Season formats are fun, eliminations are a thrill ride, TJ is amazing. Although, what brings fans back each and every season is the cast and their unique personalities. Over the years we see many stans standing strong for their favorites excited to see them play multiple seasons. However, the challengers on today’s list are not in that category. We are going to break down the top 10 challengers on MTV’s “Banned List”. These Challengers are going to be ranked based on how big of a hole they left in the casting pool as well as storylines that had to be dropped dead. Not every challenger on this list is permanently banned, nor do we condone their mistakes.
Now, not every “ban” is treated the same. Some people we know will never be back, and some get a little slap on the wrist and have to take off a few seasons. Players such as Jordan and Rogan have been in the spotlight for their actions and to the communities knowledge will be back after short breaks. The term “Banned” gets thrown around yet, not every player will be gone forever.
Let’s get to the HitList
Before we hit the top 10 we have two honorable mentions. Shane Landrum and Mattie Lynn Breaux just barely missed the mark. For Shane he has been calling out production following the treatment of fellow Lavender Lady Amanda on WOTW 1. When it comes to any job the best way to get a red flag on yourself is to call out those in charge or giving you money. Shane constantly goes after the top dogs in the game and never backs away from providing excellent interviews and is a good athlete at the dailies presented to him, as long as it’s not a heights challenge. As for Mattie, a 3rd DUI was all it took to remove her from MTV’s list. In a day and age where so many taxi apps exist, driving under the influence should never happen. Mattie was looked at as somebody who had potential to be the next Laurel in the eyes of production. Her size and athletic ability provided the show with a dominant force. These two are missed to a degree, but didn’t leave the hole these others did.
#10 - Tonya Cooley
Tonya went through legal action and sued MTV due to the treatment she felt she was given by her castmates over her time on the show. Everything escalated during the filming of The Ruins, with the toothbrush scandal (we will get to that later), and the fact she felt even productions didn’t care about her enough to step in. Tonya was always known for being a party that got out of hand. She was on vacation for the challenge and took full advantage. This led to her being on the outs more times than not on her time in the challenge. A veteran of 8 seasons, with one championship, Tonya was an underrated competitor who was often overlooked, yet performed exceptionally well. When Tonya left the show, it created a hole of a party girl underdog that MTV couldn’t replace for quite some time.
#9 - Nia Moore
Nia came into the MTV world late as she was the replacement cast member on her season of the Real World: Portland. In her season she developed the name “Hurricane Nia” for a reason. Verbal fights with castmate Jordan and Johnny, as well as a fist fight with Avery. This was foreshadowing how she could act on the show yet she was kept in the casting pool. In Nia's second season she made it all the way to the final 4 before verbally attacking Sarah and even touching Jordan inappropriately. These types of actions don’t stand in today's challenge world as we move forward to a physical respect culture on the show. Nia’s two seasons showed that she was one who can cause some chaos and would’ve fit into the new era of challengers for her mental game play. Unfortunately for her, crossing the lines seems to have crossed her off future casting calls.
#8 - Georgia
Debuting back on War of the worlds one as a part of the British invasion Georgia looked like a lay up at first glance, but her partnership with veteran Hunter soon proved to be successful once they stepped into the daily challenges. Now Georgia has issues going on with Stephen, but her troubles with production lead to photos of potential blackface. Now there's been a lot done to try and have her name cleared from not just herself but also friends and family. when Georgia was on the show she saw that she was a true competitor and somebody that you shouldn't underestimate. Georgia is currently on TikTok, so being in the public eye doesn’t seem to bother her. Time will tell if MTV is willing to believe her side of the story and bring her back on for future seasons.
#7 - Dee Nguyen
Another person that debuted on War of the worlds was Dee. Partnered with savvy veteran Wes, Dee was getting mentored to be a potential face of the franchise whether fans like it or not. Unfortunately for Dee, some racially insensitive tweets popped up through her social media and have now put her on a banned list. There has been a lot done from herself and others to have her taken a negative light, but from her total madness edit or lack of an edit, it's clear that production is taking this seriously. During her first three seasons she made it very far, placing as a top five female in each of those seasons. Taking a self ban from social media seems to be a step in the right direction and only time will tell if Dee will get to improve upon herself on the challenge.
#6 - Bear
Pegged as the future Golden Boy for the franchise, Bear and the money he was paid looked to be worth it for MTV each season he was on. Then the creation of only fans took place and allegations of posting videos without his partner's approval, as well as a potential case of underage law breaking have put Bear in a dark place. With the future lawsuits on hand and MTV preaching respect for all genders might be too much for him to overcome and return to the game. While Bear showed flashes of success in his short time, his personal demons seem to be getting in his own way.
#5 - Evan Starkman
This Canadian burst onto the scene with his physical dominance and social competence on the challenge. A two-time champion who is always looked at as a threat to go far in games is permanently banned from returning to the show. As kind of highlighted before when talking about Tanya, Evan was a part of the infamous toothbrush scandal back on the ruins. The situation turned into a he said she said, this incident will sadly never know it's truth. Evan has appeared on multiple interviews since the event, yet due to legal issues is not allowed to actually speak on this. While a return will likely never happen, the amount of dominance Evan carried season to season left a hole in casting that took years to replace.
#4 - Turbo
This man never even got two full seasons and has been banned for safety issues for the cast and crew. A dominating finals performance on War of the Worlds 1, made Turbo to be one of very few rookie champions on the challenge. On War of the Worlds 2 a heated argument provoked by teammate Jordan saw Turbo turn to his angry self and almost make it impossible for security to hold him back from fighting Jordan. Many have looked at this as a strategic move from the veteran, while others have said that this is just a scared move as he did not believe he was able to beat or take down turbo in the game. Turbo has been known to have a temper when confronted, and if he can not fix this then future seasons seem out of the question. Turbos quote on quote ban, is more of a word of mouth than an actual confirmation. But if this holds true then fans of the show missed out on what could have been the most dominant Challenger of the 30s.
#3 - CT
Now, while he is no longer on the banned list there was a time when the safety of challengers appeared to be at risk due to the unstable nature of CT. His inability of self-control and constant attacking of other castmates left production in a state of panic. After the implosion and mental breakdown on the dual 2 due to gossip and rumors CT finally broke to a point of no return and got into a heavy physical altercation with former real world Paris castmate Adam. Production removed him from the show until they did a little trial run on cutthroat as he returned as a mercenary. appearing to change his ways and become more laid back CT returned as a mainstay on rivals 1. Since then a more mature grown up Dad version of CT has one three championships (4 if you include Champs vs Stars), and a return to being a fan favorite , this time for all the right reasons.
#2 - Kenny Santucci
This situation can be linked directly back to everything said about Evan earlier in this power ranking. Kenny was seen by most as the leader of the JEK alliance. His inability to remove himself from the potential heartbreaking event has led to him also being on the banned list. The reason Kenny ranks higher than Evan is due to the fact that he was either the favorite to root for or the favorite to root against each and every season. A multi-time finalist, three time champion, and leading character on the show for many seasons sets him apart from his alliance member. A return does not seem possible at this point however Kenny has been involved in multiple interviews over the past few years talking about his challenge career.
#1 - Camila Nakagawa
At the peak of her game Camilla is a top three female performer of all time on the challenge. Camilla has had multiple red flags that have put her at high risk and is now somebody that cannot be insured. Turning into the camillator when intoxicated has led to some pretty embarrassing moments for Camilla. The first big incident was her racial comments towards castmate Leroy. The edit from that point on dirty 30 turned almost to a negative vibe every time she was on screen. Leroy's forgive but not forget mindset allowed Camilla to potentially continue on with the show. At the filming of champs versus Stars Camilla was removed from competition after a drunken tirade led to an unstable and unsafe workplace for the cast and crew. These drunken tirades have led Camilla to be too much of a liability going forward. Still involved in casting calls it wouldn't surprise me if Camilla eventually made her return.
So, what do you think about these “unofficial official” power rankings? Where were we wrong, and where were we right? Show us who you all would have in your top 10 lists down in the comments!
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