8/20 - Challenge USA 2023 Show Discussion

The Challenge: USA player reveals what wasn't shown in that elimination: 'I'm shocked they cut it'
The latest eliminated player from season 2 tells EW, "I won the first round, believe it or not."

By Sydney Bucksbaum August 21, 2023 at 01:59 PM EDT

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Challenge: USA 2 episode 4, "Double Crossed and Sideswiped."

Luis Colon knew he had a difficult road ahead of him before he even arrived in Croatia for The Challenge: USA 2. As one of only two Amazing Race alums competing against 16 Survivor and Big Brother players and six Challenge legends, he knew the cards were stacked against him. And after a little sabotage in Sunday's episode landed him in a Pole Wrestle elimination that he lost against Survivor winner Chris Underwood, his debut on The Challenge was cut short.

"It's definitely different to see your ass get kicked on TV," Colon tells EW with a laugh. "At least I wasn't out first, which is nice, and I put up a fight so I'm happy with where I'm at."

But it turns out there was a lot more to that elimination than what was shown on TV. Below, Colon reveals what fans didn't see, who he blames for his early exit, and more.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Did you suspect you were being targeted right away, or was it a surprise in the moment?

LUIS COLON: I was never surprised. Before I even got to Croatia I knew this was going to be a show where I was targeted because we only had two Amazing Racers. And when they threw in the secret voting, I knew this was not my type of game. I'm not used to this. I'm doing secret voting with people that are the best of the best from Survivor and Big Brother. It was difficult.

If there were more people from Amazing Race this season, do you think things would have gone differently?

Yeah. It's definitely because of the connections people have. This show does not start when you enter the house. It starts with who you know already. The only person here from my show was Dusty, and I had never even met him in person. So I knew in order for me to win this season, I had to win multiple eliminations because I was going to get put in multiple times. Now I'm oh for one in eliminations.

You were voted in when the consensus going into the vote was to target Wes, but instead of Team Red making it a stalemate, Michele and Tiffany folded. Do you blame them for what happened to you?

I heard the rumors, and Chanelle did pull me aside and tell me Dusty had the chance to stop a stalemate. And I was a bit disappointed because I thought I had numbers on Red. But Michele told me straight up, "You put my name up the first week," because it was obvious I put in a girl from the Red Team, so she said, "You voted for me so I voted for you." So I get it. Do I blame anyone? I can't blame someone for how they voted and for protecting their game. I mean, Cory put me in the first time so I said his name in my nominations — but we didn't vote for him! Does that count for anything, Cory? [Laughs] It was just how my cards were played. People came after me early, and I had to defend myself.

Let's talk about the elimination, because for your first one, that's pretty much the most physical you could ever get on The Challenge.

Yes! That's one of the eliminations I did not want. Coming into this house, I noticed right away that me and Tyler are pretty much the same size, and everyone else was taller and stockier. So I was not hoping for a Hall Brawl or Pole Wrestle. I would do anything for a puzzle. Give me a math problem or a puzzle or a carnival game. But I did not get that. I got really unlucky but I still gave it all I had. It was a really close match. It actually went to three rounds, best of three. It was tough, exhausting, and Chris was just bigger and badder than me and deserved to win.

Oh, it was actually three rounds? Who won each of the rounds?

I won the first round, believe it or not. And then he won the last two. I was hoping they would show that. It was suspenseful, it was energetic, it was dramatic. It was a great elimination and I'm shocked they cut it. They just showed Chris doing great and dominating, but at the end of the day he won so that's how it played out.

How did you win that first round?

The first round, the ring was hanging in the middle and we started on opposite sides. We had to run to the center, grab it, and then wrestle it out of each other's hands and get it outside the ring. I had an advantage where I could use my speed against Chris. I grabbed it before him, did a quick spin, and got the first point. But the last two rounds, it started in the middle, which is what you saw on TV.

At what point did you realize you were going to lose?

My forearms were so tired that I couldn't even close my grip anymore. Chris had already taken away the ring to the point where I was trying to grab it and my hands couldn't hold it. Then I was just holding onto Chris' legs with just my arms because my forearms and my hands were just done. That's when I knew I was going to lose.

Were you hoping to get a different opponent other than Chris?

I did originally vote for Chris. It had to be a guy from Blue, so who were my options? There's Fessy, but his size is very intimidating so I might not even come out alive. So Fessy's out of the picture. Then there's Sebastian, Bananas, and Chris. I slept next to Sebastian and had a good rapport with him, so I didn't want to vote for him. I think he had my back. Out of Chris and Bananas, Bananas has too much experience, he knows all these tricks, so that's why I voted for Chris. Looking back at it, Chris is bigger than Sebastian, so maybe Sebastian would have been the better option. But you never know what elimination you're going to get.

Do you have any new rivalries after this season?

Josh, I'm coming after you! [Laughs] No, me and Josh live in Miami, I've met him before, he came to my finale of Amazing Race, so I really wanted to work with him. But Josh didn't help me the first elimination — he decided to help Ameerah and put in a guy vote. Josh never spoke game with me. So at the end of the day, I separated from him. I'm not going to wait around for him to help me out. And Josh won, he convinced Red to put me in on a double elimination day. But hey, Josh is not my rival. It's the game and it's all good.

Do you want to return for future seasons?

It's tough because that secret voting is stressful. It's not something I enjoyed, to be honest. I was hoping for a more traditional Challenge season where it was mostly competitions and eliminations. But I got put into a game I'm not used to playing with Survivor and Big Brother, and that's their game. That's what they signed up for and I never signed up for that. So I'm ready to do The Challenge whenever, but if it's secret voting, I don't think I want to do that.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.