The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Darrell Taylor
The first-ever Challenge blogs I did were a set of player previews going into Invasion of The Champions. One of those blogs was previewing the return of the legendary Darrell Taylor to The Challenge after more than seven years off the show. In the time since, Darrell has appeared in some form on 11 different Challenge seasons and spinoffs! Darrell has appeared nearly twice as many times within the last seven years than he did in his original Reality TV run.
It’s easy to understand why MTV brings him back — Darrell is funny, likable, humble, a badass competitor, and even after 20+ years, he still looks the same, if not better. Darrell is the only player in Challenge history to win 4 straight Challenge Championships, and it’s no-brainer to have him on Season 40.
Darrell’s Cheat Sheet
Introducing Darrell:
Darrell made his Reality TV debut in 2002 on Road Rules Campus Crawl, appearing alongside future Challenge cast members such as Rachel Robinson, Shane Landrum, Sarah Greyson, and Kendal Sheppard. We would see him go on The Challenge, where he’d appear on The Gauntlet 1 and Inferno 1 back-to-back. Darrell was never the top guy in daily challenges. However, he had a strong social game and was considered an asset for the Final. Darrell started off hot by winning as part of the Road Rules teams in both seasons.
He would later appear on The Inferno 2 as part of the Good Guys team. Again, Darrell was never the top guy in daily challenges, with the lone exception being this season when he was potentially up for the last elimination. Once a fire got put under Darrell’s ass, he won the lifesaver to guarantee his spot in The Inferno 2 Final. To which, he, Landon, Jamie Chung, and The Miz won — seriously, what an all-time squad that is, three Challenge legends, a future WWE World Champion, and a prolific film & TV actress.
After this, Darrell appeared on Fresh Meat 1 — the first true partners season of The Challenge, where he played alongside Aviv. Darrell avoided drama and played video games (PSP) for a decent amount of his time there, yet he still had more of a presence on camera than his partner. They coasted through most of the game until the Final Five when they won a lifesaver after getting nominated for elimination by Derrick & Diem. Later, they beat Derrick & Diem in the last elimination of the season. Then, in the Final, Darrell & Aviv blew all the teams out of the water largely due to Aviv’s puzzle skills, though Darrell’s strength, cardio, and alliances were also crucial to their overall victory. With this win, Darrell became, at that point, the only 4x Champ in Challenge history and, to this day, the only player to win four straight appearances. It would also be the last time he appeared in a Final on a flagship MTV season.
Darrell took a few years off before coming back for The Ruins. He was part of the stacked champions team and won two eliminations. It seemed like Darrell had a guaranteed spot in the Final after agreeing to take out Cohutta for the Champs in exchange for not going into elimination again. Then Brad had too much to drink one night, got in Darrell’s face to an aggressive degree, and Darrell fought back. He got DQ’d. Darrell had over 30 grand guaranteed in his bank account had he made the Final and was likely to win more, which would’ve made him the only player to win 5x in a row.
They gave him a shot to compete again on Fresh Meat 2. Darrell got the #1 overall pick and selected Cara Maria. Darrell had beef with Wes dating back to Fresh Meat 1, and it escalated during Wes’ return on The Ruins. On Fresh Meat 2, Wes got his giant alliance and even Kenny in on a ploy to force Darrell & Cara into elimination against Pete & Jill. Darrell was shockingly knocked out and traditionally eliminated for the first time in his career. Even more shocking is that we didn’t see Darrell again for over 7 years. It’s rumored that he and Brad were considered to be a pair on Rivals 1, but Brad declined — and then there were talks of a Road Rules Campus Crawl team on Battle of the Seasons, except MTV chose to go in a different direction. From there, it seemed like availability calls went dry.
That is until Invasion of the Champions. One of the many returns on the season, Darrell was one of the four male champs who entered the game mid-way— and it was a bit of a rocky start for Darrell in some of the daily challenges. It was the eliminations where he thrived. Darrell demolished the much larger Zach in a Pole Wrestle and then took out Bananas in Balls In. Unfortunately, Darrell missed out on the Final after losing to CT in Knot So Fast. Darrell didn’t even get to give his all in the elimination as CT fully simply broke the elimination to where production had to come and cut the ropes because the knot CT had made was essentially un-ununtieable.
The best part about Invasion is it reminded MTV how awesome Darrell is, and he’s been back in the fold since. He won Champs vs. Pros with Cara Maria. Then he appeared on Dirty 30, where he stunningly got purged in the opening challenge and had an even more surprising loss to Tony in Redemption. Darrell would later appear on Vendettas as a Mercenary, where he and Nelson had the first-ever elimination tie. Something interesting is that when departure day for Final Reckoning happened, there was a rumor going around that he and Cory were supposed to be a pair coming into the game mid-way through. Except when Tony replaced Devin as Bananas’ original partner due to Devin having to leave because of his father’s passing — MTV later brought on Devin to be Cory’s partner instead. Some other partner/team variables got altered by Devin’s father’s passing as well.
Unfortunately, we wouldn’t see Darrell as a full-time competitor again till Double Agents. This season, Darrell was partners with Amber B. — they were an underwhelming team, which is funny considering she went on to win the season. Amber wasn’t very good at the daily challenges, and with no penalty for last, Darrell didn’t feel the need to give 110%. Darrell did win the trivia challenge this season and won free Burger King Whoppers for life. As much as Burger King has gone downhill over the past couple of decades, the Whopper still hits on occasion. Darrell ended up earning a Gold Skull to run the Final after Devin called him out for an elimination. It was a big win for Darrell as he humbled Devin and proved to be a tangerine puzzle expert. In the end-game, Darrell came up short of the Final as he got thrown into one of the last male eliminations against Cory — where Cory completely blew him out.
Darrell then became a fixture for the All-Stars spinoffs, appearing in each of the first three seasons. On All-Stars 1, Darrell coasted to the Final based on social game and respect/reputation. As he does, Darrell killed it in the Final and had the ability to take the lead, with the last portion being a marathon-like trek/hike. As a cardio beast, it seemed like Darrell was going to clinch his 5th Challenge Championship…That is until Yes outpaced and outworked him. For the first time, Darrell lost a Final. Still, it was a respectable second place.
On All-Stars 2, Darrell performed at a high level as an individual and later formed a pair with his long-time friend Janelle Casanave. Darrell & Janelle were consistently good in the challenges and then defeated the super duo of Brad & Jodi in the last elimination to get themselves to the Final. In the Final, Darrell & Janelle came up short to Nehemiah & Melinda in Part 1 and Jonna & MJ for the overall win in Part 2. The once unbeatable in a Final Darrell Taylor took his second Final loss in a row.
All-Stars 3 wasn’t better for Darrell. His fear of heights led to him automatically getting sent into elimination, where the house pitted him and Jordan against each other. Despite having a weight advantage, Darrell got outworked by Jordan to the point where his body physically gave out. Not going to lie; the brutal stretch for Darrell continued on Ride or Dies. After a few episodes, he and Veronica got brought into the game as a pair. They were not a strong pair, as their skill sets and abilities were not complementary. The most embarrassing part of their season was their exit, in which they lost a puzzle elimination to Amber B. & Chauncey. Amber & Chauncey are gorgeous human beings, but they know less than 1,000 words combined between them and Chauncey can’t even count how many letters are in his own name.
Now, Darrell got to have a much more positive experience on the World Championship’s. He got paired with the amazing Kiki Morris from The Challenge Australia. Together, they were a fun team to root for as two likable badass competitors. Darrell & Kiki won a daily challenge, beat KellyAnne & Tristan in elimination, and then came up just short to Troy & Kaycee in an elimination before the Final. Although Darrell didn’t win or make the Final, it was a much better showing. Sidenote: I know Kiki has never appeared on a flagship MTV season, yet I still wish she was on Season 40 because she’s terrific.
Darrell’s most recent appearance was as a mercenary on Battle For A New Champion. He lost to Kyland in an elimination that seemed a bit out of his wheelhouse. Although recent years have been tough for Darrell fans, I’m sure he still has it in him to be a top competitor.
Player Vitals & Stats
Darrell: 44 Years Old, 5'11 (Guesstimation), 14 Seasons*, 4x Champion, 6x Finalist*, 8–6 Elimination Record*, Winner of Inferno 1, Gauntlet 1, Inferno 2, and Fresh Meat 1
* = includes stats from All-Stars and World Championships
Skills and Physical Strength:
The obvious strength for Darrell is his mix of cardio and power. He can run 20+ miles and do it while carrying weight on his back/over his shoulders. As a serious personal trainer, Darrell’s fitness level ranks among the top of both players on this cast and all-time Challenge history. He’s a former Gold Glove boxer and teaches boxing classes/workouts still to this day. It makes Darrell very dangerous in any headbanger because he knows how to throw a hit, take one, and use all of his power & force.
Another strength for Darrell is that he’s an above-average swimmer, which most people sleep on.
In terms of weaknesses — Darrell’s giant red flag is his fear of heights. If there’s a purge challenge involving heights and Darrell isn’t willing to compete or is tentative, that could end his game instantly. Additionally, Darrell has been on record dating back to the Inferno 2 that he is not flexible.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:
Socially, everyone loves Darrell in a Challenge house. That said, in some of these modern seasons, the likability factor hasn’t been enough, as it hits a point where Darrell’s fringe alliances throw him in without worry once the game gets real. The fact Darrell isn’t going to be one to cause a scene about getting voted in either makes it very easy for people to do so. With a more veteran cast on Season 40, I love Darrell’s chances of making an extended run. This season, Darrell walks in with allies such as Derrick, Mark, Cara Maria, Aviv, Cory, Katie, Rachel, and CT.
When it comes to the strategic game, Darrell plays a very low-key and under-the-radar game. He believes that he does not need to take big risks because as long as he can get to the Final, he can win. All of Darrell’s gameplay is built towards self-preservation. I do think that with how early he’s gotten knocked out/thrown in during his recent appearances, Darrell should adapt his gameplay to play a more active game.
When it comes to the mental side of the game, Darrell is historically average with puzzles and above average with tangerine puzzles.
Eliminations & Winning Potential:
After his two exclamation point elimination wins on Invasion, Darrell’s gone 3–5 in eliminations and 3–6–1 if you include his mercenary appearances. That’s a spotty track record for a man who had a longstanding, undefeatable reputation. With age and the way this game has changed/evolved, Darrell has become more beatable. At the same time, this doesn’t mean he’s suddenly a below-average. Typically, when Darrell goes into elimination, players use it as an opportunity to get him or another big threat out of the game , so it’s not like he’s losing to chumps.
Darrell has seen 20+ years of eliminations, where he’s competed in headbangers, puzzle eliminations, exiles, games of endurance, and carnival games. He seems capable of winning any elimination, with headbangers being the area where he thrives.
Can Darrell win? I pegged Darrell as the favorite to win all three All-Stars seasons and that prediction failed all three times. Do I still believe Darrell can win this season? Definitely/ Darrell has the cardio to crush a Final, he’s competent with puzzles, is willing to eat anything, and has the mental toughness & hunger needed to win. Is he a Top 3 contender? No. Darrell has not made a flagship MTV Final since 2006, and while luck has played a factor in that, it’s become a jarring stat to the point where expecting him to get to the Final and win is becoming difficult. If you watch Darrell, it’s clear he’s a beast. The question mark is whether or not he can adapt to playing a more modern game to give himself the best shot to win.
Darrell’s Overall Rating: 91/100
Previous Ratings I’ve Given Darrell:
Ride or Dies: 93/100
All-Stars 3: 96/100
Double Agents: 95/100
Dirty 30: 94/100
Invasion: 95/100
