The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Devin Walker
From Day 1, MTV has loved Devin Walker. They saw a guy with loads of charisma and put him in the best positions possible to make him a star. Unfortunately, Devin wasn’t the greatest Challenge competitor in his first couple of seasons. During this time, he embraced his role as the “Foamer King” and as a non-serious competitor. That is until Devin began taking the game more and more seriously.
Credit to Devin, he took the opportunities MTV gave him, and he succeeded over and over again. He repeatedly crushed expectations where he went from a lay-up to a puzzle threat to an actual contender, to now, where he is a Challenge Champion. It’s been intriguing to watch the rise of Devin, especially within the fandom. The side of the fandom who loved him when he was the messy Foamer King doesn’t really love the guy who seems to be a production favorite (he always was), gets shoved down our throat, and is friends with Tori & Bananas. Meanwhile, the people who clowned Devin back in the day as a joke competitor are now giving him props. Devin is one of the most polarizing Challenge competitors and personalities, where even I’ve shifted my stance on him multiple times.
Regardless, something that I know is true is that Devin is a crucial figure in modern Challenge history, especially as the male face of AYTO on The Challenge. The guy is a Champion and in prime position to win his second straight season.
Devin’s Cheat Sheet
Introducing Devin:
Originally just a guy from Massachusetts, Devin made his Reality TV debut on Are You The One? Season 3. Devin was an OG AYTO villain as he was a douchebag and in a toxic showmance with a girl named Kiki. He embraced the fact he was a “puppet master” and manipulator. Devin then somewhat redeemed himself by being the man to figure out the 10 Perfect Matches for his season.
Devin & Kiki got asked to be on Rivals 3, and she wanted nothing to do with him, so they brought in her friend, Cheyenne Floyd, who loathed Devin. Devin & Cheyenne were among the few pairs in the game with genuine animosity. In Cheyenne’s defense, Devin was a highly annoying douche for most of this season — he got off on instigating drama and randomly telling people he was going to send them home. There was a night on Rivals 3 where he fought with Jamie, Cory, and Wes all in a 30-minute span, and yet…just a week or two later, he was in alliance with two of their three teams. Which, I think, encapsulates Devin well…He can easily get on people’s nerves, yet he is also intelligent, charming, and charismatic. Devin also had a random hookup with Camila on Rivals 3, which isn’t relevant, I just have to mention it somewhere.
On Rivals 3, Devin & Cheyenne were the first team eliminated. They were one of two teams nominated for the first elimination as they were rookies, and they were from AYTO back in the day when AYTO players got nominated by default. They went into elimination ironically enough when Devin pulled a Black Skull. Devin & Cheyenne lost to the dysfunctional pair of Johnny Reilly & Jessica McCain, which is a bad loss considering how terribly that Portland duo worked as a team— and the fact Jessica is a flat-out lousy player. Luckily for Devin & Cheyenne, enough teams either quit or DQ’d to the point where MTV decided to bring them back into the game for free. There was no redemption or anything — they were just given a free second shot.
From there…the most impressive thing they did as a pair was never finish in last place in a daily challenge. Which sounds like a joke, except it meant they would never go directly into elimination. However, they were nominated repeatedly for elimination…Five times in a row to end the game, to be exact, including a bonus sixth time when the entire house was eligible for elimination. Devin & Cheyenne proceeded to pull White Skulls to safety. For reference, they had a 50–50 chance of going into elimination each time; avoiding elimination six times in a row has a 1.56% chance. That is an all-time streak of luck. As the season went on, Cheyenne began to tolerate Devin more, mainly as he fought for her against Vince & Bananas when they started to bully her. Devin & Cheyenne became the first AYTO players to make it to a Challenge Final. In the Final, Devin was an incredibly supporting partner to Cheyenne, who was not a great player by any means. They crossed the finish line and Devin shared the winnings with her.
After Rivals 3, Devin chose not to do Invasion as MTV made him the face of the Are You The spin-off competition show, AYTO Second Chances. Devin kicked ass on Second Chances, where he mentally crushed all the comps and had great chemistry/communication with his partner Rashida. We saw Devin begin a rivalry with Tori Deal this season. In the end, Devin and his partner won, while Tori & her partner came in 2nd. Devin was given the choice to steal 50k from his partner, and for the second time, he chose to share. Following this show, Devin and Tori seemed primed to make big returns/debuts to The Challenge.
Tori thrived…meanwhile, Devin lost the opening purge and got knocked out in the first round of the Redemption by Darrell. I’d argue no man had more of an uneventful run on Dirty 30 than Devin. That’s saying a lot, considering Dario slept through the entire season. The loss on Dirty 30 motivated Devin to put in work during the offseason, and he came onto Vendettas in much better shape. Devin avoided the opening purge on Vendettas, then settled into the house and even won a heights over water daily challenge that it didn’t require a ton of athleticism but was more about fearlessness and balance. After that, Devin floated through the game for a couple weeks and tried to build numbers for an anti-Bananas alliance with players like Nelson, Shane, Brad, and Joss. When it came down to a vote consisting of half the house between Devin & Banas, Devin got voted directly into elimination.
With his back against the wall, Devin went for a Hail Mary. He pleaded with Tony & Kailah to give him Bananas in elimination. Kailah was on board with the move, and Tony, at the last minute, crossed Bananas and gave Devin his shot. In a suped game of lite brite, Devin beat Bananas in what was easily the crowning moment of his Challenge career at that point. Sadly, Devin didn’t do much with the positive momentum. He had the power to stack the teams in the next daily challenge and sabotage Leroy, yet his team still lost the daily challenge. In the end, Devin’s Vendettas run ended with a run. They did a purge challenge that was essentially a footrace, and Devin recorded the slowest time among all men. Even after getting himself in better shape, Devin still wasn’t on the level of the top men.
He later appeared on Champs vs. Stars 3, where he was eliminated early after getting thrown into an elimination with Wes. Before getting eliminated, Devin got into a notable fight with Cardi B’s sister Hennessy Carolina.
Devin was supposed to be partners on Final Reckoning with Bananas and even flew out on departure. Sadly, once they landed… Devin’s dad passed away, so he flew back home. Had Devin & Bananas been a team, it would’ve been fascinating to see how they would’ve operated. Mentally, they would have been a formidable duo, but Devin would’ve weighed them down physically. Socially, they would’ve had a tough time playing in the game. Even though Devin was friends with the Young Bucks and Lavender Ladies dating back to his AYTO season, they would not be able to get past the Bananas part and would’ve targeted them. Devin didn’t have as close of bonds with players like Zach, Kyle (at the time), and Kam that Tony did. Cara Maria & Marie probably would’ve been their only loyal allies.
Had Devin stayed in the game… the rumor was Tony & his RW ex/baby momma Madison would’ve been the first mercenaries in the Hunter & Ashley spot, there would’ve been no Hunter & Ashley this season, and then Darrell & Cory would’ve come in. While grieving, Devin decided he didn’t want to get his mind off life and took the call to go on Final Reckoning late in the game with Cory. They won two eliminations to enter the game by beating Zach & Amanda and Da’Vonne & Jozea. Let’s be upfront about it, that elimination was fucking fishy. Their Final Reckoning run did not last long, as, after only one daily challenge, Cory got them DQ’d for slamming Tony into some concrete in a fight over some pasta. Before he got officially sent home, Devin spent the night before following and cursing out Johnny Bananas after Bananas allegedly called Nelson the “R” word and said something about Devin’s father, which definitely escalated things further. They then had another blow-up at the reunion.
It’s rumored that Devin’s pursuit put him in hot water with production, and we wouldn’t see him on The Challenge for a couple of years. Over a year after Final Reckoning, Devin released an apology video to Bananas, seemingly hoping to get the back on. During the time in between, he appeared on the Ex on the Beach Season 3 as a main cast member. They brought Marie Roda in as his ex as they had a fling outside The Challenge house. Eventually, Devin found himself hooking up with Shannon Duffy from Are You The One? 5 on this season — she later went on to have a baby with a cast member from a different AYTO season. I think I saw her on Bumble once. I swiped right. Don’t think she swiped back — her phone must’ve been malfunctioning.
So it would be a few years till Devin got to return for Double Agents. The Challenge world had changed dramatically during his absence. Back on Vendettas, Devin had issues with Natalie Negrotti and was the first person to hate Big Brother being on the show. So when he returned, and Big Brother players were running shit, he became the face of the anti-BB alliance. Devin got into drama with Fessy & Josh and drew the ire of players like Kaycee, Leroy, Kam, Nany, and Aneesa. In the line of fire, Devin defeated his good friend Wes in a reverse tug-of-war elimination where the moment Wes knew he was going to lose, he pretended that he was gifting his friend the win.
After his elim win over Wes, we saw Devin pull off a couple clutch daily challenge wins. There was an infamous drone challenge where one player had to direct another as they blindly flew a drone — fans thought the daily challenge sucked, and because of it, not enough people gave Devin credit for being the only person able to direct his partner to complete the task. Later, we saw him win a mini final-esque comp where players had to dig up puzzle pieces throughout a minefield and put them all together to solve/recreate a puzzle. With more than half the house working against him, Devin and his partner Gabby won the challenge. To me, it was the moment Devin became a serious competitor on this show. A week later, though, Devin got put in a position where it seemed likely that he would be defending his Gold Skull against CT in elimination — which was scary as it was CT and the fact CT was his #1 ally. Production came up with a twist that made it a double elimination, where both Devin & Josh were eligible for elimination, and CT got to pick the players they would face.
CT chose to take on Josh and gave Devin his pick of the crop. Devin, in a wave of cockiness, asked for Darrell. Darrell then sent him home in a tangram puzzle elimination. It was a bad look to end what I thought was a fantastic season from Devin.
Following Double Agents, it seemed like Devin vs. Big Brother would be a major storyline for seasons to come. Instead of beating them, Devin joined them. Devin was suddenly best friends with Josh and Tori after loathing them the season before, and they became the infamous vacation alliance. Devin controlled the game politically on Spies, Lies & Allies, running the veteran alliance that dominated the game from start to finish. He was very impressive in the daily challenges on SLA, where he was leading his team strategically & mentally and even showed off some athleticism. Devin never saw the arena for almost the entire game, only getting called out for the final elimination by Emanuel. While Tori & Amanda competed in a headbanger, they conveniently had a puzzle elimination on standby for Devin. In the elimination, players had to complete three puzzles and Emanuel was actually up 2–0 on Devin before Devin pulled off the comeback.
I do want to note that in the week or two before the Final, we saw Devin’s social and political game get shaky as he lashed out at Tori and treated his long-time friend Amanda bit poorly. Moving on.
In the SLA Final, Devin was a liability physically. He slowed down his team during Day 1, and then on Day 2, he impressively memorized the 20-digit code all by himself. It was mostly the only way Devin could go out looking strong, as he basically gave up on Emy. I was very annoyed by the fact that Devin didn’t push himself harder in what was literally the last portion of the Final. The finish line was there; you give 110%.
The good thing is that Devin took the loss seriously and put in work in the offseason again. After SLA, Devin was partners with Tori on Ride or Dies, and the season felt like it was partially made with them in mind. Devin & Tori got randomly thrown into the first elimination. They beat Kailah & Sam with ease in that opening elimination and proceeded to coast through the rest of the season without seeing elimination. While Tori had an up-and-down emotional season dealing with Jordan, Devin stayed under the radar, played a highly strategic social & political game, and even formed a friendship with long-time enemy Johny Bananas. After not winning a daily challenge the entire season, Devin & Tori turned on the gas at the end of the game. They won the final daily challenge and threw Fessy & Moriah into elimination — which, considering how badly Fessy & Moriah dusted everyone in the mini Final, was a great move. And when you rewatch the Ride or Dies Final…I think it’s pretty clear that they likely would’ve won. Instead, Bananas & Nany took them out.
Then, in the Final, Devin & Tori dominated. Their cardio was fantastic, they communicated well, Devin crushed all the mental portions, and stepped up to do extra eating for Tori. I felt like production kept trying to find ways to make the Final close, and each time, Devin & Tori would just pull away. Devin & Tori squashed Bananas & Nany in the end, and each of them earned the title of Champion. The guy went from a first boot/lay-up to an actual Challenge Champion. It’s a hell of a story. Devin would later appear on S39 as a Legend/Mercenary, defeating Callum Izzard.
Skills and Physical Strength:
The obvious thing with Devin is he’s not an incredible raw athlete. He isn’t winning footraces or arm wrestling competitions, and he should essentially stay away from all headbangers.
That said, Devin is still an underrated athlete when it comes to skill categories. Devin has a great sense of balance, solid hand-eye coordination, and elite depth perception. On Spies, Lies & Allies, Devin was one of the few players to accomplish difficult heights over water challenge, where players had to jump between giant balance beams as players shot at them with high-powered hoses. In the slingshot challenges from Ride or Dies, Devin directed his team to an easy victory, and then an hour later, he directed the other team. That type of skill is reminiscent of a golfer or a high-level NBA 3-point shooter , which I’m not calling Devin either, except that he seems to have a skill over some players.
As much as I say, Devin should avoid headbangers . Let’s not act like he’s someone you can bowl over, like Jay Starrett. The guy is 6'0 and roughly 200 lbs — so although he isn’t a big physical threat, he has the size to avoid getting targeted as a potential easy elimination win.
To round out, Devin’s cardio has hit a point where he can easily complete a Final. Can he outrun some of the other elite guys while playing individually? That is to be determined. Considering how much Devin’s cardio has improved every season, I wouldn’t be shocked if we saw him take another step up. Additionally, Devin is a slightly above-average swimmer and eating comps person.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:
Devin controls a ton of power within the house socially and politically. He’s become a pregaming expert and has done a great job managing different relationships in the house. Going into this season, Devin has STRONG connections, history, and alliances with Tori, CT, Bananas, Tony, and considering he’s now dating Michele, likely her as well. He’s also on good terms with his Vacation Alliancers Aneesa, Josh, and Kaycee. Via Tori, you assume Jordan & Devin will be friendly; via Michele, he’s got Olivia; via Devin’s BFF Wes, you assume he has Nehemiah as an ally; and so on. If anything, the worry would be that Devin has too many allies to look after. It’s a very Wes-like game. To Devin’s credit, I think he’s managed numbers and relationships better than Wes.
As we know, Devin is a puzzle expert. Like me, Devin was born dyslexic, which comes with some advantages and disadvantages when it comes to mental comps. He’s got crazy good memorization skills and practices most puzzles. I’d say Devin’s biggest edge as a mental competitor is his ability to communicate. Devin deduces and figures out daily challenge strategies, and as a partner/teammate, he can guide teams to victory.
The strategic game is going to be fascinating for Devin. On RoD, he & Tori’s sole goal was to get to the Final as they believed they were the strongest pair, and if they got there, they’d win. They were right. This time around, things are different. While Devin has improved a ton, I’m not sure he can go toe-to-toe with Jordan or CT in an individual Final. So the question is, does Devin have the balls to take shots at them? On SLA, Devin played a big part in basically gifting CT a win. Will he learn from that mistake?
Eliminations & Winning Potential:
Devin’s elimination record is 6–2, 7–2 if you include his win on Season 39, and he’s technically beaten Champs in Wes, Bananas, Emanuel, and Zach. On paper, it’s super impressive. At the same time, when you dig closer in, you realize Devin’s gotten purged/DQ’d on multiple seasons, so he’s avoided potential losses, and then his two wins from Final Reckoning are suspect. On top of that, most of Devin’s career eliminations have been puzzle or mental comps. We know Devin can crush people in puzzles. What we don’t know is how he’ll do in a Pole Wrestle or Knot So Fast.
I will say in Devin’s defense, we never see Leroy get puzzle eliminations either.
Can Devin win? Absolutely. With the amount of social connections that Devin enters the game with, he has the ability to coast and play the game strategically in a way others cannot. He has the puzzle skills and the cardio required to do well in a Final. I believe Devin is one of the top contenders to win, which feels crazy to say, yet I have to give credit to him. He studied the game, saw what it took to win, and built a realistic path for himself. Devin will never be a physical powerhouse, but he’s someone who walks into each season now without a legitimate shot to win.
Devin’s Overall Rating: 89/100
Previous Rating’s I’ve Given Devin:
Ride or Dies: 84/100
Spies, Lies & Allies: 81/100
Double Agents: 76/100
Final Reckoning: 78/100
Vendettas: 74/100
Dirty 30: 78/100
