The Challenge: All Stars 3 recap: The return of Pole Wrestle sets up 2 major eliminations
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Warning: This article contains spoilers for episode 8 of The Challenge: All Stars 3.
I never thought we'd see Pole Wrestle on The Challenge: All Stars 3. For one thing, these players are decades older than when they last wrestled for that little pole! And for another, most eliminations have had some kind of puzzle equalizer. But this close to the final, we got to see that iconic elimination return, and we're getting two major elimination matchups for it. Could we be any luckier? Let's recap!
After last week's elimination upset, Derrick is thrilled his No. 1 guy Mark is still in the house because it proves that Derrick can continue competing on The Challenge until he's 60. They're also the only guys with four stars in this game. The future is looking bright for the old guys! Meanwhile, Nia's feeling low after losing Jordan, so she confides in Nehemiah, who helps her find a new purpose to play for herself in this game. It's good advice, but is it enough?
Paul Castillero/Paramount+ TJ Lavin on 'The Challenge: All Stars 3'
The Challenge: Flight Pattern
Before we even find out what this week's challenge is, TJ drops a bomb by revealing that Veronica's tumble down the stairs during the party in last week's episode actually did injure her seriously. She broke her big toe, and because of that she's medically unfit to continue. Veronica's out? Whoa! So much for all the politicking she's been doing all season in the Treehouse — so close to the final and one drunken stumble is all it took to end her game. That is brutal. TJ apologizes while she tears up, and he basically begs her to come back in the future. I truly hope this isn't the last we've seen of Queen V, because she once again proved she has what it takes to control this whole game.
"Well that sucked! But we still have a challenge to get to," TJ says. Beautiful transition! This week's challenge is played in heats of one male and one female contestant per round, as players lean out of a helicopter to look down and memorize a colored pattern floating in the water below. Once the helicopter reaches the drop zone, players will drop down into the water, swim to the puzzle station, and recreate the pattern. Whoever completes the puzzle fastest wins and forms the Authority. But wait, there's more! Since Veronica had one star, the women are also competing to win her star that's up for grabs.
Mark and KellyAnne go first, and she drops a lot sooner than Mark does, but Mark gets to his station and finishes his puzzle first. They're both amped about their performances, though. Derrick and Kailah go next, and Derrick finishes first while Kailah struggles with remembering the right colors. Wes and Jonna go next, and Jonna gets dropped really far from her puzzle station. Wes finishes before Jonna gets to her station, but she feels confident she got her whole puzzle right, which shocks Wes, meaning he doesn't feel as confident as she does.
Paul Castillero/Paramount+ 'The Challenge: All Stars 3'
Nia and Brad are next, and Nia freaks out before the helicopter even takes off. Brad tries his best to talk her down and convinces her to give it a shot! Nia takes a while to lean out, saying she can't do it and officially giving up. At least she got in the helicopter? But this close to the final, DQing yourself is a big mistake that might cost her everything. Meanwhile Brad absolutely crushes the swimming portion of the challenge, but everyone on the shore can tell even from far away that he didn't get the puzzle right. Nehemiah goes last, and he claims he hasn't been winning challenges on purpose this season. Suuuuuuure, Nehemiah.
TJ says only two guys got the puzzle right: Mark and Derrick. Whoa! Derrick is continuing to do well with puzzles this season? Who would have thought?! But Mark got it done faster, so he wins for the guys. Then TJ reveals that, once again, only two women got the puzzle right: Jonna and KellyAnne. While KellyAnne got it done in the fastest time, she flipped it on the wrong side, so that means Jonna wins for the women. Plus she gets Veronica's star. Not a bad week for Jonna!
Back at the house, Jonna consoles Nia about giving up while also warning her that she has to put someone into elimination, and it will most likely be her since she gave up. Downstairs, Wes and Nehemiah strategize on how one of them is going into elimination for sure, and since Derrick has the most stars, Wes somehow thinks he can convince Mark to throw in his No. 1 ally. Nehemiah says he doesn't care enough about the stars to volunteer for elimination, whereas Wes is ready to put this plan into motion because in his mind, if he has the most stars, he will win the season, guaranteed. Even though they don't know what the stars mean, TJ has mentioned them enough that Wes knows they could be the game changer to take this whole season.
Paul Castillero/Paramount+ Kailah Casillas on 'The Challenge: All Stars 3'
Elsewhere in the house, Derrick meets with Mark and Brad to talk about the same thing. And Mark is trying to convince Derrick of the same plan Wes was coming up with! Wow, I did not think that would happen.
Wes has a bunch of strategy ideas he needs to think through, so he goes to the video chat room to make a "business call" with an "intellectual mercenary." Who does he call? JOHNNY FREAKING BANANAS. This rivalry-turned-alliance-turned-friendship is still going strong! Wes wants Bananas' opinion on whether it's worth it to volunteer for an elimination against Derrick (who, for context, has beaten Bananas, but Wes has beaten before in eliminations). As Wes is laying all this out, Bananas gets up to reveal he's been pantsless this whole call, showing off his bright-red banana hammock. I don't know what's more shocking: seeing Bananas' butt cheeks in a red thong as he bends over not once but twice, or seeing Wes seek out Bananas' opinion here when we all know what he's going to do at this point.
The next day, Kailah and Jonna talk s--- about KellyAnne while she calmly does yoga by the pool. There's no need to be mean! Jonna tells Kailah that KellyAnne approached her about volunteering for elimination, and Kailah says she doesn't care if Jonna sends her in either. So now Jonna basically has permission from all three women to throw them in. These stars are getting everyone rattled because almost everyone wants to go into elimination now.
Deliberation
Mark tells Jonna that Derrick wants to go in, but Jonna wants to throw in Wes to take his ego down a few pegs and "shut him up." And Jonna tells Mark how all three women want to go into elimination. They make their decision: Kailah and Derrick. That means two members of the Treehouse are going in the arena, so soon after another member was medically DQed. It's a bad week for that alliance. And Wes is pissed that he didn't get what he wanted, so he sulks away. Now Wes and Nehemiah both have to prepare to go against Derrick because they have no idea who he'll choose.
Paul Castillero/Paramount+ Nehemiah Clark on 'The Challenge: All Stars 3'
Elimination
Walking into the arena, everyone sees a single pole in the middle of the sand with nothing else. "Is that a pole? Is it f---ing Pole Wrestle?!" Kailah says in a panic. Meanwhile Wes is getting amped up because he knows that for years Derrick has been saying he wants a Pole Wrestle rematch after losing it to him in The Duel, so now is the perfect time to call out Wes and make it happen. Derrick says he fully intends on "kicking his ass tonight," so we might get that rematch!
Kailah chooses KellyAnne (!) for her opponent, and since these two have been after each other all season and might be evenly matched in strength, this is the best female matchup we could have gotten. This could be a long fight between them. Derrick says that while he would love to kick Wes' ass in Pole Wrestle, he has to think about what's best for him to win and what's best for his family and pick the easiest option, so he picks Nehemiah. It's the smart choice for him, but super boring. What a letdown! Wes is even more pissed and just keeps saying, "F--- him up. He's not going to have a family to go back to. F--- him up," over and over to Nehemiah. This is going to be good.
Elimination challenge: Light My Fire. It's Pole Wrestle, but whoever gets the pole away has one more step. They then must run to the cauldron on the side of the arena to light it on fire to officially get the win.
The guys go first, and they erupt in a violent wrestling match. This is an absolute dogfight from the very first second, with hard hits and bodies flying everywhere. But we don't find out who wins, because the episode ends on a cliffhanger. How rude! I can't wait a full week to find out what happens here! Ugh.
Challenger of the week: Wes, for orchestrating the strangest video call we've ever seen on The Challenge, and for trying to give the people what they want: a Derrick-Wes Pole Wrestle rematch.
The Challenge: All Stars 3 releases new episodes Wednesdays on Paramount+.
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