The Challenge Season 40: Who went home tonight?

The latest episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras saw a pivotal moment with the 12 competitors fighting to secure their places in the final. With only 12 contestants remaining, the six men and six women will see tensions run high, alliances fracturing with every move they make carrying high stakes.

The daily challenge pushed the contestants to their physical and mental limits, and for Josh Martinez, falling short in this critical stage sealed his fate. This placed him in the elimination arena against Cory Wharton, a fierce competitor with whom he has a complicated game history. After a hard battle, Cory emerged victorious, bringing Josh’s journey to an emotional end in Season 40.

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The Challenge season 40: episode 14 elimination and key moments

Josh Martinez, a veteran of The Challenge and former Big Brother winner, was eliminated in the latest episode. Despite his strong social game and improved physical fitness, Josh found himself in the elimination after failing to perform in the daily challenge. Paired against Cory Wharton, a player with whom he has had tense in-game relations, Josh couldn't secure a victory.

Josh spoke to Entertainment Weekly after his exit and said that it was a "hard pill to swallow," especially since he had "put in the work" and saw himself in a "good place."

“All I had to do was not come in last, and then I would’ve been good, but that’s just how it unfolded. It’s unfortunate, but it makes me more hungry for the next one,” he said.

Josh also revealed that a lingering knee injury from earlier in the season significantly impacted his performance in the elimination.

“I split my knee open right above my knee and ended up getting 16 stitches. My knee was the size of a softball... I was just praying to God that I would recover fast enough, and I didn’t, and then everything just fell apart right at the end,” he explained.

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Josh Martinez reflects on his social game and the "Vacation Alliance"

Josh’s strategy this season was built on leveraging his social connections, particularly with the Vacation Alliance. The alliance includes Tori Deal, Devin Walker, Kaycee Clark, and Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat. However, balancing his loyalty to this group and his ties with other players like Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio and Rachel Robinson created tension.

Looking back, Josh said that his game was "very out there," and it was clear who he was aligned with.

“I’m riding with the Vacation Alliance, and everybody knew my ties with Rachel and Johnny... People didn’t like my position and my stance in not choosing a side,” the contestant stated.

However, this approach strained relationships within the Vacation Alliance. Reflecting on its future, The Challenge contestant said that he loves "every single person in the Vacation Alliance outside of the game."

“But in the game, moving forward, I’m really disappointed. I don’t know if I see myself playing the game as closely with them anymore,” he added.

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Josh’s lessons learned and next steps

Josh also spoke about his personal growth over the years as a competitor on The Challenge.

“I have truly evolved... When you’re on TV and your personality and everything about you is being picked apart, you can either fold under criticism, or you can work on yourself and become a better version. And I can proudly say that I have done that,”

Despite the disappointment of falling short of his goal, Josh remains optimistic about his future on The Challenge. He said that he had more time to make it to the finals and win the title. He added that he was planning to go home, "work harder, and come back stronger."

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New episodes of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras air on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET/PT on MTV. Stay tuned to see how the remaining competitors navigate the game as they edge closer to the final.