‘The Challenge 40’ winners Rachel Robinson and Jenny West on their shocking first-place tie: ‘It felt meant to be’
The season finale of The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras was filled with drama, suspense, and plenty of good karma — at least on the women’s side. For the men, Jordan Wiseley ran away with his fifth title and a cash prize of $400,000, winning all but one checkpoint along the way. He easily defeated Derek Chavez, Johnny “Bananas” Devananzio, and Kyland Young.
The women’s game was an entirely different story. Jenny West, Rachel Robinson, Michele Fitzgerald, and Tori Deal put on a clinic, finishing many of the tasks ahead of the men, and making their back-and-forth battle to the finish line the only thing worth watching. At the end of the grueling two-day final, Jenny proved to be the top performer, but karma votes from previously eliminated contestants had yet to be counted. Once host TJ Lavin revealed the final tally, Jenny and Rachel had tied for first place, defeating Michele by just a single point. Tori finished in fourth place. The champs split the top two prize pots, each taking home $237,500.
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“It felt meant to be,” Rachel tells Gold Derby (watch the video interview above). “The entire time I was there I felt like there was a higher power guiding me. I truly do believe that. I knew that there needed to be representation for Era 1 through the entire show, so I definitely felt there was extra pressure on my back to make sure that happened. I couldn’t imagine how terrible that would be for the entire franchise had Era 1 not had representation in the final. Then, all my 20 years of being a part of The Challenge ended up paying off with good karma.”
Rachel believes her victory is a win for all Challenge fans. The two-time champ hasn’t competed in a decade, returning specifically for this epic season, which brought together 40 of the greatest competitors from 39 seasons of The Challenge. With a smile she quips, “It’s very special and I will now live the rest of my life happy.”
Jenny took a very different path to victory. The relative newbie from Era 4 depended on sheer strength to power through the final, but scored the lowest amount of karma points. Her consistency was enough to bring her the win — and she doesn’t mind sharing it with an O.G. In fact, Jenny says she was “massively honored” to even be included on this special season.
“I was definitely aware of what a privilege and monumental moment it was for me to be there,” she says. “There’s lots of other people that should have been there as well, so I was proud to have been asked. Never did I really think I would win. I never compete in something unless I think I can win, so I thought I could win, but this is Season 40, this is the best of the best.”
Despite never meeting before this season, Rachel and Jenny gravitated towards each other early on in the competition, forming a close bond and alliance. “I could tell she played an ‘I don’t give a s— game,'” Rachel says of Jenny. “I respect that a lot. She wasn’t going to appease the masses just for simply staying in good graces. She was going to do whatever she wanted to do to play the game she’d feel right about. She didn’t care if she pissed off people and I thought that was so cool because I play like that…It was a natural friendship that I’m so thankful for.”
The Challenge All Stars: Rivals will premiere Wednesday, Jan. 29 on MTV.
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