Every Champion Appearance on Battle for a New Champion Ranked

Chaos is over, and 10 champions have come and gone on Battle for a New Champion. Thanks to their efforts five contenders left, $50,000 was lost, and we saw some great battles in The Arena.

We also saw some battles that weren’t so great, and some of these performances will be forgotten over time. So, we’re going to rank each champion’s appearance from worst to best.

I will be judging each appearance on three criteria: how chaotic the appearance was, how memorable the elimination battle was, and how the champion performed in The Arena. So, winning will help rank a competitor higher, but it’s not everything.

10. Kaz Crossley

Out of all the champion appearances, Kaz’s arrival was the least exciting. TJ can try to hype up the World Championship all he wants, but most viewers just don’t care about it. Add in the fact that she lost her Arena (her first solo elimination ever) to Big T, and we have a fairly forgettable match that didn’t impact the trajectory of the game. But, props to Kaz for losing with grace and showing love to Big T.

9. Brad Fiorenza

Undeniably, Brad loves this game, but he also hasn’t been training for it. He admitted that when he arrived, but he hoped his smaller size would help in What’s Going Down. No such luck, because Kyland had the endurance to win that game with ease. But, he accepted defeat like a true champion, admitting that Kyland was the better man in the competition.

8. Darrell Taylor

Darrell has an impressive Challenge resume, but in recent years, his appearances have been hit or miss. He was also one of those champions who would obviously show up, and then he got a weird elimination. Fire Walker is a game you can’t really train for, and while Kyland gave Darrell a run for his money, Kyland kept the $10,000 in the contenders’ bank account.

7. Kaycee Clark

When Kaycee showed up, it seemed like most of the contenders were actually happy. Then, she pulled Big T’s pole and faced the UK girl in Pole in the Sand. Kaycee was one of those players who got a game that clearly catered to her skills and unsurprisingly, she won and took out a fan favorite Challenger. While this might not have been a popular move, it did change the direction of the game, and Kaycee did show Big T $5,000 worth of love after winning.

6. Tori Deal

Tori has some memorable Challenge elimination wins, and TJ really hyped her up when she arrived. Then, she was given the Going Under elimination. Sure, she beat Melissa, but it was a pretty boring game to watch because Melissa floundered around while Tori knew how to play. So, Tori’s victory finished the UK girls’ alliance (the job Kaycee started), but this appearance could have been much more exciting than it was.

5. Laurel Stucky

When Laurel showed up, it was an event. Many of the girls were afraid of the beast they could face. TJ spent a lot of time gassing up a potential elimination against “purple jacket,” then, the chaos pole stayed in the sand and Ravyn’s pole came out. The two girls played Chain Reaction, and Ravyn won with audience help. This elimination has so much potential to be chaotic, but it ended up being the exact opposite — a team-building activity that let Ravyn stay and the group keep $10,000.

4. Devin Walker

Devin is one of those who showed up intending to mess things up and pulled the chaos pole. Surprisingly, he called out Callum, but production omitted the real drama that caused that decision and made it look random. To his credit, Devin did defeat Callum in an elimination where the contender was receiving audience help, and he showed the cast how wild that third pole could be.

3. CT Tamburello

There’s no denying CT’s arrival was the moment most people were waiting for, and he had the benefit of guaranteed chaos because of the stalemate. He picked the person he knew the least, Asaf, which was kind of boring, and then he took Asaf out of the game. This is likely to change the alliance dynamic moving forward, and CT leaves $10,000 richer. But, nobody wanted to see CT arrive and do math, and he seemed to maintain a friendly attitude throughout his time on the show.

2. Cara Maria Sorbello

For many people, Cara Maria was the return they were waiting for, and she definitely brought chaos. She talked trash to the entire house and pulled the chaos pole, allowing her to pick “orange shirt” as her opponent. This move would have utterly changed the game if Cara Maria won, making the battle intense, but Michele managed to win the puzzle with some help from the audience. Block Head wasn’t a competition that was outside of Cara’s wheelhouse, it’s moving heavy objects and a puzzle (remember, she won Vendettas on a puzzle), but it’s also not the type of elimination that caters to her most chaotic elements.

1. Jordan Wiseley

When Jordan comes on the Challenge, there’s no doubt he will put on a show, and he did exactly that. He found a way to adapt to the King of the Hill game, made Ciarran put in work, and still took the Aussie player out of the competition. While Jordan didn’t pull the chaos pole, he did get an advantage because he was the first champion to arrive and his appearance brought panic into the game. Plus, there’s more drama surrounding his appearance than we saw, and his time on the show definitely put this season on a more entertaining track.