The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Jenny West

For years, it felt like Challenge fans were clamoring for new Champions. Then, in only her second season, Jenny West put on a dominating performance to win Total Madness, even outpacing Johnny Bananas in the Final.

Jenny looked like an absolute force destined to rack up multiple Championships. And then… MTV decided not to cast her for four years, leaving her off as an alternate numerous times. It was bullshit. While Jenny has never been the messiest Reality TV cast member, she was a badass competitor who gave 110% on the show when she was on and off the show. She would be awake at 3 AM in the UK to live tweet and interact with fans while the show was airing in the US. That’s a level of commitment that I respect, and I’m glad that Jenny is finally getting a shot to defend her title as Champion.

Jenny’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)

Introducing Jenny:

Jenny’s original reality show was a British series called Survival of the Fittest, which made her transition to The Challenge an obvious fit. Immediately from the jump on War of the Worlds 2, people in the house are amazed and intimidated by Jenny’s level of fitness, endurance, and physicality. Her muscles had muscles! Politically, on WOTW 2, Jenny was on the opposite side of the majority UK alliance but only saw one elimination for the first half of the game, as her team viewed her as an asset, and Georgia was taking more of the bullets. In her first elimination ever, we saw Jenny blow Nicole Bass out in a game where players had to memorize some tile patterns and then prop themselves up and down a glass tower to recreate the pattern. Nicole did essentially nothing; the elimination was mainly just an exhibition of Jenny’s cardio.

Where Jenny’s game came crashing down literally was when she got sent into Hall Brawl against Tori Deal. Most in the crowd assumed Jenny would win as she had way more muscle, except as we saw multiple times throughout the season, Jenny really had no experience when it came to physical contact or tackling. There had been a couple of challenges earlier in the season where Jenny had gotten outwrestled, and in this elimination, Tori gave Jenny a welcome to The Challenge moment.

Now, part of why I personally love Jenny is that she didn’t take the loss lying down. Well, technically, she did. But she picked herself back up and went on Total Madness, actually having worked on her weaknesses. This doesn’t sound like an insane concept, yet I watched Leroy & Cara come back for many seasons without improving their swimming, I watched Aneesa come back season after season without working on her cardio, and I watched Nelson return time and time again without learning how to spell his name. In the offseason, Jenny practiced puzzles and math equations, knowing that her fitness wouldn’t matter if she couldn’t hold her own mentally. We saw Jenny’s improvement on both Day 1 and the Final of Total Madness as she blew away the competition (including the men). On top of her cardio & puzzle skills, Jenny prepped herself for physical comps and made up for her past Hall Brawl failure by knocking Dee Nguyen out in a Hall Brawl in the final elimination of Total Madness.

I genuinely believe Jenny’s win on Total Madness was one of the best individual winner seasons in show history. She tied for the most daily challenge wins, played a great social game, won two eliminations in blowout fashion, eliminated the 2nd best player from the season (Dee), dominated the Final, and, notably, did it all while going against a strong cast. Seriously, look at the Total Madness cast up and down; it might not have a Laurel or Cara on the cast, but it went 12 deep with quality players.

Which makes the fact that MTV made Jenny an alternate for Double Agents and then did not use her again till now ridiculous. Regardless, I’m happy to see Jenny get another chance to compete because she’s a beast and is someone who does not take the opportunity for granted.

Player Vitals & Stats

Jenny: 37 Years Old, 5'8, 2 Seasons, 5x Finalist*, 1x Champ, 3–1 Elimination Record, Winner of Total Madness

Skills and Physical Strength:

Jenny’s fitness is on another level. She ranks at the top of this cast when it comes to cardio, swimming, raw power, lifting, and muscular endurance. Now, she’s not quite the natural when it comes to carnival games, heights challenges, or headbangers. Still, she’s at the very least competent in all facets of the game, and when it comes to anything where her physical strength comes into play, Jenny thrives.

SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:

I think Jenny’s physical strength and the way she trains lend to a strong social game. Most men want Jenny as an ally because she’s someone you want to get paired with in a Final, and she’s loyal. On top of that, Jenny spends so much time in the gym that she can form a bond with the other players who train hard. I’m sure Jenny will be super chummy with Jordan & Horacio as they do their 6 AM 10-mile runs. If this season ends up having a one-winner twist out of nowhere, that will change everything, and the entire house will want Jenny out.

Entering 40, I believe Jenny has strong connections to Theo, Bananas, and Tori, as she aligned with them in her previous seasons. While Jenny has not played with over half the people on this cast, that may benefit her. She doesn’t have anywhere near the baggage that Laurel and Cara do or the legendary personas that they, as well as Rachel and Emily, carry. This cast being so stacked might allow Jenny to go under the radar despite being as big of a final threat as there can be.

I would say that Jenny does play a bit of a naive strategic and political game. However, you don’t have to make cunning and risky moves when you are a top contender, regardless of who you face in the Final.

As mentioned before, Jenny improved significantly as a puzzle player from WOTW 2 to Total Madness. Though I wouldn’t say she’s a puzzle expert now. Crucially, what matters is that it’s not a weakness compared to most players on this show.

Eliminations & Winning Potential:

Jenny is 3–1 in eliminations, except it’s not much to go off of. Two of her eliminations were against total lay-ups (Nicole Bass & Jenn Lee). And then she had the Halls Brawl against Tori & Dee. We’ve never seen Jenny compete in a carnival game or skill-based elimination, where you need to use problem-solving abilities and stay calm under pressure. I’d love to see how Jenny operates in an elimination where she can’t totally rely on her physical strength.

I believe Jenny would thrive in eliminations similar to Knot So Fast, where her endurance and strength can shine. The question mark for Jenny in eliminations is still headbangers. Yes, she won over Dee, but Dee was not the raw physical force that Tori was/is. This cast has multiple people on/around Tori’s level, including Emily, Laurel, Jodi, Cara, and Kaycee. As of now, I’d put my money on all those people against Jenny in a Hall Brawl or Pole Wrestle, but I’d love Jenny to prove me wrong, and I wouldn’t be surprised either, as she has the power and strength to go toe to toe with anyone here.

Can Jenny win? Yes. When the original departure for this season happened in March, Jenny was my pick to win this season and still is now. I genuinely believe that Jenny has the perfect opportunity to slide under the radar as juggernaut personalities go at each other’s heads. Once in that Final, I don’t think anyone can keep up with her cardio-wise. As I write all this, I become increasingly more confident that Jenny will lose to Katie in a blind stick-fighting elimination in the first episode. Just kidding, but also not really, because sometimes that’s how The Challenge works.

Jenny’s Overall Rating: 97/100

Previous Ratings I’ve Given Jenny:

Total Madness: 86/100