Look at this shit. These guys were battling to the death over an elimination where one person had no interest in the game other than to take the other out. Joss injured his shoulder in this elimination and would have had to go home regardless. The physicality of this challenge was insane. If Derrick were a competitor in the game, this would be top three, and if it was to get to a final, it would be #1. Because it is neither, it holds the #5 spot.

4th Cara Maria defeats Aneesa Ferreira on Bloodlines

Until Bloodlines, Cara Maria was developing one of the greatest loser resumes in Challenge history. She had finished 2nd in three finals and had come up short of the final on arguably her best season ever Free Agents (at that point). When she came back for Bloodlines, her heart was set out on winning no matter what. Cara’s elimination win over Bananas in the final five made it seem like her troubles were over and the win would be hers. Then Mitch and Cory won the final daily challenge and sent her into elimination to face Aneesa, another elimination great who dominates physical eliminations due to her sheer size. Before the elimination, the two got into a verbal bus altercation where Aneesa accused Cara of being fake. Cara took offense and went full Boston on Aneesa.

The two would see each other in an elimination that got very physical. Cara displayed her true strength and power by 2–0 ing the much larger Aneesa to get her spot in the final. She would go on to win after eight seasons, making the elimination win mean so much more.

3rd Theresa Gonzalez defeats Nany Gonzalez on Exes 2

Physically, this match may be a bit lesser than the preceding ones, however, the actual rivalry between these two as well as the competition stakes were at the absolute highest. This rivalry began during Free Agents when Theresa trashed Nany behind her back in confessionals. Theresa had a strong performance on Free Agents, eliminated right before the final by Laurel due to some bad luck. Nany’s good luck allowed her to evade eliminations all season and she finished in second place for the season.

The following season, the two girls’ hatred for each other reached a boiling point as Theresa was partnered with Wes and Nany was partnered with Bananas. They were put on opposite sides of one of the biggest rivalries in Challenge history. Theresa won the early battle as she dominated the season physically and voted Nany/Bananas into elimination (where they lost). Nany/Bananas were able to come back into the game by winning four exiles to return and flip the house against Wes/Nany, ultimately watching them go home. Nany’s laughter while Wes was on the ground injured was probably one of the nastier moments in Challenge history. Theresa exacted revenge for her partner when she arrived to replace Nia in the LAST elimination before the final in Norway. Theresa hated Nany so much she took a thirteen hour flight to go face her in an elimination. AND SHE WON.

2 Wes Bergmann defeats Derrick Kosinski on the Duel

This is the match that made people fall in love with this elimination. Up until this point, the pole wrestlers that had been seen were quick wins by bigger girls beating up on smaller girls. This elimination was a battle between the two greatest elimination players in Challenge history. When Wes had won exiles on Fresh Meat 1, people could always claim he won simply because of the weight advantage his team had due to light packing. Wes proved really fast on the Duel he was a legitimate top competitor when he beat Derrick in a raw physical elimination.

Craziest part about this elimination is that Derrick and Wes are still beefing about in 2018!!! We are a decade plus removed from this elimination, yet the two had some harsh Twitter replies with one another earlier this year after Derrick’s elimination with Joss. Who knows whether Wes would want a rematch as Derrick has proven he can take bigger hits in the 2010’s than the 2000’s, but we all know the fans want it to happen.

1 Susie Meister defeats Kimberly Alexander on the Ruins

If you guys do not remember how insane this elimination was, you need to fucking watch right now.

This elimination occurred between two women who you would never expect to put on one of the greatest physical eliminations in Challenge history. Kim was a pretty girl from the South and Susie was a strategic bookworm who dominated competitions despite never working out. These two went at it like it was the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl. And for Kim, an elimination win meant she would get a spot in the final. Susie was playing for her life as the only remaining champion girl. To top it off, the individual bank accounts meant they had a good amount of their own personal money on the line (17k for Susie and 8k for Kim).

Because they are fighting over a rope and the girls are skinny, they are able to leverage themselves into SUPER dangerous positions.