Ever since its 1998 debut, MTV’s The Challenge has been filled with exciting moments. So much so, that Us Weekly has put together a gallery of some of the most memorable through the years — although it was tough to narrow it down.
When it comes to finales, Rivals III still takes the cake as the most dramatic and most surprising. Throughout the 2016 season, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Sarah Rice attempted to heal their broken relationship after she turned on him in the season prior, despite being friends.
They appeared to do just that, finally creating a bond and a partnership that led them to the dramatic end. However, after announcing their team had won the grand prize of $275,000, TJ Lavin revealed that Bananas had the chance to steal all of the prize money, leaving his partner — who helped him get to the end — with nothing. No one was more shocked than Sarah when he chose to “take the money and run,” as he said. The pair have yet to make up.
Although Johnny has won his fair share of Challenges, one of his losses also makes the list. Although Chris “C.T.” Tamburello wasn’t part of Cutthroat, he was brought in for an elimination round and almost immediately took out Bananas, famously using him as a backpack during the 2010 episode.
The most memorable moments of the franchise don’t always happen during eliminations, however. Diem Brown competed for the first time after completing chemotherapy on 2006’s The Duel. In an extremely emotional and powerful moment, she received an outpouring of support after taking off her wig for the first time ahead of a daily challenge in the water.
Scroll through the gallery below for more memorable moments.
