Bananas’ Challenge career is full of ups and downs. He has streaks of strong performances (like Total Madness, Ride or Dies, and Battle of the Eras), but he’s also had stretches of poor showings (like War of the Worlds 1 & 2).
On Vets & New Threats, Bananas was the fourth person sent home, and Cutthroat isn’t off to a much better start. Yes, Bananas won the first elimination, but that also means he was sent into the first elimination.
As we continue with the season, will Bananas be part of the journey? Or is he likely to take an early flight home, just like he did on season 41?
Immediately, it seems like Bananas is in a rough spot. He’s on a team with Tori and Michele — two people he feuded with on Battle of the Eras. He’s also on a team with Justin and Will, and while they don’t have a strong hatred for Bananas, they have an alliance that he isn’t a part of.
Given that the social game is a huge component of Cutthroat, Bananas is setting himself up for a rough start, but don’t count him out just yet.
It seems Bananas, with 25+ seasons of experience, has quickly caught on to the format of Cutthroat. He’s pursuing a relationship with Lete, and he’s starting to realize that having friends on other teams is likely more important than having allies on his own team.
It’s also likely that Bananas has allies on the Grey Team. He worked with Sydney during Vets & New Threats, and he likely has some level of respect for Chris after USA 2. This could save him if the Grey Team is making decisions.
Moving forward, Bananas’ success will really depend on how he plays the game. Michele seems as if she really wants to rebuild her relationship with Bananas, but she’s worried he won’t forgive her after he was nominated for the first elimination. We know Bananas likes to hold grudges, but he’d probably benefit by forgiving Michele and working to strengthen the Orange Team.
Here’s the thing about Bananas: He’s still a really solid player, and we know CT has some shortcomings in 2026. As the game progresses, the Orange Team will realize it’s advantageous to keep Bananas around rather than deal with CT’s weaknesses.
Of course, there is a wild card element to this discussion. When TJ reveals the money-stealing twist, Bananas will get a huge target. If we learn about that early in the season, Bananas will become public enemy #1 because it will be very hard to overlook his Rivals 3 history.
