‘The Challenge: Total Madness’ power rankings after ep. 7

Some relationship drama led to quite a showdown.

When we last left MTV’s reality competition show The Challenge, a team made up of CT, Dee, Jordan and Rogan claimed victory after a wild season.

This time? It’s every competitor for his and herself in Total Madness, as 28 of the best vets and some very talented rookies compete for a million dollar prize while living in an underground bunker.

As always, we task our resident Challenge expert Charles Curtis to power rank each of the competitors after each week.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!

This week: The drama inside the house is affected by some drama outside of it, and one of the strongest players is out.

1. Jenny

There’s some warning ahead for the game’s top player — Nany talked about possibly throwing her into elimination since nobody wants to run a final against her, especially now that she has a Red Skull that allows her to participate. But sending her in would be risky since she’d probably send any opponent home.

2. Johnny Bananas

3. Wes

They’re tied together, so we’ll write them both up here: their alliance, along with the ties they have to other strong players in the bunker, prove that they’ve got a good thing going on, especially now that Jordan was dealt a blow with Tori out.

4. Fessy

My top four continues to stay the same and with good reason. They’re all threats to go all the way and win it all, even though just one has a Red Skull.

5. Jenna

If you have a Red Skull, you’re ahead of everyone else. And despite the continuing drama with boyfriend Zach that got her to the point of taking on Tori in Purgatory, she’s a top competitor assuming she sticks around and goes for a million dollars.

6. Rogan

Considering what he did in elimination in the past episode, he very much deserves to be in this spot.

7. Dee

She has a Red Skull but nearly went in this week to elimination. Does that mean she’ll be a target going forward? Hmm.

8. Jordan

Yes, he’s lost Tori to elimination, which hurts him long-term. But who really wants to face Jordan in Purgatory? We’re talking about one of the best athletes in the game who’s also incredible when it comes to strategy in challenges. So, no, I’m not moving him down that far.

9. Mattie

I’m still convinced she’s going into elimination at some point and getting her Red Skull.

10. Bear

Bear just keeps doing Bear things — his relentless flirting with Kailah worked out in his favor, and then he got to defend her when Nelson yelled at her. Also, remember: he’s a strong player beyond all this stuff.

11. Swaggy C

It was pointed out in this ep that he’s been in the Tribunal three times already. That means something! He’s doing really well as a rookie.

12. Bayleigh

She and Jordan made amends after their post-challenge argument in the last episode, so they could now be on each other’s sides.

13. Kailah

I think aligning herself with Bear will help in some way when it comes to the game.

14. Kaycee

Feels like she’s flying under the radar a bit.

15. Aneesa

What an episode for the vet. Nany said some pretty awful things, yet Aneesa forgave her the next day. Aneesa also admitted how hard it is coming in as an older player, but you can see how she’s forming friendships and alliances with some of the younger ones.

16. Big T

I do feel for her with her name coming up in eliminations a lot.

17. Kyle

Another one who’s sort of skating along, but if he doesn’t make a move at some point, he’s going to miss out.

18. Cory

He’s tied to his pal Nelson, and that’s not a good thing right now.

19. Josh

Unless something changes, I don’t see him going very far in this game.

20. Nany

Only one other person in the bunker had a rougher episode, and that was the person below her. As she said, the stress of the game got to her and she lashed out at Aneesa. But she was in the Tribunal, so there’s that.

21. Nelson

C’mon. He apologized to Aneesa after accusing her of throwing a challenge, and then turned around and started up with Kailah, which he apologized for the next day. Don’t be surprised if his name is up for elimination next week.

22. Melissa

Again: haven’t seen anything much from her, so she stays here for now.

23. Tori

This is where I get to rant about the strategy we’ve seen thus far. Tori nailed it — you have to pick your spot and you need to go in. The idea that everyone’s waiting to see what the elimination looks like and then saying “NOPE” if it’s a puzzle or a more physical challenge seems slightly backwards to me. What if you say no to jumping in and that’s your last chance at a Red Skull? What if your perception of a Purgatory turns out to be wrong (we saw that with Dee earlier this season when she bowed out of jumping in to take on Jenn)? Tori is right. Go in when you can because you’ll go home anyway if you don’t get a Red Skull.

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