Ranking every single Challenge appearance by CT

With CT being on the cast of the Challenge Dirty 30, he has now been on 13 seasons of the Challenge as an official cast member. He’s also appeared twice on the show as a Heavy Hitter, and on the Challenge Champs vs Pros. I’m going to take all 16 of these appearances and rank them from last to first. Let’s celebrate CT.

16th Place — Inferno 3

For die-hard fans of the Challenge who love to re-watch seasons or new fans binge-watching, it is sometimes unclear whether the Inferno 3 actually happened as it remains one of the most difficult seasons to find on the web. This was the first season where CT exited the show early due to fighting. After losing in a friendly wrestle to Kenny (where he got a bloody nose), he got belligerently angry and wanted to fight him. Kenny didn’t want to fight, and the night dies down a bit. A little bit later, he asks Davis Mallory if he thinks he can take a punch. And just like that, CT eliminated himself first. He revealed years later that he was coming off of a bender.

15th Place — Gauntlet 3

Don’t get me wrong, CT was an absolute beast in the actual challenges on Gauntlet 3. The problem is he was a total asshole towards the female competitors. CT was a bully and a punk on G3. He also doomed the team by throwing in Johnny instead of Big Easy during one of the only two male challenge days where the Veteran team lost. CT acknowledges this as his worst ever Challenge decision.

14th Place — Champs vs Pros

He didn’t have a special moment on Champs vs Pros. Wes, Ashley, Lolo, and Louise were the stars, Darrell and Cara won, and CT took a backseat. He was cool to have around though. Gave some decent soundbites too.

13th Place — The Duel 2

Both a lowlight and highlight for CT. His fight with Adam is legendary. He threatened to smash his head and eat it in. CT also hooked up with Shauvon and got himself off the Challenges for a couple years with this fight.

12th Place — Battle of the Bloodlines

Following Diem’s passing, CT showed up with Diem’s sister to honor her in that week’s daily challenge for Bloodlines. He then showed up with Zach as Heavy Hitters for an elimination. It was cool to see CT after what went down with Diem.

11th Place — Battle of the Exes 2

This is easily the most underrated CT performance. He came into this season with one goal — winning for Diem. His confessionals were hilarious and they performed well in the two challenges they competed in. Sadly, this appearance ended early. Rip Diem.

10th Place — Free Agents

A fourth place finish sounds good for most people. For CT, it was a lame-duck season where he mostly stood in the background. He had some funny confessionals. CT also rocked a cool beard this season, so we got that.

9th Place — the Dirty 30

This season could go up or down the list based on this week’s Redemption competition. If CT returns from Redemption, this season will be a bit higher. Despite coming into the season overweight, CT has absolutely dominated the competition. Being able to come off a win from Invasion to now dominating Dirty 30, this has been an amazing run for the old CT.

8th Place — Battle of the Exes 1

Exes 1 was where the relationship between CT & Diem began repairing itself. Almost like how the Wes/Kenny rivalry created the Rivals format, CT & Diem created the Exes format. Their relationship was one that every showmance after strives to be. Hell, they even let the two compete on the second season of Exes as partners again. What puts this season so low is that their relationship was put on the back burner until the end of the season. If they had won the final, this would be a top 3 CT season.

7th Place — Invasion of the Champions

Technically, CT only missed two seasons of the Challenge between Exes 2 and Invasion. For fans, it felt like an eternity. People were unsure if CT would ever do another season after the passing of Diem. On Invasion, CT returned as a new dad, with a new dad bod, and a much more calm spirit. He walked away with his second Challenge win on Invasion, cementing his status as one of the great all time competitors.

6th Place — Inferno 1

His first appearance on the show. On Real World Paris, CT was only known as the hot asshole from his season. When he got on the Challenge, he was able to channel some of his anger and muscle into the actual competition. The first bite of Challenge CT got people hooked in for even more. Sorry for the photos, the Inferno was a long time ago.

5th Place — Inferno 2

Some argue that Inferno 2 is the best season as a competitor for CT. In a game stacked with some of the greatest male competitors (Darrell, Landon, Abram, the Miz, Derrick, Brad), CT rose to the occasion and was the most dominant competitor in the game. What puts him below some of the others is the lack of romance for CT on this season. Being on a team also brought him down at times.

4th Place — Rivals 2

Had to be the toughest exclusion from the top three. What makes this a special season for CT is that he finally he got a Challenge win after a decade of playing the game. For fans who had watched his dramatic journey, this win is the most satisfying in the franchises history. His relationship and teamwork with Wes is what dreams are made of. What puts him this low is the way his relationship with Diem devolved at the end of the season, and his unnecessary hook-up with Anastasia (possibly Nany & Cooke too). You could put this season as high as #1 for CT, that’s how many good appearances he has had.

3rd Place — Cutthroat

Yes, he was only on Cutthroat for all of ten minutes. This appearance gets in the top three for the pure awesomeness of this moment. Out of all the famous moments in Challenge history, the Backpack is the most famous by far. It’s the clip I used to introduce my friends to the franchise. One man literally carrying another grown man on his back. Jesus Christ.

2nd Place — The Duel

CT showed that he was a monster of a competitor on the Inferno 1 and Inferno 2. On the Duel we got to see the softer side of CT. His relationship and support of Diem began on this season. He had almost no major friendships or relationships on the show besides Diem. He played the game by dominating it physically. The time where CT kisses Diem for the first time out by the rocks after her jog is all an time television moment. Its why they’ve replayed it many times over the years. His DQ loss to Brad was heartbreaking and infuriating. He was the best player all season, but he deserved to lose after breaking the rules flat out. It made people love CT even more. CT is really good at making you want more out of him. An intoxicating quality.

1st Place — Rivals 1

After what happened on the Duel 2, CT wasn’t necessarily banned from the Challenges…However, many cast members told MTV that they would not appear if CT was there. So when he finally returned for Rivals 1, fans were surprised and excited. At that time people had drank too much of the Johnny-Evan-Kenny kool-aid. They were the stars of the show with Wes being painted as their nemesis. With Wes being paired with Kenny, and then Johnny/Evan getting Champion partners (Tyler/Nehemiah), the drama became the Mob versus CT.

CT was paired with the chicken wing known as Adam King. He was the savior of this season and what made the original Rivals season so great. Every week had JEK scrambling with trying to find the perfect time to attempt to take out CT, and who to send in against him. The elimination between CT and Evan where CT soars and Evan flounders is marvelous. His eventual loss in the final elimination is heartbreaking. Even worse considering its rumored that Adam King threw the elimination due to him being friends with Johnny and Kenny. Anyone who was still on the border if they liked CT changed their mind with his performance on Rivals. They saw a much more relaxed guy who could still rip someone’s head off when they wanted to. He also had the legendary curse out session with Wes.

After more than a decade of CT, he still brings happiness to all of us.