The Challenge: Final Reckoning Preseason Power Rankings
The Challenge: Final Reckoning is soon around the corner, and with it begins my recaps of the season. Before the season begins I felt it appropriate to rank each of the pairs for this season as well as dive into how they came together and how they expect to do on the upcoming season. Each pair will also be given a rating based on how heated their rivalry is as well as how well they rank competitively.
15) Faith Stowers and Angela Babicz
How They Got Paired Up: On the inaugural season of Ex On The Beach (US); Faith and Angela got into a squabble after Faith made moves on the man Angela was with at the time, Tor’i Brooks.
Rivalry Rating: 5.4/10
How They Stack Up: Faith spent some time in the millitary, so she should bring some competitive fire as well as being in decent shape. Angela certainly isn’t in bad shape either; but with her history of blow-ups as well as the fact they don’t expect to have many friends in the house puts them at the bottom of the totem pole at least for now.
Competitive Rating: 2.1/10
14) Jemmye Carroll and Jenna Compono
How They Got Paired Up: Back in Dirty XXX, Jenna was given the opportunity to save one of Amanda, Jenna, Simone, and Latoya and chose to keep around Jemmye in seemingly an effort to get in with the veteran alliance of the house. Jemmye returned the favor by double crossing Jenna and sending her into elimination with Jenna’s best friend Kailah.
Rivalry Rating: 7.1/10
How They Stack Up: Call it a hunch, call it a hot take, call it whatever; but I don’t see this team making many waves in this game. Jenna’s track record is not nearly what it is made out to be and she is coming off a devastating injury while Jemmye has never been known for her athletic abilities. These two should be in a decent spot politically but I don’t see them doing particularly well overall.
Competitive Rating: 2.4/10
13) Jozea Flores and Da’Vonne Rogers
How They Got Paired Up: On Big Brother (18); Jozea entered the game as an insane person. He called himself a “messiah” for rallying all the new players in the house together against the returning players. However, one of those returning players was able to turn the tides against Jozea and get him sent out in the second vote; that player being Da’Vonne.
Rivalry Rating: 7.0/10
How They Stack Up: Jozea was not impressive during Champs vs. Stars; being called the worst Challenger of all time by some of his cast mates. Da’Vonne’s a big question mark, but in a cast with a lot of solid females already and without much political leg to stand on they project to be amongst the first few out.
Competitive Rating: 2.5/10
12) Britni Thornton and Chuck Mowery
How They Got Paired Up: Back on Are You The One? 3; these two were a couple despite not being a perfect match. They were together for a while after the show; but Chuck ended up walking out on Britni and the two never received closure in their relationship.
Rivalry Rating: 8.8/10
How They Stack Up: Britni might be the most perfectly average female in the cast competitively speaking, not standing in any way good or bad. Chuck has his work cut out for him though to compete with the guys putting these to in the bottom half of the house.
Competitive Rating: 2.9/10
11) Kailah Casillas and Kayleigh Morris
How They Got Paired Up: Kailah and Kayleigh’s most notorious moment came with Kailah joining up with Jemmye and Britni to throw Kayleigh’s suitcase over the railing for her rumored tryst with Bananas. However, Kayleigh was apparently spreading rumors about Kailah all season long and trying to get her allies to turn on her.
Rivalry Rating: 8.0/10
How They Stack Up: Kailah got a lot of flak for her performance on Vendettas, but she was one of the best female competitors on Champs vs. Stars. I think she has a decent chance to use her alliances and athleticism to carry Kayleigh for a little bit, but she’s not strong enough to carry her to the finish.
Competitive Rating: 2.9/10
10) Melissa Reeves and Kam Williams
How They Got Paired Up: Melissa and Kam got into it during Vendettas, having a blowup over Melissa’s reputation in the house.
Rivalry Rating: 3.0/10
How They Stack Up: I actually have a lot of hope for this team. Kam showed up to play during Vendettas and is right there with the women competing for Cara Maria’s heir apparent. She has the size to compete physically with any female on the cast but also showed endurance and made plenty of friends on the cast. Melissa didn’t really get to show her competitive ability on Vendettas much, but she certainly wasn’t afraid to get physical and has much more promise than her British counterpart. While they won’t win; they’ll be very entertaining and should put up a fight against whomever goes against them.
Competitive Rating: 5.2/10
9) Cara Maria Sorbello and Marie Roda
How They Got Paired Up: Cara Maria and Marie may not have one particular incident to base their pair around, but they have a history now of disliking each other. They were on amicable terms until Cara Maria liked a social media post asking why Marie was still being casted on the show; since then they have hated each other.
Rivalry Rating: 8.4/10
How They Stack Up: While I don’t think these two have a real chance at winning, they should be around for a while. Since they occupy opposite sides of the house, they should be in a great spot politically and if the eliminations work like they did in Battle of the Bloodlines (single eliminations based on gender) Cara Maria would be at the top of the female elimination ladder and could keep them in the game unless they got purged out. While I don’t think Marie is as bad as she is made out to be, her endurance makes it seem as if she couldn’t handle a final and if the eliminations end up being paired they could be out much earlier than that.
Competitive Rating: 5.4/10
8) Tori Deal and Derrick Henry
How They Got Paired Up: Tori and Derrick became acquainted with each other during Are You The One? Second Chances, and were a couple going into Dirty Thirty. However, Tori ended up breaking up with Derrick before starting a relationship with Jordan, the eventual winner of the season. Controversy then erupted after Tori revealed on the reunion someone broke into her phone and Derrick was seen as a likely suspect.
Rivalry Rating: 8.9/10
How They Stack Up: Tori has experienced a downturn in public opinion after her outstanding rookie season on Dirty XXX, but I still think she may be at the top of the new generation of females. She has apparently been working out hard with Jordan in the offseason, so she could come back in better shape than ever. However, Derrick I’m a bit more concerned about. While he has the sports background, there have been plenty of Challengers with athletic profiles that have puttered out on the show. If he turns out to be a competitor though, I can actually see a situation where this team can win the whole show.
Competitive Rating: 7.1
7) Chris Tamburello and Veronica Portillo
How They Got Paired Up: CT and Veronica are primarily paired up do to CT saying nobody would want Veronica on her team with Veronica responding by sending CT straight to the Redemption House on Dirty Thirty. However, the two also got into a few disagreements while on the same team on the Inferno II.
Rivalry Rating: 5.2/10
How They Stack Up: This team was difficult to rank because I don’t see a scenario where they can win the show and they could be out earlier in an endurance based mission. However, CT hasn’t been thrown into elimination since Free Agents and Veronica is one of the craftier politicians in the house meaning they should be able to skirt seeing eliminations for a while, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see them win a few missions.
Competitive Rating: 7.3/10
6.5) Cory Wharton and Devin Walker
*Cory and Devin appear in the trailer, and TJ says that they have the potential to take the spot of someone in the game. As such, I decided to give a ranking and rating for them despite them possibly not being in the game at all.
How They Got Paired Up: Back in the Dirty Thirty Opening Purge, Cory escaped elimination and had to save one of Darrell, Shane Raines, Devin, and Tony. He chose Tony, despite Devin pledging allegiance to him. The two have never patched up since but do seem to be on the same page politically at very least.
Rivalry Rating: 1.4/10
How They Stack Up: Cory and Devin seem to occupy two sides of the same coin in The Challenge universe. While Cory is more of a physical threat and Devin is a mental one; both have their pitfalls in that area as well. Devin was thrown in almost every week in his rookie season and only recently found political success; while Cory had an exceptional rookie season but since then has seen himself consistently outperformed by other athletic threats. However, if both play to their potential they compliment each other exceptionally well.
Competitive Rating: 7.5
6) Natalie Negrotti and Paulie Calafiore
How They Got Paired Up: Back on Big Brother 18 (US); Natalie and Paulie were on opposite sides of the house all season. Paulie took to calling Natalie “F.T.” for her body enhancements while Natalie lead a house wave to try to get Paulie voted out.
Rivalry Rating: 2.9/10
Competitive Rating: This could be completely off base, but I have high hopes for this duo. Natalie had a very strong debut; showcasing a high aptitude in missions and a willingness to politic. While she had some political misfires, she also now has a season to watch herself and adapt from her previous appearance. Paulie has been the source of much controversy as he enters onto the show, implying he may ruffle some feathers. However, he also played soccer for Rutgers University and looks to be in good Challenge shape. These two seem to be very well rounded and they are my sleeper pick to last for a while.
Competitive Rating: 7.8/10
5) Nelson Thomas and Shane Landrum
How They Got Paired Up: Nelson and Shane got into on Invasion of the Champions when they were part of the same alliance and Shane made a side deal with Nicole so she wouldn’t throw him into elimination. Nelson did not take kindly to this, and then tricked Shane by making deals with both him and Cory that led to an easy path to the final for Nelson. The two were also each other’s Vendettas last season, which caused friction in an alliance that had the numbers to take over the game.
Rivalry Rating: 4.0/10
How They Stack Up: These two have what seems like should be complimentary skillsets. Nelson is a monster in physical eliminations and can be the brawn to Shane’s brains. Shane has good endurance and is also strong at puzzles. However, Shane likes to wheel and deal while Nelson prefers a more straightforward political game. I think these two have a lot of friction and end up becoming a target, stopping them short of the finals.
Competitive Rating: 8.0/10
4) Sylvia Elsrode and Joss Mooney
How They Got Paired Up: Sylvia and Joss had an amicable, even flirtatious relationship at the start of Vendettas. However, Joss ended up turning on Sylvia throwing her into elimination. Sylvia soon left the game because of a sickness.
Rivalry Rating: 1.8/10
How They Stack Up: Sylvia isn’t someone is not talked about as a top tier competitor, but she boasts a 3–1 elimination record with her only loss being to Jenna in an elimination predicated a lot on heights. She’s also partnered with Joss, who looked to be a physical monster before losing to mercenary Derrick Kosinski on a mental blunder. I think Joss has a legitimate chance to be a modern day Landon Lueck, and Sylvia hasn’t shown anything that would indicate she’ll slow him down. These two are contenders.
Competitive Rating: 8.6/10
3.5) Ashley Mitchell and Hunter Barfield
*Ashley and Hunter appear in the trailer, and TJ says that they have the potential to take the spot of someone in the game. As such, I decided to give a ranking and rating for them despite them possibly not being in the game at all.
How They Got Paired Up: On Invasion of the Champions, Ashley and Hunter were in a relationship for a period of time. However, Ashley did not like when Hunter spoke positively of Cara Maria, leading to the two parting ways.
Rivalry Rating: 2.4/10
How They Stack Up: It is still unknown if/how Ashley and Hunter will enter the game. However, if given a level playing field, they are easily one if the most formidable teams and could easily win the show. Hunter had one of the more impressive underdog seasons on Dirty XXX, winning eliminations and missions while the rest of the house was after him. Ashley hasn’t competed on a season in a while, but last time she did she won Invasion of the Champions. Her intelligence, strength, and desire make her one of the female frontrunners and when you combine her with Hunter’s brute strength you have one of the hungriest and most formidable teams here.
Competitive Rating: 8.7/10
3) Amanda Garcia and Zach Nichols
How They Got Paired Up: Back on Invasion of the Champions, Amanda spread some rumors that Zach’s (at the time) ex Jenna had hooked up with Bruno Bettencourt. I’m not sure they’ve ever actually been pictured on screen together before this season.
Rivalry Rating: 0.3/10
How They Stack Up: These two are probably the chalk pick to take home the title. Zach might be the most dominant competitor regularly on the show right now, with about half the cast saying if they could have any partner it would be him. Amanda might be the best puzzle solver on this cast and while not a force physically also hasn’t shown significant weakness in that category either. Zach seems to have put his endurance issues in the past and will make up for any weaknesses in strength Amanda has. While these two might end up fighting quite a bit, they should be winning a lot while doing so.
Competitive Rating: 9.1/10
2) Brad Fiorenza and Kyle Christie
How They Got Paired Up: Back on Vendettas, Brad directed a grenade at Kyle’s team causing them to lose the mission. Brad then got thrown into elimination over Kyle at the end of the season.
Rivalry Rating: 0.4/10
How They Stack Up: These two should be ready to dominate any physical mission on the season. Brad had been in hiatus since Cutthroat but came back firing on Vendettas. He was probably the 3rd best physical competitor on the season and navigated a difficult political situation to get to the doorstep of the final. Kyle also came to play last season, showcasing an outstanding social game allowing him to skirt elimination for the entire season and a 3rd place finish overall. I could see there being some backlash to Kyle getting through last season so cleanly and getting thrown in to “prove himself”; and regardless these two should have a massive target on their backs. Outside of that, one could peg them as the favorites and I wouldn’t argue at all.
Competitive Rating: 9.2/10
1) Johnny Devenanzio and Tony Raines
*Due to an issue at the beginning of filming, Johnny’s partner has yet to be revealed. However, through numerous outlets, it is confirmed to be Tony.
How They Got Paired Up: After having a relationship that extended multiple seasons, Tony turned on Johnny throwing him into elimination where he would eventually lose to Devin.
Rivalry Rating: 8.7/10
How They Stack Up: These two should be in the spotlight for the whole season; but they should also be running the game through much of it. Johnny’s got the most championships on the show and seemed to have the game under control for most of Vendettas before his ow partner turned on him. Tony has been by far the most improved player on the show, being the symbol of buffoonery and ineptness before being arguably the best performer for most of Vendettas and following that up with winning Champs vs Stars. Johnny is the face of the show now while Tony may be the future; meaning the two will have massive targets on their backs but should be able to withstand the attention that comes with it.
Competitive Rating: 9.5/10
