“Won fair and square”- The Challenge 40 star Jonna comments on Rachel eliminating her

The Challenge 40 episode 6 premiered on September 25, 2024 on MTV. The reality show brought back contestants across their 39 seasons and four eras to compete against each other to make it to the top.

Jonna Mannion and Brad Fiorenza were eliminated during episode 6 after a matchup against Rachel Robinson and Cory Wharton. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly after the episode, Jonna and Brad admitted they had no problems with how they lost.

When Jonna was asked in the interview if her elimination was a controversial decision, she shared that it wasn't a controversial elimination, and their opponents won the round "fair and square." Jonna answered:

"No, I wouldn't say that it was controversial by any means. The people who won won fair and square."

The Challenge season 40 contestants further praised their opponents and detailed why they lost in the elimination competition in episode 6 of the Battle of Eras season.

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The Challenge 40 stars Jonna and Brad talk about their elimination

In the interview, The Challenge 40 stars Jonna and Brad were asked what it was like to compete in their final elimination round. Jonna responded that she wasn't able to see the spikes that were involved in the challenge. Brad chimed in and said that aspect made a difference in their round.

Jonna shared that she and her opponent, Rachel, had to pick sides in their challenge based on a coin toss. Jonna did not care which side she got and allowed Rachel to pick whichever side she desired, and her opponent chose the Red side. The Challenge 40 contestant was confused about why Rachel picked the red side until it was too late.

Brad shared that he had just finished competing against Cory when Jonna told him she didn't care which side she picked in the challenge. It was hard for Brad to process Jonna's decision. Brad added:

"We eventually spoke about the elimination in the hotel [afterwards], but I couldn't believe that [you gave her that side]. I knew it made a big difference, with the black in the background and the back splash, it did blur together."

Jonna responded in the interview that she decided to give away the pick because she couldn't see the spikes in the Challenge 40 competition. Regardless of the pick, she acknowledged that Rachel was a tough opponent. Jonna added:

"But let's be honest though, Rachel is a bada*s, and I think has played every single sport. She's an athlete. I'll admit it, physical eliminations haven't been my strong suit, which is fine, but you have to be ready for whatever it is."

Brad also acknowledged losing the elimination competition because Cory had a better game plan and strategy to win the round. Cory was "at the prime of his career," and Brad felt that his opponent was more "motivated to get that win."

Brad further shared that the current Challenge season wasn't the easiest for him, and he doesn't feel like he did his best. He admitted that it was his fault that he lost the elimination round and Cory was the better athlete in their competition. He added:

"When I was competing against him, and then I had to watch it back and I saw his chest pass strategy, and I'm like one arming it like they're footballs and they're off [center] and everything, man, he out-strategized me. He really did. Hats off to Cory for having a better strategy, beating me fair and square."

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The Challenge 40 episodes are released every Wednesday on MTV.