The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Ryan Kehoe
It’s crazy how much Challenge All Stars has brought names back into the fold that you never expected to see again. I’ve been writing Challenge player previews since Season 29: Invasion in 2017. At that point in time, Ryan Kehoe had not been on the show in 8 years. So, if you told me I’d be writing a player preview for him going into Season 40 in 2024, I’d call you insane.
Nope, we are living the Challenge multiverse these days, with players from the OG days, different franchises, and different countries all playing together. Ryan came back for All Stars 2 and 4, and now he’s back for a full-on MTV for the first time since Season 19: Fresh Meat 2.
Ryan’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)
Introducing Ryan:
Ryan was part of the OG crop of rookies who had never been on a Real World or a Road Rules season on Fresh Meat 1. While Ryan wasn’t part of the first wave of gay men on The Challenge, he was still one of the first dozen to appear on the show and brought some representation in the early days of the show. An interesting tidbit is that Ryan dated Shane Landrum before getting cast on Fresh Meat 1 — although, it was never mentioned during the season.
On Fresh Meat 1, Ryan got paired with Melinda, which felt like a death sentence as the Austin cast got targeted from the jump. It felt especially doomed for Ryan as once Danny got knocked out, Melinda seemed to be checked out. They got thrown into the 2nd elimination of the season, where they became part of the long line of teams to lose to Wes & Casey. We didn’t get to see much from Ryan at all on Fresh Meat; luckily, they gave him a second shot on The Gauntlet 3.
The Gauntlet 3 was an interesting run for Ryan. He had a showmance/hookup with Tyler Duckworth, where Tyler was much more into him. Ryan was also put in a peculiar position in the game, where the Veteran Team “saved” him from multiple eliminations, specifically because they viewed him as the weakest player on their team. His team then threw him into elimination, where Ryan beat Derek McCray in a slider puzzle elimination, in which the Vet team gave him instruction from the crowd on how to win. It was weird because Ryan got pretty far into the season and won an elimination, but it wasn’t through his own merit. Eventually, Ryan’s season came to an end after having to face Nehemiah in elimination.
On The Island, Ryan didn’t make waves at all. He didn’t care about the bullying going on as long as he stayed out of the crosshairs. Ryan waited for the perfect moment to throw himself in a Face-Off, where he got to play against two petite women (Johanna & Colie) in a lifting battle. He earned the chance to steal a key, and instead of making a big move like taking Kenny or Johnny’s key, instead Ryan played scared and took KellyAnne’s key. To me, it was a historically bad move because even though Ryan got to go to the Final, there was no chance Kenny was letting him in the winning boat.
We’d see Ryan come back for The Duel 2, where Nick Brown called him out for the first elimination due to perceived weakness. Ryan beat him and got his first-ever clean 1 v. 1 elimination win against another man. Ryan found himself in elimination again in Episode 2, though, and he swung for the fences by calling out MJ as his opponent. Unfortunately, it was a loss for Ryan. I admire Ryan for taking a swing this season, but sadly, he wouldn’t really play the game dangerously ever again.
Going into Fresh Meat 2, Ryan’s social game was elite as he played the middle of the house perfectly, where he & Theresa didn’t get voted into elimination the entire game. They likely would’ve made the Final if not for a Final Five twist where the bottom two teams in the last daily challenge had to go into elimination against each other. Once it came down to pure competition, Ryan & Theresa faltered, sending themselves into exile, where they lost to Noor & Jenn before the Final.
Fresh Meat 2 would seem like the last we’d see of Ryan. There were rumors that he & Tyler and he & Davis got asked to be a potential pair on Exes 1. We wouldn’t see Ryan again till All-Stars.
His return on All-Stars 2 was short-lived as he lost the second elimination of the season to Cohutta. Ryan would then do All-Stars 4, where he was a much more prominent character and made it all the way to the second to last episode. Competitively, Ryan didn’t stand out. He never went into elimination (actively chose not to), never won a solo or paired daily, and even for the final battle for a Star, he came in third out of three players. I heard that he had a collarbone injury during the season, so he tried to avoid elimination. Ultimately, I don’t think Ryan was going to win the season, so good on him for lasting as long as he could.
Skills and Physical Strength:
Statistically, Ryan is one of the worst daily challenge competitors ever. He’s never won a traditional solo or paired daily challenge ever. Let me repeat that: NEVER. Credit to Ryan for not getting grouped with bottom-tier players. To which I’ll note, when I watch Ryan compete, there’s never really anything he seems particularly the worst at. There also isn’t anything where he ranks above average.
Since getting sober, Ryan has looked much healthier, at least.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:
The social game is where Ryan thrives. He has a ton of friends entering the house, including strong connections to Derek, Rachel, and Averey. I can imagine Ryan making a deep run into this season, staying under the radar like he did on Fresh Meat 2.
Historically, Ryan has disappointingly not used his social game power to leverage into big moves politically or strategically. He plays a very non-confrontational and safe game.
When it comes to the mental game, Ryan is a below-average puzzle player. From Day 1 of Fresh Meat, he’s never been a killer in games of logic, memorization, or math.
Eliminations & Winning Potential:
I don’t like Ryan’s chances if it’s a puzzle, a headbanger, or anything involving explosive raw athleticism. His best shot to win an elimination is a game of endurance, balance, or a carnival game. Even then, I would bet on most of this stacked cast against Ryan. If Ryan can pull off an elimination win in any fashion, that is something he can hang his hat about.
Can Ryan win? No. He’s never gone to a Final in a season with traditional eliminations, and he’s never seen a modern Challenge Final competitively, either. It’s not even a diss at Ryan because there are Champions like Mark or Derrick, who I’m struggling to envision winning 40, so to imagine Ryan, who has never run a Final before, to do it, I just can’t.
