Through nearly 20 years of blood, sweat, and manipulation, Wes Bergmann has cemented himself as a legend of MTV’s The Challenge. Longtime fans have watched him grow from a tenacious and hot-headed young adult to a bearded 39-year-old successful entrepreneur and soon-to-be father. But, has Wes ever won a season?
Of course he has, and he doesn’t just have one first-place trophy on his mantel — he’s got three for winning The Duel, Rivals II, and All Stars 3.
In fact, Wes became a Challenge champion quicker than the other two faces of the show, John “Johnny Bananas” Devenanzio and Chris “CT” Tamburello.
After Wes was finished filming The Real World: Austin, he debuted on the reality competition series in 2006 as part of Season 12’s Fresh Meat back when the franchise was called Real World/Road Rules Challenge. Wes made a strong first impression by winning five elimination rounds alongside his partner, Casey Cooper, before running in the final challenge and placing third overall.
His competition prowess, personality, and questionable mohawk were enough for him to receive another call from MTV and Bunim/Murray Productions. And in his second stint, he earned the illustrious accolade of Challenge champ.
He appeared on Season 13’s The Duel (Bananas and CT were there, too) and after notching an iconic elimination win over Derrick Kosinski in “Pole Wrestle,” Wes beat out Brad Fiorenza in the final challenge and earned the $150,00 grand prize. It’d take Johnny Bananas another few seasons before he entered the winners’ circle — he got it done on Season 16’s The Island.
And CT? He didn’t snag his first championship belt until Wes received his second.
Wes and CT won together around 6 years after Wes’ first triumph
Becoming a back-to-back champion like Jordan Wiseley wasn’t a part of Wes’ Challenge story. Actually, it took him years before he crossed another finish line first.
Wes only made the final challenge once in his next five outings when he podiumed next to his arch-nemesis and teammate, Kenny Santucci, in Season 21’s Rivals I in 2011. However, the red-headed political savant’s experience in Rivals II was much sweeter.
Six years after leaving Brazil with a $150,000 check, Wes flew home from Thailand with another six-figure payday. He was paired up with CT, creating one of the strongest teams we’ve seen on The Challenge. They delivered on the hype by besting duos Johnny Bananas and Frank Sweeney and Jordan Wiseley and Marlon Williams during the finale.
It was CT’s first title — he had done eight seasons before Season 21 — and Wes joined the shortlist of multiple-time Challenge champions.
It took Wes almost 10 years to become a three-time king
In eight appearances on MTV’s flagship series, Wes had won two championships while making it to the end on two other occasions. His elimination record was wildly impressive and he knew how to navigate himself through the cut-throat game. To say Wes was (and still is) viewed as a threat is an understatement.
So, unfortunately for Wes, he continued to fight an uphill battle in almost every other season he’d participate in. He was public enemy number one to many, and he only made it to one more final on MTV’s mainline series. He placed third on Season 33’s War of the Worlds in 2019 (he made two finals during the Champs vs. spin-off trilogy, but those aren’t considered true feats).
Season 36’s Double Agents in 2021 was Wes’ final appearance on a numbered MTV’s The Challenge iteration. He then turned his attention to franchise spin-offs. And around 10 months later, longtime Challenge viewers were hit with a large dose of nostalgia when Wes found himself racing against Brad for a bag of cash.
Wes, Brad, Nehemiah Clark, and Mark Long made up the male side of Paramount Plus’ All Stars 3 final challenge in 2022. It was a stellar season for Wes. He beat All Stars 1 champion Yes Duffy in the “Arena” — the season’s elimination grounds — before forcing Brad into the runner-up position like in The Duel.
Wes received the biggest grand prize of his Challenge tenure, $250,000, and his third gold strap.
I had the opportunity to speak with Wes and Jonna Mannion about their All Stars 3 win, and you can check that out above in the YouTube player at the start of this section.
Since then, Wes has competed in two more spin-offs, World Championship and The Challenge: USA Season 2. During USA 2 (CBS is currently airing episodes on Thursdays) Wes made it clear it was his last Challenge season. Will he stick with his retirement? Only time will tell!
