Challenge Double Agents Player Preview: Wes Bergmann
I say this as a person who fully believes Wes is the Challenge’s most important/impactful player ever — I wish he weren’t on this season. Wes has been a major player on the Challenge for a decade and a half. CT is the only other person you could say that about, and even, then CT the last few years has been a CT gimmick act. From Day 1, Wes has been a legitimate star you can build your show around. Cara Maria and Johnny Bananas grinded for seasons until they achieved the status that Wes had when he arrived back on Fresh Meat 1. The guy has had a laundry list of rivalries where the bottom tier ones are bigger than some people’s most significant fights. I count at least seven seasons where he was in the most prominent or second-biggest storyline of the season:
Wes vs. the House on Fresh Meat 1
Wes vs. The Mob on the Ruins
Wes vs. Kenny on FM 1 (Also the building block for Rivals 1)
Wes and Kenny vs. CT on Rivals 1
Wes vs. Bananas vs. Sarah on Exes 2
Wes vs. Louise Hazel on Champs vs. Stars (not sure if this counts)
Wes vs. The Brits (and Da’Vonne) on War of the Worlds 1
Wes and Bananas Alliance
Despite all of this, Wes is draining on the fans. Part of his mystique and what made his return to the Challenge on War of the Worlds 1 so special was the fact he took a few years off, came back, and adapted to the game. I feel like Wes is a Challenge addict, whereas he keeps coming back, he falls back into bad habits, and some of his shine dwindles as a whole. Regardless, he should be a major figure in the game again.
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Introducing Wes: He debuted on Real World Austin, one of the best RW seasons ever. Wes had the greatest opening stretch in Challenge history as in his first two seasons, he went 6–0 in eliminations (setting the record for most wins at the time), went to two finals, one of which while partnered with Casey Cooper, one of the worst players in Challenge history, and the other he became the first individual male champion ever, edging out greats like CT, Brad, Evan, Kenny, Tyler, Bananas, Derrick, and Nehemiah. It wasn’t until the Ruins where Wes finally got eliminated (was 8–0 in elims at that point), and had he won; he likely would’ve gone 10–0 or 11–0, with three finals in three seasons.
His career was all over the place from there as he became embroiled in rivalries with Kenny Santucci and Kenny’s friends over the years. Eventually, Wes hit a rut where he had embarrassing early elimination losses, a finals performance that still gets made fun of today. Then he lost a majority of his muscle mass, and from there, adapted. He hit a second wind where he became a savvier social and political player, winning Rivals 2 and dominating Exes 2. Wes then took a hiatus after a meh Rivals 3 performance, followed up by an all-time masterpiece that was War of the Worlds 1. Wes had Bananas taken out early, made it into the most tribunals, won an elimination, and made it to the final despite being the biggest target for a majority of the game, and skillfully maneuvered through the game week to week. Not to mention, Wes completed the most challenging final ever eight years after dying during the Rivals 1 final.
He followed that impressive performance up with a swift exit due to a Josh/Laurel blindside that led to Wes getting eliminated by nemesis, Stephen Bear. Total Madness as a whole was a bleh season, and Wes’s relationship with Bananas came off as disingenuous. Yet, I will note, had Wes beaten Bananas in that elimination, he easily would have been the frontrunner with his three biggest threats being out of the game (Jordan, CT, Bananas). It was a massive risk that most players wouldn’t be willing to take. That might have been his best chance to get his third career title.
Player Vitals: Wes Bergmann, 36 Years Old, 5'8, 170–180 lbs, 13 Seasons, 14–8 Elimination Record, 2x Champion (Duel 1, Rivals 2), 5x Finalist, 3 Spin-Offs, 2x Spin-Off Finalist, 5–0 Spin-Off Elimination Record
Skills and Physical Strength: I would describe Wes as a skilled athlete, not a raw athlete. He probably would run close to the slowest 40-yard dash time out of all male players on the cast currently and would have a problem in any raw physical headbanger. Wes was able to win Pole Wrestle back in 2006 when the gym was his life, and his goal was to look like an Engineer from Prometheus.
In 2020, he’s aging like a middle-aged white man who works a desk job and spends so much of his time in meetings, conference calls, or writing emails (which is what he does). Yes, he keeps in shape, but he’s not the same athlete.
At this point, Wes’s forte is the carnival games. The daily challenges where you need to create a strategy on the fly and Wes’s experience allows him to outsmart his fellow competitors. Of course, Wes is also one of the greatest swimmers in Challenge history. If the daily challenges or eliminations come down to raw athleticism or a foot race, Wes will be in trouble. He needs to cut the right corners, and it’s hard to imagine anyone allowing him to do that as he’s become too big of a figure for someone that is too beatable. It’s almost a testament to Wes that he has so many people worried about him.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game: In the last couple of seasons, Wes has done far too much pregaming. It doesn’t make sense because as a social player, Wes is elite. He knows how to talk to people and can hold actual deep conversations. All the pregaming forces him into following a specific path when Wes is the best at adapting to his surroundings. When it comes to political and strategic play, Wes takes big swings and, in my opinion, is how most people should play. Last season alone, he threw Fessy in against Jordan and himself against Bananas, two plays that would have shifted the odds in his favor massively. Remember, there were limited Red Skulls, and Wes saw an elimination that wasn’t a Hall Brawl or a Pole Wrestle, and a chance to take out the biggest game threat, and he took it. I wish other people played to win. Sometimes it blows up in your face, but when it doesn’t, you look fucking awesome.
His biggest allies this season will be Theresa, Devin, Cory, and CT. Wes’s enemies are Josh, Ashley, Leroy, and Kam. He and Darrell will have an interesting relationship as they are historically against each other, but they should align for at least the early portion. Wes has gotten much better at puzzles and memorization games in recent years when it comes to the mental game. I’d consider him above average at this point.
Eliminations & Winning Potential: His last few eliminations wins have generally been in the games where you have to develop a strategy on the fly because there are little real-life experiences/training methods to prepare you for them, other than actually competing in the event itself. The recent losses have generally been in physical games where speed and physicality are involved. Wes needs to avoid headbangers at this point in his career.
Could Wes win? Yes. He has the endurance, the swimming and puzzle ability, and as a whole, is much more well-rounded than a majority of the cast. Bananas, CT, and Wes are no longer in their primes, but these three individuals are some of the most well-rounded players ever, and because of that, they can still compete in this era. You could legit throw some players who were competitive with them in their prime in this era, and they would struggle because, in the non-team era, you somewhat have to be able to do everything to win (cardio, puzzles, strength). Do I think he will get to the final? No. In the preseason video, he was the player that almost everyone mentioned as one of their biggest threats. Wes is in a similar boat to Ashley Mitchell where they are legends, but not physically imposing enough to not get targetted for eliminations, a-la CT.
