Fresh Meat star Ryan Kehoe managed to win an early elimination in The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, which he was forced to compete in due to finishing last place for the men on his team.
However, he avoided subsequent eliminations during Season 40 as part of his strategy to remain in the game.
While many might see this as a smart strategy to get to the final, it drew the wrath of his castmate, Johnny Bananas.
Viewers saw them get into a verbal altercation in a recent episode over this, and then Ryan volunteered to be his team’s target after the elimination event.
During a return visit to the Zach Nichols Podcast, Ryan revealed he had an unfilmed confrontation involving Bananas that the episode footage didn’t present or mention.
It was the second time in recent weeks that a Season 40 cast member revealed they had an unaired confrontation with the show’s seven-time champion.
Ryan says he and Bananas ‘were cool’ until an unfilmed confrontation occurred in Season 40
Last week, viewers saw OGs Darrell Taylor and Tina Barta eliminated from Battle of the Eras. During their post-elimination episode interviews, Tina mentioned the scene fans wondered about from the trailer with her shouting at someone was her yelling at Bananas.
In an interview this week, Ryan returned to the Zach Nichols Podcast to discuss the Season 40 drama he got involved in, including Bananas confronting him in an unaired scene.
He explained that he and Bananas “were cool” throughout the season until Bananas approached him in the bathroom about self-nominating for their team. When Bananas confronted him, Ryan said it was just him and castmate Tori Deal in a makeup room with no camera crew.
“He was like, ‘Yo, you just gonna let me and Nehemiah…You just gonna ride your way to the final?'” Ryan shared.
The Fresh Meat star said he was laughing with toothpaste foaming out of his mouth when Bananas asked him this.
“He was like, ‘You just gonna let us getting f***ing nominated every other time?'” he said.
Ryan said Bananas was quite upset and came at him out of nowhere, almost in a moment that seemed “orchestrated in a camera time way.”
He said he then realized Bananas would take anyone down when he didn’t get his way. Ryan said he thought he and Bananas were cool because they “competed at the same level of commitment.”
Of the Era 2 stars, Ryan was the only male competitor to go into elimination. During the first few episodes, host TJ Lavin revealed the Eras Invitational, where two players got eliminated from each of the four teams.
Ryan competed against teammate Brandon Nelson and sent him home by winning the Take Shelter elimination event. Ryan’s teammate, Cara Maria Sorbello, also won the elimination, defeating KellyAnne Judd.
After that and through Episode 8, none of the other Era 2 players have gone into an elimination.
Ryan said he didn’t volunteer because of Bananas
Cory Wharton defeated Era 1’s Derrick Kosinski in the Episode 8 elimination, while Rachel Robinson eliminated Era 3’s Averey Tressler. That left Rachel as the last competitor for Era 1, automatically making her a target to go back into elimination.
She got to choose one male target from the other three teams. Ryan volunteered for Era 2, and Bananas put a hand on Ryan’s forehead, jokingly asking if he was feeling OK.
Ryan said he volunteered as his team’s male target at The Arena, not because Bananas had given him a hard time earlier. He said seeing his “dear friend” Averey Tressler go into elimination and endure what she did against Rachel Robinson inspired him to step up.
“I really did love the people on my team, minus one person, and Bananas sometimes,” Ryan shared.
He admitted that if Era 2 won the next daily challenge, he’d ensure that his friend Rachel wouldn’t go into elimination, or she’d get the matchup she wanted.
Ryan mentioned that he’d played Bananas’ game before when they were castmates on The Island and competed in the final. Bananas chose a team that featured castmates Derrick, Kenny Santucci, and Evelyn Smith, while Ryan competed alongside Paula Meronek, Jenn Grijalva, and Robin Hibbard.
That was Bananas’ first win on The Challenge, and he received a share of a $300,000 prize. Ryan never returned to the final after that.
With that in mind, Ryan seems to have chosen to play MTV’s Battle of the Eras in a way that gave him the best chance to reach and win a final.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
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