In what host TJ Lavin deemed a “clash of the titans,” two faces of The Challenge battled it out in an elimination round during last season’s World Championship. Jordan Wiseley and John Devenanzio (better known as “Johnny Bananas”), along with their teammates Kaz Crossley and Justine Ndiba respectively, met in the Arena during episode 7 of the Paramount Plus show.
Jordan and Kaz finished last in “Tunnel Time” while Yes Duffy and Emily Seebohm notched their first daily challenge win of the season. Their back-of-the-pack result landed the former straight into elimination whereas Johnny and Justine and Sarah Lacina and Theo Campbell were nominated by the house to sit firmly on the chopping block. Once the cast arrived at the Arena, Yes and Emily exercised their power to send the seven-time Challenge champion and his Challenge: USA alum partner into the sand to face off against Jordan and his Challenge: UK champion teammate.
Although Kaz and Justine hadn’t shared a history of competing against each other in an elimination round, Jordan and Bananas dueled in an all-or-nothing contest twice before. They duked it out on Free Agents and Ride or Dies, and Bananas came out on top both times. But, The Challenge: World Championship marked Jordan’s opportunity for revenge.
The two pairs competed in “Lock, Stack & Barrel,” a puzzle game that had the challengers stack barrels in a way that replicated 16 different symbols. Jordan and Kaz figured out the puzzle first and rang the buzzer, signaling their victory while subsequently sending Bananas and Justine packing.
Jordan and Kaz went on to win the entire season, beating out Danny McCray and Tori Deal, Troy Cullen and Kaycee Clark, and Theo and Sarah in the final challenge. Along with receiving the “World Champion” accolade and their share of $500,000, Jordan earned his fourth Challenge championship and Kaz took home her second.
Jordan admitted he was thinking about Bananas’ 2-0 record ahead of their trilogy match
I spoke with Jordan about his time on The Challenge: World Championship, as well as his endeavors outside of reality television, including becoming a professional race car driver, starring in the film “Helmet,” and running his production company, Strapped Media. Watch our full conversation above via the embedded YouTube player above.
During the interview, I asked Jordan about facing Bananas in elimination for the third time, and he admitted that their previous two encounters were on his mind. “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t thinking about our record going into that,” Jordan said. “And I’m like, ‘God damn, bro, is he my f****** Achilles heel?'”
Jordan said it felt “damn good” to get his first elimination win against Bananas, especially with how fantastic both of their partners were. “It was a great competition,” he continued. “I’m glad they were able to be a part of that whole, as TJ said, clash of the titans.”
Lock, Stack & Barrel had a razor-thin ending
Jordan and Kaz didn’t run away with the victory, however. The game came down to one piece as Johnny and Justine couldn’t recognize which of their barrels had the incorrect symbol. The cast members spectating didn’t directly help the competitors either. But, a hint from the bleachers allowed Jordan and Kaz to get the job done.
“I love that it was close,” Jordan said. “It really came down to the wire. I know Johnny thinks that we got some big help or something from the crowd. But… he can listen to the crowd just as much as I can, you know what I mean? He’s down there doing the same thing. And we are smart in that way. We use our entire surroundings. You know, even if our opponents are getting information, we’re still taking that information and trying to decipher like, ‘Do I need to use it or not?’
“And so when I heard the crowd say, ‘Attention to detail,’ that was the thing. And like, they weren’t going to tell me where it was because that’s such a tough part; when you’ve got two friends down there, who do you root for? So I figured out the clue, and he didn’t.”
Regardless of the result, Jordan said he and Bananas have a “ton of respect” for each other and they’ve developed a friendship over the years. “We have a lot in common,” Jordan said. “Most of our texting with each other is about our yards and like what we’re using for our grass and the aerators — things like that. So we just truly do get along in life.”
All in all, Jordan and Bananas have shared the stage on seven iterations of MTV’s mainline series, and they’ve appeared in two Challenge spin-offs together.
Published: Jul 1, 2023 01:17 am