The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Johnny Bananas

Whether you love him or hate him, Johnny Bananas is the face of The Challenge. He’s the All-Time record holder with a whopping 7 Challenge Champions; he’s gone to 11 Finals and competed in over 20 seasons. Importantly, he took an opportunity to be the star of this show, grabbed it by the wheel, and never let go. During some of this show’s weakest seasons, Johnny Bananas was there carrying this show on his back. After some of this show’s biggest tragedies and scandals, Johny Bananas was there carrying this show on his back. And when we talk about the most iconic moment in this show’s history, it’s Johnny Bananas stealing the money from Sarah on Rivals 3. Just kidding, it’s Johnny Bananas getting carried on CT’s back.

I’ve been doing these player previews since 2017, and whenever I do a Johnny Bananas preview, I typically half-ass it because, self-admittedly, I was a hater. With the direction my life and career are going, there’s an 80% chance that this is the last season that I do the player previews. So today, you’re getting the full story of Johnny Bananas through my eyes.
Through his two-decade-long Challenge career, Johnny Bananas went from a first boot to a supporting character, from a Champion to a main character, and then, one day, he took over this franchise. It’s like he was THE GUY from Day 1. Johnny Bananas’ ascent was a constant grind from a man who committed his life to the show — I’ll always have respect for that and he’s been one of the most polarizing characters the show has ever seen. I couldn’t imagine blogging about this show for 8+ years without Bananas, and the concept of Season 40 without him would feel wrong.

Also, this is a unique player preview in that I met Johnny Bananas in person about 10 hours before posting this. Turns out, he knows who I am. If you’re reading this, Johnny, be aware that 98% of the blog was written prior to meeting you. Alright, let’s jump into this.

Bananas Cheat Sheet:

Introducing Bananas:

After growing up in SoCal and going to college at Penn State, Johnny made his Reality TV debut on The Real World Key West alongside other notable Challenge competitors in Paula Meronek, Tyler Duckworth, Janelle Casanave, and Svetlana Shusterman. Johnny was a douchey frat bro on The Real World. I will say that I do think he was one of the most important people in the house when it came to helping Paula battle her anorexia. While he had some rude jabs, Johnny clearly wanted to help Paula as she was hurting herself and didn’t have any interest in enabling her. I thought he showed care in a way that was needed.

He would later make his Challenge debut on The Duel 1. His RW roommate Tyler ended up in the first elimination, and instead of calling out any of the other eight men he had no ties to, he called out Johnny. They played “I Can,” one of the dumbest and worst-designed eliminations in Challenge history. Tyler proved he could deadlift something like 20 watermelons and, in doing so, sent Johnny home first. Luckily, Johnny got immediate redemption as he was cast for the Inferno 3, curiously, as part of the Good Guys team. The men’s side of the Good Guys team on Inferno 3 was pretty lackluster, which allowed Johnny to coast to the Final as he was one of their strongest players. Johnny won the most lifeshields on the men’s side for his team. In the Final, The Good Guys were outmatched by a stronger Bad Asses team.

By doing two seasons back-to-back, Johnny was eligible to be on the Vets team for Gauntlet 3. He had a showmance this season with Casey Cooper. The Veteran team was steamrolling the Rookies in daily challenges on Gauntlet 3. After one of their few losses, the Rookies nominated Evan for elimination, and Evan whispered to his teammates to throw Johnny in to face in elimination. Evan took Johnny out, making him one of only two Vet men not to make the Final. It is funny to look back at, considering the JEK alliance was a famous trio. When it came to the solidity of the JEK alliance, Kenny was the bridge between Evan and Johnny — while Evan & Johnny are still friends to this day, Kenny was always the glue.

Kenny was instrumental to Johnny’s Challenge career as they trained together on and off the show, worked together in the game, and he was especially vital to getting Johnny his win on The Island. On The Island, Kenny ran shit, and Johnny was his first lieutenant. While they drew the ire of multiple players, including Evelyn, KellyAnne, and Rachel, it’s undeniable that they had the numbers. They took a stranglehold of multiple keys early in the game, where Kenny & Johnny got their initial keys without even winning a comp — all they did was survive vote-outs against a drunk Tonya, and Abram, who was quitting. Even with Abram quitting, Johnny still almost got voted out.

Eventually, Johnny saw some adversity when Evelyn famously took his Key with a mic-drop-level speech. Johnny did not show much respect in return as he didn’t even hand Evelyn the Key when TJ told him to; he instead just tossed it on the ground. After this, Kenny & Johnny scrambled to get him another key. Kenny got Derrick (who already had a Key) to agree to go into a face-off with Johnny so that they’d have double the odds of winning. To Johnny’s credit, he beat Cohutta, stole his original Key back from Evelyn, and then the house saved Derrick over Cohutta. When Evelyn won the last face-off of the season, it seemed like she would take Johnny’s Key, and he’d get left out of the Final. Instead, Kenny & Johnny cut a deal with her, allowing her to join their boat alongside Derrick if Evelyn stole Dunbar’s Key rather than Johnny’s. Evelyn took the deal and in doing so, Johnny won his first Challenge Championship.

The Island win was crucial as it allowed Johnny to be on The Champions team for The Ruins. The Champs crushed the Challengers all season, and Johnny got to be part of the majority alliance alongside Kenny, Evan, and Derrick. Additionally, they had Wes as a scapegoat and someone they could throw into multiple eliminations before considering going into themselves. Johnny was the only person from his alliance who went into elimination as he faced Dunbar, the last man left on The Challengers team, in a variation of Pole Wrestle. He beat Dunbar and guaranteed him and all the other men’s spots in the Final. Together, the Champions team won the Final in comeback fashion after KellyAnne & Sarah initially caught them by surprise. Johnny was not a standout in this Final — he did not slow them down massively, either. Regardless, he was now suddenly a 2x Champ.

Johnny played for the first time without either Kenny & Evan on a cast on Cutthroat. He got drafted to a Blue Team with multiple weak links (Emilee, Big Easy, Katie) and multiple strong players (Derrick, Emily, Jenn, Theresa). They ended up being the worst team in the daily challenges, and I put some of the blame on Johnny & Derrick for not stepping up as the experienced vets of their team. While they were strong individually, they didn’t go into daily challenges with strategies to win as a team and thus struggled. I note this because Johnny became much better at this part of the game later in his career.

On Cutthroat, we also saw the beginning of a showmance between him and Camila. Cara Maria once revealed on a Challenge aftershow that he took Camila’s virginity, which led to issues in Johnny’s house as he had a girlfriend at the time — some say this slip of the tongue by Cara is what began their rivalry that we’ll get more into later. Eventually, once all the weak links on the Blue Team were eliminated, Johnny himself had to see elimination, and he was set to face Tyler again. Johnny had paid Tyler back for this Duel call-out by voting him into elimination on Gauntlet 3. Johnny spent a lot of time on Cutthroat making fun of Tyler’s eating/weight. The joke was on Johnny as they ended up having to face CT in THAT elimination. CT turned Johnny Bananas into the backpack, creating the most iconic moment in Challenge history. All that eating helped Tyler because CT couldn’t turn him into a backpack like Johnny. Tyler won with ease, and Johnny was out.

Good thing for Johnny was that the next season was Rivals because Tyler was a great competitor and partner, and with the added size, he was no longer a pushover. Together, Johnny & Tyler were a strong team — they won 3 out of 8 daily challenges, and they were able to coast for much of the game as part of the majority alliance as Kenny & Evan were also there. Leroy & Mike Ross shockingly winning the last daily challenge did put Johnny & Tyler in a tough position as they got thrown into face CT & Adam in the final elimination of the season. They played Dug Out, a 2-on-2 Hall Brawl variation where players had to run up and downhill multiple times as they transferred five balls from one side to another. Johnny & Tyler took some hard hits from CT in this elimination — luckily for them, Adam King “conveniently” fucked up multiple times during the elimination, allowing for Johnny & Tyler to escape with the win narrowly.

Even after the elimination win, it seemed like they might be unable to run the Final, as Tyler had a terrible case of food poisoning during the morning of the Final. Tyler toughed it and seemingly performed better than Johnny cardio-wise by the end of Day 1. While they lost to Kenny & Wes by a decen amount on Day 1, it didn’t matter because we got the first-ever two-day Final. On Day 2, Wes & Kenny’s two-minute lead wasn’t enough as Johnny & Tyler passed them up at the finish line to steal the win. Johnny became a 3x Champ, and Tyler became a 2x Champ. It was not a shocking win, considering they were a strong team all season; however, Johnny & Tyler were not highlighted as a pair as much as Wes/Kenny, CT/Adam, or even Mike/Leroy throughout the season. As an individual competitor, we saw Johnny take a massive leap during Rivals 1 as he became a 3x Champion. Yet even with three titles, he wasn’t quite a superstar. That completely changed the following season.

Kenny & Evan’s final season was Rivals 1, and we won’t get into why today.

Nonetheless, their exit allowed Johnny to step out of their shadow and finally take on a role as the face of the franchise. He also took over Kenny’s longstanding rivalry with Wes. I’m also going to stop referring to him as Johnny and now will call him Bananas. Because he’s basically Bananas from here on out. On Exes 1, Bananas got paired with Camila. While Camila was insane , the partnership was a godsend, as she was a phenomenal competitor. They won 3/8 daily challenges (the most by any team that season), and Bananas was calling the shots politically. As a competitor, Bananas hit another level physically and mentally, where he was suddenly taking apart every challenge with ease.

Bananas’ friendship with Diem was crucial to his and Camila’s victory. She and CT should’ve thrown him & Camila into elimination against Emily & Ty in either of the final two eliminations. Instead, they threw in Paula & Dunbar to face Emily & Ty at Final Five, and when Bananas & Camila ended up in the final elimination due to a last-place daily challenge finish, they were gifted Mark & Robin to face. Bananas & Camila defeated Mark & Robin in Pole Wrestle to make it to the Final. Mark has basically admitted that he threw the elim to Bananas as a friend and as it’s rumored, for a piece of the Final winnings. Camila would’ve beaten Robin regardless, so it’s a moot point as it would’ve come down to a coin flip of who would’ve represented them in a tiebreaker.

In the Final, Bananas & Camila trailed CT & Diem for a majority of the race until the last trek. CT’s body gave out, allowing Bananas & Camila to get the win, and in the process, Johnny tied Darrell for the all-time record in Challenge wins. CT & Diem winning Exes 1 was the perfect storybook ending that we all would’ve preferred — at the end of the day, though, Bananas & Camila were the better team.

Following Exes, Bananas was left off Battle of the Seasons as they couldn’t materialize a Key West team. He did get partnered with Battle of the Seasons Champ, Frank Sweeney. The two had never done a season together, yet they were cast based on a Twitter beef. In reality, production wanted to put two of their star players together and build a super team. Bananas & Frank were a solid pair — they won 2 daily challenges together, never finished in last place, and with their social/political connections, they never saw an elimination before the Final. This season, Bananas got into a heated blowup with his longtime rivals Wes and CT right before the Final, leading to Wes’s famous “Monster Truck” rant. Unfortunately for Bananas, those two got the better of him, as they completely blew him and Frank out in the Final. At no point in that Final did Bananas & Frank have a lead. 2nd Place is still nothing to scoff at.

After Rivals 2, Bananas put on what I believe is the best season of his Challenge career with Free Agents. While most of Bananas’ early wins had some holes in them when it came to legitimacy and weight — Free Agents validated his status as a GOAT level competitor. On Free Agents, Bananas didn’t have control of the numbers, and not only that, he had strong players like Jordan Wiseley, Zach Nichols, and Johnny Reilly gunning after him.
Bananas got voted into an early season elimination, where he faced Isaac Stout in Balls In. Bananas beat him with relative ease and talked shit to Jordan Wiseley in the crowd — he was able to pay Jordan back the following week by tossing him into elimination (that Jordan won). Then, the week after that, we finally saw these two come head-to-head. Jordan threw the daily challenge to ensure that he’d go in the draw, and after Johnny Reilly won a daily, he tossed Bananas in. In tow, Jordan went for the incredibly bold move of pulling all the Kill Cards to guarantee he’d face Bananas in elimination. I swear production made the elimination Wrecking Wall in hopes Jordan would chicken out and they’d continue the storyline. Nope. Jordan pulled them all, and Bananas beat him, as having two hands for that elimination really mattered.

Following his win over Jordan, Bananas stayed hot — he won the final daily challenge of the season and then defeated CT in the last elimination after the two got pitted against each other in a surprise draw before the Final. Bananas then put on a showcase during Day 1 of the Free Agents Final. Each woman had their best partner performance while competing alongside him on Day 1, and then in the spin bike portion, Bananas beat everyone by over 20 minutes. In total, Bananas had such a massive lead after Day 1 that he was able to lose the final climb by over half an hour and still comfortably win. With Free Agents, Bananas became the all-time Challenge Championship record holder with 5 wins.

Bananas went back for Exes 2 with Nany as his partner. The rumor was they had a fling/showmance going on following her Real World season. Their team was in the heat of drama as the Wes & Bananas rivalry took full force, as did the rivalry between their partners (Theresa & Nany). Bananas & Nany won the second daily challenge of the season and chose not to strike first, as it was too early to make a big move. A few episodes later, Wes & Theresa struck first by tossing Bananas & Nany in to face Bananas’ new best friend Leroy (and his partner Nia). Bananas & Nany lost the elimination, and the worst part for Bananas is he didn’t even get to participate in the elimination.

This was not the end of Bananas’ game, though, as they went on an absolute tear in Redemption. They defeated JJ & Simone, Adam & Brittany, Reilly & Averey, and Zach & Jonna to return to the game. Their return completely shook up the game and wrecked Wes’s perfect season. Bananas & Nany laughed as they watched Wes & Theresa get throttled by Leroy & Nia Hall Brawl. They seemed destined for the Final, that is, until Sarah Rice, who had been playing in the middle of the Wes & Bananas rivalry all season, pulled the carpet from under Bananas by tossing him into the last elimination against Leroy & Nia. After Nia’s DQ, production brought Theresa back as a replacement partner. Bananas & Nany lost a Pole Wrestle to Leroy & Theresa, marking the first time he missed a Final since Cutthroat. He had massive sour grapes regarding Sarah’s move, which would result in them getting partnered for Rivals 3.

Before we talk about Rivals 3, we move on to Bloodlines. Bloodlines had a very weak cast that consisted of a bunch of rookies and people’s less charismatic and less attractive relatives. Bananas brought in his Cousin Vince, a former collegiate football player. Personally, I love Bloodlines as a season, and the big reason I enjoy it is because the Bananas & Cara Maria rivalry was on another level. Bananas was at his apex competively, meanwhile she was a great underdog.

This season, Bananas was pulling out all the tricks to keep himself and Vince out of elimination and to make power moves. One week, he cut a deal with Aneesa, where he got her vote for a crucial elimination decision, and then, he dirtily had to throw Nany under the bus the following week. When Abram & Mike entered the house, he aired Cara’a dirty laundry to shake things up and take the target off himself. He had Vince throwing daily challenges on certain days to ensure his safety. On top of all that, Bananas was a kickass competitor; where in the team portion, his veteran experience helped his team in daily challenges, and he had a standout performance in an intense swimming challenge from this season. When people talk about Bananas legacy, I think Bloodlines is very slept on — the guy was operating on a different level than anyone else and was just so entertaining while doing it.

Bananas & Vince seemed primed to win it all once the game went back to a partner’s format. Unfortunately for them, Cory Wharton’s Cousin Mitch was wicked at puzzles, won the mini Final challenge for them, and then they sent Bananas & Vince into elimination against Cara & Jamie, where Cara finally got one over on Bananas.

Now we can talk about Rivals 3. Bananas & Sarah were partners on this co-ed season that felt like it was built purely for them as there weren’t nearly enough male/female beefs that were strong enough to validate a whole Rivals season. So many of the pairings felt random and competitively, the cast was very weak — which led to pure dominance by Bananas & Sarah. They won 4 out of 9 daily challenges (more impressively, they won 4 of the last 6) and were in total control of the game. It got to the point that when a team like Dario & Nicole won a daily challenge, they didn’t even try to nominate Bananas & Sarah; they begged to take over the #2 role in their alliance, hoping they could come in 3rd Place. The Wes rivalry wasn’t even fun this season because he wasn’t anywhere near Bananas & Sarah competitively.

Bananas & Sarah only ended up in elimination due to a twist where the last four teams had to pull skulls, and two went in. They faced Dario & Nicole, beat them, and went to the Final, where they beat everyone as expected. Bananas specifically beat Sarah individually and was given the power to steal her half of the winnings. AND he fucking did it. Personally, I loathed this moment as I thought Sarah deserved the win & money as she was undoubtedly the best female competitor all season. Also, I don’t think her move on Exes 2 is 1/100th as bad as stealing the money. Still, you must credit Bananas for leaning into his role and winning his 6th title. Sarah Rice complained that he took Adderall during the Final, and what I’ll say is…it’s her fault for not taking any herself. Near the end of Rivals 3, a Bananas & Devin rivalry began; although it was mostly one-sided early on.

Rivals 3 would mark Bananas last flagship win for a few years. He’d return as one of the Champions on Invasion. We saw him continue his rivalry with Cara Maria, and then he had fun messing with and pranking the underdog men and women. Bananas proved to still be in prime form as he pulled one over on his fellow Champion males during the first Champions elimination day daily challenge as he convinced them to let him be the person to attempt the daily challenge twice. By doing so, Bananas was able to beat Zach out for individual immunity. Had he not, Bananas would’ve faced Darrell in a Pole Wrestle that he likely would’ve lost. Then we would’ve gotten some 2/3 combo of Zach/Darrell/CT in Balls In for the subsequent Champs elimination — which I’m not sure who would’ve won that in any of those matchups. So what I’m saying is, there’s a world where Darrell or Zach might’ve won Invasion if Bananas hadn’t pulled off a slick move.

With the way Invasion was formatted, Bananas did have to see elimination soon after, as he faced Darrell in Balls In. They had a terrific battle that went 5 Rounds, except it was edited down to 3 Rounds for the episode. Darrell took down Bananas, and according to the Bill Simmons Podcast, Bananas walked away from the elimination with a concussion.

Before Dirty 30, Bananas appeared in the first Champs vs. Pros season, where he notably got into a kerfuffle with WWE star CM Punk. He was the first male boot this season after losing to an out-of-shape Wes in a blind stick fight elimination. Bananas immediately bounced back on Dirty 30 as he won the opening two daily challenges and never was in danger for most of the game, even with Cory and the Young Bucks alliance putting him on their “Hit List.” As shooters, they were less accurate than Trump’s assassin because Bananas never went into elimination as a House Vote. He only went into the last elimination of the season via the Double Cross, where it came down to a coin flip between him & Tony. Tony got the Double Cross, and Bananas had to face Derrick.

Bananas lost to Derrick in an intense elimination involving footwork and cardio. Honestly, Bananas should get no grief about the loss; the elimination was highly difficult & he killed it — Derrick just did better. Bananas would later lose the final Redemption to CT & Jordan. After Dirty 30, Johnny went on Champs vs. Stars 2, where the Champs obliterated the Stars from start to finish. Bananas eliminated Riff Raff and outperformed Terrell Owens in a daily challenge — which is a crazy sentence to type out. He ended up winning this spin-off alongside CT and Emily Schomm.

After that, Bananas appeared on Vendettas, which would be his first season in 7+ years as a single man on The Challenge. Throughout the 2010’s, he was dating Olympic Gold Medalist snowboarder Hannah Teter. Bananas and Big Brother newbie Natalie Negrotti decided to use his new Bachelor status to create a fake showmance between the two for camera time — they even orchestrated a paparazzi photoshoot of them on a “date” outside the house at one point. To me, this is when Bananas began losing his fastball a bit. He’d always been great at getting camera time and making storylines, but this one was so fake and contrived that it came off desperate. Things did get interesting when people found out that Bananas had snuck some kisses with the UK’s Kayleigh Morris this season, which led to a blowup between him, Kayleigh, Natalie, and Nelson, and then other people got involved. However, Bananas was trying to keep those kisses secret — so it’s not like he was trying to bring authentic drama & messiness.

I do want to note that Bananas was kicking ass on Vendettas as a competitor. Prior to his elimination, Bananas had made his way into 4 out of 7 Troikas, and he had 10k+ dollars more than the man with the second most money in their individual bank account. Unfortunately for Bananas, it was Tony Time. Devin was pressing hard to get his shot to face Bananas in elimination — Kailah, who was in the Troika, was down for the move as the two had beef partly because Bananas & Cara had recently become good friends. All Tony had to do was pull the trigger, which he did, and luckily, Devin didn’t miss the shot. The elimination was a suped-up game of lite brite where production prayed that Devin would give them a big moment, and he did. It was an embarrassing loss for Bananas. However, I think we’d all agree that Bananas would’ve beaten Devin in basically every other elimination from Vendettas and probably should’ve beaten him in this one.

Bananas & Devin were supposed to be partners on Final Reckoning. Sadly, Devin’s dad passed immediately after they departed for the season, so he had to rush home. Due to this, Tony got brought in to be Bananas’ partner, and they were the favorites to win on paper. Most of the teams on Final Reckoning paired one strong and one weaker player or had teams that weren’t well-rounded. Banans & Tony was a scary team because they were two strong players and Bananas was experienced and well-rounded enough to where they had no glaring weakness. Truly, their only weakness was the expectations of them as a pair — where almost everyone was gunning for them as the top team. This season, we saw Bananas go to war with the Lavender Ladies and Young Bucks. Bananas and Shane had massive blow-ups. Bananas and Amanda had blow-ups. Bananas & Ashley had blow-ups and also made out. He and Nelson got into it. He even fought with Joss when Joss tried to defend Amanda. AND when Devin returned to the game with Cory as his partner, they had a nightlong encounter following Cory’s slamming of Tony and after Bananas said some mean words to Nelson.

Final Reckoning was a season that divided the fandom a bit. Most of the fandom was firmly on the side of Bananas & Tony against the Lavender Ladies/Young Bucks, and the vocal minority who were Team LL & YB were very much against him. Regardless, it was a MAIN character season for Bananas. Bananas also had a showmance this season with Angela Babicz — which I wasn’t sure where to place that in this, so it goes here. On FR, he and Tony won two daily challenges, loss to Sylvia & Joss in elimination, beat Nelson & Shane in Redemption to get back into the game, and then lost Paulie & Natalie in the last elimination before the Final. The elimination against Paulie & Natalie was insane as it’s rumored they had to re-do the elimination because the original one they had designed malfunctioned, and then the one we got to see came down to an endurance between Bananas & Natalie. For a 200 lb man, Bananas stayed in there for a ridiculous amount of time before eventually bowing out.

Bananas runs on both War of the World seasons got cut dramatically short. On WOTW 1, Bananas got drafted 2nd Overall by Big Brother Over The Top Winner Morgan Willet. Bananas & Morgan made it into the Tribunal for the first partner’s daily challenge and seemed like they would be a powerhouse duo. Except his old buddy Wes got the better of him, as Wes rallied the votes to send him and Morgan into the second elimination of the season. Bananas called out Zach, knowing that Zach had to leave the season soon to get home for an obligation — except Zach didn’t throw the elimination like expected, and Bananas & Morgan were ousted. They did begin a relationship after this season, and this, in a way, led to a bit of a beef between Jay Starrett and Johnny Bananas (as Jay had been with her right before WOTW 1, following Ex on the Beach).

On WOTW 2, Bananas was one of those on Team USA who plotted against Wes early into the game, and they succeeded in knocking him out. In response, Dee & Team UK retaliated by taking out Laurel, and after that, we saw Cara & Bananas’ rivalry revive. The Bananas & Cara relationship had soured due to her relationship. During the Final Reckoning drama days, Bananas took a hardline stance in defending Cara. He publicly sent flowers to her following the news that Paulie had been cheating on both Cara and the Bachelor’s Danielle Maltby. So he felt pretty dumb when Cara went back to Paulie. When alliance lines got drawn in the sand, Cara & Paulie took a shot at Bananas by tossing him in to face Theo Campbell in elimination. Theo beat him in an elimination where they had to move while inside tiny cages — with how lanky Theo is, the elimination felt built for Bananas, yet he lost. After missing out on six straight Finals, Bananas began to get hit with washed allegations.

Bananas came roaring back for Total Madness. The big development in this season was he and Wes decided to bury the hatchet, become BFF’s, and align. Their dual confessionals were very corny — nonetheless, it was the best for both of them. They worked together and managed to knock out Jordan before the Final. With Jay Starrett having shockingly taken out CT , they had a clear path to victory, with only each other standing in their way. Believing they were running out of time to earn a Red Skull to run the Final, Bananas & Wes faced off in a poorly designed, somewhat luck-based elimination. In the end, Bananas won and cruised to the Final from there.

Bananas’ performance on Day 1 of the Total Madness Final was a bit underwhelming as both Cory and Fessy outperformed him. Cory sent Bananas into an elimination to face Rogan in a mid-Final elimination — Bananas beat him and took the momentum into Day 2. On Day 2, Bananas passed up Cory in the math portion, and then at once came down to cardio/endurance; his experience came into play as Fessy gassed out; Bananas passed him and sailed to an easy win from there. The 7th win for Bananas ended any “washed” conversations and gave him clear separation from other multi-time Champions like Darrell, CT, and Jordan.

Following his Total Madness win, Bananas finally took some time off and pursued other TV opportunities. He didn’t appear on Double Agents, Spies, Lies & Allies, or any All-Stars spinoffs. During his time off, Bananas used his Challenge podcast as a vehicle to make fun of modern Challenge competitors and often criticized the Vacation Alliance for being boring. Bananas then returned for Ride or Dies, where he again partners with Nany. After all that shit-talking about how boring the Vacation Alliance was, Bananas joined them and played the most low-key game of his Challenge career.

Bananas and Nany won two daily challenges on Ride or Dies. They probably could have more, but they didn’t want to get blood on their hands by having to nominate four teams for elimination. For most of the season, Bananas was chilling with his showmance Moriah. He became friends with former enemies Devin & Nelson, and Nany had a ton of connections that allowed them to coast. As a pair, they avoided elimination until the last elimination, where they had to go against Fessy & Moriah in a game that required balance, climbing skills, and a shit of patience. It was one of the most difficult eliminations I’ve ever seen. Fessy & Moriah could even get halfway up the ropes/ladders they had to build/climb. Bananas got it done first (after about half an hour), and eventually, Nany pulled it off for the win.

After that elimination win, Bananas & Nany felt like a team of destiny, where Bananas would get his 8th win, and Nany would finally get her first. Then the Final happened, and Devin & Tori completely outperformed them. The only point where Bananas & Nany had an edge was when there was a random spaghetti-eating portion. Even at the end, production made it where all Bananas & Nany had to do was beat Devin & Tori in a comp where they stacked cinder blocks to recreate The Challenge logo and made a critical error. It was an error that Bananas, in his prime, never would have made. For the longest time, it always felt that if Bananas got to the Final, he’d find a way to win. Once the loss set in, Bananas took it hard because he knew what the win would’ve meant for Nany.

He’d then go on World Championships, where he was partners with Love Island/Challenge USA’s Justine Ndiba. They seemed to have good chemistry as a pair, and I’d even say they were quite flirty. In terms of competition, they didn’t win any daily challenges, then got tossed into elimination against the power duo of Jordan & Kaz and partly lost due to some crowd interference.

Bananas then appeared on another spinoff as he competed on Challenge USA 2. At the beginning of the season, Bananas was kind of a whiny bitch. He was initially on the worst team in the game and complained about being outnumbered politically. Bananas got voted into back-to-back eliminations in Episodes 2 & 3, getting saved from one by the Hopper and facing Paulie during the other episode. He and Paulie had a competitive elimination, and Bananas prevailed. By winning the elimination, he was given the power to swap teams. Bananas switched spots on the Blue Team with Cory, and from there… He kicked ass.

Credit to Bananas because he completely adapted to the game around him, built connections with some of the Survivor players, was an asset to his new Blue Team, and won comps. He went to The Challenge USA 2 Final, which was a shitshow. The USA 2 Final had checkpoint penalties that were way too drastic. Bananas & Fessy were legit contenders who, because they fucked up one carnival-game thing, lost any chance of winning. As I say all this, Chris Underwood rightfully won USA 2, as not only did he complete at the checkpoints, he had already outpaced Bananas before the checkpoint that fucked Bananas up. Essentially, Bananas should’ve come in 2nd, not 3rd.

After USA 2, Bananas appeared on other reality shows, including House of Villains and The Traitors. He seems very interested in branching out as much as possible. The Challenge is no longer becoming his life, but it is always his home, and there was no way he was going to miss Season 40.

Skills and Physical Strength:

Bananas is not quite the athlete and embodiment of Challenge fitness that he was in his prime. When The Challenge was his job, he worked out daily and did two-a-day’s when a new season began approaching. For a 42-year-old man, Bananas remains in tremendous shape to this day and still works out frequently, but he can’t go as hard as he used to as he needs to give his body time to recover and in terms of training, The Challenge is no longer always his #1 priority.

There are no major physical weaknesses in Johnny Bananas’s game. He’s not the best swimmer, isn’t a Jordan-level runner anymore, isn’t the fastest guy on the cast, and cannot lift the most weights. However, Bananas is above average in all of those categories. Calling Bananas well-rounded almost feels like underplaying how good of a player he actually is. The guy has been a student of the game and has trained his body to perform well in all the aspects The Challenge physically tests you in. He keeps his cardio up to run a marathon, does his yoga and core workouts to excel in games of balance, and does workouts to improve his grip strength in case he needs to pull heavy ropes or fight over a metal pole. Bananas’ upper body strength is very slept on — his biceps have been massive since Real World Key West. He’s got a quick first step, too, where in any race, he might not have the speed of a Jordan or Horacio, but he will be the first one moving the second the horn gets blown.

On top of the raw physical aspects, Bananas’ ability to see a daily challenge and instantly figure out the best strategy is what sets him apart from his competition. His fearlessness also gives him an edge. He has done every type of daily challenge, and when he’s doing a heights comp, he’s thinking more about winning than dying. Bananas has the ability to push his limits, where even though he isn’t the best swimmer, he’ll dive and hold his breath for as long as needed. For the most part, I’ve never really seen Johnny Bananas give up, even in the face of defeat/overwhelming odds. The guy’s will to win is undeniable.

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

It’s crazy to watch Bananas on these modern seasons, where he’s become friends or is on neutral terms with all his long-time enemies. At the very least, in the past, people would attempt to start beef with Bananas to make a name for themselves, and that’s not happening anymore.

On this cast alone, Bananas has strong connections to Laurel, Emily, Jenny, Tori, Devin, Mark, Derrick, Jordan, Leroy, Theo, and Tony. That’s not even acknowledging players with whom Bananas is on regular good terms because then we’re naming half the cast. Hell, I basically already did. Based on history, Bananas has enemies in Rachel and Cara. Except Rachel & Bananas have been posting a ton together on social media lately, and Paulie extended an olive branch to him on USA 2, which leads me to believe he & Cara are probably good now. KellyAnne is the only person I know with certainty who would target Bananas, and even then, I don’t believe she’ll wield too much power.

Strategically, Bananas should have one goal and one goal only. Get Jordan out. Jordan is far and away the biggest Final threat. He has to pick the right time to take the shout, though, because going after him will have repercussions.

Mentally, Bananas is slightly above average with puzzles. They were a struggle for him early on in his career — as time has passed, he’s improved and can solve any type of puzzle. Is he going to dominate puzzles? No. Is he going to get them done eventually? Yes.

Eliminations & Winning Potential:

When people try to take shots at Bananas’ legacy, they mention his elimination record. Currently, with a 14–15 record, he’s been around .500 or slightly below for the last decade. Bananas is not bad in eliminations despite what the record indicates. Typically, when Bananas goes into eliminations, other players plot against him and throw him in against strong opponents. Bananas isn’t facing scrubs like Idris or Asaf in elimination — he faces players like Theo, Fessy, Derrick, etc.

On top of that, when you watch Bananas’ eliminations, it’s not like he’s ever getting blown out, other than in the Backpack elimination, which we’ll never forget. Bananas usually puts up a good fight, and he’s someone who has a chance to win any elimination you throw him in. He is beatable, though, as you can tell from his elimination record. It is important to note that Bananas has competed (& won) in every classic elimination and then some: Pole Wrestle, Balls In, Knot So Fast, and Hall Brawl (or at least a variant of it).

Can Bananas win? Yes. He’s one of the biggest contenders, and with this being Season 40, I expect him to pull out all the tricks in his bag, try to use any of the pull he has with production, and give 150%. In the last few years, CT & Jordan have established strong footholds in the GOAT conversation, and if Bananas can win his 8th title on Season 40 with them and a bunch of other legends, then Bananas stomps out their argument and re-establishes himself as the undeniable GOAT. For him to win, though, he NEEDS NEEDS NEEDS to make sure that Jordan isn’t there in the Final because Jordan will smoke them all.

Bananas has a realistic shot of beating anyone else on this cast in a final. Can I see CT, Darrell, Devin, or even a non-champ like Paulie or Horacio beating Bananas in a Final? Yeah. Can I envision him beating all of them as well? Absolutely.

Bananas’ Overall Rating: 94/100

Previous Ratings I’ve Given Bananas:

Ride or Dies: 93/100
Total Madness: 90/100
War of the Worlds: 90/100
Vendettas: 93/100
Dirty 30: 95/100
Invasion: 100/100