The Challenge has a long history of epic first episode moments. Last week, we got a solid first episode that had a fresh daily challenge, a solid elimination, introduced a weird bunker that players would be living in, and Bananas-Wes alliance. It was cool, but I’m not sure it had any moments that are going to last in history forever. However, I broke down 10 of the most significant first episode moments in Challenge history

Before I get started, I wanted to list “Honorable Mentions” and “Dishonorable Mentions.” All Episode 1 purges are automatically dishonorable mentions. At no point in time did anyone watching ever think to themselves: “wow, I would like to see Darrell semi-arbitrarily eliminated before he even gets to participate in an elimination.” Purges are a cheap way to add suspense and drama to a game that already has enough of it. Do more 3-way eliminations, do fewer purges.

However, my Honorable Mention is TJ’s return on Rivals 1. After sustaining a massive injury 2010 (one that put him in a coma), most players on the show were unsure TJ was going to host the show again. In episode 1, he was immediately back in the saddle. TJ never missed a season, came back, and was welcomed by players with an open heart. He is a kick-ass guy, and I felt terrible putting him on a list with people who did crazy or bad things to get on this list.

10 Don’t Call Me a Guy, Ty — Rivals 1

Something you are going to learn from this list is that first night fights are almost always automatically going to be on it. On Rivals 1, we saw a mix up between rookie Adam Royer (Real World Vegas 2) and Ty Ruff. Adam is a notorious hothead who, once he drinks, falls entirely off the handles. Ty is a known agitator who gets off on getting on other people’s nerves.

Adam and Ty had already gotten separated once, but a Drunk Adam had already mentally decided that he was going to punch Ty. He sprinted passed Jenn and Johnny’s weak advances, accidentally shoving Mandi Moyer onto the ground to take his swing (wasn’t a good one). Adam got removed from the show. Even funnier when you consider it was a girls elimination day, and Adam/Leroy won the daily challenge that day. He had no reason to punch him, and he still did it. Adam is known to have failed the psychological test for Battle of the Exes 1, which led to him and Nany being scrapped off the cast last minute.

The good thing about this moment is that brought Mike Ross on as Leroy’s replacement. Together, they made an incredibly fun duo and shocked the world by making the final.

9 Gauntlet 3 Mega Party