‘The Challenge’ Recap: Tony and Averey Are Forced Into Elimination After Fighting Over Nomination

A new Challenge feud has erupted between Tony Raines and Averey Tressler! The two found themselves at odds during the show’s Wednesday, August 28, episode.

Tony Raines and Averey Tressler Fight on ‘The Challenge’

Tony, 36, and Averey, 33, were in a position of power following the daily challenge on this week’s episode. Before the challenge began, T.J. Lavin asked each era to nominate one male and one female captain. Although he did not explain what being team captain meant, the players knew from past experience that those players would likely be in danger of going into elimination if their team lost.

For era 1, Darrell Taylor and Jodi Weatherton were the captains. Era 2 chose Derek Chavez and Aviv Melmed, while Tony and Averey represented era 3. For era 4, it was Kyland Young and Kaycee Clark.

The challenge required the four teams to navigate a large boat then eat various Vietnamese delicacies. Once the eating portion was finished, they had to use tiles to put all 40 seasons of The Challenge in order. Era 3 was the first to finish, while era 1 came in last place. That meant that Jodi, 43, and Darrell, 44, were automatically headed into elimination, while Tony and Averey got to decide who their opponents would be – Kyland, 33, and Kaycee, 36, or Derek, 36, and Aviv, 40.

Players from era 4 approached Tony with a proposition: If he and Averey kept Kyland and Kaycee out of elimination this time around, they would return the favor to era 3 in the future. Tony strongly considered this deal, as he said he felt era 4 would have a better shot at winning future challenges over era 2. However, Derek (era 2’s captain) was Averey’s closest friend in the house – and outside of the show – and she refused to say his name.

Tony and Averey were at a stalemate. Fellow players from era 3 urged Tony not to make a deal with era 4, as he had only just met most of those players and owed them nothing. However, he would not back down, and threatened Averey by assuring her that he’d be willing to go into elimination himself if it came down to that. It turned out that he played his cards too early, though, as Averey also agreed to put herself in if they couldn’t agree.

At the arena, Tony and Averey couldn’t come to a decision, and T.J. told them they would be going in against Darrell and Jodi. Averey accused her teammate of not wanting to be on the show and they fought in front of everyone else looking on.

Who Went Home on ‘The Challenge’ Season 40 Episode 3?

The elimination was an individual competition, so Tony and Averey did not have to compete together. It was a puzzle challenge that also required endurance, as the players had to organize heavy colored tiles by following specific instructions about which colors could and couldn’t touch.

Although the other men from era 3 were frustrated with Tony, they also did not want to lose a strong team member and tried to help him complete the challenge. However, he quickly fell behind, and the other era 3 players were disappointed when he didn’t hustle to catch up. Darrell won for the men, sending Tony home.

The race between Jodi and Averey was much closer, but Averey was victorious, sending Jodi home.

Darrell and Averey were then the two competitors put in a position of power, as they got to name the two players from each era who would be “targets” the following week. Darrell chose the females – Aneesa Ferreira, Laurel Stucky, Nia Moore and Jenny West – while Averey chose the men – Derrick Kosinski, Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, Jordan Wiseley (who offered) and Horacio Gutiérrez.

‘The Challenge’ Season 40 Hookups

Amid the drama, the cast also had some fun. Nia, 35, and Josh Martinez got flirty and even made out in the pool. However, later on, she also had some fun in the bedroom with Kyland. While Josh, 30, said Nia was free to do what she wanted, he was frustrated with other people in the house for talking about it so much right in front of him.

Meanwhile, Devin Walker and Michele Fitzgerald were caught making out and cuddling outside one night, while Theo Campbell and Olivia Kaiser also continued to develop their relationship. Plus, Brad Fiorenza and Emily Schromm snuck away for some alone time too.