‘The Challenge’ Legends Johnny Bananas and Wes Bergmann Call Season 37 Vets ‘F–king Idiots’
The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies started off with a giant cast of 34, including 15 vets. But none of those familiar faces were legends Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Wes Bergmann.
Bananas hasn’t competed since getting his seventh win on Total Madness. While Wes is taking a break from competing after an early exit in Double Agents.
Even though they aren’t the stars of season 37, Bananas and Wes still have a lot to say about Spies, Lies, and Allies. Including the fact they think the vets in the current cast are “f–king idiots.”
‘The Challenge’ vets are trying to take out the rookies with a ‘veterans alliance’
The cast of Spies, Lies, and Allies started off with 19 rookies from reality shows that air around the globe. The goal was to reach a broader audience, and these newbies definitely came to play. The vets immediately realized that they were outnumbered by the rookies and formed an alliance to survive.
In the first three episodes, the strategy has worked extremely well. Which comes as no surprise to Wes. While discussing the strategy with The Challenge GOAT on his podcast Death, Taxes, and Bananas, Wes described the veterans alliance as “brilliant.”
Wes Bergmann says the veterans alliance is nothing new
Immediately after describing the strategy as “brilliant, Wes then added “”I think that they’re all idiots.” What really seems to irritate Wes is the fact that this group of veterans is acting like they invented the strategy in season 37.
“They’re running around with facial expressions as if they had invented something that had never been done or used before. And it’s like the most innovative thing, they’re calling the patent office and they’re trying to get it all trademarked,” Wes said.
‘The Challenge’ legends called the ‘Spies, Lies, and Allies’ vets ‘f–king idiots’
The two-time winner kept going, accusing the current vets on The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies of ignoring a strategy that he and Bananas have been trying to explain for years.
“It’s like, ‘You f–king idiots. We have been trying to explain this to you for the last five years that this is how the game is supposed to be played. But you narcissistic ego, attention-seeking people just have to deviate from that plan to get clout,” Wes said.
Bananas agreed and added, “Act like you’ve been here before. I’ve always said this. When you execute the perfect move or the perfect strategy, you kind of keep it to yourself.”
Johnny Bananas says it’s best to stay in the background
If anyone knows about proper Challenge strategy, it’s Bananas. He said the best way to play is to stay in the background and wreak havoc. To avoid getting a target on your back, you can’t take credit for the chaos you’ve caused.
“The longer you can stay anonymous and in the background and pull strings… and not let anybody know you’re doing it, that in my opinion is the most flawless, impressive game,” Bananas explained.
‘The Challenge’ GOAT say it’s ‘painful’ to watch the new crop of vets take control
Bananas and Wes also discussed the different types of veterans that appear on The Challenge. Since the show has been on MTV for more than two decades, Bananas says there are different tiers of vets. He explained that the vets who are “running the show” on Spies, Lies, and Allies are “second, third-tier vets.”
He says the “true veterans” like CT Tamburello, Nany Gonzalez, and Aneese Ferreira are taking a back seat and letting the “new crop” take over. “It’s kind of painful to watch, in a way,” Bananas said.
Both he and Wes clarified that they still love The Challenge and are into the current season. But, they believe the vets could do better when it comes to showing the rookies how to make good TV. When he’s on the show, Bananas explained that he feels like he’s a “producer first and a cast member second.”
“I’m not just looking at from day-to-day what is gonna benefit my game… I look at it like, what’s gonna benefit the show, what can I do to make the show better,” Bananas said.
New episodes of The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies air Wednesdays on MTV.
