, and they leave jaws on the floor.
By design, there are some seasons where it’s more difficult to make shocking decisions. When there’s a large-group vote, people are less likely to make unexpected moves because they won’t have the numbers to execute them. But, any nomination into elimination could qualify, and there are many jaw-dropping nominations that didn’t make the cut.
Honorable Mentions
15. Dee Faces Mattie (Total Madness): This would have been a more shocking moment if the show wasn’t re-edited; Dee already had her red skull.
14. Veronica’s Burn Vote Antics (Dirty Thirty): We should always expect Veronica to pull crafty moves, it just sucks that Leroy fell victim.
13. Svetlana vs. Beth (The Duel): These two started as allies, and no one expected little Svetlana to call out “Bethasaurus.”
12. Hunter Calls Out Ashley (War of the Worlds): No one was surprised Hunter wanted revenge after Final Reckoning, they just weren’t expecting to see it so soon.
11. Wes vs. Bananas (Total Madness): The fact that Wes forced this match-up to happen is the truly wild factor, but the red skull twist made it feel necessary.
10. Tyler Picks John (The Duel)
You may have forgotten Bananas was the first person to leave The Duel. It was his first season, and so early in his career that his jersey read John. While it wasn’t a surprise to see a rookie get sent into the first Duel, it was a surprise that Tyler betrayed his Key West roommate. This could have been an opportunity to reduce the veterans’ numbers, but instead, Johnny went home due to the infamous I Can Duel.
9. Devin Calls Out Callum (Battle for a New Champion)
Devin arrived as a mercenary with chaos on his mind. When he had the opportunity to pick his opponent, the cast had no idea who he’d call out. They suggested putting in Corey, and it seemed like he was taking the recommendation — except he secretly had a plan. Out of the blue, he called out Callum and took him out of the game.
8. CT & Julia become the Third Nominees (War of the Worlds)
Out of the blue, TJ wanted to have a triple elimination on War of the Worlds. The stage was set with Kyle & Mattie set to face Natalie & JP, and the latter team had the power to pick the third nominees. Wanting to face the best competitors, JP called out CT and his partner Julia. Nobody expected Julia to win Ring Tossed, and she didn’t, but CT also went home as a result.
7. Sarah & Jordan Call Out Bananas & Nany (Battle of the Exes 2)
In her eighth season, Sarah finally realized she couldn’t bring all of her friends to the final. She played most of this game waivering between Bananans’ and Wes’ alliances, but at the very end, she decided to turn on Bananas. She sent him in to the final Dome against his BFF Leroy, and it resulted in his departure. Of course, Bananas would later have his moment. This move resulted in Bananas and Sarah getting paired on Rival 3, where they won, but Bananas kept all the prize money.
6. Georgia Gets UK Betrayed (War of the Worlds 2)
The fact that Kayleigh was playing a sneaky game isn’t too surprising, but her alliance was much bigger than people realized. When she became speaker at the Tribunal, she worked with Joss to blindside Georgia. When the moment came, Joss was distraught. Georgia pleaded with him, but he sent her into the Proving Ground where she lost to Tori. Karma came back to bite Joss: He got purged out of the game with Kayleigh by his side three episodes later.
5. Jemmye Calls out Jenna (Dirty Thirty)
At the beginning of the season, Jenna had the power to send Jemmye straight to Redemption, but instead, she kept her fellow Exes 2 cast member around. Soon enough, this proved to be a big mistake. When Jemmye and Jenna found themselves pulling crosses, Jemmye could have returned the favor. Instead, she wanted to break up the “Jailah” alliance. So, without skipping a beat, she made Jenna face her BFF Kailah, guaranteeing one would get sent to Redemption.
4. Evelyn Faces Kellyanne (The Ruins)
Going into The Ruins, Wes was seeking revenge. Unsurprisingly, he was an early target, but it also put his allies in danger. So, to show their dominance, the Champions team orchestrated a plan to get rid of Kellyanne, Wes’ then-girlfriend. However, the team threw Evelyn into The Ruins to get the job done. Ev was shocked and disheartened, and as a result, she voluntarily lost The Ruins.
3. Team US Betrays Wes (War of the Worlds 2)
It’s not too surprising that people would want to target Wes, but the way he was nominated into the Proving Ground was truly shocking. Laurel orchestrated a plan using information obtained while fake-sleeping, then she used Josh to get the majority vote. Wes was truly outplayed in this moment, and this move started the divide that caused the US team to crumble.
2. Zach & Amanda Stalemate (Final Reckoning)
This pair couldn’t agree on much this season. Individually, the two had very different alliances, and by mid-season it got to a point where they couldn’t protect all of their allies. Rather than decide between Ashley & Hunter and Tony & Bananas, Zach walked into eliminination and took their place in Armageddon. As it turned out, it was a death mission, and the two inevitably went home.
1. Jordan Flips All The Cards (Free Agents)
There were few opportunities for truly shocking nominations on Free Agents, but Jordan’s self-nomination is one for the Challenge history books. Was it a mistake to flip all the cards? Probably, because he should have known he’d have a distadvantage going into Wrecking Wall. But, Jordan said he was going to face Bananas in elimination, and he was true to his word.
Stop Being Polite 