‘The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras’ episode 2 recap: Which 8 contestants were eliminated in ‘The Era Invitational: Part 2’ bloodbath? [LIVE BLOG]
Tonight on “The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras,” the Challengers arrive to the Arena to see classic, brutal eliminations from each era awaiting them. Sixteen people will fight in the sand, only eight will return. The losers learn they will be sent off with a parting gift of karma for the remaining players.
This year, the longest-running reality competition series embarks on its monumental 40th season. “The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras” features 40 legendary competitors from the series’ 26-year history representing their “Challenge Era” in an epic battle for the ages where legends will collide as they strive to immortalize their names as Challenge 40 Champions and earn their share of the one million dollar prize. As usual, “The Challenge” is hosted by T.J. Lavin.
SEE MTV’s ‘The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras’: Cast, premiere date and everything you need to know
Below, read our full recap of tonight’s episode, titled “The Era Invitational: Part 2,” airing Wednesday, August 21 (8:00 – 9:30 PM ET/PT) on MTV.
8:07 p.m. — Each era has made their decision in the chamber. Now it’s time for them to enter the Arena and fight for survival. As a quick recap — here were the losing Challengers from last week’s challenge that will automatically compete:
Era 1 Losers: Mark Long and Katie Cooley
Era 2 Losers: Ryan Kehoe and KellyAnne Judd
Era 3 Losers: Leroy Garrett and Nia Moore
Era 4 Losers: Theo Campbell and Nurys Mateo
They will take on contestants chosen by Era winners CT Tamburello & Rachel Robinson, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio & Laurel Stucky, Cory Wharton & Tori Deal, and Horacio Gutierrez & Michele Fitzgerald. They chose Derrick Kosinski & Aneesa Fereira from Era 1, Brandon Nelson & Cara Maria Sorbello from Era 2, Tony Raines & Amanda Garcia from Era 3 and Paulie Calafiore & Olivia Kaiser from Era 4 to head into the Arena.
8:10 p.m. — TJ explains that throughout the history of this game, four eliminations have defined each era. Era 1 gave us “Balls In,” Era 2 battled it out in “Pole Wrestling,” Era 3 gave us “Hall Brawl” and Era 4 unveiled “Take Shelter.” Tonight they’ll be playing one of those games — but not necessarily from their own era. In fact, “Balls In” was drawn by Era 3, so they’ll go first. In this game, one player is on offense, the other on defense. The game is simple — score the most goals in three rounds.
8:15 p.m. — First up is Nia vs. Amanda. Let’s be honest, this does not look good for Amanda. She’s about half Nia’s size and isn’t known for her athletic prowess. But, don’t underestimate this scrapper! She scores the first goal to go up 1-0. Nia ties things up quickly. In the end, Nia prevails 2-1 and sends Amanda packing. The whole exchange turned Kyland Young on and he appears to be crushing on Nia at this point.
8:20 p.m. — Next in the ring are Leroy and Tony. These two are pals and aren’t happy to face off, but this is all part of the game! Tony wins this pretty easily, and it’s disappointing to see Leroy go out like that. It’s the first time he’s gone home first in his Challenge career.
8:35 p.m. — Next up is Era 1 in “Poll Wrestle.” Derrick and Mark are great friends, but one will have to send the other home today. Despite Derrick being much smaller, he’s a little pitbull and takes the win, sending Mark home. Next up, Aneesa takes on Katie. I don’t think Aneesa could have gotten a better game for this draw, where he size and power will be a huge advantage. Katie’s strategy is to just hold on and wear Aneesa out. Unfortunately for Katie, Aneesa is just too much to handle and predictably takes this win. Katie’s return to this game is short-lived.
9:00 p.m. — Next up is Era 4 in the Hall Brawl, ohhh yeah! Era 4 is all full of personal beef so this will be a nice way to get out some aggression. Up first is Theo vs. Paulie. Theo’s got the size advantage, but Paulie has a lot of tenacity. In the first round, Theo absolutely smashes the soul out of Paulie’s body and takes the first point. In Round 2, Theo shows no mercy and demolishes Paulie again, sending him home. Paulie calls it an “embarrassment” and “absolute nightmare.” For the girls, Nurys is taking on Olivia. Olivia has the slight size advantage, but Nurys proved on Season 39 that she’s capable of pulling out wins when her back is against the wall. Olivia takes the first round with barely any contact, much to the disappointment of onlookers. We want a brawl not a race! Round 2 is a little spicier, but the outcome is the same. After making it to the Season 39 final, Nurys is out first in Season 40.
9:28 p.m. — Last up is Era 2 in the game “Take Shelter.” They’ll have 20 minutes to use building materials and barricade their bunker as best as they can. After 20 minutes they’ll switch spots. The first player to break into the other’s bunker will win the game. Men and women are playing simultaneously. This is the most mental game of the night and I’d say Ryan really lucked out here. Brandon is a much more physical player. For the women, KellyAnne probably got the best draw she could. Cara Maria is a challenge legend, but she’s not really known for mental tasks. At the end of this grueling task, Cara Maria and Ryan prevail, sending home KellyAnne and Brandon. It’s tough to see so many great competitors go home today, but this is shaping up to be a great season!
9:30 p.m. — The eliminated players have not left the arena yet, so many suspect something fishy is going on. TJ tells them they are all, in fact, going home. However, there’s still a chance they can affect who wins the $1 million. Each of them gets a “Karma Vote.” TJ won’t reveal how the vote impacts the game, but they could be making a $1 million decision. They must rate all the remaining challengers on a scale of 1 to 5. We’ll have to wait to see how this impacts the game, but we love a twist!