Taking On 'The Challenge: Battle of the Eras' | "The Era Invitational: Part One"

It is one of our favorite shows, and this time The Challenge turns forty! With that number, The Challenge: Battle of the Eras brings in representatives of all of its epochs for one competition which will result in a million-dollar possibility. Our coverage of the series will be up the site each Thursday evening.

It’s near immediate action for the first episode as all of the eras of competitors are brought out, quickly introduced by T.J. by their respective range of seasons, and then thrust into a battle involving putting together a puzzle that becomes the number 40, rowing a small circular “boat,” collecting lights from buoys, and returning to land to place the lights to finalize the challenge. The last man and woman for each era were immediately put into elimination; the first man and woman from each era got to decide who will face those losers, but not without deliberation. Contestants gathered in the new-to-this-season Chamber to argue over who is more deserving to stick around a little longer versus who should be sent into battle to face off in the biggest set of eliminations ever for the show: so big, in fact, that we have to wait until next week to see watch them play out, as well as find out who goes in. 

The losers for the daily (nightly?) and immediate contestants in elimination were Mark and Katie from Era I, Ryan and Kellyanne from Era II, Leroy and Nia for Era III, and Theo and Nurys for Era IV.  

Gonna go with something straightforward to start us off: rank the teams based on your initial impressions:

TD: Upon seeing the teams, my first thought was Era I, Era IV, Era III, and then Era II. I admit Era 1 is my sentimental favorite, but that’s also a team full of champs and the smartest players in the game. Era IV is full of young, skilled athletes, hungry to make a name for themselves. Era III has a few heavy hitters combined with youth and savvy. Era II has a couple of legends like Bananas, Laurel and Cara Maria, but overall I think the team is fairly weak and those three will have to carry a lot of weight for the team – which will make them big targets for the other teams. 

Blaine: I don’t think Era II looks good at all on paper. Era I may be too long in the tooth at this point. Which leaves Eras III and IV. I’ll rank them thusly, from strongest to weakest: Era III, Era IV, Era I, and Era II. Era II gets last place for me because Ryan and Derek C. are not top tier, Aviv hasn’t competed in years, and Laurel and Cara Maria won’t agree long enough to form a strong team. As for Era III being the strongest, it’s because of a nice blend of experience and toughness: Cory’s done this long enough to know what’s up; plus, he stays in excellent shape. What he lacks in brains will be helped by Devin’s presence. Tori is as good as any of the ladies most of the time. And they have Jordan, perhaps one of the best Challengers ever to play. 

Which losing pair shocked you the most? 

Blaine: I did not see Nurys coming in last to Michelle in Era IV. Nor did I see Michelle winning any competition involving physicality. Both of those were a bit shocking. I suppose that Theo having a rough time striking a balance in the round boat makes sense. He’s a big guy! Strong? Yeah! But that doesn’t equate to keeping a smooth rowing motion. That said, Horacio, CT, Bananas, Rachel, Laurel, Cory, and Tori finishing first in each of their eras tracks as they are either legends or future legends. 

TD: I’m always a little surprised to see Mark finish last, but he is up there in years (forThe Challenge), and his team is stacked on the men’s side. Katie did not surprise me at all. I think my pick is Leroy and Nia. Leroy struggles with swimming, but I’m surprised the boat gave him so much trouble; Nia usually has a physical advantage over other females. It’s a loaded squad, though, there are no easy wins this season with this roster of competitors.

Confessionals 

• The look shared between Josh and Kyland when Theo laid down the gauntlet for Paulie to get in the ring was worth the rewind – I did so twice! - Blaine

• I would take the “CT’s Pro Tips” for every episode in every season, thank you very much. Seriously! He knows his shit! I didn’t realize the puzzles had smaller clues on them! - Blaine

• I appreciate the bullshit from Season 39 carrying over into this season. Olivia deserves payback which she’s yet to receive. - Blaine

• Like Blaine, I love “CT’s Pro Tips” and hope it’s a season long gimmick. - TD

• I’m interested to see how the format might shift this season. I’m not a big fan of eliminations against your own team, so I hope that’s a misdirection or something that doesn’t last. - TD