The Challenge: Cast Member Rankings

Hey guys, will have the next update up tonight! Sorry for the delay.

20. Dan S (Challenge 2000, Battle of the Seasons, Battle of the Sexes 2)

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Look, I’m not going to sit here and pretend that Dan was ever entertaining, because let’s be honest: he wasn’t. With that said, he was immensely likable and when you think about the old challenges, chances are Dan comes to mind after the major major players. He was a good competitor who was serious about the game without taking it too seriously. He looked like a really good time, and he had a great relationship with his partner Tara (if you rewatch, they have some hilarious toga party moments together). He had a cute relationship with Holly (kinda sorta) and he was just somebody you couldn’t help but love and want to hang out with. Plus, he made out with Yes so there’s that.

20. Robin (Battle of the Sexes 2, Inferno 2, Gauntlet 2, Duel, Gauntlet 3, Island, Duel 2, Rivals, Battle of the Exes)

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Oh Robin, where to even start? Robin is basically to the challenges what Fergie is to pop music. Like, 10 years ago they were a big deal and now you look back and you’re like “remember when they were a big deal? Lol weird times.” Robin is, frankly, one of the sadder challenge stories. It’s kind of sad to watch her go from this bubbly, larger than life, fun-loving girl in the beginning to a sad, hot, chain-smoking mess in her later challenges. That’s not to say she wasn’t messy in the beginning, because she was, but the Robin we saw on The Island and after is frankly just a shattered shell of her previous self. Diem even goes so far as to say that on Exes, so it isn’t just the viewers recognizing. Robin has never been completely captivating, but she has provided some memorable moments including her hilarious argument with Dan about his********* or her cringeworthy argument with Aneesa about whether she’s “white, black, jewish, gay, straight, Portuguese” *facepalm* She also played a role in the Beth/Tonya feud and had a memorable hookup with Mark that played a part in 4 of her challenge appearances. Robin was never all that competitively, but she wasn’t useless. She was kind of big for her britches sometimes, though. Still, Robin is a memorable cast member in the challenge history books and had great friendships. Still, I can’t help but feel kind of sad for her. I immediately think of her confiding in Derrick with her smoker’s voice “I just wanna win, D”. Sadly, never happened for her.

19. Frank S (Battle of the Seasons 2, Rivals 2, Free Agents)

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Look, say what you want about Frank, but the guy is memorable. I don’t care if he’s relatively new to the challenges, he was easily the star of BOTSeasons 2 and Rivals 2. This guy is relentless when it comes to arguing and he pulls absolutely no punches, from bringing up Dustin’s gay **** past at every chance, to Nany’s sister’s heroin addiction, to Knight’s drug problems, to straight up calling Jemmye ugly, and that’s not even mentioning the things he’s done to Sam and Zach. The problem with Frank is that he actually IS intelligent and probably more than most people in that house but that made it even worse. He would just stroke his ego because he knew he could win in a verbal fight with pretty much anybody there. And, physical for much of them. People like to downplay Frank’s capabilities, but he’s probably one of the most well-rounded athletes in the history of the show. You don’t have to love Frank (chances are you hate him like I do), but he will go down as one of the best villains this show has ever produced.

19. Ellen (Battle of the Sexes)

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If Robin is to challenges what Fergie is to pop music, then Ellen is Alanis Morissette. Sure, they’re only really known for one album/challenge but that album/challenge was HUGE and people still talk about it. Ellen appeared in exactly one challenge and crushed it the whole way. She brought every thing you want to see on a challenge: drama, crying, competition, teamwork, strategy, one-liners. Her rivalry with Puck is one for the ages and her smirk after he left is unbeatable. It all provided great moments including “He told me he was gonna kick my ***!!” and “SHUT UP! WONK WONK!” (that might’ve been directed at Eric N , I forget), not to mention her refusal to attend his wedding. Ellen was an elite player, in an admittedly easier challenge climate, but she killed it each mission, but more than that she was a team player. She was the ultimate cheerleader (to an annoying amount even) and even the questionable decisions she partook in, she did in the best interest of the team (or so she thought). She took a lot of crap for a lot of the decisions, and I think that’s because despite her histrionics, she wasn’t afraid of confrontation. It’s a shame we never saw Ellen and Coral together on a challenge. Sigh…

18. Zach N (Battle of the Seasons 2, Rivals 2, Free Agents, Battle of the Exes 2)

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As soon as Zach was seen on Real World, everybody and I mean EVERYBODY was anxiously awaiting his challenge debut. He was one of those people who immediately everybody put on their fantasy challenge cast. And when Zach debuted, he didn’t disappoint. He was a beast in the challenges, even if he wasn’t quite as beastly as everybody anticipated. He made sure he was gonna make a name for himself by being dramatic, starting fights with Dustin, Trey, Frank, and Alton (of all people) and hooking up with Jonna episode 1. When he and Sam won the one elimination and he’s hanging upside down, soaking wet, and he turns to Frank (his teammate), and yells “**** YOU, FRANK!”, you couldn’t help but smile a little. Plus, his elimination against CJ is one of the all time greats (even if he won on a technicality). Rivals 2 came around and Zach really did beast it with his partner Trey until they were DQd for failing to complete the elimination properly (after Zach got all cocky and called out his next opponents, no less). Then, once Free Agents came around, Zach became the go-to guy for one-liners and random asides (his knowledge for Disney princesses is untouchable), but man did he have the most epic meltdown  in the finale. Exes 2 was his chance to redeem himself, and honestly he….didn’t really. Instead he treated his ex/partner with Jonna like absolute shit and pretty much everybody turned on him if they hadn’t already done so. I’m not sure if Zach will be back, but if anybody is in desperate need of a comeback, it’s him.

18. Sarah G (Gauntlet)

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Sarah, the Gauntlet queen, the ultimate underdog. She was only on one challenge but there’s a reason she ranks this high. She is by far the most memorable “one challenge wonder”. Her team sent her into FIVE Gauntlets, and she beat all the odds and won every single one, and eventually the challenge. It is possibly the single most interesting challenge narrative of all time and regardless of how you felt, you were invested. Whether it was because you loved her and rooted for her or if you felt she was awful and wanted her gone, you had an investment in this girl’s storyline. And honestly, if you didn’t feel at least a little bad for her when she went up against her BFF Rachel, you’re probably heartless (like Laterrian, who likes knocking people off logs and then not taking responsibility for it). Her gauntlet against Irulan was the first “ultimate” challenge elimination. Look, I won’t deny that Sarah could be whiny and she certainly wasn’t the best competitor, but her team treated her like shit and quite frankly, she was rarely the worst performer. Adam was an ******* (and sexist, lets be real) but luckily she had the RW team backing her, as well as Theo (and crossword puzzles!)

17. Leroy (Rivals, Battle of the Exes, Rivals 2, Free Agents, Battle of the Exes 2)

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Leroy is just the man. Leroy is proof that you don’t have to be dramatic to be an interesting and entertaining cast member. Who doesn’t love Leroy? Sure, maybe you’re feeling some fatigue from him but in general, he just means well and he’s there to have a good time. He killed it on his rookie challenge and really only lost due to his partner’s inability to compete, and Leroy was the man and totally respected his partner’s wishes because he didn’t want Mike Mike to get hurt. Leroy had a lull there for awhile where he was basically content with coasting and wasn’t giving it his all but he came back in a big way on Exes 2. He reminded everyone that he is a force to be reckoned with a beast of a competitor, even if he still made some stupid decisions (like when he jumped off that dodgeball mission), but he also came to play politically, which he had never done in the past. He even worked with his former enemy, Wes! He got caught between Bananas and Wes and it nearly screwed him (I mean, it kind of did screw him but he ended up winning the elimination) He still hasn’t gotten that win but hopefully in the near future.

17. Tina (Gauntlet, Battle of the Sexes 2, Inferno 2, Fresh Meat, Duel)

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People may think Tina deserves to be higher, but I disagree. Sure, she was entertaining and part of the Mean Girls, but she wasn’t all that interesting to me. She was just loud…like she was basically Coral Lite. Tina was very much all bark. Most of her arguments consisted of her just screaming nonsense, like her argument with Tonya in BOTSexes 2 “You are THE biggest liar in this ************* house! You’re the only one *****ing about *****ing and blahdhifskhjkfgidf!!” Like, it was literally inaudible after awhile. Tina is probably best known as being one of the Mean Girls, but she didn’t hold a candle to Veronica, and Rachel would wipe the floor with her competitively. But still, if Tina was on the challenge, you were promised at least one screaming match, which can be fun. Her partnership with Kenny was actually fun to watch on Fresh Meat and you couldn’t deny that it was oddly satisfying watching her go off on Diem at the time. Tina is most likely remembered by many for getting kicked off the Duel for punching Beth, an overly hyped moment that frankly kind of disappointed considering she barely made contact. She was never invited back after that, with the exception of Cutthroat as a heavy hitter, but come on that was kind of a joke right? Like, I’m sure when CT came out the cast was like “OMG!!! CT!! This is insane!!” and then Tina comes out and they were prolly like “idk her”… most of the viewers certainly felt that way.

16. Syrus (Extreme Challenge, Battle of the Sexes, Inferno, Gauntlet 2, Ruins)

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Syrus was really the man. I’ve said this about a lot of people but it really applies to Big Sy. Everybody loved Big Sy!! He was just a cool dude, and he was hilarious. He performed solidly, which may have been surprising since he was a bigger guy (by this show’s standards), but he always came to play. I still remember when he won the Aztec lifesaver during the birdfeeder on Inferno, when he needed it. Plus, he was funny as hell, talking like a surfer dude with Theo G and his hilarious reaction to Antoine asking what country in Africa he’s from. Plus, his temper came out in some big ways, like when he and James argued after paintball or when TJ called him a ************ on the Gauntlet 2. It’s a shame his last challenge was the Ruins, because chances are he will never be back due to the living conditions then.

16. Ruthie (Battle of the Sexes, Battle of the Sexes 2, Gauntlet 2, Duel 2)

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It may seem odd to rank Ruthie this high, especially if you’re only familiar with her later challenge appearances, but really the only challenge that matters for Ruthie is Battle of the Sexes. Ruthie on that season is probably the single most impressive challenge appearance of all time. She ruled the inner circle and completely killed it every mission and worked very hard to motivate her teammates. When she won the penultimate challenge for the girls and they each won a car, it was an ultimate challenge moment. She got down that rope in 4 SECONDS. She was truly a force of nature and everybody loved her, except maybe Beth since she was voted out before pregnant Gladys. Ruthie’s subsequent challenges never quite lived up to the hype of her first one, but she only needed that first challenge to make it to the top 20 of this list. Hell, she only needed Dead Man’s Drop and Breath Hold Bungee to make it this high. Still, she showed signs of greatness in future challenges, specifically the rope mission in Duel 2 where she displayed her monkey-like skills.

Hints for next update:

- Arguably, the 3 strongest female competitors the game has ever seen (from a phyiscal standpoint)

- All 10 cast members have won at least once (6 have won more than once)

- Only 2 of the 10 have appeared in the past 3 seasons.