The Challenge All Stars 3 Player Preview: Jordan Wiseley
Jordan is back on the Challenge for the first time since his split from ex-Fiancé Tori Deal. After their break-up, Jordan said they would never be on a season together. With Tori looking like a mainstay on the main Challenge franchise, Jordan sneaks onto the All Stars cast and immediately looks like a top contender to win.
Long-time fans will be mad that a player who debuted on Reality TV in 2013 will be on the OG spin-off, and they’ll be even angrier once they realize that was almost a decade ago now. More recent fans who just hate Jordan or thought he had gotten banned from the franchise won’t want him on either. And you know what? Jordan doesn’t give a damn because he’s back to do what he’s best at…winning Challenge Championships.
Jordan’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)
Introducing Jordan: From the day Jordan Wiseley stepped foot on the Challenge, he was an immediate contender. As a rookie among a stacked Rivals 2 male cast, he and partner Marlon Williams puffed up their chest to let everyone know they were there and put their heads down to put in work in daily challenges/elimination. Jordan didn’t win his rookie season; he made it to the Final and came in 3rd after getting taken out in an opening day Puzzle Purge. It was a loss he would carry with him. As was the defeat he took from Johnny Bananas after flipping all the kill cards on Free Agents. From there, Jordan took off and put up stats and achievements to put him in the conversation for the best to ever compete on the Challenge.
Jordan went on to win his next three straight seasons he appeared on: Exes 2, Dirty 30, and War of the Worlds 2. He proved he could win as an individual, a pair, and as part of a team. Statistically, the chance of Jordan winning those three seasons in a row was 1/1560, which is 0.00064%. To put that in perspective, Darrell Taylor’s 4-peat, based on the seasons he played, was 0.00187%, meaning Jordan’s 3-peat mathematically is almost 3x harder than Darrell’s 4-peat.
Adding extra accolades on, Jordan’s final wins have always been blow-outs. They were only close when MTV would add a second day where the team/player in first would get their lead reduced to a 2–5 minute advantage. His elimination record is a career 7–2, which is the third-best record a male has ever had on the show through 9 eliminations. One of the only things holding Jordan back is his attitude which grinds on people, yet it might be part of what makes him a great player. Jordan was born with a “disability” where he doesn’t have all the digits on one hand, meaning in specific challenges/eliminations, he basically can only use one arm. I put disability in air quotes as it’s part of what’s fueled Jordan competitively to be not just as good as everyone else but better. Love him or hate him, Jordan is one of the best to play the game.
Player Vitals & Stats
Jordan Wiseley: 32 Years Old, 5'10, 170 lbs**, 7–2 Elimination Record, 6 Seasons, 3x Champion (Exes 2, Dirty 30, War of the Worlds 2), 4x Finalist
Skills and Physical Strength: Jordan might be the best natural athlete in Challenge history when it comes to pure athleticism. He was a national champion wakeboarder in college, had interest from Major League & College teams in high school as a pitcher, and walked on to the Central Oklahoma State football team as a quarterback. The guy has experience in amateur wrestling and cheerleading as well.
On the Challenge, Jordan is one of the quickest and most agile competitors the show has ever seen. While he’s not in the heavyweight category, Jordan is someone who can hold his own in the big guys when it comes to carrying weight/tackling. Jordan is one of the best swimmers in Challenge history, and when it comes to cardio, not only does Jordan not stop, he can go at a faster pace than everyone else as well.
His only physical weakness is… unfortunately, his disability, where a challenge or elimination that requires two-hand grip strength, Jordan will be facing an uphill battle. Jordan has some tricks up his sleeves, except tricks work easy on a GOOF like Josh Martinez; I don’t think they work when facing great players like Darrell or Yes.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game: Let’s be honest, Jordan has a terrible social/political game. His mouth gets him into problems for either the short or long-term game. Theoretically, Jordan is someone who should be able to cruise under the radar due to his physical prowess as a competitor, except Jordan can’t get out of his own way sometimes. A clear example of how Jordan’s dickish behavior can be a problem was his comments towards Jemmye’s appearance during Dirty 30 leading to him being the house vote for elimination the next day.
Strategically, I respect that Jordan is willing to take big risks to win. Pulling all the Kill Cards on Free Agents failed, but he was trying to take out the biggest threat in the game. Meanwhile, turncoating to the UK side on War of the Worlds 2 was a risk that paid off big time. It’s the type of bold gameplay I wish more players were willing to do. Jordan is inherently a crafty problem-solver; the guy has had to figure out how to do everyday tasks people do with two hands only using one; thus, the carnival game aspect of the Challenge comes easy to him. Mentally, he is above average when it comes to memorization games or puzzles.
Eliminations & Winning Potential: We have seen Jordan win headbanger eliminations, endurance competitions, and carnival games; the guy is an absolute tour de force as a competitor. You look at his two losses (to Bananas in Wrecking Wall and Fessy in Pole Wrestle), and both were games where not having two hands to grip ultimately had him dead in the water going against elite competition. The All Stars 3 male cast has no easy elimination match-ups, so while I believe Jordan can beat anyone, I don’t think he is unbeatable either in the elimination arena.
Usually, I say that if Jordan gets to the Final, it’s a guarantee he is winning. Except the All Stars cast has two expert final runners in Yes and Darrell. I’d still have Jordan as the favorite in a straight-up final as he’s younger and can go at a faster pace than them. However, as we saw with the All Stars final last season and in recent games like Spies, Lies & Allies, production could throw everything out the window and make the last portion of the Final a game of cornhole. You never know these days.
