There have been over 90 unique Challenge winners, and having the elusive champion title is more important than ever. While many competitors have returned for All Stars, the World Championship, or the main series (especially seasons like Battle of the Eras), some Challenge champions haven’t dipped their toes back into this world.
These competitors have more than one Challenge win under their belts, but they haven’t done a season recently. On this list, I am only looking at people who have not done a season in the 2020s, so anyone who’s been on the Challenge since All Stars’ inception doesn’t qualify as “recent.”
Sean Duffy
Winner: Road Rules: All Stars + Battle of the Seasons
Technically, Sean is undefeated on the Challenge. While his first win, Road Rules: All Stars, barely qualifies as a Challenge win, production would count it (as evidenced by Cynthia’s All Stars 3 appearance). Given the fact that Sean has a political career now, the likelihood of him returning to the show is basically zero.
Eric Nies
Winner: Road Rules: All Stars + Battle of the Seasons
Similar to Sean, Eric’s first win is a bit of a technicality, but he won Battle of the Sexes 2 thanks to his veteran status and strong friendships. Allegedly, Eric was almost on All Stars 2 but COVID took him out of the running.
Holly Shand
Winner: Challenge 2000 + The Inferno
While Holly was guaranteed to make it to the end of her first season, Challenge 2000, she was a stand-out player on The Inferno. She won the first female Inferno, so she actually had to fight to get to the end.
Dan Setzler
Winner: Challenge 2000 + Battle of the Sexes 2
Similar to Holly, Dan’s first appearance in a final was guaranteed, but he made it to the end of his two other seasons. While he lost in the Battle of the Seasons final, he was a clear front-runner on Battle of the Sexes 2.
Jamie Murray
Winner: The Extreme Challenge, Battle of the Sexes + The Gauntlet 2
The first 3-season winner from The Real World, Jamie ironically got his third win as a misplaced Rookie on The Gauntlet 2. While he’s indicated interest in returning to the Challenge, viewers only saw him come back for the Real World New Orleans: Homecoming.
Mike “The Miz” Mizanin
Winner: Battle of the Seasons +The Inferno 2
Mike is the first multi-season winner who never appeared on a non-elimination season. He quickly established himself as a team captain on Battle of the Seasons, and his wrestling persona “The Miz” made him a fan favorite. This would translate into a successful WWE career, but Mike still thinks of the Challenge fondly and returns for hosting gigs.
Theo Von
Winner: The Gauntlet + Battle of the Sexes 2
Theo lost his rookie season, but that served as fuel to defeat The Real World on The Gauntlet. His competitive spirit continued onto Battle of the Sexes 2, where he got his second win. However, Theo’s comedy career means he’s very, very unlikely to reappear on the Challenge.
Abram Boise
Winner: The Inferno + The Inferno 2
As the only person to truly compete on all three Infernos, this series has been good to Abe. He appeared in all three finals, and his two Challenge victories are credited to the first and third installments — though he would have excelled on The Island if he didn’t voluntarily leave.
Landon Lueck
Winner: The Inferno 2, The Gauntlet 2 + Fresh Meat 2
Largely considered one of the greatest Challenge competitors, fans have been hoping to see Landon return and expand his impressive resume. He’s made three finals out of four Challenge appearances, and he was only eliminated from The Duel 2 thanks to a heavily criticized elimination.
Susie Meister
Winner: The Gauntlet 2 + The Ruins
Susie remains one of the few people who’s never been eliminated from the Challenge, though she started off her career by losing the Extreme Challenge. She returned and won The Gauntlet 2, which landed her a spot on the winning Champions team on The Ruins.
Kenny Santucci
Winner: The Inferno 3, The Island + The Ruins
It’s fairly well known that we won’t be seeing Kenny back on the Challenge any time soon, but his 8-season career was very successful. He made seven finals, won three of them, and seemed to improve at the game each time he returned.
Evelyn Smith
Winner: The Inferno 3, The Island + Rivals
Evelyn started her Challenge career as the first girl eliminated from Fresh Meat, but this may have lit a fire under her. She won her second season, The Inferno 3, and followed it up with two more victories. She was the second Challenge girl to accumulate three wins (after Veronica) — a record that has been matched, but not broken.
Tori Hall
Winner: The Gauntlet 3 + Cutthroat
Tori’s first win is fairly controversial, as she seemed to only win the Gauntlet 3 on a technicality. Her next two Challenge appearances proved her success wasn’t just luck. Tori was a formidable competitor who performed well on the Duel 2 and finagled her way to the Cutthroat finish line, taking her then-husband Brad with her.
Evan Starkman
Winner: The Duel 2 + The Ruins
Early into his career, Evan was nearly inseparable from his close friend Kenny, but he proved he was a tough competitor on his own when he won the second Duel installment without his closest allies. This demonstrated Evan’s abilities, but when he returned on the next season with all of his allies, he got his second victory.
Paula Meronek
Winner: Rivals + Rivals 2
It was a long road for Paula to get her first Challenge win, but it also marked a turning point in her Challenge career when Evelyn helped her cross the Rivals finish line. After this win, she seemed to have a lot more respect from other competitors, and she fairly quickly got her second win with Emily on Rivals 2.
Camila Nakagawa
Winner: Battle of the Exes + Dirty Thirty
Camila’s time on the Challenge was filled with arguments and manic episodes, but she was also quite successful at times. This got her a win on Battle of the Exes with Johnny Bananas, but she followed it up with a huge victory on Dirty Thirty — the first season with a $1 million prize. However, Camila’s antics on Champs vs. Stars got her kicked off the show, and Dirty Thirty would become her final main series appearance.
Sarah Rice
Winner: Battle of the Exes 2 + Rivals 3
Similar to Paula, Sarah had a long road to victory, but when she got there, she seemingly hit a stride. Unfortunately for Sarah, her stride included a slightly more cutthroat game than Paula, which slighted Bananas in the process. They tried to rebuild that relationship on Rivals 3, but as we all know, Sarah paid for “betraying” Bananas when he stole her prize money at the end of that season.
Stop Being Polite 
correction: Eric was not on as2 because he wouldn’t get a COVID vaccine