Tony Raines has had experience watching what happens when the winning players come to a stalemate when deciding who will go into the elimination challenge. And yet, he was willing to sacrifice his game, his opportunity for a large cash prize, to prove his dominance. His boneheaded decision, something no one agreed with, friends and foes alike, proved that karma can and will come back and haunt you. In the history of The Challenge, if a stalemate happens, it does not bode well for those who risked their safety. For Tony, he joins the list of players who made poor decisions that cost them the game.
The Challenge has been MTV’s hit series that has dominated the airwaves since 1998. Originally a way to bring back alumni from The Real World and Road Rules into a competitive game, The Challenge has defined reality television competition shows in the 21st century. Now celebrating its triumphant fortieth season, The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras, has invited forty legends spanning four eras to compete to determine who the best of the best might be.
Tony Raines Was Up Against a Wall
With four eras coming together in four teams, The Challenge 40: Battle of the Seasons has already displayed how cross-era alliances have manufactured major decisions. At the start of the season, Era III had already come to a crossroads when it came to allies. With Cory Wharton and Tori Deal having to make a major decision about whom to send into the Eras Invitational elimination round, old friendships and relationships were factored in. Devin Walker-Molaghan and Jordan Wiseley were only considered for a hot second, but their connections to Tori Deal forced her hand. She and Cory sent Tony Raines into elimination against Leroy Garrett. Tony may have been victorious, but he was up against a wall. He didn’t have any close bonds with his team. Everyone he was aligned with was from other eras. So, when it came time to enter the next portion of the game, Tony’s game was completely exposed.
Now that the four teams were officially established, the four eras played as such. To kick off the first team challenge, each era was asked to pick a male and female representative. For Era III, they selected Tony Raines and Averery Tressler. And thanks to strong teamwork and leadership, Era III won the challenge! As proven time and time again, when you’re in a position of power on The Challenge, a major decision is bound to rock the house. Tony and Averey were now tasked to send in two targets from the second and third-place teams to face off in the Arena against the team representatives from the losing team, Era I. And here comes the trouble with cross-team alliances.
Tony and Averey were forced to select either Derek Chavez and Aviv Melmed from Era II or Kyland Young and Kaycee Clark from Era IV to compete against Darrell Taylor and Jodi Weatherton from Era I in the elimination round. In the chamber, everyone was able to plead their case to Tony and Averey as to who they wanted to compete against in the Arena. But Tony and Averey, hearing the pleas, did not agree which way to go. Averey was hellbent on saving her friend, Derek Chavez, from having to go in. Tony Raines was adamant that it be Era II, which Darrell Taylor requested. Their squabble lingered in the house and no one knew what would happen. What was clear is that, based on Challenge history, if they could not come up with a decision, they would likely find themselves in the elimination.
History Repeats Itself
When the edit of the show flashes back to an instance during The Challenge: Final Reckoning when Amanda Garcia and Zach Nichols were in power and were at a statement, sending them into the elimination, it should have been a wakeup call for Tony, who was at risk in that specific elimination, that history was about to repeat itself. Since Tony and Averey could not decide which team they would send into elimination, host TJ Lavin threw them both into the elimination round. Thankfully for Averey, she wasn’t tethered to her partner in the elimination round as TJ revealed it would be a one-on-one battle by gender. This couldn’t have worked out better for Averey. Averey was able to best Jodi and knock her out of the game. But karma came back to bite Tony as he was eliminated by Darrell. Whether he threw the challenge out of shame or just didn’t want to be there, his decision to risk Averey’s game was a bad look that made the rest of his team, and his allies, livid.
Since his shocking elimination, Tony has vehemently denied the accusations that he didn’t want to be there. His confidence came into the fact that he thought he would be able to get Averey to back down from her convictions. She did not. She had a reason, but Tony couldn’t justify why his decision to want to toss Era II into the elimination aside from “it was best for my game.” Tony claims he was hanging on the hope that Derek would sacrifice himself in Averey’s honor, but why would anyone in their right mind do that? This is a solo game after all. His contingency plan backfired and Tony became just another statistic.
Tony Trusted the Wrong Individuals
Much of Tony’s justification was about positioning. Despite how the teams played out, safety in this game solely relies on your ability to maintain a strong social game. Reliance on connections, both internal and cross-era, was going to be a pitfall for Tony Raines. He was battling no matter which way he cut it. But by making waves, it caused more chaos than he needed to. Even in a strong team, he didn’t have anyone who would truly have his back. He had a history with Cory Wharton during The Challenge: Final Reckoning,that ended up with a physical altercation and Cory was sent home. This was one of the many factors that forced Raines to the bottom of the totem pole.
When it came to cross-era connections, it was Johnny Bananas. Anyone who has ever watched The Challenge knows that relying on Bananas is a foolish game plan. Raines likely thought Bananas would have his back, but when he cheered on Leroy Garrett in the previous elimination, Raines should have been clued in on the fact that this man was not there for you at all. Bananas would be seen telling Raines that he shouldn’t risk himself in the elimination, but with his doubts about him, why would he trust him? Banana may have actually been one of the catalysts that cost Tony his game.
The Challenge is one of the most difficult games to play for returning seasons, because no two seasons are ever alike. Whether it’s changes in game mechanics or the dichotomy of the cast, it’s always best to wipe the slate clean and pretend like it’s your first time playing. That being said, knowing your Challenge history is crucial, and we’re not even at the trivia challenge yet. Tony Raines should have known his history and how not backing down was his karmic downfall. Without Tony’s presence, maybe it would not be the end of the world for the rest of his team. Certainly, a strong competitor, his decision might end up being of benefit for Era III.
The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras airs new episodes every Wednesday on MTV. Previous seasons of The Challenge are available to stream on Paramount+.
Watch on Paramount+
