Original subtitles

There is nothing on this earth like The Challenge.

It's where competition meets drama.

Such a bitch!

The most well-rounded test

of a human that there ever is.

This will be the hardest thing you have ever done.

MTV's The Challenge is celebrating

its unforgettable 40th season.

Oh, my God.

The longest-running reality competition show

in history has become a global phenomenon.

I love The Challenge!

Over the last 25 years, over 400 players

have competed in destinations all over the world.

-Tokyo! -Buenos Aires!

These competitors have endured heart-pounding challenges...

...of unforgettable gameplay...

So I'm gonna go ahead and, uh, take the money and run, Teej.

...gnarly eliminations...

You're done!

Get a medic.

...riddled with glorious victories...

Yeah! Yeah! That's right!

Oh, my God.

...and agonizing defeats...

-You missed the hole? -You missed the hole? -No.

...and epic finals...

This is it, for the rest of your life.

...that have crowned 94 unique Challenge champions.

Curses be damned!

This monumental season

has the largest group of competitors

we've ever assembled.

And they've been divided into four teams by era,

based on when they started this game.

Era One started it all.

This game is ugly.

Era Two introduced fresh meat.

There's no honor amongst this house of thieves.

Era Three elevated rivalries and romances.

At least when I make my move, I'm gonna stab you

in the face and not the back.

And Era Four brought the game global.

One win changes your life forever.

Welcome to The Challenge!

I'm TJ Lavin, and welcome

Battle of the Eras.

Being Era One, we're like the action figures of this thing.

We're the original Ninja Turtles.

I can't believe this Challenge has been around for 40 seasons.

The Challenge brings out the best in people.

It's the gladiators that get to show up.

It's inspiring. That's why I'm here.

Era Three is gonna be unstoppable.

We have a lot of strong competitors,

and we blend well with all of the eras,

and I think that's gonna become a huge advantage for us.

I am so proud

to be part of Era Four.

We are all badass.

We are the future of The Challenge.

It's like, where in the world...?

Where-where in the world is TJ Lavin?

Let's go!

Look at you.

Let's go!

Pretty sick, huh?

Yes.

I am so, so happy to be here.

And welcome, all of you, to Vietnam

for the 40th season of The Challenge.

Wow!

I'm getting a little emotional.

I think I'm around 19, 20 Challenges at this point.

So, uh, to me,

coming on season 40,

it just, it hits a little different for me

than it does most of these other Challenges,

because it's-it's, uh...

it's kind of like it's-it's a home to me.

The Challenge has always been there for me

to kind of get me back on my feet again,

and I'm happy to be home.

So you are all in four groups of eras, one through four.

Era One, seasons one through ten, the OGs,

pioneers.

Era One, we a little old-school.

We like to chill in the bed,

talk about old times, have fun, joke around, talk.

At the same time, my whole team is stacked.

These young kids gonna have to get through us,

and it's gonna be a tough,

uphill battle for 'em

because Era One, we know how to get down.

Y'all don't want to with us.

I will smash his head and eat it.

Era Two.

Seasons 11 through 20.

Let's go.

The era that supersized

athletic intensity.

That's when I started.

I'm your host. My name is TJ Lavin.

I'm a professional BMX dirt jumper.

I've been looking at my era,

and it's looking stacked.

We have arguably

the strongest lineup of women,

I would say, but I'm not biased, but, you know.

Laurel, champion.

Emily, champion.

Me, champ.

Aviv, champ.

KellyAnne's just a baddie, so, KellyAnne.

I'm just hoping I don't have to go against

the girls in my era.

You know what I mean? That would be great,

if we could all just work together.

And as the game progressed, it became even more personal.

Era Three, seasons 21 through 30,

pushed relationships to the max

by bringing rivals and exes

head-to-head as well as testing the most dirty players

ever to play the game.

I came in late, but let me tell you,

I could not be more excited.

Era Three is very well-rounded.

We are pretty dang smart, so...

about to crush these other eras.

Era Four.

Seasons 31

through 39...

...showcased how being a rookie

can make or break the game.

I want us to come out on top. We are

the next generation that you guys will continue to watch,

and I just want us to-to shut up

everybody in that house that doubts us.

All right, so for season 40...

...the total prize pot...

...is $1 million.

$1 million!

Whoo!

Dude, this prize money is nuts.

I mean, it's always nuts when you hear it out loud.

If I won the money,

I would create a big, old bank account for my kid.

If I can get the win,

I hear the wedding bells right now.

The church choir.

Oh, I see the ring, baby.

We are going down the altar.

I don't know.

I may bring out some reunion doobies

if I'm already having this midlife crisis.

You know, why not just take it to the next level?

Now, to even have a shot at that million dollars,

you got to make it through the Era Invitational.

So, we're going to whittle out

the weak links of each era.

-Right now. -Hey!

Welcome to your first challenge Light It Up.

Now, before I explain the rules, let me explain what's at stake.

The first elimination night is going to be a long one.

We will be having eight eliminations.

Almost half of you are gonna see an elimination,

which means there will only be 32 players

at the second challenge.

That makes me feel a little bit uncomfortable

looking around, looking at all the girls here,

and you know what I'm seeing?

A lot of jacked delts.

Oh, wait, I was looking in a mirror.

I'm joking.

But, like, come on.

I'm not scared of elimination, though.

Like, I'm not intimidated by anybody.

The gym, working out. This is my life. It's my job.

- Bring on the best. - Let's go.

So just win the Challenge. That's the goal.

Or you may see yourself in the biggest elimination

in Challenge history.

Now, to begin, you're gonna race over to a puzzle.

Once you get to that puzzle, it is the number 40.

Put that together.

Once you put it together, head to the shoreline,

get in that boat

and paddle out to one of the 100 buoys

that are floating out there in the lake.

Each buoy has four colors representing the four eras.

All right? You have to gather ten lights

from those buoys with the team color of your era.

Then race back, plug those lights into the cradle.

First man and first woman

from each era to get this done

will win today's challenge and be the only ones safe.

The losing male and female from each era

is going straight into the elimination.

Their opponents are going to be chosen

by the winners of each era.

The rest of you is going to be going into the Chamber

to plead their case to the two winners as to why

they should not be sent into elimination.

When TJ drops the bomb

of competing against your own team

and literally only one of five women will be safe

and two out of four will be going into an elimination,

that's pretty scary.

So I'm all in on winning this one.

There is absolutely no other choice for me.

Good luck, everyone. Let's get it done.

Everyone worries me, minus Derek.

Derek is like my little brother. Derek is the only person

that can win

that I know wouldn't pick me.

So I have to win or Derek has to win.

- The gays are here, bitch. - Let's go.

If you don't win, you're not safe, period.

This is every man and woman for themselves.

So this just got crazy.

I'd be lying if I said

I wasn't a little nervous.

Season 40? I mean,

this is the best of the best.

But even at 52 years old,

I'm still feeling like I can do it.

And it would be nice

if the old dog came out and won the first one.

For the fans and for myself.

This is my first Challenge

in 18 years.

The last time you all saw me

was Fresh Meat.

Darrell and I ended up winning that season.

So, a ton

of pressure for me.

It's important to win the first challenge

because you don't want to be the first on the chopping block.

If my fat ass can somehow balance

inside of this little miso soup bowl,

you know, I'll stay out of trouble.

All right, everyone.

Season 40, first challenge.

Everyone ready?

Go!

The only person I don't want

to win on my team right now is Nurys.

Me and Nurys

just had the worst beef last season,

and she would probably send me straight into elimination.

You got legends out here.

I've never come in first place on The Challenge.

I've been very close.

I want my little girls

to be able to turn the TV on and say,

"Man, Daddy, you were the best out there.

For me to hear that and make my little girls proud,

that means more than the money.

I am a two-time Challenge winner,

and I'm here to do a job,

and that's to win.

Rachel, with a time of 2:25,

- you win. - My first season

of The Challenge was Battle of the Sexes.

I've had three finals, two wins.

The first woman to cross the finish line

before all of the men.

I am one of the best,

and I want to solidify that.

Thankfully,

I have a wife

and a family and kids

who support me and are like,

"Mama, go do it."

I don't know where my puzzle is.

When I first started

on the Challenges,

I was unsure,

not an athletic bone in my body,

and I had no confidence.

And now that I have worked my ass off,

you know me as the badass two-time champ.

However, coming into this season,

I have to beat Laurel.

I feel like my entire career has been

trying to just catch up with Laurel,

because whenever I was available

to be voted into elimination,

I was voted in by Laurel.

So, yeah, I'll be honest,

I'm actually nervous.

All right, baby.

I got it. Come check me.

Come check. Check.

No matter how many times I try to eliminate Cara Maria

before the final, she's like, "Hello, I'm here.

I want to run the final with you," and I'm like,

"O-Okay, here we go, once again."

Nothing has changed, Cara Maria and I are rivals,

and we are here to play on the same team.

I hope you enjoy.

All right, good job.

Are you kidding me?

You all are playing for your era.

We are gonna whittle out the weak links.

Almost half of you are gonna be seeing

an elimination right out of the gate.

We have to use building blocks

to build the number 40.

And after winning seven times...

Congratulations on your record-breaking win.

...I am the king of the rings.

-You won. -No!

But sometimes I get the puzzles and murder

these things, other times the puzzles literally murder me.

After putting this puzzle together,

you then retrieve ten designated color strobes.

First man and first woman from each era to place

their strobes into a designated board are safe.

Last man and last woman from each era

are automatically going into an elimination.

I mean, I'm feeling good,

but I don't know how I'm gonna

stack up against the other guys on my team.

That makes no sense to me.

CT pro tip:

when you're doing a puzzle, make sure

to take a good overall view of all the pieces.

Flip them upside down, look around,

because there may be a clue.

There's different shapes

inside of the puzzle pieces

that you can use as a guide.

Check.

That's correct.

I haven't played this game with the people

on my era in such a long time.

I don't know, are they gonna come in super hungry,

or are you gonna come on just 'cause you're here

for the free vacation?

Katie.

Oh, this will be a nice little vacation.

- Check, check, check. - That's correct. Good job.

I am now engaged

to the love of my life

Nany.

You see that?

Zoom in.

I never saw myself being here

for, now, six seasons,

and to find the love of my life

on The Challenge,

I'm so grateful.

And it is important

for me to win because

we want kids so bad

and that ain't cheap.

So if I go home without the money,

Nany's not gonna be very happy.

Check?

- Check. - Nope, that's not it.

Check!

That's not correct.

Can't be incorrect.

- Check. - That's not correct.

Incorrect? What...

- That's 40 as it gets. - Nope.

-That's it. -That's not it.

Oh, good old Tony.

He hasn't been back in a while.

And if anything, you just have to keep doing it.

I feel like my era is strong. We have so much experience.

I'm definitely known

for being in quite a few eliminations.

I think it's like 24 or 25, I'm not sure.

You actually have 26 eliminations.

Come on, Aneesa!

I just want my 14th win,

so I can beat Cara, 'cause we are tied

for wins.

I came out of retirement

on All Stars 4,

and I'm here to try to make

some money for our household.

Myself and Aneesa

may be the best players that never won,

so coming in last place

is not even an option.

- Uh, check. - That's correct.

Check.

- Check. - All right, you're done.

Great job.

That's correct.

All right, you're done.

Me and Tori

have a really big history

of being enemies.

Tori, I know you have a lot of fake friends,

but I will never be one of them.

I'm not your fake friend.

I want to be first and beat her,

oh, my God.

- Check. - Nice job, Nurys.

- Check, check! - That's correct.

Whoo!

Can I get a check?

That's correct.

Oh, perfect. Good luck.

Check, check, check, check, check.

Nurys and me, we were best friends.

I'm gonna save Moriah.

I should have stuck to exactly what

I knew this entire time-- someway,

somehow you were gonna me over.

But I betrayed her,

which then turned into a whole blowout.

Okay.

You know, my weakness is puzzles, people.

Is there a triangle in the sign?

There's 27 triangles on that board.

But how did you get that? I'm just curious so I can know.

That's correct. Good job.

Let's go, baby!

But guess what.

Your boy's been practicing in the offseason.

Me and my daughters, we've been, you know,

working on those weaknesses.

They are my motivation,

and it feels good.

Check!

- You got it. - Check!

- That's correct. - Check, check, check,

- check, check. - Correct. Good job.

Check.

That's correct.

Make it make sense.

My only alliance

is Nurys and Kyland.

Last season, Olivia and Michele,

people that I thought I could trust,

played the entire season against me.

And the thing about alliances is, you will

most likely be betrayed.

Right now I am currently dating Nurys,

so I'm doing everything I can to be strong for her

and win this for myself

and for us.

- Check. - Josh, getting it done.

It's just me and Paulie left,

and I don't like Paulie.

I didn't think it would go this way,

but it's still not over yet.

Ships ahoy, matey.

This teacup in the water, it bobs

and weaves.

I might be half-Vietnamese.

That is not innate, I would like to let you know.

CT pro tip.

Literally...

Don't fall out of the boat.

This sucks.

Aah!

It's there for a reason.

It's gonna be a lot faster

if you don't have to swim.

Let's go!

You all are playing for your share of

$1 million.

You got to get this thing going!

In my era,

I think Amanda is still working on her puzzle,

so as long as I beat her, I feel like I'm good.

Cara Maria looks up to me

and sees me as somewhat of a bigger sister,

and I see her paddling up to me, and I'm like,

no matter how hard I try,

she won't go away.

I'm done.

And always, Laurel beats me.

Every time,

Laurel beats me.

-Laurel? -Yeah.

Why do you always beat me?

I've come in second

not only amongst the girls but amongst my entire team.

Laurel's come in first,

and I'm not safe because

I will never trust her.

Check.

Yeah, CT.

There she goes.

Whoo!

Well done.

That's right, baby. That's right, baby!

Boom, bitches!

Good job, guys.

CT and Rachel have to pick

who's going to go into elimination against the losers.

I'm hoping performance will be a part of the evaluation.

Okay, good to go.

Get in there, Paulie. Let's go.

Come on, Paulie!

Finish it up, babe.

- Check. - That's correct. Good job.

Well done. Great job.

Tori and I have a long history,

and it's a good one.

We fought through some stuff together.

You decided at one point in time,

you were done with me. That made me feel abandoned.

And we've

come back to be very, very good friends,

and to be here in a game with her again,

that is someone good

to have on your side.

You've got this.

Jenny from my era

is on my ass.

This is much closer than I feel comfortable with.

Oh, . What?

I've got nine strobes on the board.

I can't find my strobe anywhere.

It's got to be somewhere here.

this.

Now that I've secured my position as

first place,

I also want to make sure that

my girl Olivia doesn't end up

in the bottom position.

My number one alliance is Olivia.

She's always gonna be my top priority.

Check.

yes.

I'm not getting anywhere.

Like, no matter what I do,

I'm not getting anywhere.

The underdog! The underdog!

Boom. Whoo!

Bananas comes in first.

So now Ryan, Derek, Brandon,

and I are trying to not be last,

but Laurel and Cara Maria beat Bananas.

Era Two is

era of the strong women,

and I am all for it.

Check.

That's correct.

Oh, I'm such a idiot.

You got it.

It's between Katie and myself.

I finally get it right.

I just pray

Katie does not catch up with me

because I'm not trying to go into elimination.

Check. Check.

I'm feeling pretty good.

Like, okay, I'm definitely not in last.

My life has been a whirlwind.

On All Stars 4,

I got really close with Adam,

and I can happily say that

Adam and I are now officially a couple.

And the million dollars,

you know, that's a lot of money.

I wonder what other people

are gonna do to try to get this money

and how conniving and how manipulative

this game's really gonna get.

Bada bing, bada boom. I guess I wasn't last.

Come on, baby. Let's go!

Let's go!

Hey, you got to move, Nurys!

Come on!

Venga, venga.

Is there another girl in here?

No, right?

Please don't even-- Don't...

I don't want to hear it. I don't want to hear it.

I don't want to hear it. I just... I just don't.

God.

Horacio just got first place,

but I'm last place in my era.

I know I'm automatically going in to elimination,

and there's nothing he can do to protect me.

I know I'm going in up against

my own era. This sucks.

Jenny was a champ,

and she's jacked.

And Kaycee is a well-rounded

player and a champion as well.

Coming into this game, Olivia, obviously,

she lost all my trust,

so I think that Olivia is my best option,

but I don't necessarily know what to do.

All right, remember, both the last place

man and woman from each era

are going straight into elimination,

so paddle as fast as you can.

We are trimming the fat here

on our eras,

and looking at my era,

I see Jordan and Leroy in the water,

so I'm still in this race.

But I see a small leak in my boat.

I'm a pretty fast rower. I think I just got to go.

Now go.

Let's go, Katie!

Get in that saucer, girl.

- Okay. - Get in there. This is your bag.

What?

All right, go.

I don't have a whole lot

of experience paddling.

Oh, my God. I am going in circles.

Goddamn it.

Oh, me. I broke it.

I am getting

more panicked, and I'm really just the bed here.

I didn't want to embarrass myself.

You didn't embarrass yourself.

Are you kidding, Tina?

Spinning in circles like a dip.

Let's go.

Cara and I are going on six years

strong, and just the way that we support each other

on and off the field,

it's amazing.

But she's an Era Two,

I'm an Era Four,

so we have to

figure out how to navigate the game.

Going straight into elimination,

which is a terrible start to any season.

You know, I was a pro athlete for ten years.

I literally have never felt

so stupid in my whole entire life.

I've been gone for ten years.

I'm coming here to win.

I'm getting a huge slice of humble pie.

Laurel's completed,

Cara's completed,

and Aviv has completed.

I have to beat KellyAnne, which keeps me safe.

One run, Emily! Grab 'em all!

Hey, go!

If I am here to win, I have to

make a mark.

Check!

Last girl, yeah?

This was literally the worst challenge I could've had.

And if I was playing against the guys, I wouldn't have lost.

Yeah, girl!

Thank you, God.

I am last place,

but I've been into the elimination several times.

I am no stranger to the Arena.

I would love a physical matchup.

Devin just Titanic'd himself.

We got a sunk boat.

You shouldn't let your boat sink.

Devin, he's swimming out there.

Okay.

I did not come in last,

so I'm not automatically

going to elimination,

but at the same time, I'm still up to be voted in.

I need to win this season because

my kids are my... that's my "why."

I would take that money,

it's going into a trust.

They would be set for life.

Oh, my God.

It's the worst feeling coming in last.

I'm going

right into elimination, and it's either gonna be

against three of my friends:

Brad, Darrell,

or Derrick.

- Check. - There you go.

There you go. Two more. Give me some.

I love Katie, but I also love

that I'm not in last place.

So it's between myself, Tina, and Jodi.

I mean, I feel safe because Rachel's there.

We dated, we're friends.

I needed Aneesa.

She was emotional support for me.

Don't pick me.

Somebody help Lee. Leroy's going the wrong way.

You got it, man.

- It ain't over. - Longer strokes!

Era Three is the only era that's still

out there in the water struggling.

Lee, it's not about speed.

You don't have to switch fast.

Get a good stroke in on the left,

switch, good stroke on the right. There you go.

Devin is

literally nowhere in sight.

Like, I'm looking around for a sign of life.

Like a flail in the water.

Where is Devin?

Oh, what the?

Good job, D.

Devin is a competitor.

He's always gonna fight to the end.

He's just, like, mind-boggling.

Sorry.

Good job, D.

I'm secretly stoked that Leroy's in last. Leroy has

played very shady games in the past

and comes with a lot of connections.

He's one person I won't be working with.

So I wouldn't mind seeing Leroy go home.

I cannot believe that I just came in last place

on the very first challenge, and I am one

of the 16 people that's going to elimination round.

- Great challenge today, everyone. - Way to go.

Yes!

Every era has to have winners and losers,

so we'll start off with the losing

male and female from each era.

I'll be seeing you all

in the Arena no matter what.

Now, for the winners

of the Era Invitational,

you are the only ones

safe from elimination.

The rest of you will go back to the house

and enter the Chamber.

You will plead your case with the winners of your era

as to why they should not choose you

to go into the Arena

against the losers.

However, the decision is left up to the winners.

Eight elimination rounds right out of the gate.

Thank you. Get out of here.

I don't know Bananas or Laurel.

They could go after

the weakest people on the team.

There's people that they may want to get out

for personal reasons,

but they don't know me,

so there is no reason

for me not to go in at this point.

KellyAnne, this is your survival

in this game, and you know it.

I just want to be able to trust

our team as a team.

I just know that Laurel's gonna be like the poison.

I just don't trust her.

After The Challenge: All Stars 4,

Ryan and Laurel hung out a lot.

Laurel was still kind of seeing Nicole,

her ex now, and I think that Laurel thinks that Ryan

took Nicole's side,

so that's created some tension

that they're bringing into this house,

and to be in the middle of it kind of sucks because

Laurel and I formed a bond,

but I don't want to go against Ryan.

And I just feel good shady energy, all that.

-If your team is going to have that... -Yeah, yeah, yeah.

...I think the team that's going to-- like, that's going to

be the biggest challenge for everyone is that,

internally, they're misaligned.

I have to humble my ego because

Laurel makes me want to scream,

and if we're coming from the same era,

we're going to have to work together.

Any team that I've ever

worked with, the biggest issue is always

misalignment.

But before all of this has even happened,

me and Cory were like, we're here together.

So, I mean, if I go in, I'm dead.

Do I expect Tori to throw me in? Absolutely.

Hopefully, Cory has big enough balls to stand up to Tori,

because that's going to be my only saving grace.

You have quite the decision, eh?

Winner, winner.

- You know what you're gonna do? - No.

I felt, like, water hit my head,

and I was, like...

When you win,

you're literally safe

and you get to make the decision.

In this game you want

a strong female and a strong female

that has a high winning percentage.

Emily is gigantic with huge muscles,

so Emily is definitely one of the people

who, you know, I want to

keep around on my team as of right now.

This leaves the decision between Cara

and Aviv. I don't know Aviv, but I also have

a long-standing history with Cara.

I don't know exactly which direction it's gonna go

with this decision.

Guys, there's a bat in the house right now.

Go that way, go that way, little guy.

Little guy.

That was too close.

Yeah, I think I should probably just get out of here.

I mean, you guys have an easier decision.

Way easier.

What they have to deal with?

Every guy in there

has decades of friendships and relationships.

I'm sitting here, looking at the guys, being like...

Take any of them.

I don't care.

Yeah, but what about your girls?

Yeah. Yeah.

Cara is one of, if not the best,

female competitors

of all time.

There is no way that she should be going into

the first elimination,

and if she does, then, once again,

that's just Johnny and Laurel being stupid.

How you feeling?

-Really good. -Yeah?

Can't wait to kick whoever's ass you give me.

Yeah. That's the spirit.

-That's the spirit. -That's the spirit.

I really want to win 'cause I know

the money will be going to me

having a sanctuary for the animals.

Working in rescue is

a hard thing to do because you're constantly

seeing sad things that you can't always help.

I have a vision,

and that money is crucial to what I want.

You guys are probably gonna just keep it

the guy focusing on the guy decision,

the girl focused on the girl decision.

That's-that's the most logical.

Dude, Laurel and I have not even spoken.

I've spent damn near two decades of my life,

the best years of my life, my 20s and 30s,

sitting right here in front of you.

There's so many reasons this season

would be important for me winning.

My dad fought here with the 1st Infantry Division.

These are his dog tags,

his actual dog tags that he wore.

It's really crazy for it to kind of come full circle.

So, yeah, Dad, this one's for you.

At least we ain't got no bunk beds.

I can't be climbing up and down no damn bunk.

-Or falling off 'em. -The top bunk, oh, yeah.

-Or ripping them apart. -Yeah, yeah, the one where I fell off?

The Darrell

20 years ago was a lot more invincible.

He didn't have no kids, and he really

did not give a.

This Darrell is a little bit more mature,

but some of these young kids, man, they trying to

get some stripes, and they coming for us.

Experience does pay off,

and you're gonna have to get through us

to win this challenge.

Apparently, plastic's

bad for you now, too.

I can't even... you can't have anymore, man.

I'm getting hangry.

When you come back, like, Josh will have your back, too,

and as Paulie wouldn't...

- We're talking positions. - Give us some privacy.

- Theo. - Make out, make out, make out.

I'm a wholesome bitch.

-We won't look. -We won't look.

Era One,

we like lights out at 9:00 p.m.

We like sleep. Back in the day,

we could go all hours of the night,

wake up and do a daily the next day, and slay it.

Those days are long gone for Era One.

The only person I would kiss

right now is Michele.

- Ooh, okay. - That's fine.

Well, I'll give you a kiss for one.

That's a fact.

Here's the thing.

I want to be the best player here.

Don't you want that?

If I'm trying to keep myself out of elimination,

the only argument I got is,

out of this whole Challenge,

who do you think is your biggest competition?

In my eyes it's Jordan.

You.

I know.

With this being

so early in the season,

you don't know exactly how

the format's gonna be played.

You don't know if it's gonna be

individual, you don't know if

we're gonna be working together.

I just got to think about myself

and where my game is gonna be headed,

and if it's individual,

I don't want to take Jordan to the final.

And then you got Tony,

my enemy. He's coming for me.

So, the question is, do I attack now

on my enemy, or do I play long game?

We gonna chop it up.

We gonna chop it up. Tomorrow.

You're like, "Come on."

You know me, I've always said you can only control

your attitude and how hard you work.

Now you're also adding

you can control who you want to face, and that's,

that-that adds a whole nother power as well.

Horacio told me that, basically,

they'll give me whoever I want.

Normally, when you go into elimination,

you don't have a choice,

and so it's a blessing that I can somehow choose, you know?

It's, it's nice, but it doesn't make it any easier.

- I agree. - So I'm, like, leaving her out.

People that have came up to me, they're also like,

"Hey, Jenny's not

the smartest," like, everybody's talking about, like, "Oh,

she only has show muscle."

When it comes to Olivia,

we know what she's capable of

and all that.

Honestly, if it's a headbanger,

I'd prefer Olivia because, I guess,

I really don't want to see Jenny or Kaycee.

But if it's a puzzle,

I'll take Jenny.

And, also, one other thing

I wanted to add about Olivia.

You already completely dominated her.

You can't go in there, like,

"Now there's a rivalry" or anything.

There isn't, because you're above her.

Getting involved and being in a relationship,

in my opinion, on The Challenge, horrible idea.

You're not able to spread

your wings and fly.

So the Horacio and Nurys

junior high school vomit fest,

I don't necessarily think that that's gonna bode

all that well

for Era Four, and I'm all for it.

If there's two things that I've learned over The Challenge,

it's that nobility and romance

gets you absolutely nowhere.

Here you go.

...they have control of the team, because it's

Paulie, Horacio, Kyland, and Nurys,

and then the two girls

Olivia and Michele are gonna be so scared

that they're gonna band with them.

And then it's you, you and you

are the odd men out.

So his best bet is to go against Paulie, right?

...I don't see why he'd have a big problem with it.

-Yeah. -Yeah.

Five or six years ago, me and Paulie had

a big bust-up.

He got me chucked into elimination four times

on War of the Worlds 2.

Made my life hell. We even got into it

by having a little scuff, and he ended up kissing me.

-Bitch. -Come on, little bitch, do it.

Come on. Come on.

-Come on. -Whoo!

He's been my target, my own enemy in here ever since.

So if I get blessed with the opportunity

to go against Paulie,

I'm gonna absolutely take his head off.

Kingston, he, like, my favorite part of the morning,

where the little footsteps will just be coming into the kitchen.

- 'Cause when he sees me... - He just wants your love.

And he just comes running.

Aw. How does he feel to be a big brother?

At first, when he w-- when he came to the hospital,

he was looking at the baby like, "You need to get off my mom."

-Oh, my gosh. -Like, he was like...

- "Who are you? Get off my mom." - Yeah. You know,

the two weeks of her life that I was there before I left...

-Yeah. -...um,

he was cool, you know, he wanted to try to help out.

My daughter was just born two weeks ago,

and I'm here in another country.

I didn't bring pictures of my kids, Kam, nobody,

because I felt like looking at it would just make me weaker.

I'm gonna just try to block it out of my mind

and just focus on the task at hand.

My back is effed up from picking him up.

-He look like a little football player. -How fun.

Wants nothing to do with sports, though.

All about books. That's it.

- "Here go the ball." He's like, "No. Book." "Book."

Want to sit in the tree chair?

-Hell yeah. -You want to take the high seat?

Is this thing gonna hold me?

Shut up.

- So, what do we do? - Darrell? I love Darrell.

If I wasn't here and I wanted two guys to represent us

in the final, it'd be you and Darrell.

But then the Darrell performance yesterday

-was kind of a... that was a hard sell for me. -No, I'm...

-Is this gonna be a-a reoccurring thing here? -I-I've done...

Am I living on somebody's name from the past?

Me, Brad or Darrell

have to go in

against Mark, and Darrell

finished in fourth.

The obvious answer is, fourth place

should go in against fifth place, right?

But it seems like Brad could be the one outside

the friend circle.

I have a close relationship with-with Darrell.

He's done things for me outside of this game

when I least expected 'em, and

I'm willing to return that favor.

Like, do we want to get slimy, CT?

Is that who we are

in our 40s?

I have to say, man, I was really impressed

-with Brad's performance yesterday. -Brad?

Yeah.

Darrell was disappointing 'cause he almost fell over,

he didn't do very good on the, on the puzzle itself.

With the limited amount of information

we have, how can we ensure

that we can still have a strong team in the end?

Right now I don't see Darrell as a person

that I would be able to count on.

You can't just pick friends because friends

sometimes don't help you win challenges.

I-I don't envy your position.

The choices are bad and bad.

- Right. - It's like, these are my top guys

you could put in my life.

Derrick-- I know he's always

gonna have Jodi's back over mine.

- Right. - I-I really love Brad.

-I mean, we talk all the time. -Yeah.

Darrell's from the original season,

It would be like a slap in the face, you know?

It's kind of bittersweet.

I have a lot of great friendships on Era One.

Derrick and I talk every other day on the phone.

Rachel and I talk at least once a month.

I see CT now every few months.

I talk to Brad all the time. I talk to Aneesa, so...

You would hate to see 20 years of friendship

go down the toilet in one day of competition.

Who are you thinking for the girls?

It's between Aneesa and Jodi.

I mean, Tina finished only a few minutes

behind me,

and that's my other best friend.

On the girl's side, no matter what,

I'm gonna get heat.

I don't really want to put Darrell in that position

-either right now. -I don't either.

But then what am I supposed to do, go and try to take out Mark?

This is the most difficult

balancing act that I've ever come across

in The Challenge.

It's like best friend versus best friend.

It's tragic.

Welcome.

We're in the Chamber and we are here to deliberate

and to decide who, out of our nominees,

are going to go in against our losers

KellyAnne and Ry-Guy.

We all know Mark and Katie are going in.

This is where Cory and I are going to be deciding

who goes against Nia and Leroy in elimination.

Unfortunately, Theo and Nurys are automatically going in.

I'm gonna start the time, and then we'll all talk.

In the Chamber, you're supposed to plead your case.

"Here's why I should stay here

instead of these people."

There's nowhere to hide.

Everybody in this house is gonna

lose their.

We have a 50-50 decision here.

We have one challenge to base it off,

taking the third and the fourth place.

Those are the two options.

We've gone to finals together.

We've shared incredible moments together

on and off the field.

And I don't want this to be hard on one of my best friends.

He's such a good person and he's looked out for me in the past.

I-I owe you, dude.

And this is the time to step in.

I appreciate it, man. If you really--

-If that's what you really want to do. -I-I owe you, dude.

It's a crappy situation.

Derrick's my guy.

It's not a happy time

for team Mark and team Derrick.

- Hear, hear. Hear, hear. - Hear, hear.

CT nomination pro tip, all right?

If someone wants to nominate themself, let 'em do it.

Yes. Yes, I got you. I got you.

I would never throw Derrick under the bus.

That's my number one guy in this house.

But I'm not about to volunteer for him, not against Mark.

If he wants to, I'll tip my hat off to him.

I love him, but I don't love him that much.

I think all three of you are fantastic competitors.

You've sent me home.

I'd like to not do that again.

You are my best friend.

I certainly don't want to go against you.

You're saying if you had to choose,

you would want it to be Brandon?

If I had to choose.

Well, I didn't see-- Okay.

Ryan's reasoning behind his decision makes sense.

It's just not smart, but okay.

If I do have to go into elimination,

I'm hoping it's physical

because I got a little mean streak in me.

Didn't see that one coming. Um...

I know Brandon is a workhorse,

and he can

pull some wins out of his ass.

With him, it's a crapshoot.

And who knows how this is gonna go?

You got to do what's best for your game.

Who you got a better chance of beating?

Me or Jordan?

I think you know what that decision is.

Are you ready to pull the trigger that early?

Maybe. Maybe not. We'll see.

I hear what you're saying, Tony.

All I would say is, you got to get there

before you can worry about the final.

And I'll get you to a final.

I know Tori, and I know

her history.

And, I mean, come on, let's be honest.

She has her ride-or-die Devin

and she also has her ex-fiancé Jordan.

So there's no chance that Tony's not gonna get picked.

No matter what happens, we have to be

strong as a team.

I feel like a fly on the wall.

So long as I don't self-nominate,

I think I'm good.

- I repay my debts. - I think that's been proven

throughout my whole career.

We haven't had a chance to, like, have each other

in games or anything, but

I'll always repay what I owe.

Obviously, because Nurys and Horacio

are linked, and Horacio's here,

the conversation has kind of been around,

like, what do you want?

I have an opinion of who I don't want.

I'll start off by saying, Kaycee,

I know that you're loyal. I know that you're true to your word.

I know you're an amazing athlete.

You're not someone that I want to go up against.

My two options are between Olivia and Jenny.

I know you the least.

Because I don't know you, I can't really judge you.

And I think my-- that decision means

having to go up against you, Olivia.

Because, at the end of the day,

I just have to play to my strengths.

I'm having this little bit of a nightmare.

Like, I have botched so many

positions of power

that, if there's any shot

of me getting Olivia

out of this elimination, I want to take it.

What Horacio is for you,

Olivia is for me.

I would just hate to sit here

and feel like I can't even protect

the person who I, like, love the most.

I wish that that would be taken

into consideration for, like, your...

It is, but at the same time I really don't even want

to take it back to last season, but you put her

in a hard position last season.

If she would have never shaded me,

right now, no matter how I feel,

knowing that I think she is the best option,

I would have been, like, no, that.

-She would've never even been on the table. -I wouldn't blame Michele

-fully, though, you know, or, like, at all. I mean... -But it's both

-of you guys's fault, so that's.... -Yeah. And it is.

The sobs

are kind of falling on deaf ears because I'm like,

that's exactly the position

that you put me and Horacio in

repeatedly and

relatively unapologetically for all of last season.

I just don't have much sympathy

for your situation.

Aviv.

For me,

I'm so happy and grateful to be here,

to have the opportunity to play again.

I was really hoping,

starting out, that we would be playing as a team.

I may not have the same relationships everyone has,

but I also don't have the vendettas everyone has.

Cara, you look happy to be here.

Turn that frown upside down.

Well, here I sit

across from arguably the best two competitors

to ever play the game,

and I will not insult

your experience in the game and think that anything

I can say is gonna sway whatever's on your mind.

So, what I will do is something I've probably

never done on The Challenge before, and that's...

put my defense walls down

and just talk to you guys straight.

It's no secret we have a lot of history.

I-I don't even know what's gonna go down in here.

Can we get some sage

preemptively, please?

It's no secret we have a lot of history

between the three of us.

If we were to erase our entire history

and all the years that we've had together,

start fresh, let's look at the challenge that we did.

I came in second.

If it wasn't for a man and a woman sitting there,

I'd be sitting, respectfully, where you are, Johnny.

Going forward, you guys have two choices.

You know, you can do the predictable--

I would feel like it was personal--

and send me in, pray that I don't come back.

Or you can do something completely unexpected

and choose to work with me for the new era.

I've seen Cara Maria in the past

get really frazzled, in her head,

but Cara has

just grown, like,

she is calm.

It is like cat and mouse, and she is

the one in control.

Just say you were in Laurel's position,

and her and I were over there,

- and this is the same squad. I'm just saying, Cara. We can't...

Hypothetical. The situation here right now

and the reality is, you're standing in front of me.

-I understand. -My fate is in your hands.

Now is the time to take a shot

and send someone potentially home.

Cara Maria only thinks about Cara Maria,

and I don't want, like, an anchor tied next to me.

Sometimes that's what I feel like it is

when I play the game with Cara Maria.

I just feel like this is an extremely tough decision.

Old habits die hard.

Cara Maria, you're the weakest girl here.

- Go home. - Laurel is pissed.

I can tell she wants to bite my head off.

We know she can't think on her feet.

We know that she can't, can't, can't, can't, can't, can't.

To be back after ten years

and have nothing be different

is really crazy.

Everyone is playing nice.

Something is brewing.

This is just messy.

As much as I'd like to sit here

and put the past behind me, it's a tough thing to do.

Let me ask you this. What would you do if you were us?

To be fair, I'd pick the two bottom

to make it less messy.

It's gonna be messy regardless. Someone's feelings are gonna be

-hurt by this, regardless. -Well, yeah.

I mean, it's not-- It's a, it's a game. We all played it before.

This isn't an easy decision anyway.

I feel like, as far as the girls' side,

like, I probably have the least

deep relationships with the girls here,

but I'm all about the team and I feel like

I'm a strong asset to the team.

I came in third, like, pretty far in third.

If we want the strongest team, you want me on your team.

Because I feel this is the most fair

and objective way to do it,

I feel CT should handle the women.

CT has always put me into elimination.

I get this sick feeling in my stomach.

I'm like, these mother are gonna put me in elimination.

And here's why.

It's-- By doing that, you're gonna have

an unbiased opinion about keeping the strongest team,

because men are always gonna want the strong women.

Women always want the strong men.

Why would Rachel leave it up to CT?

Right there is her not saving me.

Rachel's supposed to be my girl.

There shouldn't be a doubt in my mind

whether she has my back or not.

This is someone who I have so much history with

that these choices

can feel like utter betrayal.

I think they already know.

I'm meeting you guys for the first time.

You know, I competed a little bit with Tony, but he left.

Devin, Jordan, I haven't seen in ten years.

Leroy, little bit. Nia.

I feel like I'm the bottom of the totem pole, but, like,

get to know me, and you can't do that if I'm gone.

Just let me prove it to you guys.

I feel like I'm a very well-rounded competitor.

I'm a two-time champ.

And this being my 11th season,

I have a lot of experience.

Okay, my turn.

All right, so, Cory, I'll address you first.

Obviously, me and you came in here playing

for our best friend and our brother at home,

- Nelson. - Mm-hmm.

I think that we're bonded through that,

and, um, we're here for him.

I got to have more than the Nellie T. as the reason on.

-Right. But... -You know.

...we're kind of outlanders here.

We don't have everyone

that we're friends with from our era,

you know? So...

Um, I'll address Tori.

I'm not gonna kiss your ass.

I'm not gonna say, like, "Oh, now will you like me?"

Like, nothing like that.

I mean, I didn't like you before,

I don't like you now, and I won't like you after this.

It's... That's keeping it 100% real.

It is in

my best interest for them both

to stay because I will be

protected from both angles.

But can we co-- Can we get Amanda

a "Coexist" bumper sticker?

One thing with us that we do have in common

is that we have the same friends, surprisingly.

Keeping me here is inadvertently keeping yourself here

because I'm keeping people here that are protecting you.

I am a huge asset to the team.

I think that I have strong relationships,

and I know that that can be a threat to some people.

My priority is to win this game,

and the only way I'm gonna do that

is getting us there together.

My relationships around the house aren't known

because that's how I operate.

I don't like to make it obvious

that people are coming on my behalf because

I feel like that's already put a target on our back.

And, although we are grateful

for Josh's relationships on the other team,

the word on the street is that

those people are not in the high graces

of the majority of the house.

This is my first time doing a season

with Paulie, and I've heard things

on how he's played the game

can be sketch.

I'm kind of just taking everything with a grain of salt.

But there is one thing that has to be put to rest.

So, if you've been going around telling people

you want me, now's your chance to say it,

and we can finish it in the sand.

That's what's gonna happen.

You know, as a man,

when you look someone in the eye and you shake their hand

and you blindly lie to them,

to me, I think you're a coward.

I know you'll stab everyone in the back here

to get what you want, so,

you know, if I got to be the one to take you out,

so be it.

There's one thing that you should've learned

from War of the Worlds 2, Theo.

I don't cast the first shot.

People on your team. Bananas.

- Josh, remember when he... - What have you been trying to do?

They threw a challenge to get my girlfriend in.

If we lose today,

it's not the end of the world.

No, no, no. I wasn't a part of that.

- That's where you're confused. - But you knew what happened.

When I asked you as a man, "Did they throw it?"

You said, "I don't know." And you knew.

-I didn't know 'cause they didn't tell me. -You knew.

- I didn't, to this day. - You knew.

Hearing Paulie and Theo

going at it, bringing up old wounds from the past,

there is so much animosity and resentment,

and this is where all this needs to be squashed.

Season 40 is where everything's gonna come to light

and either make you friends,

or that's just a stamp on "we're enemies forever."

- Why would I lie? - An entire season with my girlfriend,

and then you come in the next season.

You can say anything you want. I don't lie.

Four eras of The Challenge.

We're about to experience a tsunami.

Welcome to The Challenge!

A lot of history, a lot of trash talk.

I won't back down to you!

How many people hate you?

-Shut up! -You wanted to go that way.

Almost half of you are gonna see an elimination

in the culmination of the Era Invitational.

Boom.

Someone's gonna die tonight.

No!

This season has

blockbuster matchups.

They have to work alongside their era.

Will they be able to put their differences aside,

- or will karma catch up to them? - Sit the down.

But first they need to survive

the largest elimination in Challenge history.

A massacre is about to go down.

Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org