As a long-time Nelson fan, I am shocked to see him back on the Challenge. The fact he missed both the first and second War of the Worlds led me to believe that MTV had gotten tired of him.

Especially considering since his departure from the show, he had multiple public breakups on social media with Kayleigh Morris, Nurys Mateo, and Angelica Babicz (his current GF, maybe). Nelson appeared on the Dr. Phil Show alongside Angela. He spent a couple of days in jail in 2018 from a theft crime that occurred when he was in college. I will note, watching Nelson post Instagram stories of him leaving Prison and then going to the Spa for a pedicure was the entertainment highlight of my 2018.

Back when Nelson first appeared on the Challenge, he was a fledgling model who worked managing a strip club as his day job. Since then, he has been traveling all over the country and is maybe working as a personal trainer. For Nelson, he knows he needs to bring it as a competitor and drama-wise to preserve his spot on the show to maintain his current lifestyle.

Nelson will be giving 110% because he never wants to be left off the cast again.

Introducing Nelson: He debuted as Amanda Garcia’s partner on Rivals 3 as they replaced Averey and Leroy. “Amanda Garcia’s Partner” is the perfect description for his appearance on Rivals 3. Nelson had only 9 confessionals in five episodes compared to Amanda’s 32. His quiet entrance made it even more shocking when he appeared on the cast list for Invasion. Nelson’s real ego and character began to show on Invasion as he attempted to dominate the game (he more survived than dominated). He failed during most of Invasion, but was able to find a home in the elimination arena, made it into the final, and then almost defeated CT in the final! Unless you buy into the conspiracy that Nelson actually won the final. (winks)

Nelson coming up short on his second season started a trend for the rest of his career. On Dirty 30, when Nelson was doing his best in daily challenges and eliminations, he seemed primed to be able to take on the house 1 vs. 7, Wes style. Right when Nelson was about to turn the corner and become a franchise star, he got himself disqualified for shoving Derrick K while drunk. He regressed in the daily challenges on Vendettas and Final Reckoning. His game essentially ended both times due to Purge challenges. Despite having one of the impressive elimination records in Challenge history, Nelson has only seen the one final. He feels so close to winning because he has the hunger and ambition, but so far, as he keeps coming up short in the same disastrous ways.

Player Vitals

Nelson Thomas: 31 Years Old, 5'9, 180 lbs*, 5 Seasons, 8–2–1 Elimination Record, 1x Finalist, Highest Finish: 2nd Place Invasion of the Champions

Skills and Physical Strength: Nelson has the physique on an athlete, but his balance, coordination, and footwork are generally quite poor. While the challenges have not come naturally to him, he pushes through and improves each season, even if it’s only marginally. His most admirable quality is the fact that he’s a hard-worker who will push forward, even if he doesn’t have the answer. Nelson will run into a locked door and keep running until the door breaks. He’s not going to figure out how to pick the lock, or to break off the knob, but he’ll push through till he gets in.

In the past, he has excelled in obstacle courses and races but failed in heights and balance-related challenges. Nelson is like the basketball player who can’t shoot at all and isn’t particularly skilled, yet, he stays relevant because he plays to his strengths and works his ass off. If he tries to overplay, everything will backfire. If forced to play outside of skill-set, he will most likely falter.

Nelson needs all the little stuff to fall right for him to win big.

SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game: His social game when Cory and Hunter are around is poor. He becomes pompous and tries to do too much to entertain his friends. When he is by himself, he is more personable and humble. Nelson plays from the bottom much better than he does the top. When forced to work, Nelson’s grit and initiative shine bright. Once on top, his flaws become exposed.

As a strategic player, his gameplan is simple: get out Johnny Bananas. It is a fantastic gameplan because Nelson will never beat Johnny in a final. He’s not a genius, but you can’t knock Nelson on the strategy. Outside of that, his political and strategic abilities in the game are not exceptional. He has seen 11 eliminations in only five seasons. Nelson has seen at least 2 eliminations in 4 out of 5 seasons — the guy needs to learn how to go with the flow and be less of a target.

His mental game is below average. He did solve a puzzle during the Invasion final, though! At least he’s not in the category of people who have never solved one.

Eliminations & Winning Potential: As I mentioned above, Nelson has been in 11 eliminations. With an impressive record of 8–2–1, he is tied for the second most eliminations by a male competitor. In one on one competition, Nelson shines. When a fire gets lit under his ass, and he has to fight for his life, he excels. Some people do better in eliminations because the head to head competition format is much easier for players to understand how to pace themselves. In daily challenges, it’s harder to gauge how nine other people are doing.

He has technically never lost a one on one elimination before (5–0–1 in 1 v 1 elims). Nelson has done well in carnival game eliminations and brute physical headbangers. If he gets a puzzle, he will be in trouble.

Can Nelson win? Yes. The big qualifier is if Jordan is there during the final. If Jordan is there, Nelson has no chance. Nelson is still in his physical prime, has experience running a final, and more than anything, he has the desire to win. Sadly, he’s not great with puzzles, can’t swim that well, and his cardio has dipped since he’s gained a bit more muscle mass in recent years. However, he has the drive to keep on going no matter what. Nelson values a Challenge win over everything else. Will he make it to the final? If there are multiple purges, then he is susceptible to losing because he is a boom or bust player in most daily challenges. Nelson is a dark horse contender.

Nelson’s Overall Rating: 85/100