The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Jonna Mannion

Jonna Mannion is appearing on an MTV season of The Challenge for the first time since Battle of the Exes 2. We aren’t getting the same young woman who went on five seasons in the early 2010’s and never went to a Final. We are getting Jonna Mannion, the 2x Challenge Champion and the face of The Challenge All-Stars franchise.

The All-Stars spinoffs have brought so many names out of the woodwork and have created so many surprises that we never expected. Jonna has been the biggest one — she’s gone from being considered a lay-up by some fans to now, where she ranks as a Top 15, maybe even Top 10 female competitor all-time. I loved Jonna during her original run, and it pained me to see the way she left on Exes 2 after the way Zach treated her. Watching her transformation into a confident champion badass has been beautiful, and now we get to see her compete on Season 40.

Jonna’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)

Introducing Jonna:

While Jonna is a Real World alumni, she made her Reality TV debut on the 2002 Discovery Kids competitive reality show Endurance. At 13 years old, Jonna won the first season of this show, and then years later…popped up on Real World Cancun! Interestingly, she and Derek Chavez knew each other and were coworkers before appearing on the season together, making it the first Real World season where not everyone was strangers. She was immediately a character of interest with a fascinating backstory and gorgeous looks, and she had a feud with Jasmine based primarily on Jasmine’s jealousy that the guy she had a crush on was into Jonna. Jonna also had a threesome this season with her fellow cast member Ayiiia. I’m saying all this because Jonna was a great Real World cast member; we knew and saw so much into who she was before The Challenge, and it sucks Real World isn’t around anymore.

Edit: Nathan & David from RW Seattle knew each other via military school before entering the house.

After Real World, Jonna & Jasmine were a ready-made duo to debut on Rivals 1. They were the only female rookie pair in the game and likely would’ve been the first team thrown in, except they won the first daily challenge of the season, forcing the vets to turn on each other. Jonna & Jasmine were one of the season’s most chaotic and dysfunctional teams, largely due to Jasmine, although Jonna would bite back. It was the competition that brought them together. Eventually, they got thrown into elimination to face Sarah & Katelynn. In a puzzle elimination against likely the best female puzzle player in Challenge history, Jonna (& Jasmine) pulled off one of the biggest elimination upsets ever. The win continued to age like a fine win as Sarah never lost an elimination again and won 2 Championships after this loss to Jonna. Unfortunately, Jonna & Jasmine missed out on the Final as they lost the last elimination to Laurel & Cara. Until All-Stars, that elimination win looked like the crowning moment of Jonna’s career.

Jonna would return for Battle of the Seasons, where she was teammates with her Cancun roommates CJ, Derek, and again Jasmine. When CJ was on the team, they looked like a legitimate force, winning two daily challenges and were never near the bottom. In Episode 8, though, they got forced into a Hall Brawl elimination against Team San Diego, where they would face off against Jonna’s showmance Zach Nichols. Now, CJ stepped up as a former collegiate football player and as their team superstar — Jonna didn’t want to go in, though, because, at the time, she was displaced/homeless and needed the money to win, so she let Jasmine take her place. I think most people blame Jonna for not stepping up here because she would’ve fared better against Sam in a Hall Brawl. It is true that Jonna would’ve done better, but I think Sam’s weight advantage would’ve allowed her to beat either Jonna or Jasmine. My alternate history of this moment is I think Derek & Jasmine should’ve sacrificed themselves because a duo of CJ & Jonna would’ve beat everyone in the Final.

Instead, Cancun became a mess after losing CJ. Jonna & Derek lost the final elimination of the season against San Diego’s Frank & Ashley in Knot So Fast. If Jonna and Derek had won that elimination, I believe they would’ve won the Final based on the cardio/chemistry teams. That’s not something I put too much thought into, as Frank & Ashley were going to beat Jonna & Derek in every elimination format they had on Battle of the Seasons.

We’d see Jonna again on Rivals 2 as partners with Nany. She and Nany were the 2nd best pair very early into the game and probably could’ve made the Final if Cara Maria hadn’t entered the game. Once Cara Maria joined Cooke, they usurped them up the list, and as the season went on, both Jonna & Nany each crumbled mentally. They were two solid players with follower mindsets — neither took the lead and each week, they lost confidence in themselves and each other. They eventually lost an elimination to Cooke & Cara. Going into Rivals 2, the expectation was that Zach & Jonna would be an item; once we got to the season, we discovered that Zach didn’t just dump her — he abandoned her out of nowhere. Jonna then had a showmance with The Great Gatsby on Rivals 2, aka Jordan Wiseley.

Jonna came back for Free Agents, had a showmance with Isaac Stout that was never featured on-camera, beat Emilee Fitzpatrick in elimination, and then lost unceremoniously to Aneesa in elimination. Of all the Jonna seasons, Free Agents is the most wallpaper one.

On Exes 2, we got a lot of Jonna, and not for the best reasons. She & Zach got paired together, and he was a fucking dickhead to her. While Jonna wasn’t a superstar player during this season, the way Zach treated her was ridiculously abusive to the point where it felt like he was hoping Jonna would fuck up so he could yell at her and blame her rather than take any responsibility himself. And if you watch the daily challenges, Jonna did perfectly fine in almost all of them — they never came in last place as a pair either. With their backs against the wall in both their elimination and redemption, Jonna stepped up each time while Zach crumbled. It was sad to watch the way Zach treated her and the way Jonna left the game. For literally a half-decade plus, it felt like this would be the last we saw of Jonna.

That is till All-Stars. On All-Stars 1, Jonna was wallpaper until the Final. She didn’t win any dailies and didn’t go into elimination. Jonna went under the radar and got to her first Final by taking the path of least resistance. Any time drama was around the corner, Jonna steered clear. Less than a year removed from giving birth to her second child, Jonna went to her first Final ever after not competing in 5–6 years, and she crushed it. As someone who had watched Jonna for years, one of my big takeaways was that while she didn’t dominate daily challenges, she would rarely be the worst at any part of the game. The All-Stars 1 Final was an extensive display of that, as Jonna was competent across the board, earned some points in clutch spots, paced herself to not die out, and in the end, she tied with KellyAnne for 1st Overall among women and finished 3rd Overall. Anyone who follows me knows I think one-winner formats are dumb — both Jonna & KellyAnne deserved the title of Champion for All-Stars 1.

Importantly, as well as Jonna performed, the All-Stars 1 Final and season gave her a glimpse at who she had the potential to be as a competitor and what it takes to win. Going into All-Stars 2, Jonna came onto the show in much better shape and played the game socially & politically at an elite level. On All-Stars 1, she just went incognito. In contrast, on All-Stars 2, Jonna was kissing people’s asses, manipulating people into taking big swings at enemies, and constantly trying to lower her threat level and, later, her & MJ’s threat level. Jonna & MJ won the season’s mini-final, and she got to the Final again without ever seeing elimination. Now, Jonna & MJ’s performance in Part 1 of the All-Stars 2 Final was not impressive or anything to ride home about. It didn’t matter, though, because, in Part 2, Jonna cracked the code for her & MJ’s win and got the official title of Challenge Champion.

Then Jonna came back for All-Stars 3 and had a gigantic target on her back. The social & political game didn’t matter as much for Jonna because there was a big alliance gunning for her. So what did Jonna do? She won comps. Jonna went into this season in the best shape of her life and clearly practiced puzzles even more, knowing their importance to winning. She won 3 out of the first 4 daily challenges in the authority section, then won two eliminations in the next three episodes following that — including an elimination against Roni where Jonna solved a puzzle so quickly that I felt bad for Roni because she didn’t do poorly at all, Jonna just killed it. After all that, Jonna won the final daily challenge to guarantee herself a spot in the Final — then in the Final, Jonna cleared everyone. Jonna won Day 1 of the Final, and in the more traditional Day 2 marathon version of the Final, Jonna held the lead the entire time. This Final win was particularly impressive because it wasn’t like Jonna competing against old people. Nia and Kailah were both younger than the most recent at-the-time MTV winners in Kaycee and Amber, and KellyAnne was within 1–2 years of Kaycee & Amber as well.

Jonna won back-to-back Championships and finished as the 1st Place Female in three straight seasons, a feat no other woman in Challenge history has ever accomplished. Not only that, Jonna pulled off the wins in different fashions by playing a highly social game and a game purely reliant on comp-based wins. And she did it all after having 6 years off the show, having kids, not ever making a Final prior… Not even the craziest Jonna Stan in the world could make up a fan-fiction that is as optimistic as the actual world we live in.

We’d see Jonna again for the World Championships, where she was the #1 Overall pick, taken by Australia’s Grant Crapp. They won the first daily challenge together and looked like a formidable pair. That is until Grant fucked up in a daily challenge, got hurt, and knocked them out of the game. It was a bummer to see Jonna’s streak end this way in such an unfilling fashion, especially as the only good storyline on World Championships was the beef between her and KellyAnne. Hopefully, we will see more of those two going at it on Season 40.

Jonna reappeared for USA 2 and got thrown into the second elimination of the season against Tori. It was a physical headbanger elimination — and Jonna could not social game or puzzle her way out of things because Tori beat the shit out of her. A loss might be for the better for Jonna in the long run because Jonna needs to lower her threat level as much as possible by going into this house with Challenge monsters.

Player Vitals & Stats

Jonna: 35 Years Old, 5'6, 10 Seasons*, 2x Champ*, 3x Finalist*, 4–6 Elimination Record*, Winner of Challenge All-Stars 2 & Challenge All Stars 3, * = Includes All-Stars, USA, WC Stats

Skills and Physical Strength:

In terms of speed, raw power, lifting, and explosiveness, Jonna is pretty impressive for a Reality TV star mom of two. At this point, she ranks about average across the board physically as a Challenge competitor. Jonna’s swimming improved; where she used to be below average, she’s now average. Her cardio has gone from average to above average, though I wouldn’t rank her above someone like Jenny or Cara when it comes to cardio/endurance.

I will say that Jonna has the intangibles and heart as a physical competitor, where she isn’t going to give up. She’s also taller and scrappier than you might realize. Jonna is 5'6, so she isn’t someone you can easily bowl over. During the All-Stars 3 Final, we watched her completely outwrestle Kailah and dumped her in the water. Jonna is a true competitor with a decade of experience on this show. I’m not saying she will destroy anyone in a headbanger, but I think Jonna has a good shot against someone of equal size.

Jonna’s biggest strength in the daily challenges is her mental toughness. She’s got a thrill-seeker side to her where she’s not shitting bricks in heights challenges. When it comes to eating challenges, Jonna pushes herself through because, as gross as the food may be, she knows it is an opportunity for her to win and gain ground. Nowadays, there are never wasted opportunities for Jonna when she competes — she leaves it all on the field. If Tori Deal or Jodi Weatheron had Jonna’s brain on these shows, they would be the most terrifying players on the planet.

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

We saw Jonna play an elite social game in her first two All-Star seasons. I don’t know if she can pull it off again because so many players have their guard up with her. Jonna enters this game with Derek as a significant ally, and then everything feels up in the air. Obviously, Jonna is on friendly terms with so many players, except it feels like those players have connections that take priority over their relationship. For example, Jonna and Tori became friends via World Championships & USA 2, but Tori has a dozen other people she will look after before Jonna. Jonna needs to find a way to attach herself to an alliance and continue building bonds with players on an individual level.

It’s such an urgency for Jonna to make friends this season that I don’t even want to talk about the strategic factor of the game because Jonna won’t be able to play that side of the game unless she can get the social & political currency behind making moves. Because if Jonna swings big, right now, she doesn’t have the backup for the potential fallout. This isn’t All-Stars, where if you get tossed in midway through the game, you’re facing Beth or Jasmine — no, this is 40 — where the middle tier of players consists of strong competitors like Olivia, Nurys, KellyAnne, and Averey. That’s not even talking about the Cara, Laurel, Rachel, and Jenny’s of this cast she might encounter.

In terms of the mental game, Jonna has put a lot of work into improving her puzzle skills. Jonna’s proven to be good across the board, whether it’s a game of memory, sudoku, math, or tangrams. That’s become her bread and butter and the key to victory for Jonna.

Eliminations & Winning Potential:

Jonna’s elimination performances are much better than her 4–6 record would indicate. I’ve watched all of Jonna’s eliminations, and besides the one she competed in on Rivals 2, she’s always given 110% when her back is against the wall. In some of these cases, she’s just been overmatched physically and athletically, which is a real issue going against a cast like this. I can see Jonna beating players like Michele or Nurys in a Pole Wrestle because Jonna has more dog & experience. I don’t see it happening against Olivia or Nia, where she is outsized.

I did Tori’s player breakdown yesterday, and Tori struggles when eliminations involve problem-solving or require the players to think on their feet. That’s where Jonna thrives. The weirder the elimination gets, the better for Jonna. If it comes down to pure physicality, her game can end in an instant.

Can Jonna win? I think Jonna’s chances of making the Final are incredibly slim. It’s difficult for me to imagine the house letting her into the Final after her All-Stars wins, and because as much of a threat as she is, Jonna is beatable. If Jonna can find a way to get herself to the Final, I do think she’s trained and built herself up to thrive in Finals. For that reason, I think Jonna is a sleeper contender to win — not necessarily someone with Top 3 odds, but not a player I’d be surprised to see pull off the win.

Jonna’s Overall Rating: 90/100

Previous Ratings I’ve Given Jonna:

All-Stars 3: 86/100