The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras explained

Bgcolor:	BB76FF
Season Name:	Battle of the Eras
Season Number:	40
Module1:	Num Contestants: 40
Num Episodes:	2
Network:	MTV
Prev Season:	Battle for a New Champion
Next Season:	-

The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras is the fortieth season of the MTV reality competition series The Challenge, featuring alumni from The Real World, Road Rules, The Challenge (U.S.), Are You the One? (U.S.), Big Brother (U.S.), Survivor (U.S.), Love Island (U.S. and UK), Survival of the Fittest, and Exatlon (U.S.) competing for a share at a $1 million prize.^[1] A launch special titled "Eras Only" aired on August 7, 2024, followed by the season premiere on August 14, 2024.^{[2] [3]}

Format

Battle of the Eras features 40 contestants split into four teams based on which season of The Challenge they debuted on. Those who debuted during the first ten seasons ( through The Inferno II) comprised Era I; those who debuted between the eleventh and twentieth seasons (The Gauntlet 2 through Cutthroat) made up Era II; those who debuted between the twenty-first and thirtieth seasons (Rivals through XXX: Dirty 30) made up Era III; and those who debuted between the thirty-first and thirty-ninth seasons (Vendettas through Battle for a New Champion) made up Era IV.

Twists

• Era Invitational: For the first challenge, contestants compete against members of their Era, as part of the "Era Invitational" twist which culminates in eight eliminations. The last-place male and female player from each Era are automatically sent to the elimination round. The winning male and female player are immune and earn the power to select two members of their own Era to compete against the last-place players in the elimination round.^[4]
• Karma Vote: Each eliminated contestant is given the chance to rate the remaining contestants from one (lowest) to five (highest). The effect of these points will be revealed later in the season.

Contestants

nowrap Male contestants Original season Finish nowrap The Real World: San Diego (2004) Are You the One? 3 Exatlón Estados Unidos 5 nowrap Big Brother 19 Big Brother 23 nowrap Love Island UK 3 nowrap Episode 2 Big Brother 18 Episode 2 nowrap Episode 2 The Real World: Las Vegas (2011) Episode 2

Original season Finish The Real World: Portland nowrap Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat The Challenge: Fresh Meat II Survival of the Fittest Road Rules: X-Treme The Real World: Cancun Big Brother 20 The Challenge: Fresh Meat II The Real World: Portland Love Island USA 3 nowrap Road Rules: Campus Crawl Are You the One? 4 nowrap Episode 2 Episode 2 Are You the One? 6 Episode 2 Are You the One? 3 Episode 2

Teams

Aneesa	Aviv	Amanda	Horacio
Brad	Bananas	Averey	Jenny
CT	Brandon	Cory	Josh
Darrell	nowrap	Cara Maria	Devin	Kaycee
nowrap	Derrick K.	Derek C.	Jonna	Kyland
Jodi	Emily	Jordan	Michele
Katie	KellyAnne	Leroy	Nurys
Mark	Laurel	Nia	Olivia
Rachel	Nehemiah	Tony	Paulie
Tina	Ryan	Tori	Theo

Debuted on

Gameplay

Challenge games

• Light It Up: Players must assemble a three-dimensional puzzle, then paddle a coracle to collect ten lights of their Era's color from buoys in a lake. After collecting all ten lights, players must return to shore and place them in a board. The first male and female player from each Era to finish wins while the last-place male and female player from each Era are automatically sent to the elimination round.
  • Winners: CT and Rachel (Era I), Bananas and Laurel (Era II), Cory and Tori (Era III), Horacio and Michele (Era IV)

Elimination games

• Balls In: Each round, players play both offense and defense. The offense player has one attempt to deposit a ball into a goal at the center of a ring (or enter the inner boundary surrounding the ring with the ball) while the defense player attempts to stop them by blocking them and knocking the ball onto out of bounds. Players then switch roles and repeat the process before the end of the round. The first player to score in two out of three rounds wins.
  • Played by: Amanda vs. Nia, Leroy vs. Tony
• Pole Wrestle: Players begin at the center of a ring with both hands on a pole. The first player to wrestle the pole out of their opponent's hands two out of three times wins.
  • Played by: Aneesa vs. Katie, Derrick vs. Mark
• Hall Brawl: Players must run through a narrow hallway, past/through their opponent and push a button at the opposite end. The player to hit the button first in two of three rounds wins.
  • Played by: Olivia vs. Nurys, Paulie vs. Theo
• Take Shelter: Players have 20 minutes to barricade the entrance to a bunker using provided materials. After those 20 minutes are up, players must attempt to break into their opponent's bunker. The first player to break into the bunker and switch on the light inside wins.
  • Played by: Cara Maria vs. KellyAnne, Brandon vs. Ryan

Game summary

Episode! rowspan="2"

Gender	Winners	Elimination contestants		Elimination game	Elimination outcome
		Challenge	Last-place		Winners' pick	Winner	Eliminated
1/2	Light It Up	Female		Nia	Amanda	Balls In	Nia	Amanda
		Male		Leroy	Tony		Tony	Leroy
		Male		Mark	Derrick K.	Pole Wrestle	Derrick K.	Mark
		Female		Katie	Aneesa		Aneesa	Katie
		Male		Theo	Paulie	Hall Brawl	Theo	Paulie
		Female		Nurys	Olivia		Olivia	Nurys
		Female		KellyAnne		Take Shelter		KellyAnne
		Male		Ryan	Brandon		Ryan	Brandon

Episode progress

Contestants	Episodes
1/2
	Aneesa
	Averey	SAFE
	Aviv	SAFE
	Bananas	WIN
	Brad	SAFE
	Cara Maria
	Cory	WIN
	CT	WIN
	Darrell	SAFE
	Derek C.	SAFE
	Derrick K.
	Devin	SAFE
	Emily	SAFE
	Horacio	WIN
	Jenny	SAFE
	Jodi	SAFE
	Jonna	SAFE
	Jordan	SAFE
	Josh	SAFE
	Kaycee	SAFE
	Kyland	SAFE
	Laurel	WIN
	Michele	WIN
	Nehemiah	SAFE
	Nia
	Olivia
	Rachel	WIN
	Ryan
	Theo
	Tina	SAFE
	Tony
	Tori	WIN
	Brandon	OUT
	KellyAnne	OUT
	Nurys	OUT
	Paulie	OUT
	Katie	OUT
	Mark	OUT
	Leroy	OUT
	Amanda	OUT

Color key:

The contestant won the daily challenge and was immune from elimination

The contestant was not selected for the elimination round

The contestant won the elimination in the elimination round

The contestant lost in the elimination round and was eliminated

Notes and References

1. Web site: Falcone. Dana Rose. MTV's The Challenge 40 Is Here! Johnny Bananas, CT Tamburello and More Vets Return for Battle of the Eras. People. June 24, 2024. June 24, 2024.
2. Web site: Russell. Shania. Meet the cast of The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras, largest cast ever includes past champions. Entertainment Weekly. June 27, 2024. June 24, 2024.
3. Web site: Falcone. Dana Rose. The Challenge 40 Trailer: CT Exits on a Stretcher, Johnny 'Bananas' Calls Himself 'the Right Hand of the Devil'. People. July 26, 2024. July 16, 2024.
4. Web site: Falcone. Dana Rose. Johnny Bananas Calls The Challenge 40 'a Pissing Contest' Between Vets and Rookies (Exclusive). People. August 15, 2024. August 14, 2024.